Have you heard of The Head Office??
The Taranaki Gifted Community (TGC) Trust is a registered charity, established in 2014, by a group of principals, teachers and parents who shared concern and passion for the learning needs of exceptional children.
It is their vision to enable neurodiverse potential.
It is their mission to be a community of people that holistically nurtures neurodiverse children and their whanau, so they grow to be well balanced adults empowered by their potential.
From very humble beginnings in 2014, with only a handful of students and a half-day programme, they teamed up with the New Zealand Centre for Gifted Education (NZCGE) a year later. This partnership allowed them to offer the nationwide MindPlus programme in our region. More importantly they established strong ties with local primary and intermediate schools to ensure the best possible support for the students, consistent cooperation and flow of information.
In 2020 they decided to develop their own curriculum and programme - The Head Office. It is tailored towards the needs of our Taranaki community, giving the flexibility to respond to student interests, needs and local requirements even more.
The aim is to deliver in-depth intellectual and creative learning so that our students flourish as well-balanced individuals. Students come together, with a specialized teacher, one day a week in small classes.
In 2022 they took up the challenge to expand their services to support students with dyslexia. They ran a Pilot Programme for 6 months with a group of selected students and after its successful completion they now offer Project D to Taranaki students. Project D is a strength-based programme supporting the well-being and creative thinking of learners with dyslexia to increase academic engagement and success.
Where can you learn more?
If you are interested to learn more about the work of The Head Office programme, listen to Volly Voices on Access Radio 104.4fm on Sunday August 4th, at 2pm or Sunday August 11th at 2pm when Katja chats about what is happening on their programmes and how they support the school communities throughout Taranaki, and these young people to thrive and what is involved and where their programme locations are.
This can also be listened to from Monday August 5th on:
Spotify open.spotify.com...
Apple Podcast podcasts.apple.com...
Access Radio website www.accessradiotaranaki.com...
Volunteering New Plymouth website www.volunteeringnewplymouth.org.nz...
Who can you contact?
If you curious to learn more about The Head Office and /or you are interested in becoming a volunteer with this great programme, please contact Wendy at Volunteering New Plymouth on Ph: 06 758 8986; E: admin@vnp.nz or Ph / Text: 022 571 4228 to take the next step
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.1% Yes
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15.2% No
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2.7% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️