Project Update

Di’s previous Computers in Homes Pilots have been amalgamated into the new regions, with Waiheke becoming part of Auckland CIH with Cara Sefuiva. Cara is currently beginning the Rejuvenation family surveys and warrants of fitness on the computers. Cara has a vast area from Franklin to Northcote, and Waitakere to Tamaki, so has long waiting lists of eager schools.

Cara Sefuvia

Hutt City schools Pomare and Tui Glen are now part of Wellington region with Briar Kopa, and Pomare School hosts the new Wellington CIH Steering Committee. The region covers Wellington, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt cities, and Briar’s new schools for 2011-12 are Berhampore, Petone Central and Taita College. 

Briar at Tui Glen with Hon Tariana Turia

Palmerston North took off like a rocket and has grown to become Manawatu / Horowhenua under the stewardship of Sarah Lee-Rautahi. Terrace End, Roslyn and Somerset Crescent have been joined by Monrad Intermediate. And next year a second Monrad intake, Awatapu College and St Joseph’s Levin will complete by June.

Sarah with InspireNet team

Please see their CIH Regional Blogs which will now record all activity in these areas.

Di Das has also been working with the Correspondence School Te Kura, to extend services to students who are studying outside school. A team effort between Computers in Homes and our hardware supplier RemarkIT Solutions in Wellington has seen CIH sponsor 4 workstations into the Highbury Whanau Centre and RemarkIT sponsor 12 laptops for student and tutor use. Their Youth Worker and tutor Sandra Carroll is over the moon about our donation and says this will make a world of difference to her students.

Alistair Fraser of Wanganui CIH has also been helping Te Kura families get on board with digital literacy via the Whanganui Learning Centre. We have had other enquiries from Dannevirke, and our work to support Te Kura will continue as more and more of their teaching modules go online.

New Pilots 2011-2012

Coromandel 

Di visited Coromandel Area School and Tapu School in October to arrange the CIH rollout for Term 1 2012. Everyone is really excited and Tapu School appreciates the opportunity to be involved as they are so small with only 13 students. They have identified 3 families without computer or internet and Coromandel Area School has kindly relinquished 3 spaces for them. Coromandel will now train 22 families although they have identified around 40 eligible. So we will have to see what we can do for them in the future! Happy to also report that our Waikato CIH team is arranging CIH for 10 families in Thames via the local Beneficiaries Support Trust. Their families will train at Wintec. So we are making inroads into more remote communities that are often passed by, and what a beautiful drive to get there. Waikato CIH have also worked with Paeroa and Te Aroha schools so check out their blog.

Coromandel Area School

Tapu School

Tapu School

Nelson 

Di has had a close relationship with Victory School in Nelson since 2006 through the Refugee Computers in Homes programme for Burmese, Chin, Nepali, Bhutanese and Kayan families. Principal Mark Brown, CIH liaison Dianne Goodwin and Di have often thought it would be great to extend the opportunity to other Victory families. In 2010 Victory Village received the families Commission Award for Best NZ Community, and this year 2011 Victory School hosted a national conference the Victory Village Forum, so the time seemed right to push for funding a CIH pilot intake. We have installed a new 10-pod for training all CIH families. Refugee families are training now, with other due to begin 1^st Term 2012.

Nelson graduation. Chin dance

Nelson graduation

Nelson graduation. Di Das, Mark Brown and a participant Nepali family

Nelson

Palmerston North

10 proud parents and excited children attended graduation at Roslyn School on 19 May. Special thanks to tutor Kylie and to Malcolm from Terrace End who is taking on the tech support at both schools. Great community spirit! Now we are beginning 12 families at Monrad Intermediate and have Awatapu College waiting in the wings. The groundswell has begun in Palmerston North, my old stamping ground from teacher’s college days, longer ago than I will admit.

Roslyn Graduates

Terrace End CIH Graduation

Somerset Crescent Graduation, Palmerston North

Follow the link below to find photos from the Somerset Graduation 6th May 2011
Picasa photos

Palmerston North Pilots

At Terrace End, it has been a real team effort, with the whole school community getting behind the CIH training; BOT and staff members assisting with babysitting so that parents could learn in peace, and Principal Sue Allomes helping during tutoring sessions.

Somerset Cres parents without landlines will be able to connect to the InspireNet Wi-Fi network thanks to involvement from James Watts. James and Di have been discussing CIH for Palmerston North since 2004, and are delighted that these schools have come on board with the programme.

Graduation Dates:

Terrace End - Friday 15 April

Somerset Crescent - Friday 6 May

Roslyn - Thursday 19 May

Word is getting around about Computers in Homes in Palmerston North with 2 new schools seeking involvement, so we have more work to do in seeking funding for them. Watch this space!

Update for Palmerston North Projects

• Terrace End training began Monday 7 Feb and Di was lucky enough to have time to attend both sessions. There has since been a blowout of interest and Di has managed to hustle space for 20 families in total. Malcolm Kelland is tutoring and reports a wide range of abilities in the parents’ ICT knowledge. Their graduation will be the week of 11 April.
• Roslyn training begins 3 March, which suggests graduation around the week of 23 May TBC. Families will train on their own machines in a spare classroom and Kylie Gorrie is doing the tutoring & coordinating of the programme.
• Somerset Cres have 10-12 families ready to start training on Friday 18 Feb, which means graduation week of 18 April, just before Easter hols. Trainer is Dennis Argyle.

Photos from Terrace End's first training session:

Computers in Homes in the Wairarapa area

Computers in Homes will be appointing a project coordinator in the Wairarapa to manage this years projects at the following schools.

• Makoura College had their parent meeting on November 1st 2010 and the project launch will be held on the 9th February 2011.
• Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Wairarapa
• 2 Pahiata schools will be starting later in term 1. Pahiatua Primary and St Anthony's School.

Photos from the parent meeting at Makoura College will be posted shortly.

3 Schools in Palmerston North due to start CIH

3 Schools in Palmerston North, all in the same ICT PD cluster, will be hosting Computers in Homes this year.
Terrace End School training starts 7th February 2011.
Roslyn School will begin training 7th March 2011.
Somerset Crescent School will also begin around March 2011.

Presentation at Somerset Crescent School

Roslyn School Launch

Terrace End School Launch

Terrace End School Launch

19 families graduate from Waiheke

On the 23rd November 2010 19 families graduated through the Waiheke Computers in Homes, hosted at Waiheke High School in partnership with Waiheke Adult Literacy which is cited on school grounds.

The selection of parents was based on their children being yr 7s or yr 8s, to allow the children's progress to be followed throughout form 1 to form 7. Syndicate teachers worked together with the CIH tutor to create a course in correlation with what the children were learning at school.

Parents and staff of Waiheke High School attended a parent meeting and project launch in August 2010.

Waiheke is looking forward to running the Stepping Up programme this year.

Photos from the Waiheke Graduation:

The feedback that I have received from the Computers in Homes Project has all been very positive. All the students that I have spoken to are absolutely delighted with the quality of the computers that they received and everyone I asked thought that the graduation went well. The internet connection speed impressed Adam the computer technician so much that he is going to change providers himself and the feedback on the free tuition has been good.

We cannot thank you and the Computers in Homes team enough for selecting Waiheke to be part of your wonderful scheme and we look forward to working with you again in the future.

Heoi ano

Fran Lapsley

Manager Waiheke Adult Literacy