ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Thursday, April 4, 2013
NEWS
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English classes now under NZQA wing By Myles Hume Ashburton residents who possess English as a second language could be among the first students to gain new nationally accredited qualifications. Aoraki Polytechnic’s Timaru campus will be the first education provider in the country where students can study towards what will be six nationally recognised English qualifications. Aoraki Polytechnic English language programme co-ordinator Craig Courtis has worked for two years to set up the New Zealand Certificate in Language at the polytechnic. He said currently there are about 300 different qualifications available to English language students in New Zealand, which made it difficult for students and employers to compare the effectiveness of the programmes. Although cutting that back to six qualifications “had been a long process”, Mr Courtis said it would benefit Ashburton students who have English as a second language and employers in the future. “At this stage we are only planning to deliver the qualifications in Timaru,” Mr Courtis said. “However, Aoraki Polytechnic does offer a free bus service and we have had students from both Ashburton and Oamaru take these buses each day to attend English classes in Timaru and so this may
be an option for some people.” Mr Courtis said the qualifications would be available to both international students and those living in New Zealand as residents or who recently moved to the country, for whom English is not their first language. But with the qualifications being under the NZQA umbrella, students would be entitled to pay for the programme using student loans and allowances. “In the past our English Language programmes have been full cost recovery which meant students had to pay the entire fee without having access to student allowances or loans, and so the financial cost has been a barrier preventing some people being able to study English. “Because the new programmes are NZQA qualifications, domestic students may be able to access student allowances or loans, the same as any other programme meaning full-time study may be possible for more people.” Mr Courtis said Aoraki Polytechnic was aware of the NZQA review of existing qualifications, so he spent the past year preparing for the qualification and was first to send in their application. Mr Courtis was also asked by NZQA to work with other institutions across the country as a “consistency assessor”, meaning he will assess moderating materials and programmes to ensure it is the same across the board.
TOP five online Yesterday’s top five stories on:
www. ONLINE.co.nz 1. Car smash on Alford Forest Rd 2. Easter break ends in traffic snarl 3. Green machine fires up 4. A sad farewell 5. Mid Canterbury farmer $500 richer
POLL result Yesterday’s result Q: Do we have too many off licences in the area?
Today’s online poll question Q: Is there any value in Ashburton having a sister city/cities? To vote in this poll go to:
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By Susan Sandys Cooler temperatures in a southerly spell this week are not expected to last as NIWA forecasts above average temperatures through to June. The forecast for coastal Canterbury and the alps and foothills, from April to June, predicts “very likely above average” temperatures, while rainfall and soil moisture levels are expected to be near average, and river flows near or below average. The warm autumn is forecast
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Poll closes at 4pm Photo Joseph Johnson 230313-JJ-009
Six-year-old Shellie Ermio puts in maximum effort as part of her church’s clean-up exercise at the Ashburton Skatepark.
Fresh, clean era for Skatepark By Sue Newman Ashburton’s skatepark is entering a new era where tidiness and good behaviour rule. Hot on the heals of a clean-up of the park by youth from the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints, a fundraising campaign has been mounted to raise money for shade sails, a drinking water fountain and improved CCTV cov-
erage of the area. Ashburton District Council regulatory manager Richard Wade is driving the skatepark improvement project and said he has been impressed by the early response from the business community. Mr Wade said he was talking to local businesses about ways to further promote the park and with business and community involvement it could become a good, safe environment for young people.
“The aim is to keep it looking tidy by encouraging the kids that use the facility to take pride in it. “We have had discussions with the local fast food outlets, located close to the park, and I am delighted that all have agreed to be involved with the community effort to make the park a super venue for the kids of Ashburton District.” By enhancing close circuit television coverage at the park crime
tures dropped as low as minus 0.4 degrees, minus 0.8 degrees, and minus one degree. Mid Canterbury’s hot and dry conditions were not as severe in many other locations of the country, some of which were declared drought zones. Just 20 per cent of normal March rainfall was recorded in parts of Northland, Bay of Plenty, and Hawke’s Bay, while under 60 per cent of March normal rainfall was recorded for most of the North Island, West Coast, South Island and Southland.
By Sue Newman Another small step has been taken in the Ashburton Golf Club’s hard fought battle to subdivide some of its land for housing. The club has been working on a subdivision project for more than five years and appeared to have hit a brick wall after it failed to convince the Ashburton District Council that its plan could run alongside its long term development plans for the Ashburton District. However, a mediation session with an Environment Court
commissioner has given the club a small glimmer of hope that a reworked plan could win the day, said club president Jeff Williamson. “We had positive discussions and we’re now looking at developing a different plan which might meet with council approval. That’s the strategy we’re now working with and we’re hopeful of a more positive outcome because the two parties were talking and the council was listening.” There was still a significant amount of work to be done around the fundamental issue of the size of lots the club planned to create
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and vandalism would be deterred and safety would be enhanced, Mr Wade said. “To make this work, we need help and we need donations of cash.” Cash donations would be recognised with sponsors’ names on plaques, he said. A Skate Skool has been organised for April 27 and Mr Wade said he hoped to have the drinking fountain in place by then.
Temperatures above average Glimmer of hope after mediation hot on the heels of a hot and dry March. AgResearch Winchmore data show the station, about 15 kilometres inland from Ashburton, received just 46 millimetres of rain for March, most of it, 24.2 millimetres, on just one day, March 17. On six days of the month temperatures rose above 25 degrees. The hottest day of the month was March 14, when the temperature was 29.8 degrees. There were however three nights verging on frost, when the grass minimum tempera-
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for the subdivision, he said. The club’s land is zoned rural A while adjoining land is rural residential. The council believes the club’s plan is in conflict with the district plan. The subdivision was as a way of using surplus land to enable the golf club build up a fund that would help it in the future. This would mean it could continue investing in its asset and in machinery without having to rely solely on members’ subscriptions, Mr Williamson said. “In a couple of months we’ll have some idea whether we have something we can work with or not.”
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