Far North Computers in Homes

NORTHLAND COLLEGE AND KAIKOHE INTERMEDIATE GRADUATE FOR CHRISTMAS:

2012-01-13T11:57:00.000+13:00

Northland College and Kaikohe Intermediate took part in Computers in Homes over Term 4 of 2011. This term was a tight squeeze to get the 20 hours of training completed as it was only an 8 week term. The schools were still keen to get things underway and both schools were allocated 20 whanau places each.

Kaikohe Intermediate was the first to get underway having their launch at the end of Term 3 on the 7^th of October. We had several excited families come along and Jon Smith the tutor (and also teacher at the school) was there and very organised. The classes began on the 26^th of October. Jon ran two groups of 10 on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Graduation day came for Kaikohe Intermediate on the 16^th of December at 12:30 pm. There was a fantastic turnout and Jon and the whanau did a great job getting everything organised from decorating PC’s to arranging a beautiful kai. The graduates had created their own certificates in one of their classes which were randomly given to another member of the class. This was great to see what they had learnt and also gave everyone a bit of a giggle at what some of the graduates had come up with.

After a few short speeches and handing out the certificates we then enjoyed the kai. Unfortunately the online surveys were not done during the classes so I asked if the graduates could stay behind to complete these, all but one were able to do so. A huge thanks to all of you for making time to do this. 18 families successfully graduated from Kaikohe Intermediate, what a great group of people.

We also had the pleasure of the company of Geoff from Town and Country Newspaper, so hopefully we will see all of the graduates beautiful faces in the newspaper soon. Thanks to Adele Gardner and Charmaine Foster, Trustees from the 2020 Far North ICT Trust, who attended this event with me, it is always nice to have support from the Trustees (and some company for the drive also).

Northland College combined their launch with their first class on the 26^th October. We were off to a bit of a rocky start here with only half of the families committing to the programme. Because of this only 12 graduated from this school. Those 12 did a fantastic job through their training, even coming back for more when they had already finished their 20 hours requirement.

These whanau graduated on the 15^th of December at 5:30 pm. We gathered in the schools restaurant, The Hub. Everything was beautifully arranged with flowers and all. A huge thank you to Kushla who arranged everything, even with two sprained ankles. She was absolutely wonderful to work with. These families were so pleased to finally be taking their PC’s home, thank you to the graduates for their commitment to the programme. Mike Sabin was to attend this event but there was heavy rain and flooding on that day so he was unable to fly back in from Wellington. I barely made it to Kaikohe myself from Kaitaia!

Welcome aboard the team Lyston Williams, who is our Technician for Northland College and to Neville Alexander who is Technician to our other schools in the Kaikohe area. It is great to have you both on the CIH team.

And finally, we had the launch for the small but full of life Mangamuka School. With only 8 families in total belonging to the school we were able to give them a POD of 3 PC’s with 6 families able to take part. We are so pleased to be able to help this small rural school and the families are so enthusiastic to get involved. With support from the Principal Maryanne Beddgood and a very techy tutor Dean Munden I’m sure the families will benefit greatly here. There will be no mucking around in their classes which begin on the 7^th of Feb as Dean is an ex-cop, so I’m sure he will keep this lot in line. I look forward to working with this school and these families.

HELP IS ON ITS WAY TO TAUTORO SCHOOL GRADUATE:

2011-11-22T15:14:00.001+13:00

Tautoro School trained and graduated 14 whanau in Term 3 of 2011. The graduation was held on the 7^th of October with a heartwarming ceremony including the tamariki calling up their own parents to collect their certificates and giving them a special gift they had made. The tamariki told their parents how proud they were of them as they passed over their rewards. I believe the tamariki learnt a lot from seeing their parents learning a new skill and receiving the rewards for it. For the graduation the school hosted a full ICT whanau day with both the parents and tamariki alike showing off their ICT skills that they had been learning.

Jane Lindsay the Principal of the school expressed how the Computers in Homes Project has really brought their small community together and how wonderful it is to get the parents more involved in the school like this.

Unfortunately, only days after taking home their PC’s from the graduation one poor family suffered a house fire in which they lost everything, luckily escaping with only minor burns.

Dawnette, who tutored the classes, contacted me to see if we would be interested in helping out this family by donating a second PC. Glenn Barrow, his son Ricci and his whanau had house insurance but no contents. They are currently living in Awarua. The Marae offered their “Whare-Awhina” for them to stay in while they look for permanent accommodation. The entire community are pulling together to gather essential belongings for the whanau and I felt it our part to replace the PC he lost only days after taking it home.

Above: From Left – Neville Alexander (CIH Technician), Glenn Barrow (CIH Graduate), Dawnette Neho (CIH Tutor), Jane Lindsey (Tautoro School Principal) and front is Ricci (son of Glenn).

On Friday the 17^th of November the PC was delivered to Tautoro School by out Technician, Neville Alexander, for Glenn to pick up. We had interest from The Northland Age, Town and Country and Northern News in this story and Glenn was happy to take part in telling his story as the least he could do for everyone’s kindness. We are awaiting the articles to be published.

Glenn expressed his immense thanks to us, he was extremely humbled by what Computers in Homes were able to do for him as well as the community. All our best wishes go out to Glenn and his whanau at this time and we hope that we were able to bring a small ray of light to such a tragic situation.

Above: Tautoro School CIH Graduates and their Tamariki with Emma Tracey the Far North Regional Coordinator and Eric Shakelton, Trustee for the 2020 Far North ICT Trust.

ANOTHER GROUP OF GRADUATES FOR KAIKOHE:

2011-10-17T13:42:00.000+13:00

Tautoro School and TKKM o Kaikohe participated in the Computers in Homes project over Term 3 2011. Both schools were allocated 14 places each for whanau to participate. Only one participant was unable to complete training at TKKM o Kaikohe due to obtaining full time work.

Tautoro School were eager to get underway having their launch on the 4^th of July (at the end of Term 2), we had a great turnout with the very keen participants rearing to get started in Term 3, only one person was unable to make it. We had fantastic support from the school to get the project underway here, the Principal, Jane Lindsay, expressed to me how keen they were to get the community and the whanau involved with the school. Computers in Homes were a great way to get the whanau into the school and become familiar with it. Dawnette Neho who usually is the Office Administrator took on the role as Tutor and has been an absolute gem to me since we began. She regularly updated me with how the groups were getting on and did such a wonderful job with the whanau, creating a real bond with the groups. They were off to a flying start on the 1^st of August at the beginning of Term 3. All the participants completed their online survey during week 8 of their training and we have some great feedback.

TKKM o Kaikohe got underway in the first week of Term 3. I meet with some of the participants on the 4^th of August before they began their first lesson with tutor Hyrum Wikaira. Although Hyrum was nervous about tutoring adults for the first time he got over that pretty quickly and became very passionate about their whanau learning. A huge thank you to Donna Hippolite is much deserved also. She is the school IT person who helped out a great deal with lesson plans and such. And also I have to mention Marea Timoko the Tumauki who had such enthusiasm to make this project happen in their school from the moment I first approached her.

On the 7^th of October both of these groups graduated their whanau from the course. Tautoro School graduating 14 and TKKM o Kaikohe graduating 13. We started the day off at TKKM o Kaikohe where we attended a Powhiri at the Kura. We managed to get along the first MP to one of the events organised in my time, Hone Harawira, who is quite involved in getting Kura up and running in the Far North. Eric Shakelton, Trustee for the 2020 Far North ICT Trust also made the trip along with me from Kaitaia to attend the graduations. Eric is a very busy man who has huge involvement in the community so I really appreciated him dedicating his day to the graduations. We were treated to wonderful performances from the Tamariki at TKKM o Kaikohe and the certificates were awarded to the families by Hyrum and Hone.

We then attended the graduation at Tautoro School at 1 pm. The school had actually arranged a full day of ICT fun for all of the whanau of the school with the tamariki showing off their skills and then the participants of the course doing the same. The entire school was packed into the library for the awards and the children proudly presented the certificates with a special little gift to their own parents stating how proud they were of mum/dad. The graduates had two huge celebratory cakes to cut to end the event.

We had the pleasure of Geoff McDonald from the Mid North Town and Country Newspaper at both the graduations taking lots of photos so we hope to see something in the paper over the next few days.

Eric and I also managed to squeeze in a launch for Kaikohe Intermediate on the same day. They had a good turnout and we answered a lot of questions for keen parents. They will begin their training in the first week of Term 4 with 3 hour lessons as it is a short term. We set a tentative date for their graduation of the 16^th of December at 12:30 pm. Jon Smith, a teacher from the school, will be taking the course and is very organised with lessons plans already well in place. He had even already had a briefing with the whanau before the launch so all were quite well informed by the time I got to them. I can’t wait to work with Jon, I’m sure he will be another gem tutor to work with.

Northland College are going to have their launch on the 26^th of October and dive straight into their lesson with their tutor Kushla, who works in the school office, in Term 4. I look forward to meeting all the whanau here also. All the PC’s are in the schools ready to begin in Term 4.

So all in all it was another successful group of graduates in Kaikohe and I got to talk with the lovely people involved in the courses who really feel they learnt a lot throughout the term. Thank you to the whanau involved for your time, effort and hard work to get to graduation day. Congratulations to you all!

GIFT FOR TKKM PUKEMIRO AND MANGAMUKA SCHOOL:

2011-09-27T14:27:00.000+13:00

After a plea in The Northland Age from Mangamuka School for computers I was able to provide the school with one second hand computer provided by one of our Trustees from the 2020 Far North ICT Trust, Eric Shakelton. The students were so excited to start using the computer and while I was there the photographer from The Northland Age came along and took some photos of us all, there was an article published on the 9^th of August 2011.

I have also advised Mangamuka School that we will be able to provide the school with 4 PC’s to train 8 whanau on to complete the Computers in Homes project in Term 1 of 2012. The principal Maryanne Bedggood is absolutely over the moon and cannot wait to begin the training process. I am looking forward to working with this school. They are so full of enthusiasm it makes my job such a joy.

Mangamuka Students checking out their second hand PC.

Mangamuka students, teachers, principal and Emma Tracey.

We also were able to provide Kevin Simon, who trained in Term 1 2011 at TKKM Pukemiro, a PC. He originally started the Computers in Homes training in the understanding he would not receive a PC as he was an extra. The school were allocated 20 places and he was number 21. Kevin was excited just to learn more about the computer as he is currently studying to be a Legal Executive by correspondence and some computer skills would be more than valuable to him. He was using local internet cafes to submit his assignments. He also had one child at home studying by correspondence. After talking with the 2020 Far North Trust we decided that we were able to provide one extra PC for Kevin. We felt he was more than deserving after attending every training session held. It was a pleasure to be able to provide this to him and he was extremely grateful as now him and his son can study from the comfort of their own home.

Kevin Simon, his son, Emma Tracey and Kevin’s new PC.

REJUVENATE YOUR PC:

2011-08-24T13:50:00.000+12:00

We have recently had five very successful rejuvenations for whanau who took part under the CPF3 budget. These were held Awanui School on the 02^nd of June 2011, where Brett Hunter the technician did 15 WOF on the PC’s brought into the school and I completed 10 Surveys with the whanau available. Paparore School on the 10^th of June 2011 where 10 WOF’s were done and 10 surveys completed. At Pukepoto School on the 13^th of June 2011, 22 WOF’s were done and 8 surverys completed. Kohukohu School on the 21^st of June 2011 where 7 WOF’s were done and 7 surverys completed and finally at Rawene School on the 29^th of June 2011 where 12 WOF’s were done and 8 surverys were completed.

Brett tested each PC brought to the school for viruses etc and completed a WOF which also included updates to their PC and any parts needing to be replaced. The survey that was completed with me was done through Survey Monkey and goes to Victoria University to be collated and put together to report on results and achievements from whanau completing the CIH courses one year down the track.

We still have four schools requiring rejuvenation by the end of the year being Kaitaia Primary School, Ngataki School, Taipa Area School and Te Kao School.

I would like to extend a huge thanks to the schools for helping to organise these events and to all the whanau who took part, it was really fantastic to see what progress everyone had made with their computer skills, it really was brilliant.

Here are a few photos of our lucky winners of a Fujifilm Digital Camera and 2GB memory stick. A name was drawn out of a hat at each school in thanks to the whanau for coming along to the rejuvenation and completing the survey. We had some really deserving winners. Unfortunately we do not have a photo of our Rawene School winner Jill Rielly.

Louise Moeke - Awanui Primary School

Brian Hall - Paparore School

Denice Gillespie - Pukepoto School

Jane Stones - Kohukohu School

KAIKOHE SCHOOLS ARE ICT FOCUSED THIS YEAR:

2011-07-18T14:38:00.000+12:00

Term 2 was a great success. Our first two schools participating in the Kaikohe area were Kaikohe West School and Kaikohe East School. Each school were allocated 20 placements for whanau participants with only one person from Kaikohe East School failing to graduate.

Kaikohe East School were the first to get underway having a launch evening on the 13^th of April. There was a good turnout here and all were enthusiastic to get into their training. They began their training on the 9^th of May and because there was a smaller POD of 7 computers in the school they had three groups train each week for 2 hours at a time. The tutors were all teachers from the school so to lighten the workload they decided to teach one group each. Graeme, Robin and Stevie did a wonderful job tutoring the classes and Graeme reported that the school and the whanau of those participating in the project have formed new and strong relationships which are a fantastic benefit of the project.

The groups completed their training and graduated on the 15^th of July in their school hall. The participants, myself, Laurence Zwimpfer (2020 Communications Trust), Adele Gardner (2020 Far North ICT Trust) and Neville Alexander (Kaikohe Computers in Homes Technician) were all welcomed to the school by Powhiri at 9:30 am, the children put on a wonderful display with some awesome waiata. Well done to the kids, they were fantastic to listen to and to watch. The tutors and participants alike shared some hilarious stories from their classes which included one of the participants moving her mouse over her monitor when told to click the button with the mouse and trying to tap the side of the screed to get her picture to the centre of the screen. This just shows how far our whanau come when taking on the course. It is difficult to teach adults who are at all different stages of learning and I credit the tutors for a magnificent job. The certificates were handed out and the computers loaded up, they were decorated beautifully for the whanau. We had a lovely morning tea including a scrummy mushroom soup and everyone headed home to test out their new machines.

Kaikohe West School had their launch on the 11^th May and jumped straight into their training that evening. Brendan Johnson tutored two classes each week for two hours at a time, he put great effort into class plans and was wonderful with the participants. He always kept me in the loop with what his classes were up to which was great.

Kaikohe West also had their graduation on the 15^th of July at 12 pm and held a full school assembly. Brendon kindly handed over the microphone over to me to introduce Computers in Homes once the children had all received their certificates. Thanks for that Brendon! The school had an opening of their new Tawaraunui the day before so we had the honour of using this new stage. Laurence Zwimpfer and Adele Gardner said a few words also then we handed out the certificates. There seemed to be a common theme popping up at both of the graduations when handing out the certifcates and that was fact that when working in a classroom there is always a naughty student, I won’t name any names but you know who you are. Brendon seemed to have a few of them in his classes but they all had fun learning which is the main thing. The assembly was closed and the participants all gathered for some lunch and the cutting of the cake.

What a successful day we had at both of the schools. They were both so easy to work alongside and I thank the schools the principals and the tutors for that. I think these graduations will be hard to top.

Lastly, WELL DONE to all of the participants, there were some pretty horrid nights during their training and they were all so dedicated to come to class. You all deserve your computers and it was lovely to be able to meet and work with you all. Just make sure your kids give you a turn on that computer once and a while.

Term 3 brings further training in the Kaikohe area with Tautoro School and TKKM Kaikohe beginning their training. I look forward to continuing the project in Kaikohe if the up and coming schools are as organised and friendly as the schools we have just visited. I know they will be.

RADIO INTERVIEW WITH NGAWAI FROM TE HIKU MEDIA

2011-06-08T18:17:00.001+12:00

I was lucky enough to have a radio interview with Ngawai from Te Hiku media on Friday the 3rd of June discussing Computers in Homes in the Far North. It is about 15 minutes long. This is great publicity for us, please have a listen to find out more about our project here in the Far North.

TAIPA AND KAINGAROA GRADUATE 40 WHANAU:

2011-05-11T12:31:00.000+12:00

After starting their training on the 9^th of February the group at Taipa Area School were pleased to be graduating after a long 10 weeks of training with their tutor Anna Tripp. Anna busily trained 20 whanau in three groups over Term 1 of this year and did a fantastic job. One of the tasks she did with her classes was started a chainmail over email. As each person received the mail they added their own message to a Word document, saved it, attached it to their email and passed it on to the next recipient. This was not only a fantastic way to learn how to email, attach, alter a Word document etc but also a great way to get to know their fellow class mates. I think this was an awesome idea from Anna.

The graduation took place on the 8^th of April. There was a gathering at the school at 4 pm. After saying a few words we got stuck straight into handing out certificates and of course computers. This group were eager to get their computers home to try them out. Well done to all of you from Taipa who took part and completed the training.

Kaingaroa School held their graduation on the 3^rd of May at the school assembly. Unfortunately Kirsten Dolfing who did an amazing job tutoring the 20 families was unable to attend due to other work commitments. Kirsten was great with the participants and had a few good ideas up here sleeve as well, she was so organised and did a lot of research to put together interesting and well designed lesson plans. Thank you Kirsten for all your hard work!

The graduation itself went down a treat. The tamariki of the school performed some Waiata and the head boy and girl bravely got up and got the ball rolling with some wonderful speeches. The Principal of the school Paul Matthews spoke along with Di Das, the National Computers in Homes Coordinator who was visiting from Wellington and Eric Shakelton the 2020 Far North ICT Trustee. We also had Adele Gardner and John Windleborn there showing their support on behalf of the Trust.

The children were so well behaved throughout the assembly and it was great they could see their elders learning new skills. It just reinforces to the kids how great it is to learn even when you have finished school. After the whanau collected their certificates we had some great kai and they whisked their computers off home to start using them.

Petrina Hodgson from The Northland Age came along and took some photos and an article was published in The Northland Age 10 May 2011 edition. Also published was a small article about Mangamuka School. We have confirmed that we will be able to answer their pleas for computes and are going to start the programme in their school in Term 1 of 2012. We have three old PC’s we are going to provide in the meantime to keep them going.

What a successful term 1 of 2011 we have had. Term 2 brings about training that will be based in Kaikohe at Kaikohe West and Kaikohe East Schools and the training will continue in that area until the end of the year. The Kaikohe groups are very ICT focused and have been extremely accommodating to myself and the project so far. We have completed putting 77 families through the project for this round of funding and have a further 100 families rearing to go through to the June 2012. We have had so much interest in the project we are doing our best to get to every school that has expressed interest.

So to sign off I must thank both the schools that have had their graduations, Taipa Area School and Kaingaroa School. The principals, especially to Paul Matthews, thank you for taking us on at short notice and really pushing things through. To the tutors Anna and Kirsten, we rely on the tutors to make things happen and you both pulled through with complete enthusiasm, thank you. And finally to the families, well done, you deserve your computer after your commitment to the training and I hope you will email me soon and let me know how you are getting on.

TE KURA KAUPAPA MAORI PUKEMIRO HAS A CERTAIN STYLE OF TRAINING:

2011-05-11T11:50:00.000+12:00

After hosting a small launch on the 15^th of March to make sure all the whanau involved knew what to expect, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori Pukemiro dove into training on the 26^th of March with their whanau in wananga style training. They hosted their training on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm. As they had 20 whanau to train, 10 trained on Saturdays and 10 on Sundays. This worked a dream for the school and the whanau involved as they worked around religious and sports commitments. These training sessions were for four hours once a week for five weeks and there was an applaudable attendance record. This shows true commitment, to not only their learning but to their tamariki, who in the end benefit most from this program.

Now from what I have been told these groups of people had a great time learning new skills with their fantastic tutors Rita and Nikki who are staff from TKKM Pukemiro office. I do not find it hard to believe that they had some great laughs along the way! It is great to hear that everyone is really enjoying learning these new skills on the computer as sometimes going back to a learning environment as an adult can be very daunting. The classes held a wide variety of skill levels too from people who were nervous to even touch the keyboard to people who could get onto the internet and look around, this can be a difficult teaching situation but Rita and Nikki managed to make sure all the participants were advancing and the more advanced students were happy to help out the newer users.

The graduation rolled around at incredible speed. This was held on the 4^th of May at 6 pm and there was a great turnout. Rita and Nikki had arranged the computers beautifully and I understand the tamariki helped with the decorations. Rita kicked things off and passed things onto the Computers in Homes team. Di Das, the Computers in Homes National Coordinator from Wellington, was in town for the Graduation, she congratulated the whanau on their achievements and pointed out the benefits that will follow for the tamariki.

We also had 2020 Far North ICT Trustees Charmaine Foster and Junior Witehira present and book keeper Joanne Windleborn. Junior Witehira spoke on behalf of the Trust and also as a Board member of the Kura. Sadly Junior announced that he will be moving to Auckland in the near future which is a huge loss to the Kaitaia community, to TKKM Pukemiro and to the 2020 Far North ICT Trust. He will be missed by all of us.

Also, representing the Stepping Up programme which is hosted by Kiwidotcom in Kaitaia we had Fatu, who tutors the Stepping Up programme. He filled us in on the free training that takes place on Tuesday mornings at Kiwidotcom and encouraged all the families to come along if they want to further their skills that they have already learnt. The bit sized pieces of training they provide can be tailored to what the majority of students want to learn. This is a great opportunity for everyone in our community not just the Computers in Homes graduates.

This event was a real celebration of what the families had committed to over Term 1 of 2011 and they all reaped the rewards when they each took home their very own PC with 6 months free internet connection and free technical support from my colleague and computer whizz Brett Hunter.

I would like to end with a big thank you to the Kura, to Rita and Nikki the tutors whose commitment and understanding of the programme were incredible (your awesome) and a huge CONGRATULATIONS to the whanau participating. Well done all of you.

TAIPA AND KAINGAROA OFF TO A ROARING START:

2011-03-07T14:57:00.000+13:00

Term 1 of 2011 is off to a roaring start. We have two schools currently training 40 families, Taipa Area School and Kaingaroa School. Te Kura Kaupapa Maori Pukemiro is due to start wananga style training classes this weekend with a special launch on the 9th of March, this school will also be training 20 families.

Taipa Area School were quick to get underway on Wednesday the 9th of February. With Anna Tripp, the tutor, taking three classes a week to make sure all of the 20 families can get their 20 hours training up their sleeves by the end of the term. Anna is now an experienced Computers in Homes tutor and has some exciting class plans ready to implement with her families. It is great to see her getting so involved in the project, it really makes the whole process run smoothly and efficiently. Thank you Anna. I look forward to this eager and chirpy bunch graduating on the 14th of April, I’m sure it will be quite an event!

Kaingaroa School were next to get up and running on the 21st of February, thanks to the efficiency of their Principal Paul Mathews. He has been so supportive of the project in his school and has a strong focus on digital literacy in the school and local community. On my first visit to the school I was given a great big hug by one of the staff there, they are so pleased to have the project running in their school, what a lovely warm welcome! Kirsten Dolfing came onboard as the tutor which is fantastic for the families as she is a qualified school teacher. It doesn’t get any better than that. On my visit at the first lesson Kirsten had a great turnout and I was able to meet most of the people participating. They were full of good questions and have the inquisitive minds for learning. I know these two groups of 10 will really enjoy their course and learn a lot. A graduation date is yet to be confirmed.

There has been such an enthusiasm this year from everyone involved and I can’t wait to see everyone graduate. Thanks to those participants who have sent me lovely emails, it is great to hear you are having fun and that you and your families are really benefiting from this project, keep them coming, I love hearing from you all.

Brett, our wonderful Technician giving his introduction to Kaingaroa.

COMPUTERS ARE NOW IN HOMES FOR TERM 4 GRADUATES OF 2010:

2011-01-26T11:03:00.000+13:00

Graduations are now complete for the participating schools of Term 4 2010. Taipa Area School, Kaitaia Primary School, Pukepoto School and Kohukohu School celebrated their graduations before Christmas and were able to enjoy their new PC’s and internet access over the holiday period.

Kaitaia Primary held their Graduation on the 26th November at 1:30 pm. It was a great turnout and we had some lovely kai before going to the school assembly to present the certificates and PC to the whanau graduating. The kids were so proud to see their parents up the front claiming their reward for all of their hard work over the past 10 weeks of training. Well done to the Kaitaia roopu!

Taipa held an afternoon graduation in their school hall on the 8th of December. The parents and their whanau gathered for speeches and presentation of their certificates and PC’s. This was followed by an afternoon tea and mingling. Taipa Area School are going to put through another group of 20 whanau in Term 1 of 2011 and have got great interest in the project. I look forward to working with the school and tutor (Anna Tripp) again in the New Year. Congratulations to all who graduated at Taipa.

The graduation for Pukepoto School was also held on the 8th of December in an evening celebration at 6 pm. This group pulled together to put on an amazing spread and the whole event was presented beautifully. The only man of the group, William Matiu, spoke on behalf of the group. He expressed his thanks to Computers in Homes, the school and of course their wonderful tutor Tracey King. I have spoken to a few of the participants of this group since the graduation and they are striving thanks to Tracey’s mahi with them. Violet Horn expressed how much she had learnt, how her confidence has grown and how it is an amazing asset to her job. Apparently her work mates all come to her when there are computer problems now. Good on you Violet! Charmaine Foster and Eric Shakelton from the 2020 Far North ICT Trust attended the graduation with Eric Shakelton making a great speech.

And of course there was Kohukohu who had Graduation on the 7th of December at 12 pm. This was a wonderful event with Kohukohu School arranging a full Powhiri for the whanau involved. All the students (all 38 of them) gathered in the classroom as the whanau were welcomed by Tumuaki Tanya Filla. Thank you to the teachers and students for the awesome waiata and support for the Computers in Homes whanau. The local Kaumatua spoke on behalf of the school and Cheryl Rudolph, tutor, presented the awards. The group and their tamariki then retired to the kitchen for some well earned kai. Well done to all of the lovely people at Kohukohu.

That wraps up the graduations for Term 4 2010. Once again congratulations to all the graduates and I look forward to receiving emails from you updating me on how you are getting along. Best of luck for you and your whanau and have a prosperous New Year.

I am rearing to go for Term 1 2011 courses. We have Te Kura Kaupapa O Pukemiro and Te Hapua School starting their first group through the Computers in Homes course and we have Taipa putting through a second group of whanau. I am really excited to work with these schools and communities.

Until then, I hope everyone has had a great holiday.

TERM 4 GRADUATES ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO A GREAT CHRISTMAS:

2010-12-01T15:53:00.000+13:00

This year has gone so quickly and I’m sure the Term 4 participating families would agree with me. We have had Whanau working hard at Taipa Area School, Kaitaia Primary School, Pukepoto School and Kohukohu School to complete their 20 hours of computer training before the Christmas break. Even at such a busy time of year the families involved have stuck to it, and from what I hear have really enjoyed themselves in the process.

The first school to get underway for Term 4 was Kaitaia Primary School with 9 families participating. They started on the first day of the term (the 11th October 2010) and had a great turn out. They weren’t shy to ask me lots of questions which was fantastic (but were however a bit more coy when it came to taking a group photo, they weren’t the only ones). Here are a few pictures of the group. The lovely lady in red at the front is Tracey the tutor, she has done a wonderful job, thanks Tracey! Kaitaia Primary will be having their Graduation on the 26th November at 1:30 pm.

The next groups to get underway were Taipa Area School at 1 pm and Pukepoto at 5 pm on the 13th of October. As you can see from the picture below, the Taipa families were packed in like sardines to their computer room, but they didn’t mind getting a bit cosy. They have all sent me lovely emails letting me know how they are getting on so I know that they are on a good roll. Anna took on 14 families this term so has been very busy doing two lessons a week. Thank you Anna.

Pukepoto School had a great set up in one of their classrooms with Tracey the tutor hooked up to a projector so the participants could see exactly what she was doing. Great idea Tracey! We had a full turnout at the first class and once again they were all eager to get started and ask lots of questions. Well done Pukepoto, I can’t wait to hear what you have been up to at your Graduation on the 8th of December at 6 pm.

Finally, Kohukohu School started on the 19th of October. What a lovely town and lovely people to match. The inside scoop is that there have been many laughs at each other’s expense and they are all having a fantastic time (thanks to the tutor, Cheryl). Once again I have received some great emails from these Whanau and some funny pictures too. Kohukohu are having their Graduation on the 7th of December at 12 pm.

So the Graduations are creeping up very fast and everyone is looking forward to celebrating at the end of the year. Keep up the great work everyone. I’m looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

Term 3 Graduates, Primed and Ready:

2010-09-30T14:02:00.017+13:00

The Far North had six groups participating in the Computers in Homes project over Term 3, with 66 people graduating in total. We had schools involved stretching from Kaitaia all the way up to Te Kao.

The graduations started at the top of the island at Ngataki and Te Kao on the 8th of September and the participants were extremely excited to get their new computers home for the school holidays. I had some great feedback from some participants who were part of the previous course held at the schools, and met some wonderful people. The food was amazing and they really pulled together to put on a great event at Ngataki.

The next day (the 9th of September), Awanui held their graduation. I have to credit Carolyn the tutor for the presentation of the event. The computers and certificates were decorated and displayed beautifully. There was such pride among the graduates and it was wonderful to be a part of that. A few of the participants mentioned how eager they are to carry on with their learning through Stepping Up, good on you guys!!

Adele Gardner from The 2020 Far North ICT Trust

On the 17th of September Kaitaia Primary held their graduation with some great nibbles then an assembly with the whole school where the participants were presented with their certificates and computers. It was great to see the kids involved in the celebration. The group also made an appearance in Thursday the 23rd of September’s edition of The Northland Age. Well done to you all from Kaitaia.

And last but certainly not least Paparore School celebrated their graduates on the 20th of September. The kids were so excited to fire up their new computers, one family had already made a schedule of who got to use the computer first, of course mum who graduated was to get the first turn.

All the students were so thankful to their tutors and schools for providing this opportunity and I have to agree. Thank you to the tutors Tracey (Kaitaia), Lee (Paparore), Carolyn (Awanui) and Pat (both Ngataki and Te Kao) for making the course such a huge success and also to the principals Brendon (Kaitaia), John (Paparore), Delwynne (Awanui), John (Ngataki) and Netta (Te Kao) and their boards for hosting this project in their schools. Thank you to the trustees from the local 2020 Far North ICT Trust who attended these Graduations.

Now we look forward to starting off our next group of families for the last Term of the year. I can’t wait to see how they all grow and become so confident over the course of training just as the families from Term 3 have done. Congratulations to you all once again.

Paparore kick off their second round of lessons

2010-08-19T13:45:00.000+12:00

Paparore Schools second CIH intake students

Paparore Schhol have become the fifth school to start their second round of Computers in Homes training for this school term. All were keen to get started and Lee, their tutor, found it difficult to reign in their enthusiasm long enough to settle on a lesson day and time. However they are now attending their regular classes on Mondays and are ticking off the weeks until they graduate and can receive their own computers.

The batteries are charged and Kaitaia are underway

2010-07-27T12:25:00.000+12:00

Kaitaia Primary Participants for Term 3

Kaitaia Primary have now held their second lesson for this term. From the e-mails being received from then participants they are all enjoying their time under the watchful eye of their tutor Tracey. It was awesome to walk into a new school and find so many eager people wanting to learn. Check out these photos as I promised you they would be here this week.

Term 3 marks another round of excited activity

2010-07-24T13:21:00.000+12:00

Te Kao Participants

Ngataki class keen to get to their computers

Term 3 began on Monday 19th July with another round of excited participants eager and keen to get started. Word has spread via earlier participants and schools seem to be having trouble cutting numbers to funding levels.

This week saw a new school starting and this was Kaitaia Primary, unfortunately as with all good plans I forgot to charge my batteries in my camera. I have promised to be back next Monday for the photo session. So watch this space for your photos.

Wednesday and Thursday evenings saw classes begin at Awanui, Ngataki, & Te Kao. Although it had to be the worst days we've had weather wise the numbers still arrived all bright and happy. Well done to you all. Participants were still alittle shy to have photos taken but I did manage to get a few, and watch how photogenic they all become by graduation.

Awanui Participants all eager to start

Rangimarie was late but still braved the weather

Far North Graduate 75 Participants

2010-07-04T15:50:00.000+12:00

Seven of the partcipating schools in the Far North had a big couple of weeks with seventy five participants being graduated. It was an awesome experience and each graduation was attended by National Coordinator Di Das, along with various trustees from the local 2020 Far North ICT

Trust.

We started on Wednesday 23rd at Awanui in the afternoon and then followed on in the early evening by Pukepoto. Thursday 24th saw Paparore hosting their graduation in the early evening. By this stage we were overcome with graduates excitement and enthusiasm (not to mention the copious amounts of food) that we had to take a couple of days break. The following Wednesday 30th saw Ngataki hosting their graduation in the afternoon with Te Kao following in the evening. Thursday 1st July saw Kohukohu and Rawene rounding off them all off.

All students conveyed their thanks to their tutors and I too must agree wholeheartedly and mention Tracey (Pukepoto), Carolyn (Awanui), Pat (Ngataki & Te Kao), Cheryl (Kohukohu), Nicole (Rawene) & Lee (Paparore) you tutors are the ones that make this programme such a success. To the following principals Barry(Pukepoto), Delwynne(Awanui), John (Ngataki), Netta (Te Kao), John (Paparore), Tanya (Kohukohu), & Maria (Rawene), andtheir boards thanks must go to you all for acting as the host. Without a place to study this could not have worked.

So now we have a couple of weeks to rest before we begin the cycle all ober again with some new schools.

Pukepoto Round off the Start for Term 2

2010-05-04T13:35:00.000+12:00

Lastly, but by far not the least, an eager group turned up at Pukepoto School to begin the final round of lessons there. They were excited, keen and very vocal but I'm sure they will be well looked after in Traceys capable hands. Keen as to begin they were soon on their machines and away exploring the Computers in Homes site along with this blogspot. Quite a few recognised familiar faces in other classes and are eager to set up networking. Not bad for a first lesson. I did receive a number of e-mails (all which I have replied to). Some even suggesting they were testing the tutor skills, but all very proud of their acheivements. Well done Tracey and team.

Te Kao Round Off the Week

2010-04-25T18:10:00.001+12:00

Well it was a long week but was rounded off with the start of the of classes at Te Kao School on Thursday. This was a very lively group of people and had plenty of questions for me to answer for them. They were all keen when I left to spark up the computers and get onto different sites to check them out. Promises kept. I promised this group as well that the blogspot would be updated by next class for them to have allok. So here you go. Sorry there aren't as many photos but my camera battery found the trip north just too far. Hope to catch you all again before your graduation and remember go easy on Pat (tutor) hes the only male so far, and hope to see your project on completion.

Paparoroe Start First Class

2010-04-25T17:57:00.001+12:00

Wednesday night saw the beginning of the first class for Paparoroe. Tutor Lee reported that all participants had been on the computers and that they were able to navigate around various internet sites. By the time I arrived which was half way through the class, they were keenly into the theory side of training and watching a powerpoint presentation on their computers. This was another full class as far as attendance goes and although still getting to know each other were all keen to start again next week.

Ngataki Keen to Start

2010-04-25T17:37:00.002+12:00

It was another eager group of participants who turned up at Ngataki for their first class. Special thanks to Principal John Anderson, who even went and collected someone who had no car. That takes support to a whole new level. They were all a little apprehensive to start but all seem to be keen to start by checking out the Computers in Homes website and this blogspot. So I left them in Pats capable hands with a promise that I would update this site with photos before the next class. So here you go promise kept. A little bird tells me that he had trouble getting them off the site and the class ran alittle over time. Pace yourselves guys theres plenty of weeks left.

Awanui Makes an Excellent Start

2010-04-25T17:23:00.000+12:00

Awanui School made an excellent start to their training with full attendance. Space was at a high premium in the class with onlookers hovering at the doors to see what this new project was all about. In fact with more than the allocated 10 students turning up Carolyn (tutor) had to do some inventive juggling and now has half her class for the second round full. Even the local dog was keen to bepart of the class and got into the group photo. Great team.I seemed to notice a real theme in pages being viewed with Trade Me up there and some arm twisting needed to get them onto Computers in Homes website. It was great to see so many eager and keen people all in one room.

Rawene School is Next to Start

2010-04-25T17:08:00.001+12:00

Tuesday saw the start of the second round of classes at Rawene. Once again there was anumber of students missing due to a tangi in the area. Still there was 5 keen students to begin with and a full class for next week. As I relied on the car ferry to get me there I was 10 minutes late arriving and walked into the 5 all with their heads down and Nichole already had them writing letters by computer. As you can see noone wanted to stop for a chat and I needed a crowbar to get them away from their machines for a group photo. Well done to this lot for being so eager.

KohuKohu Start Second Round

2010-04-25T16:58:00.000+12:00

Monday saw the beginning of the second round of lessons at Kohukohu. Although there seem to be a mix up with information 5 of the 10 students arrived and after getting them convinced to have their photo taken, they all rolled their sleeves up and got into learning to assemble their machines. They were all keen to get back next week and ensured that the missing 5 would be rounded up for next week.

Term 2 Starts with Big Numbers Learning in the Far North

2010-04-25T16:38:00.002+12:00

Well we have started Term 2 with a real bang. This term we have 7 of the 9 schools with their netpods installed and each with classes beginning over the last 10 days. This makes 70 participants will be graduating with their computers in June. There is still a class to start this week at Pukepoto School.

Final Graduation for Term 1

2010-04-11T16:22:00.000+12:00

Rawene School held the final graduation of the 3 schools for Term 1 on the afternoon of Friday 26th March. After a really pleasant trip across on the ferry we were faced another group of very friendly participants and their families all keen to get their hands on the computers they so rightly deserved. We were welcomed by Principal Maria Barnes and classes of the school children who all sat by with great respect while the adults were honoured at this out of the ordinary assembly. Some of the participants were so keen to get home with their new prizes they didn't even stop to have a bite to eat with us. Well done to you all and a big thank you to Nichole who was the tutor. She did admit to changing her mind at the start but not having the courage to tell me but is now keenly awaiting the start of the second term of students. As she said the reward from seeing the adults progress was amazing. Well done Rawene I can't wait to come back in Term 2.

Graduation Number 2

2010-04-11T16:06:00.000+12:00

Friday 26 March started out as a glorious sunny day and there was no better way than to spend this by the water at Kohukohu celebrating their graduating Term 1 participants. This was also a very friendly family orientated event with the whole school joining in with some awe inspiring songs. This group had become a very close knit group over the ten weeks they spent together training. They had two pregnant myums who were hoping to hang in for their graduation. Unfortunately one was unwell and her older children accepted her certificate and computer onnthe familiy's behalf. The other one just couldn't hang on and her baby was only a couple of days old so her partner had to accept on her behalf. So it shows their dedication to learn. We were given an official welcome from the school and Principal Tanya Filla who gave the project so much support. Thanks also to the tutor Cheryl who made the learning so much more interesting for the adults. Bid thanks to all the participants who put on the most awesome morning tea. Looking forward to catching up with some of you when I'm over there next term

The Start of the End

2010-04-11T15:40:00.000+12:00

Wednesday 24th March saw the first of our graduations for Term 1 of CPF Computers in Homes. Pukepoto School set the bar high with an awesome event. It was great to see family members there to celebrate with the graduates. Some of the 2020 Far North trustees made the time to attend and by the looks on their faces they were impressed by Pukepoto's acheivements. We were given an inspiring insight into the reasons for taking the course by Gavin Nathan, and it was excellent to hear it from the students perspective.Well done to all the students and a special thank you to Tracey King who was the tutor and Barry Murray (Principal) who supported this class so much. All I can say is Term 2 is going to have to work hard to better this.

Ready to Begin the 2nd Round

2010-03-16T16:17:00.001+13:00

We are still planning the first lot of graduations when we took delivery of a further 75 computers. 35 of these are to give to graduates over the next week. The other 40 are for installation at another four schools as Pod's ready to begin lessons in term 2. There will be 70 participants undertaking their training over the 10 weeks of Term 2 and these will graduate in June. Welcome to Te Kao, Ngataki, Paparore & Awanui schools, while Pukepoto, Kouhkohu & Rawene will train another 10 from each school.

Rawene round out the start of Far North CiH

2010-03-16T16:07:00.000+13:00

Although it took us a while to get there we finally found our way across the harbour to Rawene. What we found was avery focussed and excited group of people catching up on the hours they need to be able to graduate on 26th March and receive their computers. Trying to get internet connections posed some real curly questions for us but after much discussion and input from their tutor Nichole Robinson solutions seemed to be found that suited all.

Pukepoto School Joins the CiH Family

2010-02-21T15:01:00.000+13:00

Ten eager Pukepoto adults have joined our Far North CiH family by signing up for lessons at their school. We went along on Wednesday night after they had completed 4 lessons and they were keen to learn from our technician how to put their computers together once they received them. The thought of their graduation (24th March) starting to loom has given them that final spur on to complete. This had to be one of the hottest days in 2010 and yet all were still keen to be inside learning. Hats off to you all !!!!!

Computers in Homes Starts in Kohukohu

2010-02-15T21:03:00.000+13:00

Round 3 of CPF has now offically begun in the Far North with classes in Kohukohu. I went to their lesson last week, where I was greeted by a very happy bunch of 10, all eager to turn their machines on. They had some really awesome questions to put to me which shows their high level of interest. All were keen to get on with their learning but gave me some time out with them to arrange their computers and graduation. Although it did seem of secondary interest to them. Well done Kohukohu 10 keen learners graduating on 26th March. Enjoy your photos !!!!!!!

Seniornet Kaitaia is Stepping Out

2009-12-09T17:47:00.001+13:00

Six of Kaitaias more senior students took part in a pilot scheme to run Stepping Up through the Seniornet hub. Today was a celebration of their acheivement in completing 4 Digital Steps. Computer Maintenance & Security, Email & the Internet, Office Skills, and Digital Imaging. The feedback from the six was excellent with a couple of them prepared to take on futher courses next year. All of the students had been participants in the Round 2 Computers in Homes programme. The Far North, along with a couple of other regions in New Zealand, have a very unique and diverse family structure. With parents forced to return to cities for employment alot of the school children are left at home with grandparents to bring them up. As was the case with these students. They commented on how confident they had become to participate in the digital world alongside their grandchildren, and were not intimidated by the speed they were expected to learn at. All students were taught by Seniornet tutors, who themselves are retired. Special thanks must go to both Lorraine and Mary who have given their own time generously to formulate lesson plans and actually do the tutoring. They were a big part in the success of this programme. Special thanks must go to the 6 students who were brave enough to leap back into a learning environment. Well done to you all.

First Intake of Learners for 2010

2009-12-04T20:32:00.000+13:00

The first 3 schools in Round 3 have undertaken their selection process for lessons to begin in early 2010. Rawene School will be starting lessons during the last week in January with 2 classes a week and will be graduating 15 participants on Friday 26th March at 2.30 pm.
Kohukohu Primary School will also begin lessons during the final week in January. They will be graduating 10 participants on Friday 26th March at 5 pm.
Pukepoto School will be the 3rd school taking part in Term 1 of 2010. They will begin their classes on 25th January, and will graduate 10 participants on Thursday 25th March at a time yet to be confirmed.
There seems to be a real sense of anticipation as this project spreads further afield with 6 other schools chomping at the bit to get started. During the Christmas holidays the tutors will be meeting with the coordinator to get lesson plans and paperwork in place. The project technician is going to spend the holiday time checking all equipment upon delivery. The netpods at Rawene & Kohukohu schools will be installed on 12th January, with the Pukepoto pod being installed on the 14th January. This will give tutors time to get the handle on the pods and the technician to iron out any final glitches.
So keep an eye on this page for update photos from the first classes and participants progress.

Funding Announcement Made

2009-11-29T16:20:00.001+13:00

On 1st July 2009 there was finally an announcement made regarding funding from Community Partnership Round 3 Funding. Although the Far North were not successful in securing all the the funding they had hoped for a great result was made. We have funding to deliver the Computers in Homes programme to 190 Far North families over 9 schools.It was decided by the trust to focus on schools that were in the greatest need for digital technology with the view to taking on more schools as the funding becomes available.
The programme will begin in January 2010 with 3 schools beginning. These schools are Rawene who will deliver to 25 families, Kohukohu who will deliver to 20 families, and Pukepoto who will also deliver to 20 families. At the moment the project technician is working towards getting the netpods installed into these three schools to begin training in January 2010.

New Trust Set Up

2009-11-29T15:44:00.001+13:00

Over the last year the powers that be have been working hard to set up a new trust to manage the Computers in Homes programmes. The focus has been for a trust of local people all working towards a goal of minimising the digital divide which currently exists in parts of the Far North.The trust is made up of a selelction of people from all strands of the community with a focus on education. This goal was met in June 2008 in time to submit an Expression of Interest to the Dept. of Internal Affairs for funding via the Digital Strategy Funding. The original bid was for the delivery of 600 computers for families from 17 various schools.