Welcome to Rotary Papanui

Are you someone who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Rotary Papanui members are friendly and dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse and experienced group who share your drive to give back. You can achieve so much more by being part of an established worldwide organisation.
 
Latest News
Bush Fire Appeal
A Message from our DG
 
Australian Fires from Space
 
Stuart posted this message from DG Gary.
 
I have been approached on a number of occasions by Rotary clubs wishing to contribute to a District Bush Fire Appeal.
 
Our Australian friends so willingly gave to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, the Pike River Disaster, and the more recent Earthquake in Waiau/Kaikoura/Seddon/Ward. 
 
Rotary New Zealand World Community Service has an appeal in place that gives a tax benefit for contributors, so I recommend clubs, members and supporters use this avenue for contributions. 
 
The disaster that unfolded nightly on our TV screen was difficult to comprehend.  The blanket of smoke haze that engulfed the South Island recently is a grim reminder of the scale of the fires.
 
Thank you to those that have already contributed, and to those who are considering contributing.
 
Gary Hopkinson
District Governor  2019 – 2020
 
 
 
 
Bush Fire Appeal
Aratupu Presentation
 
 
A couple of days before Christmas President Keith was on hand to present two new car seats for Aratupu preschool and nursery to use to transport children to their facility and thereby help parents who are unable to bring their toddlers in.
 
The staff were most grateful to Papanui Rotary and their Children in Need Trust who underwrote the purchase.
 
The photo above shows the presentation.  Some of the children were keen for a test run straight away!
 
 
 
Pap Rotary Xmas 2019
Papanui Rotary Christmas 2019
 
 
A happy band of 45 club members and partners joined together at the Presbyterian Village Community facility to celebrate our Christmas wind up for 2019.
 
What a pleasure it was to have Deborah from Ambrosia Kitchen and her team to cater and look after us.
 
A delightful selection of hors d'oeuvres was served at our table.
This was followed by Lois’s surprise entertainment in the form of 9 year old Eliza playing guitar and singing a bracket of songs.
 
In place of a regular Sergeant’s session, Rob Thomson provided the material for some entertaining, thought provoking and hilarious activity. Every attendee was given the name of a part of the body or a medical condition and was asked to stand and provide an alternative description for this; e.g. indigestion –the consumption of food indoors as opposed to outdigestion as at a barbecue or picnic.
 
The main course was a feast fit for royalty with pork raised to a large extent on acorns, beef, new potatoes, a yummy chicken and noodle salad and a mixed green salad with accompanying dressings.
 
 
Prior to dessert being served, Santa (alias Arie) arrived and dispensed the small gifts that everyone had brought. There was a lot of inquisitive looks and much frivolity as the array was opened and displayed.
 
The raffle was drawn next and the prize winners more than satisfied with their success. Thanks to Cynthia Tizzard for doing a great job wrapping and displaying the gift baskets and other prizes.  The dessert table groaned under the selection Deborah had prepared for us. What a diet breaker!  The sumptuous meal was topped off with a satisfying tea or coffee.
 
There was a great deal of mingling and chatter as club members and partners relaxed in a wonderful atmosphere of friendship.
President Keith was a very able MC.
 
Thank you to Lois and a variety of helpers who put together an outstanding and most enjoyable night.
 
Merry Christmas everyone and our best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.
 
 
Amalgamation
Posted by Club Chat Publisher Paice on Dec 10, 2019
Proposed South Island Amalgamation
 
 
Nick Courtney gave us an overview of the proposed amalgamation of Districts 9970 & 9980 and the opportunities this might bring for the South Island should it go forward.
 
“We need to vote on this proposal in March with the overall goal being how to best strengthen Rotary in the South Island” explained Nick and DGs have had Zoom meetings to discuss this proposed change by considering how we can look at new ways of making it work.
 
With respect to why we need to consider amalgamation at this stage, Nick shared the following reasons:
 
  1. We have declining membership that is nearing the 1,100 threshold which, if met, will require us to merge.
  2. By acting earlier we can better shape our future.
  3. The NZ population and Rotary membership itself is aging which means we need to consider new ways operate regionally.
 
With respect to the advantages of opting for amalgamation, Nick identified the following:
 
  1. It increases our attractiveness to new members.
  2. We have access to greater resources.
  3. It gives us a simpler operating model with significantly less duplication.
  4. It increases our attractiveness to larger sponsors.
  5. It enables us to take advantage of better communication options due to improving technologies.
 
Nick also noted that the new size of a combined South Island district would make us similar in size to successful overseas districts.
 
With respect to the challenges, these include that DGs will no longer be able to easily visit all Clubs and we will instead have to look at Cluster events to help with District wide communications.
 
With respect to the voting process, each Club gets one vote.  If it is a “go” a team will be established to focus on how to take it forward with the target date for the change being July 1st 2022.
 
“So how will it affect us?” asked Nick?  He suggested that initially it will not be that noticeable but - as noted by Paul Harris - change will come as the pace of change continues to accelerate.
 
In concluding his presentation  Nick suggested that going forward we will need to be looking at how we continue to set up and develop clubs in our new district in order to best meet changing times with new and innovative approaches.
 
 
 
Ladies Breakfast
Posted by Lois Flanagan on Dec 10, 2019
Ladies Breakfast a Hit!
 
 
About 25 ladies joined together on Saturday 7 December for fun and food. It was a great time and wonderful to hear so much chatter. 
 
Great to welcome several of our widows and older wives as well as our new lady members. Angela won the prize for the best Christmas dressed lady and Faye Sedgley for the person travelling the furthest for Christmas dinner!
 
Our three quality chefs Nick, Tony Tizzard and Arie not only looked majestic in their white shirts, red bow ties, Christmas aprons and red chefs hats but they cooked delicious waffles and pancakes as well as doing all the dishes. Thanks so much - you were amazing! 
 
 
 
 
Allenvale Visit
Posted by Club Chat Publisher Paice on Dec 04, 2019
Allenvale School Visitors
 
Allenvale School provides education in a specialist setting for students who have an intellectual disability.  Many also have specific disabilities and/or difficulties. This means they require a highly differentiated teaching and learning pathway which is not available in a mainstream school.
 
We were privileged to welcome Gary Quarless, Principal, accompanied by Bev Wall, parent and PTA member, as our guests last week.
 
 
Gary opened his presentation with the phrase: “Every day starts with a sunrise and ends with a sunset.”
 
The start of a school day at Allenvale is very different to most mainstream schools. From 8:30am, a large number of mobility vans and taxis arriving from all over Christchurch. This can be quite the challenge as the school has one narrow access road and the front area is relatively small, especially with more than twenty vehicles coming and going!
 
In the future, a purpose built school will be built in Belfast but, as this is a 2 year design & build process, the school has to cope with their current setting and ‘make do’ in buildings and classrooms which were not originally designed for children who have special needs. “Having said that, the staff and board have done an amazing job in adapting many of the classroom and outside areas to make them as safe and accessible as possible. In this our PTA and local community have been incredibly supportive, especially Rotary.”
 
Everyone can learn and our goal is to maximise the opportunities for students to learn, achieve and progress throughout their schooling.  As many students are non-verbal and do not read text, many different specialised communication technologies and ways of teaching are used at school.
 
Our most able senior students attend a community based facility near Northfields. Here, the primary focus is to maximise their involvement in and access to their local community and their independence as they are after all young adults.
 
“For example, developing the students’ social and monetary skills enable them use local buses, travel to and use shops or just enjoy a drink in a café with friends.” explained Gary. 
 
With respect to the various causes of the challenges the school’s students face, Gary identified the three main origins as:
 
  1. Global developmental delay – this means there are significant intellectual delays in all areas with students from birth.
  2. Disease and infection, either pre or post-birth resulting in intellectual disability.
  3. Injury or accidents.
 
In the past, many children who had significant physical disabilities or health issues did not live into adulthood but, as medical interventions have improved and developed, many are now living well into adulthood.  “This brings more complex, multi-layered students into our school and requires health professionals to increasingly be part of the team” noted Gary.
 
The school curriculum is based on the NZC (New Zealand Curriculum document) and increasingly focuses on the five key ‘Key Competencies’ for learning:
 
  1. Thinking.
  2. Using language, symbols and text
  3. Managing self.
  4. Relating to others.
  5. Participating and contributing.
 
Two key competencies that the school aims to prioritise are Relating to Others and Managing Self. Tertiary sectors and business have both identified these as essential skill areas they often find lacking in young adults and the MOE is currently looking at the implications of this for all our schools and curriculum.
 
“Over the last few decades, increasing numbers of children are going to school while not being ‘ready to learn.’ Here in Canterbury, many schools have adopted Play Based Learning approaches to address this. At school we are exploring how we can incorporate this into our own practice” shared Gary. 
 
Developing a Rich Communication environment is a foundation block at Allenvale, as is student voice. The latter has been well captured in the consultations regarding the design of our new school, both within our school and the wider community.
 
It is also important to recognise and celebrate students as positive members of our local community and indeed wider society. One way we do this is to hold termly Mufti-Days to support national events, such as Loud Shirt Day or Autism Awareness Day. Donations collected on these day are all sent to the chosen charity, and our students and whānau really do enjoy being able to ‘give back.’
 
“This days can be great fun too” noted Gary with one example being the holding of their own Highland Games event recently.
 
“At the end of each day, we return to what can often look like ‘controlled chaos’ as we support 146 students to access their vehicles for the journey homes” smiled Gary. 
 
In conclusion, Gary noted that one of their biggest issues is obtaining appropriate funding as the school is very reliant on raising additional each year to the standard MoE grants in order to help address the learning, health and family challenges of all students.
 
We then asked Bev for her thoughts as a parent of a child at the school. 
 
 
“You often don’t know what is going to happen to your child going forward and I would like to ensure he has support and that I can trust the staff to look after him” she replied.
 
“I love picking Caleb up when he is smiling and happy as that way I know he is also safe.”
 
 
Lois thanked Gary and Bev for their insights into Allenvale, the challenges they face, and the great work they are doing in ensuring their students receive the very best education possible going forward.
 
Helen Forrest Induction
Posted by Club Chat Publisher Paice on Dec 04, 2019
New Member Helen Welcomed to Papanui Rotary
 
 
President Keith warmly welcomed our latest inductee, Helen Forrest, into the Club.  Helen shared that she was brought up with the “4-Way Test” on the wall and as a result is very familiar with what Rotary is about. 
 
After a long work history as a nurse and social worker, Helen completed a Diploma of Massage Therapy and has Post Graduate Certificates in Advanced Sports Massage, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Active Isolated Stretch and Foot Joint Mobilization.
 
She runs her own business as a massage therapist and loves what she does in a job where she can help to keep people well.
 
Welcome to Papanui Rotary, Helen.  We look forward getting to know you better and the value of the wide range of skills and experiences you bring into our Club.
 
 
 
4-Way Test
Posted by Club Chat Publisher Paice on Dec 04, 2019
4-Way Test Presentation
 
 
Following the completion of Helen’s induction Barbara Davey, Anne Spicer and Neville Digby were presented with their personal copy of “The 4-Way Test” by President Keith at last week’s meeting.
 
 
 
About Our Club

Papanui
We meet Thursdays at 5:30 PM
The Papanui Club
310 Sawyers Arms Road
Papanui,  8053
New Zealand

Phone:
021 664 801
Email:
papanuirotary@gmail.com
VenueMap
Venue Map
Upcoming Events
Club Calendar
January 2020
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Bulletins
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International News
Meeting Responsibilities
Duty Roster 30th January 2020
Reception
Barltrop, Charles
 
Speakers Host
Van Beek, Verdi
 
Vote of Thanks
Archbold, Doug
 
Visitors Host
Courtney, Liz
 
Sergeant
Davey, Barbara
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Duty Roster 6th February 2020
Reception
Forrest, Helen
 
Speakers Host
Thomson, Evan
 
Vote of Thanks
Geerlofs, Janice
 
Visitors Host
Costello, Cath
 
Sergeant
Thomson, Rob
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Duty Roster 13th February 2020
Reception
McFadden, Grant
 
Speakers Host
Thomson, Rob
 
Vote of Thanks
Geerlofs, Arie
 
Visitors Host
Colley, Cheryl
 
Sergeant
Wright, Max
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 

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