Hopeful in Houpoto

There is a clearly marked track!
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

On Queen's Birthday Monday myself, the Boss, Jarred, Mike, Roger went with Lea on a 3 hour MTB ride through the Houpoto which she organised. We were given clear instructions by Pete and had 2 maps and 2 expert navigators in Jarrod and Roger. Look at the track in the photo! We got lost and ended up on the banks of the Motu River and had to retrace our steps for 1 1/2 hours back up hill through the slips and windfall we had encountered on the way down. The whole event took 8 hours! We ran out of food but Lea got a Snickers Bar and Ham Roll off Jarrod when he went ahead to let everyone know we were OK and she ate it all herself despite the boss and I carrying her bike across the big slip.

Unfortunately I had 3 nasty falls on the same hip, elbow and shoulder!

It was a great adventure but we really needed our BBQ lunch back at the Maraenui clubhouse. Unfortunately we didn't get lunch until 4.30!

Have a look at the photos which show the magnificent view over Hawai early on in the ride, the chaps carefully navigating, climbing huge hills and scrambling over trees and slips. It was nice to see the Motu but not so nice to leave and climb back out.

ERO Report Outstanding!!

We had a great week when ERO was here a fortnight ago. It was quite nerve-wracking while they were here because they rattle every cage that they can find and dissect everything that falls out. As the week progressed, howver, it became clear that they knew they were visiting a great school. At the end of the visit they made an extremely positive report to the BOT where they congratulated the school for its very high levels of achievement, the high levels of respect they saw between everyone at school and the high levels of confidence the parents had! It would be impossible, in my view, for any school to get a more positive report. You'll see when it's public.

Te Waiti Wetting

IMG_0201[1]
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

Hello readers! I know you have been missing me, but I have had to punish you with silence because you are not writing comments to my blogs!

Never mind, we had a great ride (ten of us) up to the Te Waiti Hut on Sunday. The highlight was Dr Kerr taking a plunge into the stream. See the rest of the photos for the rest of the action.

The boss was on his new single fork Canondale!

We coped well with the quite technical in places terrain. Lea was a bit of a whimp and walked a bit.

I had the most spectaculat fall over a cliff only being saved by some bracken fern where I hung until a laughing Ross pulled me and my bike back on to the track.

We were joined by first timers Karl and Jane who performed way too well and need to know their place.

The race back down the Otara Straight was pretty quick with Jarrod barely hanging on to the old fellas.

OPotiki College MTB Team at Nationals

Whole team before downhill practice
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

Kurt and I and parent, Paul Owen, had a great trip to Levin with Gareth, Hamish, Cory and Glen to attend the National Secondary Schools MTB Championships. This was the first time we had taken a team and it was a great learning experience for the boys, all of whom will be back for another crack next year. They discovered how challenging the courses are and what sort of training they need to do. Phil and Gareth had luxury accommodation while Kurt and I and the three boys had a cosy time in the tent at the Levin Camping Ground! The guys were great company and learned a lot just by observing Kurt and I in action!

The highlight was Pizza Hut Pizzas in Levin and coffee in Bulls. Mr Bean on the last night was a bit of a struggle. Click here for the photos.

The Three Day Odyssey

Team in Tranquil Setting at Green Lake. Little did we know!!!
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

Hi readers. First of all apologies for not communicating but life has been very busy. I'll tell you about that next week. In the meantime here are the photos from the might three day odyssey myself, Lea, Kurt and Andrew went on. Brutal but awesome in a masochistic way.

I nned to rush off with Kurt to the Sec Schools MTB Champs in Levin as we are taking 4 studsents so enjoy the photos and I will give lots more stories next week. I know you can't wait. Click here for photos.

Mangakirikiri and Amokura - 2 Rides one weekend!

On Saturday morning Kurt, the Boss and I rode the Managakirikiri stream. It's a great 45k ride. Kurt and I took a dive out of the mud pool and I did one head first dive into a gorse bush. We decided to have two rides this weekend as we are preparing for the 3 day Odyssey.

On Sunday the same three, as well as newcomers to THE LIST Rachel and Ross, left the Boss's and met up with Brian and George at Woodlands school. We learnt that Teds and Aaron were leaving later and would catch us. I think they think we are a bit slow. Still no sign of Barry - the one who grissled the most about not being on THE LIST. It's an awesome ride up Amokura Road. We had to negotiate past a rampaging bull. It's moments like that that you wish cyclists didn't wear bright clothing! At our first stop the signs of problems began to emerge. Aaron (of course) discovered that his new chain had a sticky link so we spent hours trying to fix that.

We then split into a couple of groups while the repairs continued and agreed to meet at the next ford. Only 3 of us (me, Ross and Aaron successfully rode across the ford) which is disappointing because it was an easy one. At this point we discovered that Brian appeared to have a chian which was too long but we told him just to suck it in and get on with it. He wasn't going to need his small cog at the back any way as we set off on that relentless climb to the gate.

Just after we took off we heard the gunshot that meant Aaron (of course) had blown a tube. We had already started climbing so we were stopping for no-one. I climbed in 38 minutes which is my best yet. Ross drafted behind me until the last few hundred metres and got to the top first! The others followed closely behind with Rachel claiming that she hates climbing hills, though she climbed strongly in 50 minutes. (After the nerve and body shaking descent that followed she claimed that she hated downhills - no pleasing some people.)

Jared arrived at the top and then set off back down!!! to find Aaron. Guess what? He had two further punctures and now had no tubes. As the photo shows we inspected the tyre and found it had a hole worn through it. With great group thinking we applied a tube patch inside and then taped a piece of old tube (of which Aaron now had quite a few) inside the tyre and everything was now hunky dory.

The descent was difficult as it is very steep with tight hairpins as the photo shows and the rocks were big and loose!

We finally made it back to the Boss' for coffee and toast. Another great 50k ride!

It was great to see new list entrants Rachel and Ross turn up. Where are you Barry?

Another Day at Opotiki College

Despite an early night last night I was still exhausted from yesterday's ride - see previous post. Running a school is hardwork at the best of times let alone when you are a bit shagged. But it has been another great day - still plenty of issues to deal with (kids dodging, some disrespect etc - the run-of -the-mill when working with almost 600 teenagers) but there is a feeling of satisfaction when the team works so well to calmly deal with everything that comes our way.

I've just received data which shows the great work we are doing with literacy. Our 2006 Year 9 group arrived with 57% scoring in the bottom quartile in literacy assessment. Our testing at the end of last year reduced that to only 25% in the bottom quartile. This is an outstanding achievement and is a credit to first of all the English Department but to all teachers in general. No wonder our NCEA results are so good.

Most of the day was spent meeting parents and students to help solve little problems. I have been out of school quite a bit so I have also been busy catching up with staff. It makes for busy times. I have worked out that for the remaining 18 days of school this term I will be here for 10 of them!

The highlight of the day was meeting with my Aspiring Leaders group. We spent 45 minutes talking about how leadership must impact on improved student achievement, about the importance of clarifying our individual moral purpose when it comes to teaching and about how we can make leadership sustainable. We then decided we would focus in our next meetings on difficult conversations, sustainable leadership, professionalism and influencing teachers to help the school achieve its goals.

There is no better place to work than where you have people to have these conversations with! Bring on tomorrow!

Motu Magic

Sorry, no photos this week as the boss was absent with leave so we had no camera. Actually a camera would have been perfect to catch that wonderful, painful expression on Jarrod's face as I sped past him when climbing the Papamoa. It was similar to the look on Brian and George's face as I did the same!!!

Anyway, back to the start. Another Sunday, another great adventure. This time Kurt, Lea, Jarrod, Aaron and George met at Hanaia for coffee and we picked up Brian at Tirohanga store. We headed up the Mighty Motu Road to climb to the top of Papamoa and return - a ride of 72k. Leigh also did a solo ride to the top of the Meremere and back - 50k by herself which is a great achievement!

Jarrod and Aaron had gone for a wee bush walk the day before and claimed they were a bit tired. I led for the first 7k which I thought was a bit long as I waited for the next rider to have their turn in front. We hit the base of the Meremere together but soon separated as Lea set out on her own challenge to be the first to the top. All were left in her wake, but she didn't know that I was looking after those at the back, because I'm that sort of guy! Unfortunately, I continued to have seat problems as my quick release was not working and my seat slowly sunk to the bar!

The summit was totally clouded in and we continued onto the Papamoa after leaving Aaron to fend for himself dealing with a puncture. We hit the base quite a distance apart, but an awesome climb on my part saw me haul in everyone but Lea, but I was hauling her in! As soon as I caught her at the top she insisted we head down straight away to really rub it in! Who was I to argue?

Two great downhill rides saw us all gather at the 16k bridge to wait for Kurt who had developed into a bit of a heavy weight during the ride. Jarrod was unable to wait as he was in if I stop now I stop for good mode. On the way we had passed a group of children on a wide range of bikes. When Kurt finally turned up he announced that he might be stuffed but no kids on BMX bikes were going to beat him. At that point he discovered his flat tyre and the kids came past before he could fix it!!

We then split into 2 groups. The caring and sensitive Maurie and George stayed with Kurt to nurse him home while Lea, Aaron and Brian sped off in the distance. We caught them on the Main Rd trying to fix Aaron's broken chain. We were catching them anyway!!

Juice, coffee, passion fruit and muffins completed a great but exhausting Motu Meander.

That's my version of events anyway!!!!!

Blue Mountain Blues Chapter 2.

Full Crew minus The Boss Who Took the Photo.
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

We've just climbed Gaskills Rd to the forestry gate and about to enter the awesome Blue Mountains. Little did we know that Destry and Glen would break a chain each and that my seat bolt would shear off. We rode for 3 1/2 hours but were out for 5 hours. Despite the dramas it was a great ride with some tough relentless climbing and some scary downhill. I think only 3 of us successfully rode the last bit of treacherous downhill - Jarrod and Aaron and myself (though I did have a fall near the top!) It was also great because of the turnout - the Boss, myself, Kurt, Lea, Jarod, Aaron, Brian, Hamish, George, Glen and Destry. The day before Leigh and Shirley attacked Meremere Hill. They are supposed to be the more sedate crew!

More photos of the ride if you click here.

Blue Mountain Blues

29k into an awesome 60k ride in the Blue Mountains behind Opotiki a loud bang and sudden pain in my nether regions signaled that my seat bolt had sheared off. Major personal damage was avoided and I collected my seat and other bits and pieces from the trail. A committee meeting on the side of the track resulted in a piece of string being produced and some ‘spare’ electric fence tape attached to a nearby post being procured. The seat post was dropped as far as it could go and we roped the seat on. Of course the 29k mark signaled the end of 90 minutes of climbing with steep and very technical downhill in front of us followed by a series of stream crossings before the final 20k sprint down the Pakihi Rd to Opotiki. You certainly don’t appreciate how much you use your seat for bracing (and sitting on) until you discover you can only use it sparingly. As well, having the seat 30cm lower than the best position makes for awkward riding. Team this up with the fact that the last time I went out with this group 3 weeks ago I fell off at speed (I was nearly in front though!) and broke a couple of ribs so it was quite a tentative ride down and out. Fortunately two other guys broke their chain on this particular ride, so our repair skills have been tested.

The attached photos show that the temporary repairs held up until the end.

We've reached the end of week 4 of our new year. Though things are very much as normal I do feel we're in the best shape we have been for a while. We're certainly basking in a feeling of contentment because of those great NCEA results and there seems to be a wider understanding and, dare I say it, acceptance by the staff of what we're trying to achieve in this school.



Closer analysis of our results shows that we still have a bit to do to lift the achievement of Maori students. It is pleasing to see that Maori students do better here than they would elsewhere. It is also important to note that this is not at the expense of the achievement of all others. In fact, students of all gender and ethnicity are doing well. Only one non-Maori student left Opotiki College last year without at least NCEA L1 and this student was only with us for Year 9 and then a few weeks in 2006 as a Year 12 student. Our challenge is now to ensure that the situation with 25 Maori students leaving without NCEA L1 is improved. Te Kotahitanga will have a huge impact here.





Yesterday we had a great Teacher Only Day with world guru Margaret Thorsborne working with the whole staff on Restorative Principles. Once again I was spellbound. All staff I have spoken with found it very valuable. It was interesting that by morning tea time she was able to identify the couple of staff who were along way from being on board this kaupapa.





I firmly believe that the stuff that we are doing in this area will make for a better world. Teachers will benefit from a less stressful environment, Senior Management Team members wont be burnt out by being sacrificed on the detention pyre, students will develop and learn in a respectful environment where they will hone their emotional awareness and parents will feel respected. All who pass through our school will go on to take their part in the world, wherever that mey be, and be able to make a fine contribution as a result of their time here with us.

More Cellar Rats

I knew you would want to see these photos. The team is a bit confused because everyone believed that Maurie was going to run the last leg, but it appears his father has turned up and run it. We can tell this by the big forehead and very aged appearance.

Note the flash medals in the team photograph.

Outstanding NCEA Results

We're over the moon at Opotiki College as the students from 2006 have achieved the best ever NCEA results at each year level that we have ever achieved. At each year level our students achieved at above the national average. We are a decile 2 school which generally means we should be achieving at well below the average. In fact at level 1 our pass rate of 61% compared to the national average of 59% is not surpassed by any other decile until decile 6. At Level 2 our pass rate of 77% compared to the national average of 63 % is not surpassed by any other decile average at all! Our pass rate at Level 3 of 53 % compared to the national average of 51% is not surpassed until the decile 7 average. As well, our literacy and numeracy achievement of 90% is also not surpassed by any other decile!

Opotiki College is where it's 100% effort 100% of the time! Congratulations to students, their families and to the very hard-working and committed staff. Our town has a secondary school of which it can be extremely proud.

Swimming Sports

What a beautiful day at Opotiki College 2007 swimming sports.

Students made a real effort with dressing up in house colours and the house competition was strong. Participation was great and staff made a real positive contribution to the day. It was a bit of a bummer dealing with a couple of kids who smuggled some alcohol, but as with all such incidents the students will be given the opportunity to learn and to move

on.

Cellar Rats Take on Taupo

DSC02019
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

Opotiki Cellar Rats reached new heights while running and walking around Lake Taupo in the Round the Lake Relay. We completed our fastest ever time of 14 hours and 27 minutes and were placed third in our highly competitive grade! For the first time in our history we were summoned to the stage amid rapturous applause and widespread acknowledgement to receive a beautiful cap, a lovely pair of socks and a large bronze medallion designed to be worn with an unbuttoned shirt and tight short pants!

Once again organisation was superb with fine accommodation and outstanding cuisine organised by our manager Chris. The event was a challenge as we all wrestled with our own demons and faced the challenges we set for ourselves competing against previous times.

Rachel gave us a strong start walking us into 6th place. James took over and despite feeling out of sorts, he, like Rachel, ran a faster time than had been done before. The next two walking legs were completed by Bruce and Stacey and both also set new fastest times. Unfortunately, I was not able to continue the trend and ran a minute slower than the awesome record I set the year before! I did, however, bring up my UpnGo during the race and had a series of dry retches at the end as I reacted to the painkillers I was taking for my broken ribs (I had to get the broken ribs thing in!). Peter and Shane then ran the next two legs strongly (slightly slower than the fast times from last year) but we were now in about 5th place. However, to Bruce's disappointment we had now well and truly dropped the red hotpants team.

Chris stepped up to the mark and like a true captain ran his heart out and almost equalled last year's time. He held on strongly to the fast athlete from 414. Joseph then attacked Kuratau Hill and when he finally got his knees, elbows and ankles going in the right order took us closer to teams in front and set a time faster than last year.

Joseph handed over to the unknown new member, Lisa "I don't like losing", who had an outstanding walk and powered through the field and past the grubby old man to walk us into second place. Captain Fantastic, Jared, then took off on his own personal odyssey and charged down the hill, along the swamp and into Turangi. He was unable to keep out the strong runner from 414, but he hung on strongly to him and had a gutsy slog into the wind. He missed James' record by 2 seconds but had us in a very strong position.

Our racing tuna, Ross, took off after the two racing sardines in front and set a new fastest time pulling away from the teams behind us. At the end of his lap he wished his wife a happy anniversary and Jo took off and held her strong starting pace through to the end. Unfortunately James was in the dunny when she finished which created a little confusion, but after a quick shake he was off.

James put all his demons to rest and ran a fastest time for this leg. He was now a happy chappy again. Joseph then strode up Hatepe Hill and dug deep as he took on his second big climb for the day. Bruce then had his second leg and with the attitude of "let's just do it!" started the charge towards Taupo.

Barry who had been waiting several hours to enter the stage got himself into the zone, donned his flash white cap, and strode out towards the airport. While he did not match Maurie's awesome record on that lap he kept out a fast attacking team from Bush.

Maurie took over the last leg as Jared was well and truly spent and completed the charge to the finish line setting a new leg record.

No-one had anything left in the bank. All had given everything they had. After a fine prizegiving overseen by kaumatua Hemi Crosswell we hit the party and danced the night away.

click here for photos

Back to School

We had a great start yesterday. Don't tell the Ministry that we started the year early! Our powhiri was great with Vaughan bringing new staff and students into the warm embrace of Kura-ki-uta. After a brief assembly we got into things and the day ran very smoothly thanks to the hardwork of the two wahine. Senior staff stepped up well and assisted new staff to settle in. We finished the day with a hectic session in the Itiaki looking at mydesktop, managing email accounts, discussing behaviour management, using Integris to get timetables and classlists, checking NZQA for student results and accessing AsTTle to check student ability.

I attempted a run with Scotty and Kurt but had to turn around after 300m because the ribs were too painful so I consoled myself by changing my flat tyre which I had when I arrived in the morning!

The great news I have been able to share with staff and students is our wonderful NCEA results which are the best we have ever achieved. It feels as if things are coming together a bit and paying off - touch wood! 61% of Year 11s got Level 1, 77% of Year 12s got Level 2 and 54% of Year 13s got Level 3 - all well above national averages. 90% of Year 11s also got both literacy and numeracy as well!

Today is Waitangi Day and I came in at 9.00am to witness a session being run with our senior rugby players. Year 11 Dean Vaughan Bidois, Coach Louis Desbats, Rugby Development Officer Brent McKillop and Rugby Co-ordinator Debbie McKillop were here with almost 30 boys and discussing thei kaupapa for the year and how they can as a team work together to help other team members to meet all school and team expectations. It was a neat session to be part of and I applaud the efforts of the staff to align their kaupapa with the whole school.

Madness and Damage on The Meremere

On Sunday we drove to Motu and Andrew, Nicole and Brian rode biked to the kayak start and myself, Kurt, Lea, Peter, Hamish and the Teddy boys (Jared and Aaron) rode down the Motu Rd to Tirohanga. The highlight of the ride was all 5 (not Lea and Peter because they were a bit behind us on the downhill on Meremere) of us racing down the Meremere like mad banshees at 54kph, sliding out on corners and changing the lead repeatedly. The lowlight 150m from the end was me following Hamish around a particularly tight bend when he bailed so I had to go inside him only to find Kurt there. At high speed loss of control was the only option and I found myself bouncing along the clay berm inches from a 150ft sheer drop. I must have turned my wheel to avoid certain death which dug into the clay and was thrown onto the road at about 40kph. I was certain that I had broken my elbow and my ribs hurt. The elbow was just bruised, but I had to ride the 20k home one-handed! The ribs are buggered, most probably cracked and everything is now painful. Before we left the scene we noted that my bike track along the clay berm was 2-3cm from the edge!

Anyway we retired to the spa with a couple of beers and met up with Leigh, Marg, Shirley, Lucy and Mary who had biked from Waiaua Church to the top of Meremere and return.

Andrew "The Boss" Taylor grinding up a hill.

Andrew "The Boss" Taylor grinding up a hill.
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

This is a great photo of Andrew putting in the hard yards on our day in the Redwoods on Sunday. Myself, Leigh, Thomas, Lucy, Margaret, Andrew, Tine and her sister, Brian, Michael and Hamish and Scotty and Faith went to the Redwoods for MTB and trailwalking. There are many new tracks there that I had never ridden before and they were wonderful - lots more drop downs and technical stuff and plenty of opportunity to get some air. Every one had a great time as you can see by clicking here and looking at the

photos. Hamish slashed his calf on his big chain ring and then bust his rear deraillieur. We had to take it off, shorten the chain and make temporary repairs, which we did well with a little help from a passing bike afficianado!

Maraenui Clubhouse

On Sunday had the first bike ride in a couple of weeks. Andrew, Lea and I rode from home to the club house in Maraenui where we were joined by Leigh and Margaret who drove up. We were hosted by Bev and Ted who had a Swiss visitor. Pete was there and cooked a breakfast of bacon, french toast, grilled bananas and tomatoes for all of us on the awesome BBQ in the photo. We also had coffee made from water boiled in the thermette! After breakfast someone had to drive the car back so that Marg and Lea could bike so Andrew and Lea had to bike back without my company! More coffee and a spa completed the final day before work started again.

McNaught's Comet

Comet
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.

This photo is the first in a set of 14 that tracks the path of McNaught's Comet on the evening of 19 January from my front gate. The different colours are because I tried different shutter speeds. Click here to see the full set.