Family and friends cheer on every transition at the Auntsfield 4 Legged Race Base Camp, and there is a bbq and children’s entertainment throughout the duration of the event at base camp.

In 2012 the event will be held on Saturday, 24^thMarch 2012.

If you’re interested in contributing to the event (either as a competitor or sponsor) and for more information, visit the Auntsfield 4 Legged Race website: www.the4leggedrace.co.nz

It is particularly significant that all twelve of the mentees in School B, a decile one school, enrolled in tertiary education. Ten of the enrolments were in Bachelor degrees. In addition two of the 2005 MATES mentees won prestigious CATS scholarships to enable them to study at the the University of Auckland in 2006 (both from decile 1-3 schools).

MATES grew 50%, from 62 mentees in four decile 1-3 schools in 2004 to 98 mentees in seven decile 1-5 schools in 2005.

The new schools successfully added to the project were: Auckland Girls Grammar School, De La Salle High School, Massey High School and Penrose High School.

Of the remaining 111 mentees, 99 entered into some form of tertiary education in 2010 (this number is inclusive of two students who enrolled in tertiary institutions overseas), two students relocated overseas (one of these students took up a professional sports contract and the other embarked on missionary work), two students returned to repeat Year 13, four entered into fulltime work, two chose to travel, one decided to start a family and one joined the Armed Forces.

New Zealand Herald, Saturday 23 January 2012

Children’s advocate Dame Lesley Max wants more promotion of contraception as a step towards tackling child abuse.

She told a public meeting in Mt Roskill yesterday about a man who came to a parenting class in Papakura saying his goal in life was to have 11 children -
even though all his children so far had been taken off him by Child, Youth and Family. See the full article by Simon Collins in the New Zealand Herald here.

AMP Foundation’s investment has enabled tertiary students to continue to provide inspiration (through MATES Senior) to secondary students from low-decile Auckland schools.

AMP Foundation representative, Veronica Ruddenklau, noted that the Foundation strongly believed in the importance of MATES.

“AMP Foundation is proud to support the MATES programme, which is achieving great results for disadvantaged young people in Auckland.”

Great Potentials’ CEO, Dame Lesley Max says the sponsorship by AMP Foundation is a “great gift to the young people of Auckland and a wonderful start to the 2012 year.

“We are deeply grateful to AMP Foundation for recognising the importance and potential of MATES.”

MATES Senior 2012

We are now seeking Mentors for MATES Senior for 2012. If you’d like to be a mentor, please complete the form below and email to to register your interest.

MATES Mentor application form

Click here for more details

The Role of the Coordinator

The HIPPY Coordinator has primary responsibility for all aspects of local programme implementation and management.

After taking part in the pre-service HIPPY workshop, the Coordinator recruits families and paraprofessional Tutors for the programme.

The Coordinator meets with and trains the Tutors every week and conducts meetings with the participating families every fortnight.

The Coordinator makes periodic home visits with each Tutor in addition to visiting parents when specific issues arise.

The Coordinator keeps accurate records and participates in all aspects of programme evaluation and research. Through participation in all national and regional HIPPY meetings and through regular and consistent communication with the national HIPPY office, each Coordinator becomes a part of the national network.

Specific responsibilities of the Coordinator:

1.    Ensures the planned number of families are recruited for each year’s intake.

2.    Conducts the initial interview of the parent in the home.

3.    Interviews and selects Tutors from amongst the target families.

4.    Instructs and supports the Tutors in the course of their work, through weekly training sessions and individual meetings.

5.    Deals with specific issues concerning the conduct of the programme in the homes.

6.    Plans and guides Group Meetings.

7.    Coordinates with various community elements involved in the  programme.

8.    Reports regularly to  HIPPY New Zealand at Great Potentials which provides instruction, advice and support.

9.    Participates in national and regional workshops.

10.  Is responsible for administration and paperwork connected with the local operation of the programme.

11.  Reports to the Management/Advisory Committee on a regular basis.

12.  May be involved with fundraising for the programme.

Specification for Coordinator

Every local HIPPY programme is coordinated and supervised by a trained professional. Coordinators’ areas of expertise include early childhood education, primary education, community-based programmes, parent/adult education and other related fields.

In order to qualify candidates should have:

1.    Tertiary qualification in education, social sciences or human services, and experience in teaching, social work, psychology or community work.

2.    Experience with young children.

3.    Experience in adult education or counseling.

4.    Experience coordinating school or community based projects.

5.    Knowledge of the issues and living conditions of the target population.

6.    Commitment and sensitivity to working with lower income and multi-cultural communities.

7.    Strong leadership qualities.

8.    Administrative ability.

9.    Strong verbal and written skills.

10. Ability to inter-act comfortably in the community.

11. Ability to promote inter-agency liaison in support of the programme.

12. Ability to work under the guidance of a local advisory group.

Sincere thanks to Slingshot and all our sponsors and to all who came along to support Great Potentials on the day. Check out all the photos on Great Potentials’ Facebook page.

To check out your team’s results – click here .