Watery Weekend

The downpour on Friday afternoon caused a drain to overflow, flooding water out through the dishwasher. You'd think after cleaning that up, the students and staff would have had enough of the sight of water for one weekend. But come Saturday morning the thermal mineral pools at Parakai Springs were beckoning.

It only takes 40 minutes to get to Parakai from Kelston, so the students had plenty of time for zooming down the hydroslides before lunch.

After lunch they lounged around the mineral pools and chatted until the afternoon staff arrived loaded down with dinner. This seemed to stimulate appetites again and once the students had eaten, they set off for the last slides or swims of the evening. Finally, at 9pm, they were worn out enough to get changed and go back to the Village. Everyone slept well that night!

Even a whole day at hot springs was not enough water for two of our intrepid young women. Sunday morning we went en masse to drop Ngawaiata and Miriam off at Princes Wharf on the Auckland Waterfront. They were joining the Spirit of Adventure for a week long "Inspiration Voyage".

We were extremely lucky. We were ALL allowed to board the ship and have a tour. One of the crew gave a brief talk about Spirit of Adventure and the Inspiration Voyage.

We are all looking forward to hearing about their adventures. Their experience is sure to motivate some of the younger students to apply for the Spirit of Adventure over the next few years.

Our last stop for the weekend was a trip to Takapuna on Auckland's North Shore. We spent about an hour watching one in a series of triathlon competitions. Cycling, running and ... swimming! Maybe this experience will encourage us to explore multisports in the future! Who knows?

The Amazing Race

What an amazing way to start the year! Totara Village students and staff were split into two teams then began their Deaf “Amazing Race” to a mystery location for a two day camp.

On Tuesday 31 January at 1pm, everyone assembled in the KDEC Common room with backpacks and sleeping bags. The two teams were handed a quiz. The students exchanged their answers to earn their first clue.

The envelopes contained train tickets and instructions to walk to Fruitvale train station. Teams arrived with a few minutes to spare and caught the train to Britomart in Auckland City.

The clue said find a person wearing a brown hat.  Tickets for the Devonport ferry were their second clue. The teams raced off to find the right pier and catch the next ferry.

At Devonport they had to find an orange box with the next clue. An envelope which contained van keys and directions to find the KDEC vans parked nearby. The envelopes on the van wheels had instructions that said to follow a busy road 96 km north.

As the teams left Auckland both students and staff were wondering where this “Amazing Race” would take them. Kaiwaka, for the next clue.

By carefully following all the directions, the two teams arrived at Moirs Point Christian Camp in Mangawhai Heads 4 ½ hours after leaving the Common Room. The fun was just beginning.

Tony and Nicki were already there and had a barbeque ready for when the students and staff arrived. Fortified on homemade hamburgers and salad, the students were keen to see who could make the biggest splash coming off the 75m water slide.  

To wind down they had games in the hall and a chance to catch up with each other.

The next morning everyone was eager to try other activities.

The flying fox:

The water slide (again):

The confidence course:

 Kayaks:                                                 

Pedal boats:

In the evening we had a campfire. We all shared how we felt over the last two days. All of the comments were very positive and everyone was looking forward to having a good year.

It was hard to leave Moirs Point. One of the students gave a thank you speech to the camp manager and all of them hugged her as they appreciated their time there.

The students worked hard to figure out and follow the clues to their mystery location. They played hard at the camp’s facilities.  When they started out some of the students knew each other, some were new.  Some were leaders, some were followers.  Some were confident and some were happier out of the limelight.  When they came back they were a tight-knit unit who had formed new opinions and relationships based on being able to rely on each other during an adventure.

The consensus: Amazing!

Support & Connections for Parents and Whanau

There is something important that happens when parents of deaf or hearing impaired children connect...they find a safe place to share both their questions and their answers with people who have “been there, done that.”  In a world where 95% of the group are hearing people with no experience or frame of reference for doing the most important job of their lives—raising their child—this connection is critically important.

New Zealand has a number of family support organisations for parents and Whanau.  KDEC strongly encourages you to contact them for information about their services and events.

http://www.deafchildren.org.nz/display.php?id=679

NZFDCNew Zealand Federation for Deaf Children Incorporated (NZFDC) is the Executive of a National group made up of Parent Groups throughout New Zealand, from Northland Parents of Deaf Children in the north to Southland Association for Deaf Children in Invercargill. We are a registered incorporated society and our Executive committee and Member groups are run by volunteers.  Visit out website http://www.deafchildren.org.nz and sign up: http://www.deafchildren.org.nz/online_registration_form.php

APODC

Auckland Parents of Deaf Children (APODC) is a group run by parents for families with a child with hearing loss. The child can be of any age and with any level of hearing loss or Deafness. No matter what language and communication style is being used, everyone is welcome as we celebrate difference and diversity. We understand that contact with other whanau and families who have similar experiences is very important. Parents can learn from each other and children can become confident in their own identity by being with other children who are "like them". Our purpose is to champion a better quality of life for hearing impaired and Deaf children and their families. We do this through advocacy support and providing information and opportunities for families to connect to each other. Visit us at: http://www.apodc.org.nz/

BEACON NEW ZEALANDBeacon New Zealand is a special programme that connects families with children who are deaf or hearing impaired to a trained parent mentor. A Beacon Parent Mentor is a parent of a child with a hearing loss who has an understanding of some of the issues that may face your family. All Parent Mentors have completed an intensive training programme on supporting families with a child diagnosed with a hearing loss. Parent Mentors help families to learn and understand in what can be an emotional journey following a hearing loss diagnosis.  Find out more at: http://www.deafchildren.org.nz/display.php?id=2730

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FAMILY SUPPORT?

Here’s a good place to go for links to other family support organisations:

http://www.deafchildren.org.nz/display.php?id=697

Life in the Village

We share classes, cooking, cleaning up and caring about each other at Totara Village.

For some deaf or hearing impaired students, the right school setting might be a place where educational resources, teachers and peers to communicate with directly are more accessible. A student who enrolls in KDEC’s residential service lives at Totara Village where both academics and socialisation are strongly valued.  The student will attend mainstream schools in the Kelston area where there is a “Deaf Unit” supported by Teachers of the Deaf, interpreters, and whatever else the student needs based on his/her IEP.  Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, kids live with other deaf or hearing impaired students in one of three houses in Totara Village with cottage staff. On the weekends, everybody goes back home to family. It’s a great arrangement.  If you’d like to learn more about KDEC’s Residential Program, contact tonyw@kdec.school.nz

Tony and Nicki have things under control at Totara Village!

HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS at the Village! FUN!!

The Village turned out for a fantastic Halloween party!  We had so much fun!!