Background
Gisborne Girls' High School is a decile 4 school of 876; 47% Pakeha, 48% Māori and 5% other ethnicities. The students mainly come from two local intermediates and country school pupils will often have done their technology at one of these. Students coming into Year 9 find that there is a big jump from what they have been doing.
The school works on a system of modules (8 - 10 weeks) for all subjects. Technology is a compulsory subject at Year 9 (2 modules) and Year 10 (1 module) with optional modules also offered.
Some twelve years ago when Heather McIntyre was Year 9 dean she had her students make a time capsule, consisting of a manila folder containing writing about themselves and their experiences. This was opened during the Year 13 dinner or at the end of the girls' schooling. The students really enjoyed opening their capsules and it became an annual thing which all the Year 9 deans did during school camp at the beginning of the year.
Heather noticed that this tradition had faded out over the last few years and that nobody did it in 2005. She thought "it was just a neat thing to do" and knew that the students had found it exciting opening the capsules and seeing what they had written all those years earlier. She 'grabbed' the time capsule as an opportunity for something that could be done in Year 9 technology classes.
Heather came to technology teaching through a degree in science, maths and statistics from Massey University and a stint with the Department of Statistics before overseas travel. Back in New Zealand and working in accounting she decided it was not for her and headed to Auckland Training College.
Maths, accounting and enterprise studies teaching were followed by a year doing a postgraduate diploma in business administration. Arriving back at school after the introduction of the Technology Curriculum Heather asked to join the school technology team which comprised mainly science teachers at that stage. She has been co-ordinator since 1997 as well as co-ordinating the Gisborne outpost teacher training programme.
Heather McIntyre: "I've been really lucky that I've had good professional development. The hardest part of the challenge is trying to upskill in terms of teaching kids skills"
Teacher Steve Lawrence started out as an electrical technician apprentice at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, eventually graduating from Leeds University with an honours degree in Science. Teaching in the United Kingdom was followed by a move to Campion College, Gisborne where he taught science and senior biology for eight years.
Steve shifted to Gisborne Girls' High School in 1995, becoming Assistant Head of Department Science two years later. After a break of three years teaching in England Steve arrived back at Gisborne Girls' in 2005 as a part time teacher in technology and science.
