Mr Ward makes a surprise visit to the junior class
Distracted by the splendour of the surrounds, you could easily miss the ‘Patoka’ sign as you zigzag through the intrepid Hawke’s Bay hill country roads, where sheep runs and Charolais cattle stations rule. It is an area with a history as steep and deep as the surrounding landscape, where families have intergenerationally trod the same pastures, bred the same animals and teamed up with the same community groups. Backdrop to the winding hills and valleys are the snow-capped Kaweka ranges. Spring has just arrived bringing scenes of ewes with lamb at foot grazing daffodil dotted pastures, whilst sprinklings of blossom burst from winter branches fuelling an expectation of summer fruit. Elsewhere calves have gathered at calfeterias (artificial calf feeding systems) to energetically suck at their unique brand of latté whilst young heifers unconcernedly graze the foothills. As a spectator, it is impossible not to feel uplifted by these tangible markers of new life. For the farmers and farm hands who work these holdings Spring is viewed a little differently. It is not a time to indulge in endless rapture! Spring in farmer-land is one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year. It is the time to prepare the soil for summer crops. It is calving time which is physically and mentally challenging. Calving, I am reliably informed, is a ‘team sport’ and farmers have to ensure that their working teams are well coached in the game, and well supported so they can last the distance. Pasture and supplement plans have to be carefully managed so that cows are not under-fed and pasture growth is not compromised. It’s a delicate balancing act. Not all new-born lambs can look after themselves and not all ewes come through the lambing process unscathed. Milk fever and mastitis are quite common conditions which require expert treatment and all lambs and calves need
careful monitoring. Spring is a time when farming families are stretched and in many cases all members of the family, including the children, are required to get out and do their bit to help. It is from these farming families that Patoka School draws its roll. ‘Nearly all of our children come from local sheep, beef or dairy farms in the Patoka, Rissington and Puketitiri areas’ says Darryn Ward, Principal of Patoka School, which explains the buses parked outside the school’s front gate. There are four bus runs a day collecting children and dropping them home to all corners of the local farming district. The bus routes have been extended in the last few years because of the Rissington and Puketitiri school closures. Thomas is a year eight student who began his schooling at
Today it is Meg’s turn to ring the school bell, One of the few relics from the original Patoka school
Billie and Keri take a break from the gardening chores with Principal Darryn Ward
Local artist Michelle, has contributed many art works to the school
Rissington. ‘I used to walk 100 meters to school and now I travel 15 kilometres in a bus,’ he smiles. He admitted it was sad to see his old school close and the travelling was a challenge at first but he’s got used to it and says that ‘more kids means more friends.’ Thomas really enjoyed playing tackle rugby at Patoka School. ‘When a group of seniors moved on last year it was hard. There were no big boys left so we had to play different games,’ he said, with a trace of sadness. Then bouncing right back he said, ‘I play for the hockey team now in Tamatea but I had to talk some of the year seven kids into playing so we could have a team,’ he said. Darryn Ward says that’s typical in a country school. When senior kids leave it can be really tough for their mates who are left behind but they face up to those challenges and find a way around it. It’s that spirit of working together, helping each other out and being resourceful that counts most in the country. That’s how the work gets done on the farm and that’s how the community operates. The school is an important lynch pin in this whole collaborative dynamic. ‘Connectivity with our community is our biggest asset and we like to see our school as a central hub for all the families,’ says Darryn. ‘We see our school as a place where everyone in the district can come together and socialise,’ he said. This sentiment is echoed in the school’s motto which reads, ‘Through our school we are one’. These are not just a string of lifeless words encircling the school’s logo. The notion of ‘being as one’ is played out at many levels both at the school and in the
community. Beginning with the staff room, Darryn explains that all parents are welcome to drop in and join staff and other parents for a cup of tea. It’s an excellent way for new people to meet up and make friends. I was surprised to find so many gathered for morning tea the day I visited and quickly realised that only about half those present were actually teachers. I meet Keri and Billie, who both have children at the school. They are working together on some gardening projects. Billie, who has had a career working for the Department of Conservation (DOC), brings an extensive knowledge base of conservation processes and has taken the lead in developing the school’s Green House project. The children are involved in all aspects of the project from applying their maths skills to work out the measurements for the green house frame, to learning how to propagate their own locally sourced plants. It’s about teaching the children that their own actions have a direct influence on the environment and that they have the power to transform their environment for the better. ‘Take the kaka beak for example,’ says Billie. ‘It is a regionally significant species which is under threat so we are propagating the kaka beak here at the school through growing seedlings in the glass house and planting them around the school grounds. This will also attract more native birds like tui, bellbirds and kereru to colonise the area and proliferate,’ she said. A quick scan of the school grounds reveals several gardens of flourishing kaka beak, so the project has clearly been a success. The
Principal Darryn Ward catches up on a bit of his own research in the school library
The children enjoy a romp on the re-grassed playing field
children are also involved beyond the school gates in a planting project close to the ‘Ball’s Clearing Scenic Reserve’. ‘Ball’s Clearing is a 700 year old podocarp forest and has quite a spiritual feel about it,’ says Billie. The children are planting trees alongside the forest that they have propagated in the school green-house. They have also studied the local ‘Genesis Reforestation Project’ which is about creating a ‘bird corridor’. ‘Farmers are fencing off the stream running through their properties by about five to ten meters and planting local natives. This project prevents stock accessing the stream, helps the water quality and encourages bird life,’ said Billie. Given that many of the families in this area have farmed here for several generations, it is important that these children have a sense of the area’s history, a sense of place and belonging and the conservation skills to ensure that Patoka will be preserved for future generations. The second garden project evolved opportunistically. ‘We had a very tall tree that was uprooted in a storm,’ said Darryn, ‘which created an opening to develop a garden in the dell. We couldn’t use the space before because although the kids loved climbing the tree, it shaded the area from the sun.’ More than just providing the opportunity for establishing a garden, the space forms a natural amphitheatre which can now be converted into an outdoor classroom. Centre-piece of the newly developed space is a boxed garden, funded by a grant from Farmlands and ‘Rural Women New Zealand’. Billie and Keri have built the garden and have exciting plans for the whole area. ‘We are creating an edible forest based on permaculture
Only a cow would do as a collection point for the free milk service
principles,’ says Billie. Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature. It is using everything in a system to create food. It is about maintaining the food producing plants by growing them alongside plants that support them. This is sometimes called companion planting. It’s about keeping the natural ecosystem in balance. ‘Only heritage seeds are used so the children know where they come from,’ says Billie. ‘At the end of the season they will collect the seeds and regrow them thus propagating their own plants and creating a system that perpetuates itself.’ The input from these school parents makes a major contribution to the children’s learning and appreciation of their history, of horticultural principles and of their local environment.
Parents, Grandparents and siblings all turned up to share their pride in the exhibition of the children’s international projects continued pg 16
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One of the many art works adorning the outer walls of the school
Principal Darryn Ward talks about the excellent research work for the Brazil project
Importantly the children are learning by doing. Darryn is quick to point out that the generosity of spirit in this rural community is second to none. ‘One of our parents flies a helicopter,’ he said, ‘so he landed it on our playing field one day so all the children could climb inside and learn first-hand how it operates and what it is used for. It was such an amazing experience for the kids who learned how the helicopter flies and how it is used to spray the pasture. They just loved it.’ Other farming parents regularly offer to help with big jobs around the school. ‘One of our local dads came down with his digger to scrape the surface off our playing field so we could re-grass it,’ says Darryn. ‘The farmers have also helped us with endless other chores which saves us paying contractors to come all the way out here,’ he said. ‘We also have artists amongst our parents. Michelle has worked with the children to create some wonderful artwork for our school grounds and buildings and we have a group of parents who run a rock band and teach the children guitar,’ he said. Then there is the Patoka Education Trading Fund. A group of farmers graze cattle and sell them and the money goes into the Fund for the education of the Patoka children and local community. ‘It is an amazing gesture,’ says Darryn. ‘This Fund has paid for our new athletics gear, it funds our swimming programme, and recently paid for new basketball hoops,’ he said. ‘We are so incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated and bighearted school community,’ he said. The Patoka children certainly do their learning within a rich and
authentic context which some would argue is the very best way to achieve quality learning, and the results are evident. ‘Nearly all of our children reach at or above the national standards,’ says Darryn, ‘but we don’t place much emphasis on that. We want to develop the children into broadly educated honest, caring, respectful citizens who will make a solid contribution in life,’ he said. A stroll around the playground at lunch time presented many examples of the school’s success in developing ‘good caring citizens’. I met Tania, a year seven student walking Emma, a new entrant down to the school climbing frame. They smiled and laughed and Emma chatted excitedly to her older friend. ‘We encourage the older children to interact with the younger ones,’ he said. ‘We don’t separate them at play time as happens in some schools.’ In fact, at Patoka quite the opposite is the case. Across the road from the school is the local Kindergarten. ‘We have a very close relationship with the Kindergarten,’ says Darryn. ‘Our children go over to the Kindergarten on a regular basis and some of the older children read to the little ones,’ he said. ‘We also include the Kindergarten children in some of our school activities like Pet Day,’ he said, ‘and we invite the Kindergarten children to spend time with us before they formally start school,’ he said. This very close relationship means that the transition from the Kindergarten to school is almost seamless which is a huge advantage for both the children and their parents. Because the children have already been exposed to school life and have already made the acquaintance of the older children, going to school is
Spring has sprung outside the Patoka Rural Kindergarten
Michelle, one of the school parents used her artistry to illustrate the school values
Principal Darryn Ward with his newest entrant
Year eight Tania leads year one Emma to the playground
not a frightening or foreign experience. It is a natural progression. I meet Tyler who has recently arrived from Australia. ‘I love it here,’ he says. ‘I’ve only been here three weeks and the teachers and the people are just awesome!’ he said. Tyler certainly didn’t look like an outsider as he joked and horsed around with his new mates. The day I visit is project exhibition day and all the parents are invited. The children have been working on an across-school international project, entitled ‘How does the life of a child in a different country compare with your own?’ ‘The juniors did a combined project on what an Inuit child’s life would be like whilst the rest of the children were free to pick any country and complete their projects individually,’ said Darryn. There is so much rich learning in the work as the children discover different countries have different foods and animals, different schooling systems, different ways of living and different opportunities. One child discovered that ‘ . . . children in Mexico who are wealthy go to private schools with lots of funding for materials. Less wealthy children go to schools with less money to spend on the children’s educations (sic). I don’t think that’s how it should be . . . ’ And right there in those comments is born a social conscience. The exhibition was set up in the community hall across the road from the school. The hall was quickly abuzz with parents, siblings and grandparents all keen to admire and discuss the children’s work. Rural schools usually have small rolls and are often said to suffer from isolation, are disconnected from networks, struggle to attract good teachers and relieving staff and have fewer professional learning opportunities. They can also struggle to find the funds to keep the school property updated and well maintained. Patoka School was built in 1958 but looks greatly different today from the original. In fact one of the
few identical features is the school bell. ‘I was very lucky that the principal before me had undertaken an extensive upgrade of the school buildings,’ said Darryn, ‘so I inherited this really well designed, modern school,’ he said. Darryn is well aware that the children need connections with other schools for sports competitions and he and the parents ensure that the children can compete with town schools in netball, soccer, ripper rugby, hockey and every year compete in the ‘Top Town’ event. ‘As a new principal I have a great network of principals working alongside me,’ says Darryn, ‘and I’m lucky to have exceptional staff who work incredibly hard to help me in my job.’ Teaching two days a week means Darryn’s time to engage in professional learning opportunities is limited, but he makes the most of what he can fit in. He also acknowledges his release teacher who tries to be as flexible as possible to enable his participation. ‘I belong to three cluster groups in town. One is a whole school cluster (PPM cluster) which we attend twice a term in Hastings with Pakowhai and St Matthews schools.’ It is a struggle to find the money to cover professional development at times. ‘My greatest resource is my staff,’ says Darryn, ‘and investing in them is my priority. This year we have secured extra funding so we can all attend the U-learn conference,’ he said. ‘You can feel professionally isolated at times,’ says Darryn, ‘but that’s when you have to say to yourself, it’s time to get out there and build stronger relationships with those in town and join things. As a rural principal, you really do have to make that extra effort,’ he said. Patoka School is a strongly united community with a big heart and plenty of enthusiasm to deal to its challenges. So far, it’s winning and winning well.
Studying other countries and their practices can help develop our social conscience