Weta Workshop

Our school staff visited Weta Workshop this afternoon to meet with Richard Taylor (I mean Sir Richard Taylor).  He began by talking about the development of Weta and the movies Weta have been involved in making.  But most interesting was a discussion about creativity, how to encourage and develop creativity in children, and the creative people who work at Weta. The emphasis was on artistic creativity (not something I possess) but the ideas could apply to other types of creativity such as writing or scientific inventions. When he employs kids (his words not mine) he looks for four things, the top three being passion, enthusiasm and tenacity, followed by talent. Many young people have talent but he believes they need the other three characteristics to succeed.

School groups and others sometimes do a tour of the workshop but they are finishing a highly confidential project - The Hobbit? - so we had to stick to the conference room off the entrance foyer.  Not many conference rooms are as interesting as that one however.  A glass cabinet stretches the length of one wall and it is chock full of collectibles such as Lord of the Rings miniatures. There is also an impressive collection of industry awards including the Oscars and BAFTAs shown in the photo below.

Furniture at Amesbury School

The learning suites have a variety of furniture from some quite traditional tables and chairs to funky beanbags and even 'wobbly' stools for children who find it hard to sit still.

A Special Library in Colombia

Take one dedicated teacher, a donkey and a stack of children's books and what do you have? Biblioburro of course. This library in Colombia gives new meaning to the term 'mobile library'. Luis Sorian Boroquez inspires a love of reading and learning in children who might otherwise have little, if any, access to books. He believes that 'a child who we educate today will understand rights, duties and commitments, and will say no to war and violence.' His own commitment to getting books to children is admirable. What a great man.

Trimester Two Starts

My second trimester as a full-time distance student at Victoria University of Wellington started this week. I'm taking three information studies papers:
Info521 Management in Information Services
Info525 Digital Technologies for Information Professionals
Info528 Research Methods

Each paper has a weekly online class. It's good to be able to hear and speak to the course coordinators and other students although it is a little odd to be in a class full of people you can't see. One advantage is that I don't have to worry if I'm having a bad hair day and no one would know if I attended class in my pyjamas! As these will be my 5th, 6th and 7th papers I'm used to the system now. I feel more comfortable about speaking using the microphone and can focus on getting the most out of the sessions. I'm looking forward to learning more about the subjects of management, digital technologies and research, and I hope the assignments will be as interesting as they were last semester.

The photo is of Rutherford House in Wellington. That's where the School of Information Management is situated apparently. I must visit my university one day!

Photo by TreMichLan

A Special Library in Samoa

This time last year I was in Samoa with some members of my family enjoying a winter getaway. We spent a few days at Lalomanu on the south east coast of Upolu. Lalomanu is a beautiful place and we met some lovely people there. We stayed in a fale on the beach. The fales had just been rebuilt after the tsunami in 2009 had wiped out all of the buildings in the lower part of Lalomanu. Part of the village was on higher ground and escaped the tsunami, including the hospital and school. We visited the school during the weekend and Zak played touch with some of the children there.

I recently learned via the internet that a library has been built at Lalomanu School since we were there. It was the result of a project undertaken by an Australian couple as a tribute to their six year old daughter, Clea, who died in the tsunami. Her parents, Jorge Salavert and Trudie Wykes, decided that building a library would be a fitting tribute to Clea (who loved reading) and it would be a meaningful way to contribute to the community to which they will forever be linked through tragic loss. The Salavert - Wykes family, with the help of family, friends and community, including Clea's school, organised fundraising, book collections and the building and furnishing of a library at Lalomanu School.

I think the library is a wonderful tribute to Clea and will help create a positive future through literacy and education for the young people of Lalomanu.


Images of the Clea Salavert Library by the Library Association of Samoa