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