This first term of 2012 is about planning for CiH in Northland. Whilst we'd love to have all schools up and running with their first class of the year; schools are busy places and have a number of extra-curricular activities they have to attend to.
I've been to see the Principal and Staff at Hikurangi School and presented what we'd like to achieve in their community. Most were interested in the prospect but found Term 1 just a little too early in their programme to achieve graduation. I will keep in touch with them over the next few weeks to line up Term 2 as a perspective timeframe.
I had a wonderful visit with Pat Newman and his staff last Tuesday at Horahora School in Whangarei. What an enthusiastic bunch of people! They were immediately drawn to the positives of our programme and were keen to offer it to their families. Teachers play such a critical role in starting up our programme. They know their families. They know their community. Therefore they can champion the programme within their classroom and determine who may benefit the most.
The schools who have been allocated funding up to June 2012 are Morningside School (Whangarei), Bay of Islands College (Kawakawa), Horahora School (Whangarei), Te Roroa Learning Centre (Dargaville), and Hikurangi School (Whangarei).
A new initiative now available in Northland is the next step on from CiH named Stepping UP. This programme focuses on the graduates of CiH and allows them 10 more hours of free training. Subjects focus on ICT skills for Work and Home and range from using Microsoft Publisher to Financial Management. This programme is still in the early stages of implementation.
