I have just finished having lunch with 5 of my head students (Tara, Rita, Kayla, Chad and Quentin). We try to meet every week on a Friday, but I have had a lot of meetings and courses on a Friday so we hadn't met for awhile so I took them to Two Fish.
We had a great conversation with each explaining how they were tracking towards their qualifications and their planning for next year. We have a couple heading into Health Sciences, one into the Navy, one into engineering and one into writing. What a neat bunch with great aspirations.
The best conversation was the didcussion about our recent Three Day Wananga. I know not all of them were in favour of the programme but in responding to their questions I found myself explaining my vision for the school and schooling in general in the clearest way.
All of us, students and teachers, have been locked in by the shackles of three years of high stakes qualifications which promotes credit gathering to a higher level than learning. I really enjoyed talking about this with them. I explained that we could ignore the form of assessment and get into learning and it wouldn't matter what the assessment tool was they would still be able to prove their understanding. The tragedy is that the way we structure the learning now a chunk of kids cope successfully with the qualifications system, but another chunk don't. I believe if we packaged the learning in a model similar to the Three Day Wananga all of the time, these brightest kids would still be able to prove their learning, but just as importantly the rest of the kids would have more opportunity to do so as well.
At the moment, all it seems we can manage is tinkering around.
I had a good meeting with our Ahi Kaa team last night (piloting an integrated, home room approach). I was abit despondent before the meeting, but came away re-enthused as the group talked about how they could see it working better next year. They have committed to a project-based approach in Term IV when they have "permission" to abandon the traditional curriculum altogether.
Their thinking for next year includes trialling with two classes and having two teachers teaching the full core to each class. I like the sound of it. Now...... all I need is another dedicated room, some passionate staff wanting to work harder than every one else with no extra time and with really tight budgets. Should be easy!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Three Day Wananga
Last week we had a great learning time at our school when we held our first ever Three Day Wananga. This involved suspending our timetable for three days while students worked in multi age learning teams to complete a range of projects. We operated this within our House System to both generate more House Spirit and to make the organisation manageable.
Four weeks ago we held a Teacher Only Day to which students were invited (about 30 turned up!) when teachers decided on the learning projects they would offer. We then held House meetings and explained the projects to the kids who then selected which one they wanted to do. The House Leaders did a great job in running this process. Each House had a budget of $1000 to allocate as they saw fit.
On the Friday before staff had time together at our staff meeting and a further House meeting was held. It then kicked off over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the following week.
The projects included The Amazing Race, Beach Conservation, Reporting Events, Healthy Living and Fitness, T Shirt Design, Graffiti Art, Carved Mural, Mucking In On the Marae, Our Land Our Environment, Fitness Freaks, Life and Death For The Bush, Pests and Plants, Opo Col On Air, NZ's Next Top Shakespeare, Mountain Bike Track Clearing, News Broadcasts, Creating a School Sculpture, Boot Camp, Traditional Food Processes, Documentary of Katherine Mansfield, and Stories in Fabric.
We did a lot of learning process and structure wise. In the future we would have a set interval and lunch time as by making it flexible there were too many gaps in the fence for kids to move through. We would also have a tutor each morning to get an accurate attendance check. Unfortunately the Ministry of Education chose this week to do the nation-wide attendance survey! Normally our kids are not allowed off site at breaks, but with so many groups operating in and out of school this was impossible to enforce so we would have to think about that in the future. Also, because of the practical nature of many of the activities mufti was the best solution.
I have finished analysing the evaluations made by staff and have only partially completed the evaluations collected from 200 of our students (36%). The staff evaluations showed that 50% believed there was enough time given to prepare, 50% believed they were given enough guidance and support, 80% believed they were well-prepared, 86% believed there project was a valid learning experience, 97% believed their students largely responded positively, 92% believed they covered more than one Key Competency, and 81% believed they achieved their planned outcomes. I wonder if we would achieve these levels if we surveyed our traditional way of teaching and learning!
Staff have made suggestions for enhancing this programme and also made many positive comments supporting this type of learning including: high levels of student engagement, great student-student and teacher-student relationships formed, seeing students who often appear disinterested at school truly engaged in their activities, students achieved beyond expectations, it was a time of real discovery for me, senior students working as role models with juniors.
The big question is where to from here?
Four weeks ago we held a Teacher Only Day to which students were invited (about 30 turned up!) when teachers decided on the learning projects they would offer. We then held House meetings and explained the projects to the kids who then selected which one they wanted to do. The House Leaders did a great job in running this process. Each House had a budget of $1000 to allocate as they saw fit.
On the Friday before staff had time together at our staff meeting and a further House meeting was held. It then kicked off over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the following week.
The projects included The Amazing Race, Beach Conservation, Reporting Events, Healthy Living and Fitness, T Shirt Design, Graffiti Art, Carved Mural, Mucking In On the Marae, Our Land Our Environment, Fitness Freaks, Life and Death For The Bush, Pests and Plants, Opo Col On Air, NZ's Next Top Shakespeare, Mountain Bike Track Clearing, News Broadcasts, Creating a School Sculpture, Boot Camp, Traditional Food Processes, Documentary of Katherine Mansfield, and Stories in Fabric.
We did a lot of learning process and structure wise. In the future we would have a set interval and lunch time as by making it flexible there were too many gaps in the fence for kids to move through. We would also have a tutor each morning to get an accurate attendance check. Unfortunately the Ministry of Education chose this week to do the nation-wide attendance survey! Normally our kids are not allowed off site at breaks, but with so many groups operating in and out of school this was impossible to enforce so we would have to think about that in the future. Also, because of the practical nature of many of the activities mufti was the best solution.
I have finished analysing the evaluations made by staff and have only partially completed the evaluations collected from 200 of our students (36%). The staff evaluations showed that 50% believed there was enough time given to prepare, 50% believed they were given enough guidance and support, 80% believed they were well-prepared, 86% believed there project was a valid learning experience, 97% believed their students largely responded positively, 92% believed they covered more than one Key Competency, and 81% believed they achieved their planned outcomes. I wonder if we would achieve these levels if we surveyed our traditional way of teaching and learning!
Staff have made suggestions for enhancing this programme and also made many positive comments supporting this type of learning including: high levels of student engagement, great student-student and teacher-student relationships formed, seeing students who often appear disinterested at school truly engaged in their activities, students achieved beyond expectations, it was a time of real discovery for me, senior students working as role models with juniors.
The big question is where to from here?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Learning Matters
Before the last election I expressed some concerns about National Party education policy. My concerns were focused on the policy in relation to national testing of primary and intermediate students. My observations on my sabbatical last year convinced me this was a flawed policy which had not contributed to increased achievement any where that it had been tried.
My concerns right now are quite different and announcements since the recent budget have made me feel we are in a state of siege from this government. Three different pieces of correspondence that I have received over the last 2 weeks threaten schools in general and make it particularly difficult for Opotiki College.
The first concerns the Extending High Standards Across Schools contract we have with the Ministry of Education. This is a contract we have to support 9 of our contributing primary schools to adopt restorative practices so that students feel less alienated from schooling and are able to engage more effectively with their learning. We are in our second year of a four year contract and we have recently been able to gain some traction.
In the first year we trained all principals, senior teachers and some BOT members. This year we extended our training to more teaching staff and have begun to form implementation teams within all schools.
I have just been informed that the contract is going to be terminated at the end of this year and all funding withdrawn. This puts seriously at risk the progress that we have made in our community of schools.
The next piece of correspondence informed us that Adult and Community Education is going to be slashed by 80%. Schools will only be able to offer community classes in literacy and numeracy. Gone are all the skills and interest based courses that help build our community and provide life-long learning opportunities for anyone from our community regardless of their educational background.
This is going to have a huge impact on our community.
To make matters worse our local Council proposed to abandon their 30 year contribution of $7500 to provide reception and administrative support for our Community Activities Office. After making a submission it appears that they will continue to provide support if the governement continues to provide Adult and Community Education funding.
So our local Council is doubling the impact by saying they will qwithdraw support if government provided support is withdrawn. Surely this is the time when the community needs to rally and look for ways to increase rather than reduce support!
The third, and most probably not the last piece of correspondence, informs us that staffing will be reduced by 1.5% at the end of 2010. This will mean one less teacher at Opotiki College. This may not seem much but at the moment our BOT is funding 2 extra teachers to support our curriculum. This is a high cost and cannot be sustained. The BOT will certainly not be able to support a further position.
While making these cuts the government has said it will provide $35 million for the private school sector!
The public education sector is under attack from this government and we are starting to reel. Education and learning is the key to our contry's and the Opotiki community's future: learning matters.
My concerns right now are quite different and announcements since the recent budget have made me feel we are in a state of siege from this government. Three different pieces of correspondence that I have received over the last 2 weeks threaten schools in general and make it particularly difficult for Opotiki College.
The first concerns the Extending High Standards Across Schools contract we have with the Ministry of Education. This is a contract we have to support 9 of our contributing primary schools to adopt restorative practices so that students feel less alienated from schooling and are able to engage more effectively with their learning. We are in our second year of a four year contract and we have recently been able to gain some traction.
In the first year we trained all principals, senior teachers and some BOT members. This year we extended our training to more teaching staff and have begun to form implementation teams within all schools.
I have just been informed that the contract is going to be terminated at the end of this year and all funding withdrawn. This puts seriously at risk the progress that we have made in our community of schools.
The next piece of correspondence informed us that Adult and Community Education is going to be slashed by 80%. Schools will only be able to offer community classes in literacy and numeracy. Gone are all the skills and interest based courses that help build our community and provide life-long learning opportunities for anyone from our community regardless of their educational background.
This is going to have a huge impact on our community.
To make matters worse our local Council proposed to abandon their 30 year contribution of $7500 to provide reception and administrative support for our Community Activities Office. After making a submission it appears that they will continue to provide support if the governement continues to provide Adult and Community Education funding.
So our local Council is doubling the impact by saying they will qwithdraw support if government provided support is withdrawn. Surely this is the time when the community needs to rally and look for ways to increase rather than reduce support!
The third, and most probably not the last piece of correspondence, informs us that staffing will be reduced by 1.5% at the end of 2010. This will mean one less teacher at Opotiki College. This may not seem much but at the moment our BOT is funding 2 extra teachers to support our curriculum. This is a high cost and cannot be sustained. The BOT will certainly not be able to support a further position.
While making these cuts the government has said it will provide $35 million for the private school sector!
The public education sector is under attack from this government and we are starting to reel. Education and learning is the key to our contry's and the Opotiki community's future: learning matters.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Final Conference Notes - Part Two
After getting off the ferry I decided to take the skytrain to the BC Stadium and visit the Sports Hall of Fame. When I got there I saw it cost $10 and didn't look that flash so I gave it a miss. I was looking for some present for Lucy who is quite hard to buy for. I then walked back along a main shopping street to my hotel stopping to check out music on the way.
I then decided to do a run around Stanley Park which I thought would be about 8k,in fact it was 10k. It's a great place to run, beside the sea all the way around and under Lion Bridge which links to Nprth Vancouver. Near the end of the run there were a few beaches which were packed solid with people. You had to watch when running because there are hundreds of rollerbladers and cyclists charging around as well.
When I got back to the main beach it was packed but no one was in the water. I couldn't figure out why so I leapt in anyway. It wasn't too cold but quite murky. After drying off I headed back to the hotel and began packing my bags. At about 7.30 I picked up a kebab and headed to the beach for tea where the boys from Kaiapoi found me. We chatted on the beach until the sun went down just before 10.00.
The next morning I joined them and Tim from Hamilton for coffee and breakfast before I had to head off to the airport. Thankfully at the airport I found a Winter Olympics bag for Lucy and when I arrived at LA I texted her and bought some LA T shirts which I thought she might like.
Unfortunately the plane from LA left late. I had a spare seat beside me and got quite a bit of sleep during the 13 hour long haul. About an hour before the end they realised I was going to struggle to make my connection to Whakatane so moved me into Premium Economy to be closer to the door. I wish they had done that earlier!
I had a mad sprint to the domestic and after some check in hassles made my plane only to arrive at Whakatane 15 minutes before Leigh!
It was good to be home!
I then decided to do a run around Stanley Park which I thought would be about 8k,in fact it was 10k. It's a great place to run, beside the sea all the way around and under Lion Bridge which links to Nprth Vancouver. Near the end of the run there were a few beaches which were packed solid with people. You had to watch when running because there are hundreds of rollerbladers and cyclists charging around as well.
When I got back to the main beach it was packed but no one was in the water. I couldn't figure out why so I leapt in anyway. It wasn't too cold but quite murky. After drying off I headed back to the hotel and began packing my bags. At about 7.30 I picked up a kebab and headed to the beach for tea where the boys from Kaiapoi found me. We chatted on the beach until the sun went down just before 10.00.
The next morning I joined them and Tim from Hamilton for coffee and breakfast before I had to head off to the airport. Thankfully at the airport I found a Winter Olympics bag for Lucy and when I arrived at LA I texted her and bought some LA T shirts which I thought she might like.
Unfortunately the plane from LA left late. I had a spare seat beside me and got quite a bit of sleep during the 13 hour long haul. About an hour before the end they realised I was going to struggle to make my connection to Whakatane so moved me into Premium Economy to be closer to the door. I wish they had done that earlier!
I had a mad sprint to the domestic and after some check in hassles made my plane only to arrive at Whakatane 15 minutes before Leigh!
It was good to be home!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Final Conference Notes - Part One
The Conference dinner was pretty good with great company, beautiful food and a disappointing guest speaker. At times, the conference has been a bit earnest with not enough celebration and humour. The dinner was when we should have had such a speaker. The band was great and a group of us danced most of the night.
My presentation was in the final slot on the final day and it went down very well. Lots came up afterwards to ask questions and to get my business card (which I later found had an error on it!). I was the invited to be part of a panel at the final conference session to answer questions from Howard Zehr on our thoughts of the conference. That was OK, but some of the academics on the panel pissed me off as they rambled on using long words. I mentioned that when I could get a word in!
That night the New Zealanders, and Aussie Glenn, went to a Japanese restaurant to plan our hosting of the conference in 2011. The food was outstanding and the conversation great.
The next morning I jumped on the hop on hop off bus and began a tour of the city. The tour was quite disappointing and I got off at the ferry terminal and cruised across the harbour to North Vancouver and boarded a bus for the 20 minute ride to Grouse Mountain. It was a very hot day - about 32 degrees (in fact the whole week has been great weather).
I enjoyed a cramped gondola ride up the mountain and discovered myself surrounded by large patches of snow. I spotted a bear in its cage then caught the ski lift to the summit. The views were outstanding and I was disappointed I didn't buy a ticket for the massive flying fox ride that looked quite terrifying.
After a nice coffee and some souvenir buying I headed down in the gondola, back on the bus and then over on the ferry again.
My presentation was in the final slot on the final day and it went down very well. Lots came up afterwards to ask questions and to get my business card (which I later found had an error on it!). I was the invited to be part of a panel at the final conference session to answer questions from Howard Zehr on our thoughts of the conference. That was OK, but some of the academics on the panel pissed me off as they rambled on using long words. I mentioned that when I could get a word in!
That night the New Zealanders, and Aussie Glenn, went to a Japanese restaurant to plan our hosting of the conference in 2011. The food was outstanding and the conversation great.
The next morning I jumped on the hop on hop off bus and began a tour of the city. The tour was quite disappointing and I got off at the ferry terminal and cruised across the harbour to North Vancouver and boarded a bus for the 20 minute ride to Grouse Mountain. It was a very hot day - about 32 degrees (in fact the whole week has been great weather).
I enjoyed a cramped gondola ride up the mountain and discovered myself surrounded by large patches of snow. I spotted a bear in its cage then caught the ski lift to the summit. The views were outstanding and I was disappointed I didn't buy a ticket for the massive flying fox ride that looked quite terrifying.
After a nice coffee and some souvenir buying I headed down in the gondola, back on the bus and then over on the ferry again.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Leaving Vancouver
Check out my last lot of photos. Fuller story to come. These photos are of the Kiwis dining together on last night of conference as we begin the planning process to host the next conference in two years time! There are laso photos on this link of my visit to Grouse Mountain and my run around Stanley Park. It's now 12.30am and I need some sleep before the long haul home beginning tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Squirrels
Can you see the squirrel in the garden outside the front door. Opotiki Opossums feel kinship!
Conference going OK. The best workshop so far was by Greg and Richard from Kaiapoi who have some wonderful PD activities to work with staff to keep the process moving along. Another dude, Ken Pierce, who seems slightly crazy in a good way, challenged us to look at bullying (and any traumatic incidents) in a different way. Start by asking victims what have been the good things for them about the incident! Sounds weird but he explained things well and I bought his book.
The conference dinner is on tonight and the final day is tomorrow with my presentation in the last workshop session in the afternoon!
Have met some great people, including a further meeting with Howard Zehr the acknowleged founder of Restorative Justice as an area of study. We presented together a couple of years ago in Auckland. He has used some of my material in his work and wants an updated copy of our Restorative Handbook for staff!!!! The boys from Kaiapoi had to acknowledge me in their presentation because their workbook was heavily based on ours, but quite enhanced so I will steal some ideas back!!!
For those who miss my normal food postings will be glad to know I had a beautiful Malaysian takeaway on the beach last night.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Vancouver Photos
This photo sort of shows how steep the climb was this morning. The rest of the photos are a bit boring, but they show the beach at the end of my road, the view from my hotel balcony (tall buildings, some sea, mountains with snow). The other photo is of Richard (from Kaiapoi) and Sharon (Welshwoman from Howick). We had a kebab on the beach at 9.30pm after the conference opening.
I'm a bit worried about the number of presenters here compared with the number of attendees!
I'm a bit worried about the number of presenters here compared with the number of attendees!
24 Hours in Vancouver
All phone and laptop issues have been resolved. I can now make and receive calls, but cannot send or receive texts!!!
I spent hours trying to get EEEPC left mouse button to work. I emailed ASUS and they told me to reboot which meant I lost everything (thankfully I copied my photos first) and it still didn't work. I then prised the button off the computer without breaking it and cleaned it. It now works. Must've been Lucy or Leigh eating biscuits over it.
Yesterday afternoon (Sat) I strolled to the info centre then onto Steamworks which is a brewery/bar/restaurant. I started with a pint of India Pale Ale (was the best), followed by a pint of Pale Ale and then 1/2 pint of Porter (very nice). At this point I started talking to strangers and realised on slightly older than me couple wanted to buy me drinks and go out for a meal with them. They were pretty jolly so I declined and wobbled my way back to Hotel. By now Tina and I had missed each other three times on phone.
I then headed down the road and found a Vietnamese restaurant and sat at my table for one and had beautiful calamari, spicy chicken and a Canadian beer. I was now 'tired' so went home to bed.
I was about to leave my room at 9.00 for a run around Stanley Park when Tina rang and arranged to pick me up at 10.30 for a MTB ride. I dashed out for a quick brakfast of fruit and bagel (without the fruit because they forgot it but didn't charge me anyway.) Must be something to do with my accent as at lunch today I ordered a bacon and mushroom filo and they tried to give me a vegetarian one!
Tina picked me up and drove skillfully for about 45 minutes to SFU (Simon Fraser University). I had Greg's bike and I forgot to see what it was, but it was very nice! Brakes are on the other side though!
We started off with some very gnarly, gentle uphill single track - lots of roots, rocks, narrow bridges etc - and I only fell on my broken rib side once as I couldn't unclip. After about 20 minutes of that we had a steep granny gear climb up a gravel road to the top - about 30-40 minutes steeper than Amokura and it was very hot. Who told me it was going to be cold over here?
Then the fun started! From there there was about 20-30 minutes of downhill single track with the aforementioned rocks and roots and narrow bridges with some high drop offs thrown in. Once I realised the bike could cope with anything in its path I relaxed and only dismounted twice.
I was absolutely buggared but it was a great ride. No bears or cougars! I took my camera and only took one photo. Tina just kept going!
Tina took a wrong turn on the way back and we headed off in the wrong direction, but we soon got back.
Will post a couple of photos later.
I've registered and am about to head down to the welcome.
I spent hours trying to get EEEPC left mouse button to work. I emailed ASUS and they told me to reboot which meant I lost everything (thankfully I copied my photos first) and it still didn't work. I then prised the button off the computer without breaking it and cleaned it. It now works. Must've been Lucy or Leigh eating biscuits over it.
Yesterday afternoon (Sat) I strolled to the info centre then onto Steamworks which is a brewery/bar/restaurant. I started with a pint of India Pale Ale (was the best), followed by a pint of Pale Ale and then 1/2 pint of Porter (very nice). At this point I started talking to strangers and realised on slightly older than me couple wanted to buy me drinks and go out for a meal with them. They were pretty jolly so I declined and wobbled my way back to Hotel. By now Tina and I had missed each other three times on phone.
I then headed down the road and found a Vietnamese restaurant and sat at my table for one and had beautiful calamari, spicy chicken and a Canadian beer. I was now 'tired' so went home to bed.
I was about to leave my room at 9.00 for a run around Stanley Park when Tina rang and arranged to pick me up at 10.30 for a MTB ride. I dashed out for a quick brakfast of fruit and bagel (without the fruit because they forgot it but didn't charge me anyway.) Must be something to do with my accent as at lunch today I ordered a bacon and mushroom filo and they tried to give me a vegetarian one!
Tina picked me up and drove skillfully for about 45 minutes to SFU (Simon Fraser University). I had Greg's bike and I forgot to see what it was, but it was very nice! Brakes are on the other side though!
We started off with some very gnarly, gentle uphill single track - lots of roots, rocks, narrow bridges etc - and I only fell on my broken rib side once as I couldn't unclip. After about 20 minutes of that we had a steep granny gear climb up a gravel road to the top - about 30-40 minutes steeper than Amokura and it was very hot. Who told me it was going to be cold over here?
Then the fun started! From there there was about 20-30 minutes of downhill single track with the aforementioned rocks and roots and narrow bridges with some high drop offs thrown in. Once I realised the bike could cope with anything in its path I relaxed and only dismounted twice.
I was absolutely buggared but it was a great ride. No bears or cougars! I took my camera and only took one photo. Tina just kept going!
Tina took a wrong turn on the way back and we headed off in the wrong direction, but we soon got back.
Will post a couple of photos later.
I've registered and am about to head down to the welcome.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
In Vancouver
After what seemed days and days I have arrived in Vancouver before I left!
I had trouble sleeping on the flight to LA mainly because there were too many neat films to watch. I saw the Topp Twins, then The Reader, tried to sleep and then two episodes of Go Girls (I should have been watching that at home).
Terry, I had a pizza in the same place at LA airport!
The flight to Vancouver was OK as I had 2 seats to myself. I dozed most of the way but enjoyed a great view coming in towards Vancouver. We touched down at about 9.00pm (still light) and got to hotel at about 10.00pm.
I can't get my phone to work, though it worked in USA and my EEEPC laptop is playing up and the cursor/button combo doesn't work and everything has to be done with tab and arrows. Did this once before and I can't remember how I fixed it!?
Slept till 11.00am and have just finished a walk along the sea front and a bagel and fruit lunch with a surprisingly nice coffee. It's very summery, about 22 degrees, with a cool wind.
I'm going to try to solve the phone and laptop problems by visiting their websites and then go for a jog along sea front and through Stanley Park.
I had trouble sleeping on the flight to LA mainly because there were too many neat films to watch. I saw the Topp Twins, then The Reader, tried to sleep and then two episodes of Go Girls (I should have been watching that at home).
Terry, I had a pizza in the same place at LA airport!
The flight to Vancouver was OK as I had 2 seats to myself. I dozed most of the way but enjoyed a great view coming in towards Vancouver. We touched down at about 9.00pm (still light) and got to hotel at about 10.00pm.
I can't get my phone to work, though it worked in USA and my EEEPC laptop is playing up and the cursor/button combo doesn't work and everything has to be done with tab and arrows. Did this once before and I can't remember how I fixed it!?
Slept till 11.00am and have just finished a walk along the sea front and a bagel and fruit lunch with a surprisingly nice coffee. It's very summery, about 22 degrees, with a cool wind.
I'm going to try to solve the phone and laptop problems by visiting their websites and then go for a jog along sea front and through Stanley Park.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Off To Vancouver
Well, this Friday this country boy jumps on the plane and goes to Vancouver to run a workshop at the International Restorative Practices Conference in Vancouver. He's a little nervous and a lot excited.
I'm a bit nervous about taking off by myself without either my mate, Terry, or my wife, Leigh. I'm also a bit nervous about making sure the workshop is one of quality as I know I am one of the first to complain if a workshop or presentation is poor!
I am excited because I think it is a huge honour for our wee school to get this recognition. It's another reminder that the work we are doing in managing student conflict in such a positive manner is world-leading stuff - and we need to remind ourselves of that from time-to-time!
I'll keep you posted.
I'm a bit nervous about taking off by myself without either my mate, Terry, or my wife, Leigh. I'm also a bit nervous about making sure the workshop is one of quality as I know I am one of the first to complain if a workshop or presentation is poor!
I am excited because I think it is a huge honour for our wee school to get this recognition. It's another reminder that the work we are doing in managing student conflict in such a positive manner is world-leading stuff - and we need to remind ourselves of that from time-to-time!
I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Adventure Race Success!
What a great sense of satisfaction and achievement! This was a very challenging event but our team, Opotiki Opossums, comprising myself, Lea, Barry and Trevor just stuck at it and completed the event in just over 27 hours.
It was exciting setting up camp the night before. We even managed to pick up the course notes at 5.00 and had the course plotted by 7.00. Barry, Lea and I headed into New World Kawerau where we made use of Dave's computer and printer to print maps and calculate distances. We were in bed by 10.30. 3 hours ahead of last year's schedule.
The raw stats are: 24 teams entered, 6 pulled out (25% attrition!), we crossed the line 18th out of 18, but our bonuses for finding checkpoints moved us to 14th! Our goal, established by Captain Possum, Barry, was to finish 15th or better! Goal achieved!
We started with a kayak on Lake Tarawera where we headed along the north side to a mark and then across the lake heading towards the track to Rotomahana. One check point was abandoned by the organisers because they were concerned the conditions would deteriorate. The paddle across the lake worried me but the conditions in hindsight were very good. I can't wait to get more confident in my boat! Lea paddled strongly to lead us across the lake. We then trekked over to Rotomahana to pick up a checkpoint and then back to our kayaks. We decided then to miss the next two checkpoints and head back to the transition at the camp where we started, picking up 2 check points on the way.
It was great to see Marg, Joc, Kate and Lyn joining our support crew of Leigh and Ted at the transition. George provided great support as well.
Thankfully we missed the rogaine and headed off on the first trek in about 3rd place! We trekked along the shore towards Okataina picking up all checkpoints before we took a bearing and headed straight up the bluff! Apart from one small error when we shouldhave listened to Trevor we navigated very well and picked up the next checkpoint. This was followed by a clamber down a dry canyon to the Tarawera River and a tramp along the river bank to the falls carpark. On the way I elected to do the swim across the river, scramble up the rocks to collect a checkpoint and return. It was only when I dived in the river on return that I remembered I still had my glasses on.
We had a bit of a boost after our 6 hour trek to see our supporters now joined by Lucy, Kurt and Hine as we transitioned onto MTBs just as the sun was setting. We were about 30 minutes behind the A Team of Destry, Karl, Hedley and Teleri. They looked to be going really well.
The MTB leg was a low point for most of our team though Lea seemed to cope OK with it. She did have some almost falling asleep moments. I thought this leg might take 3 hours as it was only 60ks!
It took us almost 7 hours. It was dark. It rained some of the time. The fog came in. There was lots of climbing. The roads were made of sandy pumice. Our lights were useless. I forgot my gells. I was sick of bars. It was relentless!
We decided to miss the first checkpoint but when it looked like we might decide to miss the next one I suggested it was the compulsory one, so we headed off-road and Barry and I eventually found it. We seemed to be back on track again as we turned north and headed largely downhill towards Kawerau from near Rerewakaiatu.
We eventually ended up at the shooting range where I hit 5 from 5!!! Barry missed one and blamed my minder for bumping him. The others got 5 from 5 too! A Highlight! This lifted my spirits a bit and we headed off through farmland, took a wrong turn and rode through the streets of Kawerau at 11.00pm to finally reach transition at Tui Glen where we were fed and looked after by Ted and Leigh.
Our spirits started to lift as we made the midnight deadline. We were saddened to see the A team come in and Hedley, who had had a big cold all week and Teleri who was a bit knackered after 17 hours had to pull out. It was good to have destry and Karl join us for the final trek.
So at midnight, after ODing on Coke the 6 of us headed off aiming for the Rotoma highway which had a deadline of 3.00am. Once again, our navigation through difficult country was spot ona nd we arrived at the checkpoint at 2.30am where they tried to convince us to pull out as most teams were taking 8 hours from there to the finish. After a great feed of soup, biscuits and coffee I asked each of the other 5 if they wished to continue. They all wanted to go on so off we went. Not too far down the track Destry and Karl pulled the pin and headed back, The country on the map looked difficult.
The four of us pressed on and we made very good progress and navigated really well picking up all of the checkpoints. A bit of hallucinating was going on, but I insisted on regular food stops and we made the last manned checkpoint at 7.30am. Unfortunately we still had 2 hours of walking to the Falls carpark and then back along the Tarawera Falls track to the finish.
The falls are outstanding and were worth another look! I found the last hour and half the most difficult and began to flag abit. It was awesome to be met by Aaron and George on the track 500m from the finish and then to see Leigh and Ted on the bridge as we finished after 27 hours.
It was a challenging and brutal event. There were moments when we all struggled and we all had low points, but our team morale was strong. Barry did a great job making sure everyone was going OK and even during his low moment on the MTB kept the navigating going. Lea kept the positive vibe going throughout the full race and the silly things she said kept the humour level high. Trevor was simply outstanding in the bush. He can sniff his way and end up in the right place.
We all won a spot prize! Leigh and Ted were great support crew and we dined on great stew and soup!
Best one I've ever done! Never felt the broken rib either! Told you that wouldn't stop me!
Check the other photos.
It was exciting setting up camp the night before. We even managed to pick up the course notes at 5.00 and had the course plotted by 7.00. Barry, Lea and I headed into New World Kawerau where we made use of Dave's computer and printer to print maps and calculate distances. We were in bed by 10.30. 3 hours ahead of last year's schedule.
The raw stats are: 24 teams entered, 6 pulled out (25% attrition!), we crossed the line 18th out of 18, but our bonuses for finding checkpoints moved us to 14th! Our goal, established by Captain Possum, Barry, was to finish 15th or better! Goal achieved!
We started with a kayak on Lake Tarawera where we headed along the north side to a mark and then across the lake heading towards the track to Rotomahana. One check point was abandoned by the organisers because they were concerned the conditions would deteriorate. The paddle across the lake worried me but the conditions in hindsight were very good. I can't wait to get more confident in my boat! Lea paddled strongly to lead us across the lake. We then trekked over to Rotomahana to pick up a checkpoint and then back to our kayaks. We decided then to miss the next two checkpoints and head back to the transition at the camp where we started, picking up 2 check points on the way.
It was great to see Marg, Joc, Kate and Lyn joining our support crew of Leigh and Ted at the transition. George provided great support as well.
Thankfully we missed the rogaine and headed off on the first trek in about 3rd place! We trekked along the shore towards Okataina picking up all checkpoints before we took a bearing and headed straight up the bluff! Apart from one small error when we shouldhave listened to Trevor we navigated very well and picked up the next checkpoint. This was followed by a clamber down a dry canyon to the Tarawera River and a tramp along the river bank to the falls carpark. On the way I elected to do the swim across the river, scramble up the rocks to collect a checkpoint and return. It was only when I dived in the river on return that I remembered I still had my glasses on.
We had a bit of a boost after our 6 hour trek to see our supporters now joined by Lucy, Kurt and Hine as we transitioned onto MTBs just as the sun was setting. We were about 30 minutes behind the A Team of Destry, Karl, Hedley and Teleri. They looked to be going really well.
The MTB leg was a low point for most of our team though Lea seemed to cope OK with it. She did have some almost falling asleep moments. I thought this leg might take 3 hours as it was only 60ks!
It took us almost 7 hours. It was dark. It rained some of the time. The fog came in. There was lots of climbing. The roads were made of sandy pumice. Our lights were useless. I forgot my gells. I was sick of bars. It was relentless!
We decided to miss the first checkpoint but when it looked like we might decide to miss the next one I suggested it was the compulsory one, so we headed off-road and Barry and I eventually found it. We seemed to be back on track again as we turned north and headed largely downhill towards Kawerau from near Rerewakaiatu.
We eventually ended up at the shooting range where I hit 5 from 5!!! Barry missed one and blamed my minder for bumping him. The others got 5 from 5 too! A Highlight! This lifted my spirits a bit and we headed off through farmland, took a wrong turn and rode through the streets of Kawerau at 11.00pm to finally reach transition at Tui Glen where we were fed and looked after by Ted and Leigh.
Our spirits started to lift as we made the midnight deadline. We were saddened to see the A team come in and Hedley, who had had a big cold all week and Teleri who was a bit knackered after 17 hours had to pull out. It was good to have destry and Karl join us for the final trek.
So at midnight, after ODing on Coke the 6 of us headed off aiming for the Rotoma highway which had a deadline of 3.00am. Once again, our navigation through difficult country was spot ona nd we arrived at the checkpoint at 2.30am where they tried to convince us to pull out as most teams were taking 8 hours from there to the finish. After a great feed of soup, biscuits and coffee I asked each of the other 5 if they wished to continue. They all wanted to go on so off we went. Not too far down the track Destry and Karl pulled the pin and headed back, The country on the map looked difficult.
The four of us pressed on and we made very good progress and navigated really well picking up all of the checkpoints. A bit of hallucinating was going on, but I insisted on regular food stops and we made the last manned checkpoint at 7.30am. Unfortunately we still had 2 hours of walking to the Falls carpark and then back along the Tarawera Falls track to the finish.
The falls are outstanding and were worth another look! I found the last hour and half the most difficult and began to flag abit. It was awesome to be met by Aaron and George on the track 500m from the finish and then to see Leigh and Ted on the bridge as we finished after 27 hours.
It was a challenging and brutal event. There were moments when we all struggled and we all had low points, but our team morale was strong. Barry did a great job making sure everyone was going OK and even during his low moment on the MTB kept the navigating going. Lea kept the positive vibe going throughout the full race and the silly things she said kept the humour level high. Trevor was simply outstanding in the bush. He can sniff his way and end up in the right place.
We all won a spot prize! Leigh and Ted were great support crew and we dined on great stew and soup!
Best one I've ever done! Never felt the broken rib either! Told you that wouldn't stop me!
Check the other photos.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Bringing It All Up at Toi's
What a horrible day's training. I felt as if I had a bit of a chill coming on - possibly from Thursday evening's MTB ride without a jacket and a cold day at work on Friday. Wasn't feeling right on Fri afternoon so I am positive the 5-6 whiskeys at Kurt's watching the rugby wasn't to blame.
Barry, Lea, George, Aaron and I went over and walked the first part of the Toi's track from Hillcrest over to Otarawairere and back up through the village and along the top to the trig and back into Hillcrest. I found it bloody hard - sore legs on the uphill, a bit breathless and nauseous. I really dragged the chain.
We managed to find somewhere to eat in Whakas and gobbled a baked spud and coffee before we headed off to the rogaine where we met up with the A Team. Bugger! A quick look at the course and we were headed back into Toi's again. We could have done the clues on the flat but decided to make it a training opportunity. Otarawairere at high tide was tricky. I really struggled on the hills again and as were were heading up from Otarawairere I got the keys off Barry and told them to go on and get as many clues as they could while I headed straight back. I was not feeling good.
Unfortunately they stopped just out of Otarawairere to put on 6heir jackets so they had a great view of me chundering my guts out. I managed to keep my spotlight focused so they got a great view. At that point they decided to stay with me. What great mates. Would've been scary ggoing back by myself, especially with Barry talking about sex offenders lurking in the bush!
I was stuffed.
We ended up at the Ohope Club watching the rugby where I sank a couple of cokes while they dined on beer and chips. All day I had eaten one bowl of porridge and one baked spud and hardly drunk anything. Something's not right. Plan to take it easy all week because the race is on next weekend.
It's Mothers Day and poor Leigh has taken Lucy and Opes to Taupo to play soccer. I'm trying to do housework as my mothers day present but I'm not very good at it and I don't think she'll notice. Perhaps I'd better point it out!
Even though I have lost my appetite I'll have a nice chicken and chick peas mel ready for when they get home.
Time to vacuum!
Barry, Lea, George, Aaron and I went over and walked the first part of the Toi's track from Hillcrest over to Otarawairere and back up through the village and along the top to the trig and back into Hillcrest. I found it bloody hard - sore legs on the uphill, a bit breathless and nauseous. I really dragged the chain.
We managed to find somewhere to eat in Whakas and gobbled a baked spud and coffee before we headed off to the rogaine where we met up with the A Team. Bugger! A quick look at the course and we were headed back into Toi's again. We could have done the clues on the flat but decided to make it a training opportunity. Otarawairere at high tide was tricky. I really struggled on the hills again and as were were heading up from Otarawairere I got the keys off Barry and told them to go on and get as many clues as they could while I headed straight back. I was not feeling good.
Unfortunately they stopped just out of Otarawairere to put on 6heir jackets so they had a great view of me chundering my guts out. I managed to keep my spotlight focused so they got a great view. At that point they decided to stay with me. What great mates. Would've been scary ggoing back by myself, especially with Barry talking about sex offenders lurking in the bush!
I was stuffed.
We ended up at the Ohope Club watching the rugby where I sank a couple of cokes while they dined on beer and chips. All day I had eaten one bowl of porridge and one baked spud and hardly drunk anything. Something's not right. Plan to take it easy all week because the race is on next weekend.
It's Mothers Day and poor Leigh has taken Lucy and Opes to Taupo to play soccer. I'm trying to do housework as my mothers day present but I'm not very good at it and I don't think she'll notice. Perhaps I'd better point it out!
Even though I have lost my appetite I'll have a nice chicken and chick peas mel ready for when they get home.
Time to vacuum!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mangapumarumaru Epic
After Saturday's scary paddle we thought we'd try something gentler. So considering it was Lea's birthday we decided on a later start. After coffee at Lea's Lea, Barry, george and myself set out on our MTBs up the Gorge and battled a very stiff southerly to the Owhiritoa Bridge where we stashed our bikes and headed off up the road to the Mangapumarumaru Stream. We bounded up the stream and then completed the massive climb to 600m and then along the ridge. I was certain we were on the correct track as it matched our compass and George kept finding markers. Even when the markers disappeared the compass said we were going the right way. As it was we ended up in a creek which Barry remembered the last time he was in the area. After clambering down the creek we were faced with a 5m???? leap over a waterfall. It was most probably only 3m but we want to make it sound scarier. The pool at the bottom came up to Barry's mid riff so you can imagine how deep it was for poor old George! We decided to head on to Brill's for lunch which was a bit of a mistake as it took longer than expected. We didn't have lunch until about 2.40pm so we were feeling a bit empty.
However, it was a great place to take Lea out to birthday lunch.
We then headed up the grass cliff face out of Brill's which I found a bit nerve-wracking as it was so steep and open. George did a great job leading us back up over 600m again. All his tipuna were at work guiding him through the bush to each marker. After a couple of rests we made the top and started the long steep downhill to the road. The highlight was George's tumble and roll over the edge and into the undergrowth.
At some point Barry mentioned he was supposed to be home by 3.00. At 3.00 we were still over an hour from our bikes and we still had the ride home. After hitting the road we had a 3k walk back down the highway to our bikes. Marty went past in his vehicle and stopped to ask what a pack of mad buggers were doing at the time of the late afternoon walking down the road so far from anywhere!
We found our bikes and set off at about 4.45pm. Luckily Lea had a headlight and three of us had tail lights. We sped down the gorge with the southerly behind us and got back to Lea's exhausted but on a bit of a high. Barry and I managed one quick beer to celebrate her birthday with her family before I dropped Barry at home and finally got home about 6.30pm.
What another great day. What a great day to spend your birthday, eh Lea?
I found it difficult to sleep that night despite crashing at 8.30 so was abit tired, sore and not grumpy, but measured, for the day.
Just finished a marathon 12 hours at work so need to head home to farewell Mum who heads to Greece tomorrow.
However, it was a great place to take Lea out to birthday lunch.
We then headed up the grass cliff face out of Brill's which I found a bit nerve-wracking as it was so steep and open. George did a great job leading us back up over 600m again. All his tipuna were at work guiding him through the bush to each marker. After a couple of rests we made the top and started the long steep downhill to the road. The highlight was George's tumble and roll over the edge and into the undergrowth.
At some point Barry mentioned he was supposed to be home by 3.00. At 3.00 we were still over an hour from our bikes and we still had the ride home. After hitting the road we had a 3k walk back down the highway to our bikes. Marty went past in his vehicle and stopped to ask what a pack of mad buggers were doing at the time of the late afternoon walking down the road so far from anywhere!
We found our bikes and set off at about 4.45pm. Luckily Lea had a headlight and three of us had tail lights. We sped down the gorge with the southerly behind us and got back to Lea's exhausted but on a bit of a high. Barry and I managed one quick beer to celebrate her birthday with her family before I dropped Barry at home and finally got home about 6.30pm.
What another great day. What a great day to spend your birthday, eh Lea?
I found it difficult to sleep that night despite crashing at 8.30 so was abit tired, sore and not grumpy, but measured, for the day.
Just finished a marathon 12 hours at work so need to head home to farewell Mum who heads to Greece tomorrow.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Drama on High Seas
Well, it felt like that anyway.
Lea, Barry, George, Aaron and I planned to paddle over Ohiwa Harbour to the Boatshed Restaurant to order beer and chips and return. As we set off the wind was howling and rain was falling and whitecaps were appearing in the distance. I felt very unstable but pushed on. Things weren't too bad until we cut across the channel to the Ohope side. From there to the wharf it was like a washing machine - surfing down waves, rudder out of water, and wind blowing quite strongly. The trickiest bit was getting around the wharf and landing. For most of the time I was terrified but Barry looked after me and kept shouting Abraham-like motivation things at me. I knew he was doing it and could see through him - but they worked.
We had a very average coffee (too cold for beers) from a very average host and talked about the dangers of getting back. I was tempted to hunker down and ring for a car! Thankfully the others were more determined and we headed off into the wind and punched our way back. It was easier paddling into the waves and wind and we finished with it being dead calm.
This paddle was a great confidence booster for me and as Barry said "If you can stay upright in this you can handle anything." That's bullshit, but it helped. I feel for the likes of Trev, Destry and Karl who missed the opportunity.
Finishing off with a couple of beers at Hunters allowed for a great debrief.
PS
At our team meeting at Hunters last night we were joined by Nathan Faave who was good compaany and gave us some great advice.
Lea, Barry, George, Aaron and I planned to paddle over Ohiwa Harbour to the Boatshed Restaurant to order beer and chips and return. As we set off the wind was howling and rain was falling and whitecaps were appearing in the distance. I felt very unstable but pushed on. Things weren't too bad until we cut across the channel to the Ohope side. From there to the wharf it was like a washing machine - surfing down waves, rudder out of water, and wind blowing quite strongly. The trickiest bit was getting around the wharf and landing. For most of the time I was terrified but Barry looked after me and kept shouting Abraham-like motivation things at me. I knew he was doing it and could see through him - but they worked.
We had a very average coffee (too cold for beers) from a very average host and talked about the dangers of getting back. I was tempted to hunker down and ring for a car! Thankfully the others were more determined and we headed off into the wind and punched our way back. It was easier paddling into the waves and wind and we finished with it being dead calm.
This paddle was a great confidence booster for me and as Barry said "If you can stay upright in this you can handle anything." That's bullshit, but it helped. I feel for the likes of Trev, Destry and Karl who missed the opportunity.
Finishing off with a couple of beers at Hunters allowed for a great debrief.
PS
At our team meeting at Hunters last night we were joined by Nathan Faave who was good compaany and gave us some great advice.
Week in Auckland
I have had a great week in Auckland with my mates Terry and Peter at a principal's study tour. We went up on Sunday and booked into the Mercure which is a great location. On Monday we had a few key note speakers - most of which were great with one exception.
That night Terry, Peter, Jude and I caught the fery to Devonport and had a great Italian and back in the city we hit the Lenin Bar for the compulsory shots of vodka infusions including 2 with very hot chilli.
The next day I visited Massey High School and enjoyed their presentations on academic counselling, literacy and restorative practices. This is a school like ours but with 2500 students! I have thought about a couple of good ideas from there to fine tune our restorative practices and to improve teacher parent hui.
That night Terry and I wandered up to K Rd to dine at Sri Penang. We got there a bit early so popped into a bar for a couple of beers to realise we were in a gay bar. I sat close to Terry so that the others realised I was in a relationship! The restaurant was, once again, outstanding.
The next day I caught the ferry and visited Takapuna Grammar which is a visually impressive school. I was impressed with their facilities and also with the work they had done to establish a school-wide pedagogy which has given me some good ideas for our school as we prepare for the NZ Curriculum.
That night we dined at the Viaduct and Terry and I had a couple of beers at a bar playing choice music on the way home.
The next day was supposed to be a full day of bringing it together followed by the Conference Dinner. However, business was over at lunch. It would have been possible to drive home on Thursday afternoon but because we had paid for our room and the Conference Dinner we had no choice but to stay! Managed to squeeze in a visit to afew music stores and bought 6 more of the Top 500! I had a voucher for Marbecks as a thank you for being interviewed for 2 hours by Rose, a MA student, who was interviewing pakeha principals who work in schools with a high Maori roll.
Spent Friday travelling home.
That night Terry, Peter, Jude and I caught the fery to Devonport and had a great Italian and back in the city we hit the Lenin Bar for the compulsory shots of vodka infusions including 2 with very hot chilli.
The next day I visited Massey High School and enjoyed their presentations on academic counselling, literacy and restorative practices. This is a school like ours but with 2500 students! I have thought about a couple of good ideas from there to fine tune our restorative practices and to improve teacher parent hui.
That night Terry and I wandered up to K Rd to dine at Sri Penang. We got there a bit early so popped into a bar for a couple of beers to realise we were in a gay bar. I sat close to Terry so that the others realised I was in a relationship! The restaurant was, once again, outstanding.
The next day I caught the ferry and visited Takapuna Grammar which is a visually impressive school. I was impressed with their facilities and also with the work they had done to establish a school-wide pedagogy which has given me some good ideas for our school as we prepare for the NZ Curriculum.
That night we dined at the Viaduct and Terry and I had a couple of beers at a bar playing choice music on the way home.
The next day was supposed to be a full day of bringing it together followed by the Conference Dinner. However, business was over at lunch. It would have been possible to drive home on Thursday afternoon but because we had paid for our room and the Conference Dinner we had no choice but to stay! Managed to squeeze in a visit to afew music stores and bought 6 more of the Top 500! I had a voucher for Marbecks as a thank you for being interviewed for 2 hours by Rose, a MA student, who was interviewing pakeha principals who work in schools with a high Maori roll.
Spent Friday travelling home.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
ANZAC Day in Opotiki
Today myself and my Head Boy and Head Girl, Chad and Tara, marched in the ANZAC service to the cenotaph where both students gave great speeches about their view of ANZAC Day. Opotiki has a short, but moving ceremony and it is great that the school features so prominently.
Training Continues
Last Thursday I did a 40 min paddle at the wharf. This made the ribs hurt!
On Friday Barry, lea and I drove to Amokura and hiked up the track and hung a left at the first summit. We ended up in some nice country, but involved a lot of climbing. We climbed a couple of times to 340m.
This was followed by a team meeting and companionship with the A Team at Hunters Bar over a few beers. We invited the A Team to join us for our Saturday evening jaunt which we have just completed.
We met at Margs and dumped our MTBs and then drove to the Ohiwa Harbour where Barry, Lea, Trevor, myself, Hedley, Teleri, Destry and Hilton kayaked onto the very windy harbour. This was Hilton's first time in his boat so he promptly fell out. I felt very unstable and in one lunge to stay upright I hurt my ribs. This blew my confidence. I offered to stay in the reasonably sheltered shallows aned look after Hilton while the others could have a good paddle.
I soon gained my confidence and balance and began to enjoy it a little more. Unfortunately, Hilton had 2 more spills. Twice a large stingray surfaced beside my paddle and gave me a hell of a fright. This also happened to Hilton, which made falling out even less attractive.
After about 40 min Hilton had had enough so I headed off by myself to find the others. Unfortunately as I headed south around the island they were heading north around the other side so we missed each other! I eventually turned around and headed back in the increasing darkness and was met by Hedley and Destry in the double kayak coming to look for me. We all had a good 90 min paddle and I was feeling better near the end, though the pain killers didn't seem too effective.
We then drove back to Margs where we got on our MTBs and headed off into the darkness. We charged up Paerata, down Verrals, up Waiotahe Valley, almost to Challenge Rd, the returned via Browns Rd (the steepest hill in the area!) and flew down Paerata to Margs. Trev was a mad bugger and set a cracker of a pace.
Marg was having a dinner party when we returned and kindly brought us a beer down to have in the garage as we debriefed - a bit like an Upstairs Downstairs scenario!
When I got home at about 9.00pm Kurt and Hine were there for tea. They have finished their house and had moved in the day before. Their house looks great and they will be great neighbours.
Tomorrow I head to Auckland for a week to explore Transitions From School. Should be a chance for my ribs to recover.
On Friday Barry, lea and I drove to Amokura and hiked up the track and hung a left at the first summit. We ended up in some nice country, but involved a lot of climbing. We climbed a couple of times to 340m.
This was followed by a team meeting and companionship with the A Team at Hunters Bar over a few beers. We invited the A Team to join us for our Saturday evening jaunt which we have just completed.
We met at Margs and dumped our MTBs and then drove to the Ohiwa Harbour where Barry, Lea, Trevor, myself, Hedley, Teleri, Destry and Hilton kayaked onto the very windy harbour. This was Hilton's first time in his boat so he promptly fell out. I felt very unstable and in one lunge to stay upright I hurt my ribs. This blew my confidence. I offered to stay in the reasonably sheltered shallows aned look after Hilton while the others could have a good paddle.
I soon gained my confidence and balance and began to enjoy it a little more. Unfortunately, Hilton had 2 more spills. Twice a large stingray surfaced beside my paddle and gave me a hell of a fright. This also happened to Hilton, which made falling out even less attractive.
After about 40 min Hilton had had enough so I headed off by myself to find the others. Unfortunately as I headed south around the island they were heading north around the other side so we missed each other! I eventually turned around and headed back in the increasing darkness and was met by Hedley and Destry in the double kayak coming to look for me. We all had a good 90 min paddle and I was feeling better near the end, though the pain killers didn't seem too effective.
We then drove back to Margs where we got on our MTBs and headed off into the darkness. We charged up Paerata, down Verrals, up Waiotahe Valley, almost to Challenge Rd, the returned via Browns Rd (the steepest hill in the area!) and flew down Paerata to Margs. Trev was a mad bugger and set a cracker of a pace.
Marg was having a dinner party when we returned and kindly brought us a beer down to have in the garage as we debriefed - a bit like an Upstairs Downstairs scenario!
When I got home at about 9.00pm Kurt and Hine were there for tea. They have finished their house and had moved in the day before. Their house looks great and they will be great neighbours.
Tomorrow I head to Auckland for a week to explore Transitions From School. Should be a chance for my ribs to recover.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Broken Ribs and Adventure Training
I am a bit impressed with myself. Yesterday, after only 8 days of breaking my ribs I donned my pack and compulsory gear and joined Barry, Lea and Trevor for a 20k walk up Upper Paerata Rd to the Trig, along Upper Paerata to the top gate, down the Amokura Rd extension to the ford, up and up through the bush to the gas pipeline, and then through the farmland to our car - 4 1/2 hours.
A combination of strong pain killers, stupidity and supportive team mates made it all possible!
We climbed to 560m a couple of times so it was a good workout. I did have quite an uncomfortable night but there is always a price to pay.
This morning Lucy and I jumped on our road bikes and did the 20k Omarumutu loop just to see what it would be like on a bike. It wasn't too bad, but I was pretty sore for 15 minutes after getting off - must be the deep breathing that cycling requires.
Tomorrow we are hiking up into the hills around the pipeline from the Waiotahe Valley. Might also try a wee paddle in the afternoon!
A combination of strong pain killers, stupidity and supportive team mates made it all possible!
We climbed to 560m a couple of times so it was a good workout. I did have quite an uncomfortable night but there is always a price to pay.
This morning Lucy and I jumped on our road bikes and did the 20k Omarumutu loop just to see what it would be like on a bike. It wasn't too bad, but I was pretty sore for 15 minutes after getting off - must be the deep breathing that cycling requires.
Tomorrow we are hiking up into the hills around the pipeline from the Waiotahe Valley. Might also try a wee paddle in the afternoon!
Monday, April 20, 2009
NZ Secondary Schools MTB Champs at Levin
This photo shows Jared at the bottom of the awesome downhill course in Levin. The other photos can be viewed here.
We had 10 students (one of the biggest teams there - Lucy, Amy, Gareth, Kyle, Jared, Kurt, Joe, Michael, Ben, Matty - along with myself as manager, Hedley as mechanic, Lea as cook, Paul as dentist (for Amy who face planted on the downhill), Delwyn and Dana, and Casey and Doug. Most of us stayed at a neat whare at Waitarere Beach which was mush easier than the camping of previous years.
Everyone performed well, but most would agree they needed much more training. Gareth finished a creditable 15th out of 34 with a strong 7th in the uphill and 14th in the XCountry. Mike also did well with 11thin the Xcountry and the fastest downhill of the team with 3 41. Everyone improved in the downhill with Gareth, Joe and Lucy knocking about a minute off their times.
Kurt was unlucky in the XCountry getting his 4th puncture of the trip! He also had a crowd-pleasing fall at the bottom of the downhill. Most had some sort of fall with Amy's face plant into a tree stump the best.
In the XCountry 4 riders avoided being lapped out - Gareth, Ben, Kyle and Lucy while Mike and Jared just about got there.
Everyone was well-behaved and was great company. Our kids were a credit to us, their school, families and Opotiki community. Some of the students from the so-called 'better' schools around stunned us with their offensive language and stupid carry-on.
We were surprised to see the absence of reps from other schools in the EBOP and the small size of some of the teams. We had hoped to see some of the born and raised Opotiki youngsters who go to boarding schools there so we could catch-up but none were there. Maybe next year!
Our team looked great in their new track suits and cycle shirts. Thanks, Delwyn. A huge thanks to the kids who were great to travel with.
We had 10 students (one of the biggest teams there - Lucy, Amy, Gareth, Kyle, Jared, Kurt, Joe, Michael, Ben, Matty - along with myself as manager, Hedley as mechanic, Lea as cook, Paul as dentist (for Amy who face planted on the downhill), Delwyn and Dana, and Casey and Doug. Most of us stayed at a neat whare at Waitarere Beach which was mush easier than the camping of previous years.
Everyone performed well, but most would agree they needed much more training. Gareth finished a creditable 15th out of 34 with a strong 7th in the uphill and 14th in the XCountry. Mike also did well with 11thin the Xcountry and the fastest downhill of the team with 3 41. Everyone improved in the downhill with Gareth, Joe and Lucy knocking about a minute off their times.
Kurt was unlucky in the XCountry getting his 4th puncture of the trip! He also had a crowd-pleasing fall at the bottom of the downhill. Most had some sort of fall with Amy's face plant into a tree stump the best.
In the XCountry 4 riders avoided being lapped out - Gareth, Ben, Kyle and Lucy while Mike and Jared just about got there.
Everyone was well-behaved and was great company. Our kids were a credit to us, their school, families and Opotiki community. Some of the students from the so-called 'better' schools around stunned us with their offensive language and stupid carry-on.
We were surprised to see the absence of reps from other schools in the EBOP and the small size of some of the teams. We had hoped to see some of the born and raised Opotiki youngsters who go to boarding schools there so we could catch-up but none were there. Maybe next year!
Our team looked great in their new track suits and cycle shirts. Thanks, Delwyn. A huge thanks to the kids who were great to travel with.
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