Wimon heads off to Twittersphere

Simon Wong is leaving us today.

He is packing up his Facebook account and his Twitter logon. We will follow his progress as he writes in 140 characters (the limit for a tweet) about what he sees around the world.

Simon came to Marlborough from Auckland two years ago to work at the Express and has been our court reporter, covering the "list" days each week, the sentencing sessions, the trials and the appeals. He has become quite familiar with a "certain element" of the region.

Being a court reporter is not always an easy job, mostly because people don't like seeing their misdemeanours reported in the paper. Simon, like many others before him, has regularly been pressured by people not to report on their case, or to leave out their name.

We leave name suppression up to the judge and the law, though, and print names whenever we can, so there are no claims of favouritism. Which means Simon has not always been the most popular person in court and has suffered quite a bit of personal abuse.

I remember one caller upset his case had been covered suggesting that I should send "that Asian boy back to China" (and that is the edited version). We had a lively discussion about small-town racism, during which I told him Simon is a born-and-raised Aucklander and probably knows more about New Zealand and its history than he ever will. He hung up.

Wimon Song (the Twitter version of our court reporter) has also been one of our in-house social media experts. He's up with the technology and the language and has regularly sent out comments on the networks to keep followers up with what we've got in the paper and on our website.

Whenever I complain about a computer problem or some other technical foul-up I see him look at me with an expression that says, "You poor dinosaur". It's the same look I get from my son.

We'll miss Simon, another soul to have passed briefly through our newsroom, and wish him well as he returns to Auckland before his big overseas adventures.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 10:18 16/03/2012


http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/blogs/editors-blog/6585281/Wimon-heads-off-to-Twittersphere

Preschool looks forward to opening

SIMON WONG

Last updated 07:21 16/03/2012

SCOTT HAMMOND

Last puzzle piece: Jigsaw preschool in Hodson St, Blenheim, hopes to open within two months after getting its code of compliance, its developers says

A preschool without children or teachers is a sad sight, but that will soon change when Blenheim's newest preschool opens within two months.

Jigsaw Preschool, on Hodson St, has been ready and waiting to be filled with resources, teachers and children since the building was completed last year.

The preschool has been built by Ireland Group, which is owned by Christchurch couple Hamish and Trish Ireland. Jigsaw preschools are owned by Mrs Ireland.

Mr Ireland, a property developer, said the preschool finally had a code of compliance from the Marlborough District Council and would be "gearing up to open in the near future".

"It took a long time to get a consent through ... and, while there were some delays over construction, it's now finished," he said.

"It's taken a long time, but we're ready."

The preschool can cater for up to 75 children aged from 3 months to school age and will be open from 7am to 6pm.

The building was ready to be resourced with educational equipment, and a playground would be fitted out, Mr Ireland said.

The preschool company had done a "very thorough" study on the Marlborough area, including its demographics and needs and what was being provided by other centres, before it opened, he said.

Marlborough had a "good array" of early childhood services, but none had long opening hours, he said.

The company did its own annual research to monitor changes in the early childhood sector around each of their centres, including those in Christchurch, Richmond and Blenheim, he said.

The Ireland Group had been granted resource consent to build on the site in July 2006.

Building consent was issued in February 2008.

Prospective teachers or parents wanting to enrol their children can call Jigsaw Preschool on 0800991234.

- The Marlborough Expres

Peer support numbers swell

Thirteen new peer support students at Marlborough Boys College have added to the growing number who are giving back to the school and helping younger students.

TV star takes to the stage

The difference between acting and singing on stage, muses entertainer Shane Cortese, is like the difference between rugby union and rugby league.

"They have the same qualities – there's a basic similarity, but when you get to the technical side they're different games."

Cortese will be at the Havelock Mussel Festival on Saturday performing with well-known entertainers Frankie Stevens, Jacki Clarke and Rikki Morris.

The performance will be a short break for Cortese, the actor, who has been busy doing pre-production for the second season of Kiwi television show Nothing Trivial.

He says he feels relaxed and comfortable on stage, "but my greatest love is making television – being in a studio, not the promotional side".

While Cortese may be a seasoned actor and singer don't make the mistake of calling him a dancer and a "triple threat" despite reaching the final of the first season of Dancing with the Stars New Zealand in 2005.

"My wife [Nerida] will take great offence if people call me a dancer."

He was not a natural dancer and needed time to learn any routines.

"I've just done [the musical] Cats and can dance if given the time," he adds.

The moves he learned for the role of Rum Tum Tugger, including the cat crawl, do not translate well to the dance floor at his local pub, he says.

The show which has been put together for the festival will be three sets during the day and will also involve the group MCing throughout the day.

The music will be well-known New Zealand songs from the past 50 years which would appeal to a wide range of people, he says.

A lover of seafood, he says he will try and make his way to the stalls to sample the mussels between sets.

The group got together earlier this week to work on the show.

SIMON WONG

Last updated 11:30 15/03/2012

On show: Performers Shane Cortese, left, Frankie Stevens, Jackie Clarke and Rikki Morris have been preparing to entertain the crowd at the Havelock Mussel Festival on Saturday.

Peer support numbers swell

Thirteen new peer support students at Marlborough Boys College have added to the growing number who are giving back to the school and helping younger students.

The year 11 to 13 students joined 20 others who have returned as peer supporters this year.

Among the new support students are Michael Buckley, 16, and Luke Anderson, 16, who say the role will give them a chance to help junior students and give back to their school.

Michael, year 12, said he did not know much about the peer supporters when he was a junior student and their help would have been useful while settling into college life. He knew who the peer supporters were, but thought their role was limited to relationship issues.

It was difficult for some students to talk about their problems and open up, but it was not always about getting them to talk, he said.

"There's no pressure to do anything."

Luke, year 13, added: "Just them [students] coming to us is a good start."

The awareness of what the peer support students did and who they were was growing each year, even judging by the number of students wanting to become support students, Luke said. Peer supporter numbers have grown from 21 last year and 10 in 2010.

College guidance counsellor Eric Newham said the support students are trained to help other students in a range of areas including bullying, mental and health issues, and sexual health and are able to do some mediation.

The challenge with the peer support students was making them more visible and well known among the student body.

Another challenge was that boys were less likely to want to talk about their problems or issues, he said.

"You'll find girls will quite happily talk with their peer supporters, but boys are more reserved – that's the challenge you will always face."

The college's new peer support students, along with their counterparts from Queen Charlotte College, in Picton, and Marlborough Girls' College, took part in a four-day training camp at Waikawa Marae in February.

Peer support numbers swell

- The Marlborough ExpressSIMON WONG

Last updated 07:11 16/03/2012

EMMA ALLEN

Hanging out: James Scott-Barnes, 13, and peer support student Luke Anderson, 17.

More choose agriculture, forestry

More Marlborough Boys' College students are taking up agriculture and forestry at the school, which may reflect job opportunities in the region, its head of department says.

Forty-two year 12 students and 28 year 13 students are taking agriculture this year, teacher Gary Ytsma said.

Thirty-nine year 12 and 36 year 13 students were also taking forestry.

Most of the forestry students were also taking agriculture and vice-versa.

The number of students taking the subjects, run through industry training organisations, fluctuated, but "it's getting bigger rather than smaller", he said.

Most of the unit standards in the subjects are based around safety, including safety with quadbikes and chainsaws, and go toward the students' NCEA Level 2 and 3 credits.

More were seeing work in both industries as a career opportunity, "working outdoors rather than in an office". They leave school with practical skills to enter the agriculture and forestry industries, Mr Ytsma said. Several students continued studying forestry at a tertiary level, but they would be the exception, he said.

Forestry companies also contacted the school looking for students to join their forestry crews because the company did not have to retrain them.

"That's a bonus for them [the company] and makes it worthwhile for students."

Mr Ytsma, who worked in the forestry industry before becoming a teacher, uses his contacts to organise field trips to wineries, wood processing plants and forestry blocks to give students an idea of what job opportunities there were.

Former students have also started their own forestry companies and were working in the Marlborough and Nelson regions.

"Some have done really well. They work with $1 million worth of equipment and hire 10 other people."

Year 11 students could also take agriculture and a term-long introduction was also available for year 10 students.

SIMON WONG

Last updated 07:43 15/03/2012

Marlborough Boys' College year 13 student Max Boyce cuts up a log in Spring Creek as part of the school's forestry course.

Pupils entering new era with iPads

The iPads being used at St Mary's School in Blenheim are an exciting and hands-on way for the pupils to learn, the principal says.

Using money raised from annual galas, the school has bought 25 iPads for pupils to use during classes.

Principal Alister Bridgman said pupils had been using educational apps on the iPads for English, reading and maths activities.

The compact tablet computers gave pupils access to activities that were portable and stimulated their imagination, he said.

Teacher Lara McIntyre said technology in the classroom had come a long way.

"When I first started teaching I didn't even know how to use a mouse."

Pupils often suggested other apps that could be useful for classes, she said. These had to be approved by the principal before they were installed.

Mr Bridgman said pupils were able to cover a greater range of English, reading and maths activities compared to working from the whiteboard or textbooks. St Mary's School is not the only school in Marlborough to have embraced the new technology.

Renwick School had ordered 26 iPads, with plans for another eight, and create an iPad pod for senior students, principal Simon Heath said.

This would give senior pupils access to the wireless internet at the school outside the classroom. The school already had five iPads after winning a national film competition last year, but their use was sporadic because there were so few, he said.

Leasing the iPads was more cost-effective than computers or laptops because they were cheaper.

They were also more portable than laptops, he said.

"Pupils who go on camp will have the ability to take a set of iPads with them and record and put a presentation together."

However, being more portable meant it would be easier for the iPads to disappear, he said.

The school had also ordered 12 laptops for junior classes.

The school was waiting for ultrafast broadband and an electrical upgrade, but it still had a "pretty good" internet connection, he said.

Up to 90 computers could be online at the school at once.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 11:30 15/03/2012

Digital learning: St Mary's School teacher Lara McIntyre watches as Ellen Halfacre, left, and Emma McFarlane, both 12, study using one of the school's 25 iPads

Real gear 'really cool'

Canvastown School has had an upgrade of their cricket gear after receiving $1500 worth of equipment, which brings a sense of realism to their test matches in the back paddock.

The gear, including helmets, bats, balls, gloves and shin pads, is a far cry from the plastic bats and wickets the school used.

Pupils wasted little time putting the gear to good use on Friday afternoon, setting up the wickets on a mowed strip in the school field and playing a quick game before school finished.

The equipment was part of $100,000 worth of grants from The National Bank and the National Cricket Club.

National Bank regional manager Nicky Strong said Canvastown was the only school in Marlborough to receive the grant.

Principal release teacher David Paterson said the pupils play cricket almost every day and have little test matches every so often.

The school's application only asked for a replacement of their plastic bats and wickets which were worn and the gear was great for "a little country school that didn't have a lot of resources".

The school was hoping to have a cricket match against Havelock School using the new equipment, he said.

Canvastown school pupil Jakeb Brown, 11, who plays for the Renwick Green fifth grade team, said the gear was "really cool" and would get more of his classmates interested in cricket.

The school had an old pair of shin pads, but this was the first time the school had proper gear, he said.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 16:07 12/03/2012

Last updated 11:30 09/03/2012

Richard and Michael Ponder are having an exhibition together in a pop up gallery in Blenheim. Part of the proceeds will go to Hospice.

Vacancies for fulltime childcare

Early childhood centres and home-based care providers in Marlborough say parents who want to enrol their under-2s in child care in Blenheim are not facing waiting lists to get their children into fulltime care.

Kindergartens and day care centres in Wellington are reporting waiting lists of more than a year. One child care centre said one mother asked to put her name on the list before her child had been born.

The situation has developed as mothers head back to work when children are younger.

Early childhood centres spoken to by the Express say their centres have vacancies for under-2s and believed more parents were using home-based childcare services such as Porse and Barnardos.

Blenheim's Little Footsteps co-owner Angela Fitzpatrick said Marlborough does not have the "big money-spinning jobs" which would draw women back into the workforce earlier.

Most parents would be better off with Working for Families support, she said.

Beavertown Preschool and Early Learning Centre owner Carolyn Gregg said the centre had vacancies for under-2s, however some parents did book months ahead for the maximum 15 spaces at the centre.

More parents were choosing home-based childcare and were waiting until their children were three years old to take advantage of the 20 hours of free early childhood education at centres, she said.

Porse Marlborough programme tutor and consultant Heather Stirling said the demand for home-based care was growing based on the number of providers in the region.

"If you go by the amount of home-based providers opening up, in July 2008 it was just Barnardos, then Porse came along and now there are five or six other home-based providers."

There were no waiting lists for their service because the company was recruiting home educators all the time, she said. The company had 31 educators in Marlborough which catered for about 90 families and more than 100 children.

Educators run their own home-based care business and charge their own hourly rates and work their own hours so they can cater for part-time or fulltime care. The business model meant parents could be flexible about when they have their children in care.

SIMON WONG

Last updated 07:57 09/03/2012

Exhibiting their works for a cause

Two artist brothers have rented space in central Blenheim to open a pop-up art gallery with some of the proceeds from the exhibition going to Hospice Marlborough.

Michael and Richard Ponder will open the temporary gallery on Market St, next to Biddy Kate's Irish Bar, on Tuesday night. The gallery will be open to the public until April 7.

About 35 original works and some limited edition prints from both artists will be on show at the exhibition.

Michael Ponder, who lives in the Waihopai Valley and has exhibited his work around the world, said he was "particularly happy" with the space and believed turning it into a gallery made good use of the empty buildings in town.

Among the items in the exhibition is his water-colour painting The Drover which was used as a wine label for Ponder Estate winery in 2000.

Michael Ponder, who is also a writer and grows grapes and olives, last exhibited his work in Marlborough about 25 years ago. He said this exhibit was "to remind people I still live here and want to show where we're at and what we're doing".

The money was going to the hospice because he admired the work the organisation did, he said.

Richard Ponder, who lives in Wellington and has a gallery in Eastbourne, said the brothers have shown their works together irregularly in the past 30 years. "This is certainly not a usual event."

When the self-taught artists began painting they had a similar style and still favoured the palette knife over a paintbrush, he said. Many of their works are oil on canvas.

Richard Ponder said he was more of a colourist. He painted in the style of Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Jackson Pollock while his brother's work was more in the Japanese and Chinese style – "very simple, but very precise and beautiful".

SIMON WONG

Last updated 11:30 09/03/2012

Kiwi actor hails Pelorus shoot

Filming at Pelorus River was a highlight for a Kiwi actor playing a dwarf in Sir Peter Jackson's film The Hobbit.

Stephen Hunter, who plays the dwarf Bombur in The Hobbit, says in a behind-the-scenes production diary uploaded to YouTube that filming at Pelorus was one of the best days on set.

The 12 1/2-minute video, uploaded last week, follows director Sir Peter and his cast and crew filming at locations throughout New Zealand, including 10 days filming at Pelorus in December.

Since the video was uploaded it has received more than 12,500 views.

The filming in Marlborough involved the dwarfs floating down the river in barrels.

The video shows a large temporary platform built over the Pelorus River and men in wetsuits helping the actors into their barrels before they set off paddling down the river.

Sir Peter even expresses a bit of jealousy over what the actors got to do. "Looks like fun. I'd do it myself if I wasn't busy doing other things."

The end of the Pelorus shoot came to a dramatic end after police issued a severe-weather warning for the area, he said.

"I've never seen a crew pack up their gear so quickly. The very next day, everywhere we were standing – where our equipment was, our cameras, our actors, the director – was under floodwater."

Pelorus Bridge campground manager Nobby Neal said since filming finished several people had asked where it had taken place, but he did not expect an influx of people to the area until after the movies were released. The campground was closed for filming between December 6 and 16.

The two Hobbit films are being shot around New Zealand and the first, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is set to be released in December.

No time for the whole video? Forward to 10.42 (minutes) to see the Pelorus Bridge portion

http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/6542345/Kiwi-actor-hails-Pelorus-shoot

SIMON WONG

Last updated 07:17 08/03/2012

A little Irish flair for festival

Wellington band The Shenanigans will stray from their traditional North Island haunts to play at the Havelock Mussel Festival next weekend.

The four-piece Irish group have been together for about five years, but have known and performed with each other in various musical outfits – such is life in the music industry, according to the band's violinist Jane Boyers.

Their website markets the band as an outlaw gang reminiscent of the Wild West and most of their "safe houses" include bars in Wellington, Lower Hutt, Whanganui, Palmerston North and Porirua.

However, Boyers says it will be a "real treat" to head down south and play an open-air festival.

"Bars are bread and butter work and we've got good relationships with bar owners. But as soon as you get an opportunity to play an open air venue it's pretty hard to beat."

"You need both in a way – you'd probably get burnt out if you're doing five nights a week at an open air venue."

The band will arrive on Saturday morning, play the festival, then travel to the Nelson Suburban Club for a St Patrick's Day gig.

The Mussel Festival may be a perfect gig for Boyers, who is a lover of seafood.

"I would have fish and seafood if I could every day."

Their gigs tend to be energetic and happy, with songs guaranteed to get the crowd dancing, she said.

"These are serious times and people don't always want to hear serious music. We try to keep it lively and uplifting."

The four members, Boyers, Justin Reed, Maurice Phillips and Clinton Brown, draw on their different musical backgrounds to create a repertoire of songs spanning different genres from alternative country, Irish songs, pop and rock`n'roll.

The band may even throw in a sea shanty or two, Boyers quips.

Joining Shenanigans in entertaining the crowd will be well-known Kiwi performers Frankie Stevens, Shane Cortese, Jacki Clarke and Rikki Morris.

Tickets to the festival cost $25 for adults (15 years and over), $10 for children and free for under 5s. A Family Pass, which is two adults and two children, is $50. Tickets are $5 more at the gate.

Tickets are available from the Floorpride Civic Theatre in Blenheim, Havelock Information Centre, Blenheim New World, Take Note in Picton and the Blenheim and Picton i-Sites.

For more information about The Shenanigans visit shenanigans.net.nz/home.html.

- The Marlborough Express SIMON WONG

Last updated 13:11 08/03/2012

Teachers checked

The president of the Marlborough Principals Association says new teachers to Marlborough are checked rigorously before employment and many teachers employed in the region are already known to schools.

The comment follows the arrest of a convicted sex offender employed as a teacher for more than two years at a primary school and three weeks at a secondary school, both in Auckland.

President Andrew Macfarlane said Marlborough had a small network of schools and a close principals' association, so many teachers employed in the region were already known to them.

While this was a "significant advantage", they also relied heavily on the Teachers Council and the police vetting process when considering new employees.

News of the sex offender's arrest "sent a shiver up my spine".

"We, as a profession, look into who their [potential employees] referees are and how they can comment on that particular employee," he said.

The checks delve significantly into the person's background, especially if they were arriving from outside the area, he said. SIMON WONG

Last updated 11:30 01/03/2012