TaiTECH launched at Tairua School

TaiTECH launched at Tairua School

Forty-two enthusiastic students were primed and ready for action last Friday morning for the launch of TaiTECH.

The Tairua Academy of Innovation & Technology (TaiTECH) has been developed to link students interests and passions to potential career paths. All Year 7 and 8 students at Tairua School will select one module a term and will be given specialist training for two hours each week in small groups of no more than ten.

All subjects taught in TaiTECH are linked to the New Zealand curriculum and focus on creativity and innovation while integrating core subjects like literacy and mathematics.

“We really felt we needed to up our game with the technology programme we were offering students. Our kids were doing a 2 hour round trip by bus each week to a neighbouring high school for what was essentially a two hour class. All students were also taking the same four subjects every year, regardless of their strengths or interests. With so much diversity now in the modern workplace we wanted to ensure we were introducing our students to those pathways, allowing them to explore skills and ideas that they are curious about or have a strong passion for,” explained Sue Brannigan, Chairperson of the Tairua School Board of Trustees.

Each subject is hands-on in nature with students encouraged to brainstorm and problem solve as they work their way through their projects. This term the students are taking one of five options - Construction, MasterChef Cookery, Contemporary Art, Sports Science or Structure & Design. These will see the teams engaged in projects such as designing surfboards and building a skate ramp for the school. There will also be off site experiences. For example, this week groups of students visited Anderson Surfboards workshop in Whangamata and Tairua’s Little Gallery of Fine Arts.

“Our students are so excited about this, the anticipation levels have been so high and is just awesome to finally see it get off the ground. Each group this morning was on fire - the energy, the level of focus, the eagerness to get involved, this is learning in action and it is great to see,” said principal Brendan Finn.

TaiTECH will run as a pilot programme until the end of the year using a $3,000 allocation from the school’s operational funding. Each student contributes $10 per term towards the cost of materials. From 2018 the programme will be funded directly by the Ministry of Education. While the current modules are all being delivered by existing school staff, the school is looking forward to inviting experts from the wider community to share their skills. Potential future subjects include Computer Coding, Horticulture and Drama & Dance.

“Tairua and the wider Coromandel is full of immensely talented people with an extremely diverse range of knowledge and skills. The possibilities are almost limitless and we are very excited to see how this programme develops and evolves over the coming months,” said Mr Finn.

ENDS

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