Newsletter Team

Content: ARAS Students,

ARAS Tutors,

Manager

Layout Gaye Harry

Proofreading Greta Bowron

Editing Maureen Vance

Jean Day

Printing Andrea Charity,

Central City Library

Hello, everyone.

I hope that you all have had a good start to 2014.

ARAS has been busy with its move to 24 Walker St (near to South City Mall) and we are settling in to a more central location. Please do call in and inspect our new home.

There is still some construction work to be completed, and, when everything is finished a ‘Casual Opening” is planned. Some of the construction in progress is bookshelves for our library. It will be a pleasant surprise to be able to see our books arranged on shelves after their sojourn of two plus years in banana boxes!

Another change is that I will be moving on from ARAS soon, so I will say Goodbye and wish you good luck for the future. (See my “Good Bye ARAS” in the newsletter.)

Keep up your reading and writing, and thus you will open up a world of opportunities!

All the best.

Volume: 99

Issue: April 2014

Phone: 366 9479

Email: aras.ch@xtra.co.nz

IN THIS ISSUE

Pg 1 Maureen’s Letter

Pg 2 From the Chairperson

Pg 3 Governing Committee

Pg 4 Tutor Resources

Pg 6 Congratulations

Pg 7 Did You Know?

Pg 8-9 Tutors’ Notice Board

Pg 10 Invitation to Maureen’s

Farewell

Pg 11 Maureen’s Goodbye

Letter

Pg 12-13 Kupu for 50 Weeks

Campaign

Pg 14-18 Student Contributions

Pg 19-20 Puzzle pages

Pg 21 Bequest Form

Pg 22 Puzzle Answers

Live as if you were to die tomorrow

Learn as if you were to live forever.

Mahatma Ghandi

From the Chairperson of ARAS 2014, Niki Hannan

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa

Awhi te whitinga o te rā

Embrace the sunshine

Great to see everyone at Walker Street, at last!! Thank you so much to all who made it possible!!!

You may have heard that Maureen Vance the manager at ARAS is resigning. Sadly, this will be the end of a glorious era with her parting; of a time where the volunteer tutor and the one-to-one tutoring was para-mount. Twenty-three years is a large amount of time to be as devoted to an organisation as Maureen has been. We acknowledge her passionate service to the volunteers, tutors and staff. Most of all we honour her for her compassion when working with students.

Workplace: Jean Day is to be commended for Workplace has made it into the black. We ask a lot of Work-place as the profit-making arm of ARAS. It hasn’t been easy trying to make up for the numbers lost during the last shaky year – but it is a tribute to Jean and the tutors that they continue to increase.

Finances: We welcomed Gill Lafferty on the team – we thank her for how she is sharing her talents in terms of marketing, programme development as well as keeping an efficient control on finances.

Reception: We acknowledge Karen Verbeek for all the extra she has been doing in terms of fund raising –Mr. Pip and all that has been required of her moving into this hub.

Data entry: We thank Faye Laing for her accurate data entry of our records. This enables ARAS to con-tinue to get funding.

The people on the Governing Committee are also to be thanked: Glenys Whitelaw for her thorough work as Treasurer and Sandy Page for her dedication to the students’ cause. Kia ora Charmaine Tukua, as the Maori rep. Ka pai tō mahi. Peter Dobbs for being such an organised secretary and Jennifer Leahy for her support for dealing with personnel issues. Lynley Eastwick joined us last year and Vanessa Tedesco who has been able to return to us. Our thanks also go to Cilla Taylor new to the team and bringing a wide range of skills. All these people represent the tutors, the volunteers and Workplace tutors. Thank you for your tire-less efforts with our core business. Thank you all for your commitment and loyalty.

To all the students and volunteers who continue to work together under such trying circumstances – Thank you. Kia ora mō ō tātou awhi mahi! We hope you will be happy in Walker Street.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa

3

ARAS Governing

Committee, 2014

Niki Hannan, Chairperson

Glenys Whitelaw, Treasurer

Peter Dobbs, Secretary

Charmaine Tukua, Maori Rep

Jennifer Leahy

Lynley Eastwick

Cilla Taylor

Vanessa Tedesco

A huge Thank you to all those

who turned up for the weekend

working bees to help get 24

Walker St. ready

for occupation.

Building Confidence

Accept and have faith in the learner

Challenge but do not frustrate

Emphasise the joy of learning

Praise the process

Share the satisfaction of completion and accomplishment

Recognise progress and provide encouragement

Allow for differences in rate and style of learning

Never give up on the learner

Build on assets and strength

Be a good listener

I before e…

Except when you

Run a feisty heist on

A weird beige foreign

neighbour

Tutor Resources ARAS Library – our library is nearing the end of its banana box life and we hope to have the books sorted and

shelved along the hallway of 24 Walker St. before Easter. The ARAS library is and always has been a wonderful resource for tutors and students – it has been sorely missed while it has been hiding in boxes.

Next time you are in at ARAS, take a minute or two to welcome it back!

Remember the Open Polytechnic and Open Wananga courses that are available for you to do with your learners who do not have their Level 2 NCEA qualification.

Open Polytechnic offers three courses designed to staircase students through the NZQA framework as they

complete each programme:

Feedback from those already doing these courses is very positive.

Get Ahead Start is a foundation literacy and numeracy programme for second-chance learners.

Get Ahead Skills is a pre-employment and self-development programme.

Get Ahead Choices is a Level 2 training and education programme and allows students to explore their career options as they align to the Government’s Vocational Pathways structure to pursue vocational pathways in which they are interested.

.

Top Up to NCEA. is for learners who already have 50+ credits towards NCEA. This programme allows learners to study just the bits they need to complete their qualification.

Open Wananga offers three courses designed to give students the confidence to go back to learning, the skills to

handle their finances and prepares them for entering the workforce.

Papa Ako - Learning to Learn

Papa Whairawa - Financial Literacy

Mahi Toa - Certificate in Employment Skills

There are copies of these programmes in the office for you to look through, along with information about enrolments, time scales and credits earned.

5

Learners are best when:

They are successful

They are motivated because they see a purpose

Learning is meaningful

They enjoy what they are doing

Material is relevant and interesting to them

Material is presented in a way that suits their learning style

Material is presented at a pace with which they can cope

They are given time for review

Someone believes in them

ARAS wishes to acknowledge and thank for their generosity:

Pub Charities—for their grant that enabled us to purchase nine laptops for

student and tutor use.

Lions—for their donation that covered the costs of ARAS moving from their temporary premises to 24 Walker St.

Education is not the filling of a

pail, but the lighting of a fire.

Check out our Website!!!

www.aras.org.nz

or

Google “ARAS”

Have you found the ‘Donate Now’ button?

Many thanks to Zeald for their

generous sponsorship.

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Drivers licence

Roshini

The boys from the Te Wakamoemoea group

CALT Level 5

Pamela M

Anna W

Marilyn T

7

DID YOU KNOW…

After the February 2011 earthquake, Dingwell House, 72 Gloucester St was badly damaged and ARAS lost its home of 30 years.

The staff of ARAS worked from their homes for six or seven weeks after the earthquake, meeting every week for a lunch / staff meeting. Looking for temporary space was a priority but ARAS was just one of the multitudes of displaced businesses and organizations that were also looking and prospects were almost non-existent.

A contact with the The Church in Christchurch led to ARAS being offered space in their building at Mathers Road, Hoon Hay. Originally built as a Workingmen’s Club and also used as a rugby club before being taken over by The Church, there was space to accommodate ARAS. We moved into the squash courts with access to the rooms and hall for tutoring purposes at the end of April, 2011. Although a long way from our previously central location, tutors and students eventually found their way to us even though for some it meant taking two or three buses or navigating road works, detours and the devastation of the central city and suburbs.

ARAS ended up staying at Mathers Road until February this year - almost three years, a very long extension of the three months we originally intended.

We are deeply appreciative and eternally grateful to The Church for their kindness, generosity, understanding and patience for allowing us to stay there and to keep ARAS in existence.

Read more

It does not matter how slowly you go

As long as you do not stop.

Tutors’ Notice

Board

Please say “Hi” to our

receptionist

when you arrive

And “Bye” to her when

you leave ARAS.

Thanks from the ARAS

Office!

ARAS now works on a booking system for reserving rooms.

If you are not sure how to do this, please call Karen so

you can be sure of getting a tutoring space.

Please take a minute to sign in and out when you come to ARAS.

This is so we can keep track of who is in the building in case of an emergency.

9

TUTORS’

PROGRESS

FORMS

Due end of March,

June, September

and December

These are necessary for ARAS’s funding and need to be

handed in to the ARAS office at the end of every 3 months

whether or not you have tutored for all the period, or if you

have finished tutoring your students during this quarter.

Many thanks to the tutors who handed their forms in on time.

The tutors who do not get their 3 month forms in will be

counted as having tutored 0 hours and this reduces the

funding ARAS will get.

Thanks, Maureen

Please note ….. progress forms

= funding for ARAS

Progress Forms

In the past, we have included in the newsletter a copy of the Student / Tutor 3 Monthly Progress Forms.

To save on the cost of postage, we ask tutors to please pick up a copy of the form when you come into ARAS.

Alternatively, you can have a copy emailed to you if you ask Karen in the office or call her at 366 9479.

You can also fill them in and send them to us on line.

Invitation to Maureen’s Farewell

Dear Friends

You are invited to Maureen’s farewell; we would like to celebrate Maureen’s 23 years of ARAS life with some of her friends and col-leagues. An opportunity to share some fun and laughter with a

dedicated, wonderful and altruistic lady.

Maureen would like to thank all her friends who have supported

her, shared ideas and motivated her over the years.

This will be held on Thursday 1st

May from 12 noon – 2.00pm at WEA, 59 Gloucester Street, (refreshments provided, a small

contribution of food welcome)

R.S.V.P. By 17th April, 2014

RSVP: by 17 April, 2014.

11

Goodbye ARAS!

Pū ana roto

Kē ana waho

Ka pū te ruha

Ka hao te rangatahi

I runga i te mahi aroha

The positive force is at the centre

The negative force is at the outer shell

The old elements are discarded

And the new elements are created

By the power of love

The time has come for me to move on from ARAS. I’m a little sad and a little happy and I’ll miss you all! But I have other things to catch up on…..life goes on….

During the 23 years that I have been with ARAS I have seen it grow from a two-room organisation to one with a variety of rooms, programmes and connections.

Throughout this time, I have seen students and tutors come and go. The majority leave with new confidence and skills often heading in new directions in their lives.

The ripple effect then takes place in families and in our society…Magical!!

Keen, motivated students and loyal, dedicated tutors have been the key for keeping ARAS lively and func-tioning with care and support for its members. You are all coming from your heart and giving up your time to benefit others who can say: -

“I have learned so much from my time at ARAS. Every day life skills such as being organised with studies and planning for my future and goals.”

“Since I have been at ARAS I have got a lot more confidence in myself and I now believe that I can do any-thing I put my mind to.”

“I have improved my reading and writing and also my spelling. This gives me a better chance to help my daughter who has just started school. We are both learning together.”

“My family and friends have noticed how the course has affected me in so many ways and they are very happy for me.”

“I am proud of myself for what I have done at ARAS….there are so many ways to describe my achievement. Thank you!”

ARAS staff (the A-team), with new students and tutors, supported by dedicated committee members have been and always will be, inspirational to me.

I wish you all success in the achievement of your goals whatever they may be.

Keep reading!

Whāia te iti kahurangi

Kit e tuoho koe

Me he maunga teitei

Seek the treasures of your heart

If you bow your head

Let it be to a lofty mountain

Kupu for 50 Weeks Campaign

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori has released 50 Māori words for the motu to learn over 50 weeks from

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2014. This ‘Te Kupu o te Wiki’ campaign aims to teach 50 Māori words to all

New Zealanders. “With these 50 kupu Māori we’ve considered usability, pronunciation, and kupu that

are easy to learn and remember,” says Pita Paraone, Acting CE for Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

“By sharing these words with more than four million New Zealanders, we give them an important

Māori language learning tool,” says Paraone. “These are small steps in building a bilingual nation

and the campaign is a world first.”

Te Kupu o te Wiki begins 21 Hōngongoi (July) 2014 and lasts for 50 weeks. The campaign will

provide online audio files to support pronunciation, sample sentences, a poster and other

resources. Here is a list of the 50 words (with suggestions for appropriate context to use them). Te

Taura Whiri o te Reo will post further resources to its website ahead of the campaign launch.

These are the 50 kupu Maori to be

introduced over 50 weeks Date Kupu English translation Theme/events/partners

21 Jul 14 äpöpö tomorrow Weather forecasts

28 Jul 14 heihei chicken Retail, hospitality

4 Aug 14 poitarawhiti netball Commonwealth Games ending

11 Aug 14 nau mai welcome A national welcome

18 Aug 14 engari but

25 Aug 14 waea phone

1 Sep 14 rangi sky

8 Sep 14 niho tooth World Oral Health Day 12 Sep

15 Sep 14 pahi bus World Car Free Day

22 Sep 14 awa river World Rivers Day 27 Sep

29 Sep 14 kaiako teacher World Teacher’s Day 5 Oct

6 Oct 14 wahine woman

13 Oct 14 Täwhirimätea god of the wind Weather forecasts

20 Oct 14 marama moon

27 Oct 14 homai pass (to me)

3 Nov 14 inu drink Wine and food festivals

10 Nov 14 Ötautahi Christchurch Canterbury Anniversary

17 Nov 14 äporo apple Apple season

24 Nov 14 päremata parliament New parliament sits

1 Dec 14 ra whanau birthday

8 Dec 14 whare häkinakina gym Health and fitness groups

15 Dec 14 kaukau swim Swimming Aotearoa

22 Dec 14 whakatä rest Holidays begin for many

29 Dec 14 Break5 Jan 15 Break

12 Jan 15 maranga get up Routine after school holidays

19 Jan 15 kura school School year preparations

13

Date Kupu English translation Theme/events/partners

26 Jan 15 Poihäkena Sydney Australia Day

2 Feb 15 manuhiri visitor Waitangi Day

9 Feb 15 ïPapa iPad

16 Feb 15 rü earthquake Anniversary of earthquake

23 Feb 15 pirihimana police officer NZ Police, Police Association

2 Mar 15 Te Waipounamu South Island Te Matatini Festival in Ötautahi

9 Mar 15 ukurere ukulele Ukurere orchestras and events

16 Mar 15 ngutu lips

23 Mar 15 taihoa hang on / wait

30 Mar 15 Aranga Easter Religious groups

6 Apr 15 horoi wash

13 Apr 15 maumahara remember ANZAC 100th anniversary 25 Apr

20 Apr 15 Papatüänuku earth Earth Day 22 Apr

27 Apr 15 manu bird Forest and Bird, DOC, environmental

4 May 15 ika fish

11 May 15 moana sea

18 May 15 tio oyster Oyster festivals

25 May 15 taringa ear Save your Hearing Day 31 May

1 Jun 15 Hämoa Sämoa Te Wiki o te Reo Hämoa

8 Jun 15 äe yes

15 Jun 15 whetu star Matariki 18 Jun 2014

22 Jun 15 tohutö macron

29 Jun 15 täkuta doctor RNZDA

6 Jul 15 whakaata mirror

13 Jul 15 Wïwï France French Independence Day 14 Jul

Resources

By June 27 we’ll have resources available

online at www.koreromaori.co.nz

Te Wiki o

te Reo Mäori

STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS

Itchy (continued)

Chapter Two

One day Itchy came upon a family of possums who were eating from a berry tree. Itchy said, “Are they good eating?”

“Yes, they are very tasty and very good for you,” said the possums. “I am going to find out what is all around me.”

“What is it like going from one tree to the next one?” asked Itchy.

“It is quite good to see what its like around us. The river is quite big and wide. The hills are covered with thick bush and tall trees. The birds sing high up in trees and other animals find their food on the ground.”

Chapter Three

High up in a tree was a pigeon named Peter. “What are you doing down on the ground?” Peter asked.

“May we come along to see what we can find?” asked Itchy.

A family of deer were eating some leaves and grass from the old oak tree. “May we come along with you to find our new home?” the deer asked.

So the bush families all went through the thick bush until they came to the waterfall.

Itchy said “This should be a very good place for us to live, because it is bigger and there is plenty of room to run around and find food all around us. It will be quite happy and safe for all the bush family to live here.”

The End.

Daphene

The New Cathedral

The cardboard cathedral is pretty and big. My sister took me to see it inside. I didn’t like the chairs. I would like to have another look around.

It feels like Christchurch again. There is not much left of Christchurch. My sister and I had a look around and took photos of the city.

Susan B.

15

ARAS’s Working Bee

Dave helped out at one of the first Working Bees to prepare 24 Walker Street for ARAS to move in. This is what he did.

Jared (the ARAS tutor), and myself, volunteered to help Dave the builder with putting up walls on the first floor of ARAS’s new building at 24 Walker Street. There were about six to nine people helping out.

The larger walls had to be carried into the building first (also the shorter ones). These walls were very heavy and difficult to carry, so we were advised to wear leather gloves using our hands underneath to hold the wall partition.

Most of the time Jared and I used a power drill to put in screws to hold the walls in place. The screws had to be measured at a precise distance.

ARAS organised a barbecue for everyone who helped out. It was very enjoyable and friendly.

Our other job was to tidy up all the rooms so that carpet could be laid down.

If I was asked to help out a few more times, I probably would.

Dave

As students, it’s important to do our homework. Like writing each week and then having it checked for mis-takes.

It is then never seen again. So this week we do it differently and put it in the newsletter. It will still never be seen again, but will have done a good job on the way.

Who is the most important person at ARAS? ME. Why? Because if I were not there the staff would be out of a job and the tutors wondering what to do.

Only joking. It’s good to have a laugh. Now seriously, I would like to say thank you to the staff at ARAS for keeping things running in difficult times. You have done a good job. Many thanks.

Also to thank the volunteers for giving up their time for the benefit of others. They are obviously good, caring people making the world a better place.

In my case, a special thank you to Rita and Sue. Because of people like you giving your time, expertise and guidance, this can make a life-changing experience to an individual student.

Imagine not being able to read and write in this day and age. The chances of getting a good job are remote. So if you are a student reading this, put in your best effort to improve your life. Yes, it will be hard work and yes there will be times when you want to give up.

The hard times are when you can’t find a word in the dictionary and you have spent 15 minutes looking in the wrong place. The good times are when you check a word and find you have got it right. The good times will increase if you put in the effort, so go for it.

From a fellow student.

Val

17

ANZAC Day’s Relevance

Today I was discussing with a friend the relevance of ANZAC day as yesterday I went down to my local

cenotaph for the ANZAC Day service as did she, following it up with a cuppa coffee at Mc D’s where

there were a number of young service men and women doing the same. This conversation got me to

thinking so here are my thoughts.

When I was a youngster growing up ANZAC Day was about the boys that went away to war. (Whatever

that really meant I was too young to understand) They left our shores fresh faced and full of anticipation

of an adventure and engaging with the enemy. Hitler. Doing their bit for King and Country and coming

home victorious from the Great Wars. A great many of these young men sadly never returned.

As I lived in a small community it was usually the church service and laying of wreaths on the cenotaph

up the street which commemorated this day. I was not aware of the Dawn services in those days as My

Dad, a Norwegian Seaman who served his country wanted to forget and like all the other returned ser-

vicemen I knew never really spoke of his experiences.

As we never really had any stories to go by I don’t think I ever understood what it was all about, how-

ever now I am much older and hopefully somewhat wiser. I have learned the real meaning of war and all

the devastation of life and displacement of families that goes with it. We see war daily on TV to the point

I feel we have become immune to the reality of the horrors of war, how it affects everyone and those who

serve their countries fighting for freedom and democracy.

In my day as a teenager of the 60s we marched to try to keep our boys from going to Viet Nam. Yet now

we think nothing of sending our boys and yes girls to participate in wars around the world to fight for the

freedom of others in foreign lands.

This is not without loss of life for these brave young people, while we see the numbers of elderly gentle-

men who did their bit for King and Country decrease every year so the numbers of young people in-

crease. Be it wearing their forefathers’ medals or representing themselves we are reminded of the won-

derful young people who have been killed in action in recent or bygone times in the theatre of war fight-

ing for the freedom of others.

So yes ANZAC Day is still very relevant

Lest we forget

Rondi

Re Start Mall may close in April 2014

Originally seen as a temporary structure and designed to bring people back into the centre of the city, the Re Start Mall has been amazingly successful. Now rebuilding is starting in that area, the future of the mall is uncertain.

The In Out and About Group visited the Re Start Mall. Here are their ideas on the Mall closing.

I think they should keep the containers. I wouldn’t mind having a container as a house. They should put in a few more. We don’t need more concrete or brick buildings. It’s spacious when walking and looking around. All the colours add to Cashel Mall. Some of the stores would go out of business and that wouldn’t be good.

Matthew

I think the Mall is really good. I’d like it to stay as it is. I like the art. I like that people are high up in containers eating and looking out the huge windows. Why don’t you keep it like it is? I want it left like this.

Ann

The containers help the mood to be quiet and friendly – even a woman came up to me to talk as I did my assignment. She told us where she lives in England but has come back to Christchurch and is shocked about what she’s seen. I like all the colours on the containers. It brightens up the mall. I don’t want the containers to go.

Suzanne

To be honest, I like it the way it is. But they’ll probably take it down anyway because we the peo-ple don’t have the last say. I like the shops. It’s very compact. You can see everything. It’s so open. It’s very cheerful and colourful. The art is nice and how it can change often. I’ve enjoyed its current design And it’s very changeable the way it is laid out now.

Julie

Cashel Mall closing is another unwelcomed change in Christchurch. It will make things unfamiliar again for me and others. Its character comes from how it has been created right now. All the little art changes they’ve made make it interesting and with the plantings. Look where there needs improvement. Put more colour in it and things to do for youth. Then leave it alone.

Antony

19

PUZZLE PAGES All answers on page 22

Commonym—Find the common element

1. May – bean – flag

2, lamb –pork – karate

3, road – weather – treasure

4. penguin – kiwi – ostrich

5. bad tv shows – stamps – cheques

6. black - lazy - bloodshot

7. a potato – a storm – a needle

8. right – love – Bermuda

9. buck – baby - wisdom

The Lost Princess

From Adam and Eve to Judah, who sold his brother into slavery, My Royal heritage is of renowned greats, my history’s tapestry!

Still many royals were dysfunctional with sibling rivalry: Some even married their kin, as did Egyptian’s snobbery.

Though I would’ve thought that I – of hillbilly roots from Arkansas,

Would have ‘the rich heritage of presidents, kings and All’ Tom Hanks is a descendant from Abraham Lincoln’s line. And he stands out from many actors, an exceptional kind.

My kin did spurn my value as Joseph Ben Jacob of Israel of old. My roots are of his brother Judah whose curse now turns to gold. In my treasured chest of tapestry woven are gifted GEN lines…

I am not what my folks are: I’m enriched by my Father divine.

Millie H.

HOW MANY SQUARES

CAN YOU SEE ?

Answers on pg 22

Math Challenge Try to fill in the missing numbers.

Use the numbers 1 through 16 to complete the equations.

Each number is only used once. Each row is a math equation. Each column is a math equation. Remember that multiplication and division are performed be-fore addition and subtraction

MAZE

21

P.O.Box 33049, Barrington, Christchurch

Please think of when you are making a Bequest.

You can enhance a life, a family, a community and a city.

ARAS

24 Walker Street, Christchurch 8011

PUZZLE

ANSWERS

Commonym Answers

1. Poles

2. Types of chops 3. Maps 4. Birds that don't fly 5. They all get cancelled 6. Eyes 7 They all have eyes 8. Triangles 9. Teeth

MAZE SOLUTION

THERE ARE 6

SQUARES

HOW DID YOU

DO?

23

ARAS

24 Walker St

Christchurch 8011

Ph: 366 9479

ARAS is grateful for financial support from-

ACE /TEC COGS Rotary & Lions Clubs

Christchurch City Council Canterbury Community Trust

Friends of ARAS Pub Charity

Keith Laugesen Trust NZ Federation of University Women

Literacy Aotearoa Southern Trust

Lottery Grants Board ENERGY

Christchurch City Libraries