Aurora
"The Aurora Way"
Two and a half years on from the commencement of Aurora College, they are proving it is not just the stars that shine. With a new school, new staff and a new direction, their aim has been "How do we make more students more successful?".
The BA5 held at Aurora College on Tuesday 12th June revealed a team of passionate professionals intent on making education work for individuals, and they have proved they can "make more students more successful". To this end the teacher often becomes more of a facilitator, working to assist the student learner attain goals that have been set in an individual interview. From this interview a 'pathway' is defined for the student to follow to enable the student to work towards achieving the desired goals. There are several programmes on offer - the Gateway programme (dovetails with the Trades sector and NCEA), CpaBL (Career Pathways and Building Lives), Star (Schools/Tertiary alliance).
This is a situation where the worlds of education and business meet and both have much to offer the other. Education has students needing/wanting experience in the 'outside' world and businesses need willing trainees. The College is keen to develop better partnerships between school, business and industry projects. Some of their success stories have been in the areas of aviation, hospitality, plumbing, automotive, hairdressing, sound engineering to mention but a few. The local business sector is encouraged to become involved. It was disappointing more of our 'trades' members weren't present at this function. They can benefit by gaining future apprentices and at the same time help structure a young life. If you are able to assist please contact Andy Walker on 03 21 6040.
The other major vision for Aurora is to become a 'full service' school offering community support in areas of medical care, mental health, community and policing support. Community courses are offered, and they are open to suggestions on topics that could be introduced, or people offering their skills.
The evening opened up a new view of what this dedicated hard-working team is achieving. We thank Andy Walker and his team for sharing their vision with us and know there will be many more success stories in the future.
We should all be working together to encourage our community and the young people in our world.
For an interesting overview of the forefront of change in secondary education visit www.secondaryfutures.co.nz
A young Wellington entrepreneur said "Education is a marathon; it's not a 100 metre dash - it doesn't finish at the end of high school or at the end of university; we should perhaps establish the rule that you don't finish school and then begin your working life. Learning is something that happens and comes at you from all angles".
Printer Friendly Page 
