Affentitten Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 My daughter (10) has the opportunity to go on a school exchange to NZ at the end of this year. The school involved is at Paraparamu Beach, which I believe is somewhere near Wellington. Any intel on this area would be appreciated. And I mean the sort of intel a parent would want to know rather than mean average rainfall. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Great place for teenage pregnancies. (Seriously. The Kapiti Coast has a really high teen pregnancy rate). Kapiti Coast is a nice area though. Kind of rurally, sort of like Woy Woy-Gosford-Erina but only about 50-60 kms from Wellington. And it has /much/ nicer weather than Wellington. Both of those make it something of a commuter area. It's experienced - and is experiencing - significant population growth as people move away from the city, even though they still work there. There is a pretty good train service from paraparaumu into the City. P.Beach is really nice, and well-monied (see: teen pregnancies, above). It's been settled ever since forever so it's not a new-build suburban sh!thole, like a lot of the Coast, even though a lot of the iconic beach baches have been demolished in favour of McMansions. I'd like to live up that way, but house prices and (especially) losing several hours a day to commuting - I walk to work in about 20 minutes - isn't very appealing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yeah -JS probably has more experience of teen pregnancies than me so I defer to him on that....but Paraparam' is a pretty nice spot. Sheltered from southerlies & generally a degree or 2 warmer than Wellington. Lots of my colleagues live up that way & take the train to work. Have no idea what the schools are like, but all in all it's a pretty good part of the country. Come 20km closer to Wellington & you have Porirua...which is another mater entirely......but since she ain't going there I'd have no qualms 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 you have Porirua ... which is another mater entirely Fun fact: I was born and grew up in Porirua. I went to the opening day of the MacDonalds there, carefully chosen to be the first in NZ because of Porirua's demographics. Which pretty much tells you all you need to know about Porirua. And me, I guess. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Fun fact: I was born and grew up in Porirua. I went to the opening day of the MacDonalds there, carefully chosen to be the first in NZ because of Porirua's demographics. Which pretty much tells you all you need to know about Porirua. And me, I guess. Funnily enough the second one in Australia opened opposite my school. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 If you know the name of the school, you can look up the ERO report here: http://www.ero.govt.nz/Early-Childhood-School-Reports/School-Reports?sfilter%5Breport%2Fschool_name%5D=&filter%5B%5D=0&sfilter%5Breport%2Fregion%5D=Paraparaumu&dfilter%5Breport%2Fdate%5D%5Bmonth%5D=&dfilter%5Breport%2Fdate%5D%5Byear%5D=&filterreport=Search But that really just tells you what sort of education they provide. The standard blurble from a report: An ERO school report answers the question “How effectively is this school’s curriculum promoting student learning - engagement, progress and achievement?” Under that overarching question ERO reports on the quality of education and learning outcomes for children and for specific groups of children including Māori students, Pacific students and students with special needs. ERO also reports on the quality of the school’s systems for sustaining and continuing improvements. Interesting stuff, for sure, but in your particular context - an exchange - perhaps less relevant than usual. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 It is Kena Kena School. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Large, white-bread, high income. Apart from the mellifluous accents she probably won't notice much difference between it and her own school. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Large, white-bread, high income. Perfect. Though her own school is more baguette / challah than white bread. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Well I am on the last day now of having a NZer in the house. I have survived. Though we have had some fairly comical discussions about accents. (She is of the firm belief that she doesn't have an accent and everybody else talks funny.) It's been fun and now my kids are addicted to Beached As. My daughter heads over to the land that timne forgot next week. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Hopefully you now know how to properly down a yardie? Next week? Just in time for the premiere. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Highlights for the NZers have been: Slurpees at the Suvun Uluvun A tour of the MCG and sports interactive exhibit there Beating our school at soccer A huge feast in China Town. It's been a much bigger exchange for them in terms of difference than it wil be for our guys. Take a random family from our school and you have a 50% chance they will be French and a 50% chance they'll be Jewish. And maybe a 5% chance they will be Francophone Jews. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 My daughter heads over to the land that timne forgot next week. Tasmania now? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hey, even I am making an appearance in NZ in January. Just a few days in AKL though catching up with a mate while we are en route to the Cook Islands for a family holiday. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 I'll warn the locals..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Better alert the authorities too. They do use mace down there don't they? How about tasers? Wouldn't want to be caught short. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Mace is still in Aus AFAIK, but we have plenty of pepper spray and yes, tasers, for stroppy "visitors" 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 So my daughter gets back from NZ last night and tells me she wants to go and live there. Where did I go wrong? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 So my daughter gets back from NZ last night and tells me she wants to go and live there. Where did I go wrong? You waited too long to give her her first beer. It's out of your hands now. She's lost to you. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 So my daughter gets back from NZ last night and tells me she wants to go and live there. Where did I go wrong? You are Australian. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 So I have just returned from a holiday in the Cook Islands. I also spent some time in AKL on the way through, including a visit to the famed breakers of Piha Beach. I have a couple of questions: 1) Why do you have a picture of Shane McGowan on your $5 note? 2) The Cook Islands - what's in for NZ? It seems that Cooks citizens enjoy all the benefits of NZ citizenship but that is not reciprocated. ie. NZers can't just up and move to Raro without a lot of hassle, and they could never buy land there etc. 3) After swimming at Piha, how is it that all of you aren't drowned? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 1/ Hillary got the look first. As usual an Aussie stole it. 2/ Our rich imperialist enterprises have left us with that inequity. When NZ took over the Cooks in 1948 all former British Citizens there got NZ citizenship, and retained it at independance in 1968. Same with Samoa - anyone born in Samoa prior to 1961 (IIRC) when NZ ruled it, is a NZ citizen, and any Samoans resident in NZ when the immigration issue was a hot topic in the early 1980's ar eligible to apply, but not vice versa. 3/ It is our attempt to keep the population of Australia under control. sorry to see you survived 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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