Tayla Wright. Photo supplied.For 17-year-old Tayla Wright, experiencing first-hand the benefits of a local youth programme has led to five years of volunteering.

When Tayla first moved to Ashburton and attended the physical training programme CACTUS (Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit and Support), she wanted to be able to give back for all the opportunities and new skills it had given her.

Now she is a peer support leader on the programme where she helps supervise the participants, works alongside them encouraging them to reach their goals, offers support, and joins in activities. “I have been offered various opportunities throughout my time volunteering with CACTUS,” she said.

“It has given me the opportunity to learn a lot of new skills like organisation, leadership, communication, the ability to work with a variety of people and being able to have a better understanding of their different backgrounds and cultures.”

She has also gained her Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards and is working towards a Gold award.

Keeping a balance between school, home and volunteering has been important to Tayla from the outset.

She said she makes sure she plans in advance how much time she can contribute so she can still focus on other areas of her life.

“The most rewarding thing for me about my work with CACTUS would definitely be seeing how much of a difference you can make by just giving the kids a chance and getting involved with the activities they are doing,” she said.

“It is very rewarding to see how the kids develop and change throughout the eight-week course, and the new skills and connections they make.

“It’s also nice to see all of the youth I have worked with around the community when they approach me and let me know how they are doing.”

Tayla said that once she finishes school she plans to attend university where she will study law and criminal justice with the aim of becoming a lawyer.

“I would love to still volunteer as it has become a big passion of mine which I would like to continue on with in my future,’ she said

© The Ashburton Guardian - 1 May 2017

Kyle Cabangun. Photo supplied.The Ashburton region continues to produce some outstanding results in karate, particularly at the youth level.

A contingent of members from JION International Karate Dojo Ashburton competed at the New Zealand Open Karate Championships in Christchurch recently with a number of medals claimed over the weekend.

More than half a dozen of the Ashburton competitors took part in the championship with three managing top three placings and five medals being brought back to Ashburton.

Taylah Burrowes led the charge for Ashburton on the first day of the championships which were for the 13-year-old and younger competitors.

Burrowes placed first in Kata out of an intermediate division of four competitors.

Winning her first round meant she was able to advance straight to the final which she also won to claim the gold medal.

Later in the day she placed third in the premier F12-13-year-old Kumite 40kg division. After again winning her first round, Burrowes was beaten in the second but in a fight-off for third she claimed the bronze, winning 3-0.

Madison Soal grabbed Ashburton’s other medal on the opening day when she picked up silver in the F10-11-year-old development Kumite.

On Sunday, the championships shifted to the older divisions of 14-year-old and older and Kyle Cabangun produced some good results.

He picked up silver in the Cadet 14-15-year-old Intermediate Kata in a division of five competitors, winning his first round before being beaten for the gold in the final. He then fought in the premier division of the Kumite a few hours later and won his first round match-up 5-1 before claiming gold 2-1 in the final.

Isabel Wang, Holly Burrowes and Kyla Cheyne also competed with distinction at the championships. “They all fought hard and showed excellent sportsmanship, whether they won or lost,” Sensei Thorsten Windhorst said.

“I was very proud of all our competitors.”

For Burrowes and Cabangun the fun is only just beginning with the pair travelling to Wellington in July to compete in the National Karate Championships and National Secondary Schools’ Championship in July.

Burrowes will also be joined by fellow Ashburton gun, Isla Russell, in the New Zealand Karate team when they travel to South Africa in August to compete in the Commonwealth Karate Championships.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 27 April 2017

NCEA results are becoming increasingly skewed by the number of students who return for Year 13 not intending to continue on to university, says Ashburton College principal Ross Preece.

While the college’s level one and two pass rates increased in 2016, level three and university entrance rates dropped and a big player in this was students who returned for Year 13 but who did not complete the year, he said.

The college’s NCEA results were; level one, 83.8 per cent;  level two, 82.1 per cent; level three, 58.4 per cent; university entrance, 43.5 per cent.

Roll figures at March are used as NCEA candidate numbers. Currently about 50 per cent of year 13 students did not intend to go to university, Preece said.

“As an example last year there were 12 boys who left at the end of the rugby season, others left because they got jobs or apprenticeships.

“We’re a community college, a community school with a significant number of students coming and going.”

Some schools were heavily focused on having a Year 13 student body that was solely university focused and that inevitably lifted achievement rates, but the college wanted to keep all students who were not in the workforce at school as long as possible, he said.

To ensure that returning students not on an academic path had a meaningful Year 13, the college was developing a cluster of new subjects that were not on the university entrance list, but would give students level three credits.

“We’ve recognised there’s a gap.

“There are many students now staying on for Year 13 for a variety of reasons.

“It could be for sport or cultural things or it could be because they don’t know what they want to do and that’s good.

“If they’re staying at school we’ve got all the support they’ll need to make informed choices.”

Those students, however, needed to be engaged in subjects that were meaningful for them but those subjects might not be mainstream, academic subjects, Preece said.

Those courses could include building, furniture making, tourism or outdoor education.

“We look at it being better to keep these students here and to keep them supported but from a statistics point of view when they leave mid-year they stay on the books in terms of numbers, but if they find the course or the job they want we’re happy and we support this.

“We say if there are significant numbers leaving for jobs or apprenticeships it’s a cause for celebration, but statistically it hurts us.”

The expanded Year 13 curriculum would be a work in progress this year and would be ready for students in 2018.

By Sue Newman © The Ashburton Guardian - 22 April 2017