First Graduation for 2016!!

Annaliese Storey, you are amazing!  Do you know that?  I hope you do and I hope you know how much we appreciate you!!  For those of you who do not know Annaliese, let me explain....

On the second week of Term 1 (when she would have been seriously bogged down with her school office administration work) Annaliese rallied her families and started Computers in Homes training.  I turned up to the first session to introduce myself and Annaliese had already sorted the training resources into the participants very own special folders, including plastic sleeves for all the information that was coming their way over the next 10 weeks.  She also had her attendance sheets all laid out, and the contact and address details of every single family.  The Parent Pack had been printed and shared with everyone and she was busy collecting agreement forms and answering questions - I tell you - this woman is a LEGEND!!!!!

During the following 10 weeks Annaliese then taught these Mum's and Dad's computer skills; explained concepts; supported them when they weren't sure what they were doing; feed them biscuits with cups of tea & coffee; kept in regular contact with me.....and the list goes on really.

You are a fantastic trainer Annaliese, Tikipunga High School is extremely fortunate to have you in their administration team and I know your Principal, Alec Solomon, rates you extremely highly.  Thank you so much for all of your dedication and commitment to the CiH programme, not just this term, but from terms of past too.  We appreciate you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

11 wonderful families graduated today. 11 families who've now got a fantastic digital resource in their home and with most opting for an ultra-fast broadband connection (fibre) with our ISP who gives us wonderful service - 2degrees.

Let's keep this ball rolling in 2016!

Computers in Homes at Tikipunga High School, Term 1 2016 on PhotoPeach

We've been making hay while the sun shines!

I've been the regional coordinator in Northland for nearly seven years, and never in all that time have I had five schools running CiH in Term 1!!  It's a wonderful feeling to be up and running so early in the school year, not to mention working with an amazingly dedicated group of principals, trainers and techs.

As mentioned in previous posts, we've been trialling Chromebooks as the training and take-home device for our families.  Northlander's recognise the importance of being involved in their children's education, and there were plenty of 'nods' around the room when I explained why we're focusing on a device that directly relates to what their kids are using in the classroom. It was fantastic to meet all the participating families during the information sessions as it's one of my favourite parts of the job - people connecting with people.

As Northlander's we sometimes like to think we lead the way in particular areas, and hopefully this pilot will be so successful that I can continue to provide my community with an opportunity to gain not only an awesome digital device, but to upskill in cloud computing, internet safety and security and social media to name but a few new skills.

Schools currently running Computers in Homes in Term 1, 2016: