Long service ending

When today's school bell rings, Wendy Mullan will lock her classroom for the final time. She will then walk through the school grounds and wave goodbye to her students and colleagues. Among them will be Ian Busby, who will also be saying his fond farewells. Mrs Mullan, a teacher at Hawera's Turuturu School for the past 29 years, is retiring alongside her old mate. Mr Busby has been the school caretaker for 27 years. It is a bittersweet time for both as they look forward to a quieter and more relaxed future away from the place in which each has spent a good portion of the past 30 years. Unable to completely give up such a huge portion of her life, Mrs Mullan plans to fill some of her days relief teaching. For her, a career in teaching has always been driven by the desire to see children grow. "The progress is huge in the new entrant level, you see a greater progress here than you do at any other level in the school," she said. "They come in with nothing and they're little sponges." She said it was satisfying to see how children learnt and discovered in their early schooling years. Education has changed since she began working in the world of growing young minds. Technology has become a huge part of the everyday curriculum. "Every room has computers in, we've got a computer suite which certainly wasn't here in the early days," she said. "It is hard but you just pick it up a bit at a time and you have to move with it." She said technology was a tool and she believed children would always need to learn reading and writing before they would be able to utilise the tools technology provided. But when Mrs Mullan thought back over her history with Turuturu School, she was reminded of family more than the changes in education. Her own children were educated there and she now has five grandchildren at the school. Teaching in one place for 29 years would not have been so special if it hadn't been for the people she worked with. "The kids, the parents, the colleagues, we've had lots of fun, met lots of friends that have lasted with us over the time," she said. Mr Busby agreed. The teachers once had a thriving social life. Mrs Mullan said it was key to a good working environment. "You don't have to be with those people all the time but having a good social relationship helps having a good working relationship," she said. "I think that's really really important in any job." Ad Feedback Mrs Mullan's husband Kerry and Mr Busby's wife Frances have been active volunteers at almost every event. "Generally, the more you put in, the more you get out," Mrs Mullan said. As the fulltime caretaker, Mr Busby has spent years watching the school evolve and grow. Starting his working life as a car painter, he revelled in the opportunity to spend his days out in the fresh air. "When I first came here there were nine classrooms, now we're up 15 classrooms," he said. Two new playgrounds have been built but the students' favourite place to play has always been the pine trees bordering the school. One of Mr Busby's most satisfying moments was building raised garden beds for the kids. He said seeing them plant and then watch the produce grow was a gratifying experience. The overall experience has been one that neither would have wanted to give up. Mrs Mullan said: " . . . if we hadn't enjoyed it, we wouldn't have been here this long. "I always felt I had no reason to move anywhere else." - © Fairfax NZ News PETRA FINER- SOUTH TARANAKI STAR Last updated 10:04 19/12/2013 http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/south-taranaki-star/9534918/Long-service-ending

Poppa Jim top of the pops

An octogenarian's desire to go back to preschool has inspired a wealth of inter-generational relationships. "Poppa" Jim Battersby, who lives at the Hillsborough Heights Retirement Village, has walked past Roskill South Kindergarten many times over the years. He couldn't see over the fence, but he could tell by the sounds of children at play that it was the place to be. "I decided I'd like to go to kindergarten," he says. Through an intermediary he approached the kindergarten and was duly invited to visit. He's been going there every week since. "We thought it would be great for our children to interact with an older person," teacher Nadine Priebs says. "So many of them don't have grandparents living locally and we figured that they would learn a lot from ‘Poppa Jim' as the children now call him. His presence in the kindergarten has been wonderful." Every Tuesday, Poppa Jim wanders around the playground and interacts with the children at the water-play area and sandpit. He has joined the children on trips to Ambury Farm and inspired them to take an interest in rock ‘n roll when he came to the disco dressed as Elvis Presley. While at the kindergarten Mr Battersby celebrated his 88th birthday. "Yes, there were 88 candles," he says. "But by the time the last few were alight, some of the first-lit candles had burned out, so thankfully I didn't have to do a lot of blowing." The children's birthday present to Mr Battersby was a mosaic paver they made of him with his walking stick. More of Mr Battersby's friends from the retirement village now go to the kindergarten to share their skills, patience and time. "It's a great experience for everyone," Ms Priebs says. "Children and older people are empowered by what is happening here. The relationships are special and they are learning so much from each other." - © Fairfax NZ News http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/9526902/Poppa-Jim-top-of-the-pops