59
COROMANDEL LIFE
SUMMER 2014
Clockwise from top left;
Pilot Paul Coubray flies over Whitianga;
Maiden flight cheered by team members on ground;
Pilot Paul gets a ‘well done’ handshake;
Project mentor Jim Evans explains details of the cockpit.
COME SEE US
TODAY
BRING IN
YOUR PLANS
Guthrie Bowron Whitianga
Shop 1, 1 Blacksmith Lane, Whitianga
07 866 0035
ADVICE
INSPIRATION
WE WILL
PROVIDE YOU
WITH
AND
SELECT YOUR
COLOURS
WALL
CURTAINS
CARPET
TILES
OR
WEWILL COME
WE WILL HELP
TOYOURHOME TO
MEASURE
& QUOTE
Originally the plan was to sell the assembled plane to get funds to buy
another kit, but we were unable to confirm the current status at press
time. The students did get generous coverage when TV’s Seven Sharp
produced this special segment days after the maiden flight.
See tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/school-built-plane-video-5707536.
AREA SCHOOL
5th Annual MBAS’s
Year Nine’s
School Camp at
Slipper Island
Activities include races, hula
hoop, jump roping and goofing
off under a pontoon boat. Also
snorkel diving, jumping off the
dock, being tube-towed behind
a speedboat, fishing, kayaking,
and more! Students did their own
cooking and dish washing.
All screen shots of the Class 9 2013
trip, with video by teacher Max
Ross, are courtesy of Mercury Bay
Area School and can be viewed on
YouTube, “Slipper Island.”
S
tudents from MBAS have organised
school camps to Slipper Island for
the past five years. The island allows
students to explore in a stunning marine
environment while experiencing a kiwi
way of life: staying on a real Island.
Students slept in tents scattered along
the edges of the large grassy areas,
which were used for meetings, eating
and games.
Without access to shops – and
technology – students spend time with
their peers. Talking, playing (Frisbee,
beach volleyball, touch rugby, bombs
off the wharf, races, and more), fishing
and snorkeling, boating, and ‘night time
spotlight’.
The students love scrambling across
rocks with coasteering, abseiling down
a cliff, diving to explore marine life, raft
building, kayaking, orienteering, fishing,
sea biscuiting and more.
The school camp has a focus from the
New Zealand Curriculum that promotes
the Key Competency of Managing Self.
Students are required to cook and cater
their own food...and they LOVE it!!
Slipper Island hosts, the Needhams,
enjoy having the students and being a
part of the Mercury Bay Area School’s
innovative learning project.
Call Sarah on 07 864 7002 or 021 238 9490
