Applications open for Mayoral Scholarship Fund Applications are now open for the South Waikato District Council Mayoral Scholarship Fund. If you are 21 or under, live in the South Waikato and are planning to start a Degree course of study next year, you are eligible to apply. “Council continues to place a focus on youth education through our Mayoral Scholarship,” said Mayor Jenny Shattock. “The Mayoral Scholarship is one way we can assist in youth development and education by supporting our youth through their studies. When students are finished their chosen studies job opportunities may be available in the South Waikato; and they can start their careers here, giving back to the community they grew up in.” Council is offering two Mayoral Scholarships over four years to the value of $10,000 each ($2,500 per year for a maximum of four years) for two eligible student applicants. “If you are interested in applying for the Mayoral Scholarship, apply on line by Friday 5 October,” said Christine Beach, Council’s Human Resources Manager. “Applicants must have NZQA-approved University entrance qualifications, have appropriate references, show evidence of extra-curricular activities and have South Waikato residency.” “Holiday work experience may be offered to the scholarship student during the term of the course of study and if such work is offered, the student would be expected to accept the offer,” continued Mrs Beach. “Also on completion of the qualification, depending on the job vacancies at Council, the Scholarship recipient may be offered employment. Again if such an offer is made, the person would be expected to accept the offer. Initial enquiries should be made to the Human Resources Manager or visit www.southwaikato.govt.nz and click on the orange ‘Apply for it’ tab (right hand side). The successful applicant will be announced at the beginning of November at the School Senior Prizegivings. A pdf of the application form is also available here. “The South Waikato is proud to support its youth through its Mayoral Scholarship since starting the scheme in 2006,” continued Mayor Shattock. “This scholarship has helped 11 young people study towards their chosen careers.”

On Monday evening at the Tokoroa Sport Centre, the August Tokoroa Business after 5 evening was held. The night itself was a chance for businesses to share their thoughts about the current NCEA system and how it might strengthen links with the business world. Hosting the evening for the Ministry of Education was the Gateway SW Secondary Schools Cluster. Mayor Jenny Shattock welcomed everyone to Business After 5 and spoke of her expectations for the evening. Those attending were invited to sit at a table they chose that would focus on 1 of the 6 conversation areas set up by the Ministry of Education. These 6 areas are, (with the ones selected for this meeting shown in blue): Creating Space at NCEA Level 1 for powerful learning Strengthen literacy and numeracy Ensuring NCEA Levels 2 and 3 support good connections beyond schooling Making it easier for teachers, schools, and kura to refocus on learning Ensuring the Record of Achievement tells us about learners’ capabilities Dismantling barriers to NCEA Gateway Coordinator Dianne Collins began the evening by speaking of her lifelong association with Tokoroa, and the purpose of the evening. Dianne shared an extract from Sir Ken Robinson’s Changing Paradigms, (created by RSA – Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Click on the picture below to see this video. Those attending then engaged in small group discussion about one of the three selected areas listed above. A Hamilton based Ministry of Education representative was assigned to each of the small groups and recorded the discussion points that emerged. These will be combined with other country wide thoughts. To conclude the Business after 5 night, an invited panel expressed personal views about aspects of NCEA. Thoughtfully there was student voice representation on the panel. The NCEA 6 Big Opportunities listed previously are all admirable organisers, but in the context of the New Zealand Curriculum they are elements of a greater whole and as such link to a larger picture. A danger may be that other parts too are examined when it may be that the nature and purpose of the whole requires some overall beliefs and principles to be articulated. Over the years there have been countless papers, reviews, directives and the like about what ought be taught in schools. The piece below, although not New Zealand based, still provides a viewpoint that is hard to ignore. It’s basic purpose is to stimulate discussion around that ever important question, “Why teach this rather than that?” THE POOR SCHOLAR’S SOLILOQUY No, I’m not very good in school. This is my second year in the seventh grade, and I’m bigger and taller than the other kids. They like me all right, though, even if I don’t say much in the classroom, because outside I can tell them how to do a lot of things. They tag around me and that sort of makes up for what goes on in school. I don’t know why the teachers don’t like me. They never have very much. Seems like they don’t think you know anything unless you can name the book it comes out of. I’ve got a lot of books in my room at home – books like Popular Science, Mechanical Encyclopedia, and the Sears’ and Ward’s catalogs – but I don’t very often just sit down and read them though like they make us do in school. I use my books when I want to find something out, like whenever Mom buys anything second hand, I look it up in Sears’ and Ward’s first and tell her if she’s getting stung or not. I can use the index in a hurry. In school, though, we’ve got to learn whatever is in the book and I just can’t memorize the stuff. Last year I stayed after school every night for two weeks trying to learn the names of the Presidents. Of course, I know some of them like Washington and Jefferson and Lincoln, but there must have been thirty altogether, and I never did get them straight. I’m not too sorry though, because the kids who learned the Presidents had to turn right around and learn all the Vice-Presidents. I am taking the seventh grade over, but our teacher this year isn’t so interested in the names of the Presidents. She has us trying to learn the names of all the great American inventors. I guess I just can’t remember names in history. Anyway, this year I’ve been trying to learn about trucks because my uncle owns three and he says I can drive one when I’m sixteen. I already know the horse power and number of forward and backward speeds of twenty-six American trucks, some of them Diesels, and I can spot each make a long way off. It’s funny how the Diesel works. I started to tell my teacher about it last Wednesday in science class when the pump we were using to make a vacuum in a bell jar got hot, but she didn’t see what a Diesel engine had to do with our experiment on air pressure so I just kept still. The kids seemed interested. I took four of them around to my uncle’s garage after school and we saw the mechanic, Gus, tear a big truck Diesel down. Boy, does he know his stuff! I’m not very good in geography, either. They call it economic geography this year. We’ve been studying the imports and exports of Chile all week, but I couldn’t tell you what they are. Maybe the reason is I had to miss school yesterday because my uncle took me and his big trailer truck down state about 200 miles and we brought almost 10 tons of stock to the Chicago market. He had told me where we were going and I had to figure out the highways to take and also the mileage. He didn’t do anything but drive and turn where I told him to. That was fun! I sat with a map in my lap and told him to turn south or southeast, or some other direction. We made seven stops and drove over 500 miles round trip. I am figuring now what his oil cost, and also the wear and tear on the truck – he calls it depreciation – so we’ll know how much we made. I even write out all the bills and send letters to farmers about what their pigs and beef cattle brought at the stockyards. I made only three mistakes in 17 letters last time, my aunt said, all commas. She’s been through high school and reads them over. I wish I could write school themes that way. The last one I had to write was on, What a Daffodil Thinks of Spring, and I just couldn’t seem to get going. I don’t do very well in school in arithmetic either. Seems I just can’t keep my mind on the problems. We had one the other day like this: If a 57-foot telephone pole falls across a cement highway so that 17 feet extend from one side and 17 9/17 feet from the other, how wide is the highway? That seemed to me like an awfully silly way to get the width of a highway. I didn’t even try to answer because it didn’t say whether the pole had fallen straight across or not. Even in shop I don’t get very good grades. All of us kids made a broom holder and a bookend this term and mine were sloppy. I just couldn’t get interested. Mom doesn’t use a broom anymore with her new vacuum cleaner, and all our books are in a bookcase with glass doors in the parlor. Anyway, I wanted to make an end gate for my uncle’s trailer, but the shop teacher said that meant using metal and wood both, and I have to learn to work with wood first. I didn’t see why, but I kept still and made a tie rack at school and the tail gate after school at my uncle’s garage. He said I saved him ten dollars. Civics is hard for me, too. I’ve been staying after school trying to learn the Articles of Confederation for almost a week, because the teacher said we couldn’t be good citizens unless we did. I really tried, because I want to be a good citizen. I did hate to stay after school, though, because a bunch of boys from the south end of town have been cleaning up the old lot across from Taylor’s Machine Shop to make a playground out of it for the little kids from the Methodist home. I made the jungle gym from old pipe, and the guys made me Grand Mogul to keep the playground going. We raised enough money collecting scrap this month to build a wire fence clear around the lot. Dad says I can quit school when I am 15, and I’m sort of anxious to because there are a lot of things I want to learn how to do, and my uncle says I’m not getting any younger. [Stephen M. Corey, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York (CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, January 1944). The Ministry of Education is currently seeking nationally feedback on NCEA through discussion evenings such as the one held on Monday, submissions, workshops and other processes. Anyone interested should email Review@education.govt.nz

Putaruru Primary School has won the KickStart Breakfast Unsung Hero Award for 2018. This award recognises those who unselfishly give up their time to support the students, the breakfast club and the school. The application for “unsung heroes” Lynne Richards and Kerry Farrant stood out for the Kickstart judges from the rest. This morning, the Kickstart Breakfast room hosted representatives from Sanitarium, Fonterra and the Ministry of Social Development as well a film and photographic crew who recorded the breakfast and presentation at the whole school assembly. It was a full house. The guests were welcomed by Principal Trish Scown at the whole school assembly at the start of morning school. Fonterra partnered with Sanitarium in 2009 to create KickStart Breakfast. The partners started supplying schools with Milk and Weet-Bix  in Term 1 2009. Then it was time for photos…

Position Available: Putaruru Business Liaison Officer Pride In Putaruru is a non-profit, community-led organisation. The trust is a committed, vibrant team whose vision is to enhance Putaruru, it’s businesses and its community. This fixed term contract, (with potential for renewal), will have as its key activity engaging with the Putaruru business community. You will work closely with the trust to promote business growth, implement the Putaruru Concept Plan and work to secure leads and create opportunities for the development of Putaruru. The hours and length of contract are negotiable, with a focus on results. Our ideal candidate will have previous experience in business development and marketing. You will have or be able to quickly develop strong links in our business community through having strong interpersonal and communication skills. You will have energy, enthusiasm, sound planning and organisational skills to support your activities. If this role is of interest to you and you would like to receive an employment pack, please email manager@prideinputaruru.com Applications close at 4pm 31 August, 2018.

  Last night, Unichem was the venue for the latest Business After 5 series in Putaruru and the evening itself was hosted by Putaruru Rotary. Matt Corrin from Putaruru Tyres welcomed those attending on behalf of Pride in Putaruru. Putaruru Rotary President began by outlining some of the projects that they had been associated with, locally and internationally. Sam Jones from Physio Direct, based next door to Unichem, talked about their Osteoarthritis Clinic that aims to help the community remain fit and active. It was then the turn of Heather Wise, Unichem Pharmacy owner to talk about the wide range of services that they offered. Changes in the industry mean that pharmaceutical, products and approaches are constantly changing. One example was the precise steps that they had to adhere to when making up each and every prescription – all to do with the safety of the clients. One significant change over the last year has been the purchase of a robotic blister pack pill dispensing and packaging unit. Chief operator Sheryle and her ‘assistant’ now do in about a day what 3 people did over a number of days in the preparation of individual client blister packs. Later, Stu Edmeades spoke about the current focus of Putaruru Moving Forward, especially in relation to land for housing and Raewyn Whiteman-Thorne described the creation of a new Business Liaison Officer position at Pride in Putaruru that is to be advertised very soon. Throughout the evening a large range of enticing nibbles were on offer for those attending to enjoy. In conclusion, Matt Corrin thanked all who had contributed to the Business After 5 evening at Unichem, Putaruru.  

Of special interest to the South Waikato is the current exhibition at the ArtsPost Galleries in Hamilton entitled: The Story of a Raindrop. The exhibition is the work of photographer Jackie Key in which she documents the journey of the Waihou from a raindrop on a manuka through to the to where it becomes tidal. Along the way there are images of koura, students, trout fishing, play and many other aspects encountered. Story of a Raindrop is produced to show what we are in danger of losing. As the exhibition note explains, “When Captain Cook first sailed up the Waihou it was interrupted by Awotonga Falls and lined with towering kahikatea forest, a survivor from the Jurassic period. There is little sign of that landscape today.” This post keeps details of the exhibition at a distance in order to encourage a personal viewing of The Story of a Raindrop. The exhibition is open from 10am to 5pm daily and closes at ArtsPost Galleries in Hamilton on 20 August.  

It’s time to acknowledge 2018 sporting excellence in the Waikato region by nominating your sportspeople and sports supporters. District Sports Awards nominations are open from now until Friday 28 September 2018. Each Waikato district will have its own awards event, with category winners going forward to be considered for the prestigious Brian Perry Waikato Regional Sports Awards held in January 2019. Sport Waikato CEO Matthew Cooper says it’s so important to recognise our own local sporting talent and volunteers. “So many of our sportspeople and emerging athletes are based in the Waikato region, and it’s time to celebrate their achievements. They all put a huge amount of effort and dedication into their sport and we want to acknowledge them at our district awards. It’s also a great time to recognise and acknowledge the hard work of those who support sport – the administrators, coaches, officials and volunteers whose time is spent helping our athletes to achieve”, said Cooper. Regional Capability and Events Coordinator Gilly Alexander urges clubs, schools and sports organisations to take the time to fill in a nomination form so that the achievements of a district can be celebrated. “Sport Waikato makes it as easy as possible to nominate online. The forms can be saved and returned to, so you don’t have to do it all at once. From Administrator of the Year to Sportsperson of the Year – our categories reflect the various roles in sport, and I urge communities to nominate local sportspeople and volunteers”, said Alexander. These are the categories: Administrator Club Coach Team Secondary School Sportsperson Secondary School Student Contribution to Sport Emerging Talent Sportsperson Official Service to Sport Innovation in Sport & Recreation Sport Waikato District Sports Awards events will take place in Taupo, South Waikato, Waikato, Waipa, Matamata-Piako, Otorohanga, Waitomo, Hauraki/ Thames-Coromandel and Hamilton, during the month of November. This year the Hamilton awards have had a change from Hamilton Volunteer Awards to Hamilton Sports Awards, supported by Hamilton City Council. They will still celebrate volunteers but also acknowledge the success of secondary school students, club and club teams. The Hamilton categories are: secondary schools sportsman and woman, secondary school contribution to sport, club team, club, community coach, volunteer administrator, volunteer official and service to sport. Nominations can be made online here. 2018 Sports Awards Details Wednesday 7 November 2018  Hamilton City Sports Awards supported by Hamilton City Council Friday  9 November 2018  Wairakei Resort Taupo District Sports Awards Tuesday 13 November 2018  Ingham Matamata-Piako District Sports Awards Wednesday 14 November 2018 Otorohanga District Sports Awards Thursday 15 November 2018  Mercury South Waikato District Sports Awards Monday 19 November 2018  Waipa Networks District Sports Awards Wednesday 21 November 2018  Waikato District Sports Awards Thursday 22 November 2018  Hauraki/Thames District Sports Awards Monday 26 November 2018  The Lines Company Waitomo District Sports Awards Thursday 31 January 2019  Brian Perry Waikato Regional Sports Awards The Brian Perry Waikato Regional Sports Awards will be held 31 January 2019. They are a culmination of the district awards, with winners from the awards becoming eligible for the judging and shortlisting of the Brian Perry Waikato Regional Sports Awards.  

Small Business Grant Applications Open Companies who want to build on their current turnover and profile in order to create jobs are encouraged to consider the difference a South Waikato Investment Fund Trust  (SWIFT) small business grant or larger funding investment might make. For small business grants, up to $10k, SWIFT invites applicants to complete the application form available on the website www.swift.org.nz. They must clearly identify what the money is for and what the expected outcomes will be with particular emphasis on job creation. The small business grant round is open from Tuesday 7 August through to Friday 31 August. Larger grants are available and the Business and Job Growth application form applies to Grants in excess of $10k. Larger grants require a comprehensive business case and applications can be sent in throughout the year. In both scenarios  projects that clearly outline how funds will lead to economic activity and create jobs in the district are welcomed. South Waikato Investment Fund Trust Chair, Ian Elliott, said  “Our aim is to create jobs by helping to grow the local economy.  Jobs rely on sustainable businesses and often as they grow, relocate or expand additional funds are essential. The benefit of SWIFT is that we don’t expect the funds to be repaid but we do expect results    in terms of employment opportunities that will attract new residents or maintain our local population. We know that South Waikato is brimming with opportunity. But it is business activity that can re-energise our local community.” There are two different types of grant available. SWIFT’s small business grant is aimed at businesses that can demonstrate how the extra cash can lift productivity and create jobs. This might be through enabling new pieces of equipment that can increase capacity and lead to new jobs being created. The larger business investment grants can be tied to feasibility studies, research and innovation or be as significant as a major business relocation project. “As long as the application outlines a solid business proposal that is based in in South Waikato we will be interested,” said Ian. The application forms for both the small business grant and the business and job growth fund are on the recently launched SWIFT website.  www.swift.org.nz

Tirau Lions assisted by SWDC staff began work yesterday on the Tirau Domain plan by planting Kauri trees at the Tirau end of the domain. After a brief background talk about the project by Hans Nelis, members were shown the recommended way to prepare, plant and protect the 60 or trees  so trees being planted on Saturday morning. It was all action after that with the rain not diminishing any of the enthusiasm. The September Prattler will have more information about the planting being carried out.     The planting took place around the area indicated by 22 on the Domain Concept Plan below. For more information about the Tirau Domain Plan click here.

The vision of the Waikato River Trails Trust focuses on bringing people to the South Waikato District. One initiative they have implemented to tell people about the trail is to have interactive pieces placed along it that include the river trails branding. People stopping and interacting with the pieces, taking photos and sharing these with friends via social media will help attract more visitors. Thanks to funding support from the South Waikato Creative communities, Waikato River Trails have a new piece at Lake Karapiro mid way between Arapuni Village and Little Waipa reserve. The design of the piece was created by year 10 Art Students from Putaruru College lead by Teacher Linda Nicholson. The students designed the work after visits to the trail. The design included a small 3D version which was taken to drawing and construction by Brad at Woodsy Engineering in Putaruru. The piece is predominantly made from Corten steel which when exposed to the environment takes on a beautiful red rust colour. Richard and Sally Strang helped move the 400kg piece through their farm to its home alongside the Waikato River.