Community Education

School’s out for nightclasses

The end of an era

Term 4, 2009 saw the last adult and community education (ACE) classes which will be held at Mairehau High School for the foreseeable future. In the budget earlier this year the government announced that they are ceasing funding for ACE through schools. That funding has allowed the school to employ staff to organise and administer the programme and has subsidised the cost of paying the tutors. This has meant the fees, which have covered part of the tutor wages, advertising and the costs of providing the venues, could be kept affordable, making the courses accessible to the whole community.

This year we have run over 100 different courses and had well over 1000 enrolments. Students have been able to upskill in computing and first aid, learn sign language and sewing, find how to design a website and how to make the most of their digital cameras. Our mosaic art classes and patchwork classes have been popular and our well equipped woodwork room is put to good use on Monday evenings. The acrylic painting class has been well subscribed and several class members contributed to an exhibition of work in the library for our school Open Evening this year. Our yoga classes provide an opportunity to relax and we have also run Qi Gong and hypnosis courses. Other subjects have included cooking, guitar, gardening and sustainable living. Our most popular course has undoubtedly been the cheesemaking course we offered in Term 2, which resulted in a waiting list of over 180 people! We have continued to run (but not advertise) the cheesemaking and have had fantastic feedback from all who have attended.

Several of our courses will be continuing next year with other providers. Both Papanui and Shirley Boys High Schools are offering a ‘user pays’ programme which will mean that they can continue to offer a wide range of courses, but with higher fees. Two Christchurch schools, Hagley Community College and Riccarton High Schools, were successful in their application to the small pool of schools’ ACE funding that the government created for 2010, but can only use that funding to subsidise literacy and numeracy courses.

Another aspect of our ACE programme that will disappear is our support for groups running ACE courses in the community. This year that support extended to 12 different organisations and included courses such as parenting, budget advice and refugee resettlement courses.

Hopefully the government will realise what has been lost to the community and will consider reinstating ACE funding in the future. When that happens, Mairehau High School will be ready to take up the challenge and will once more open up the school to foster lifelong learning and build relationships in our community.

Thank you to all who have supported our programme over the years.

Adrienne Lomax

ACE Co-ordinator (since 1999)

Please see overleaf for details of schools that will be offering courses in 2010

If you would like to continue your involvement with Adult & Community Education the following schools will be offering courses in 2010, although some are offering much smaller programmes than in previous years.

Papanui High School

Adult and Community Education Department

PO Box 5220

Christchurch 8542

Phone 3520-701

Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Website www.papanui.school.nz

Brochures will be available from City, Bishopdale, Redwood, Fendalton, Papanui, Mairehau and Shirley Libraries mid to end of January

Shirley Boys High School

Adult and Community Education,

Shirley Boys High School, North Parade

PO Box 27025, Shirley,

Christchurch