Have you heard of The Head Office??
The Taranaki Gifted Community (TGC) Trust is a registered charity, established in 2014, by a group of principals, teachers and parents who shared concern and passion for the learning needs of exceptional children.
It is their vision to enable neurodiverse potential.
It is their mission to be a community of people that holistically nurtures neurodiverse children and their whanau, so they grow to be well balanced adults empowered by their potential.
From very humble beginnings in 2014, with only a handful of students and a half-day programme, they teamed up with the New Zealand Centre for Gifted Education (NZCGE) a year later. This partnership allowed them to offer the nationwide MindPlus programme in our region. More importantly they established strong ties with local primary and intermediate schools to ensure the best possible support for the students, consistent cooperation and flow of information.
In 2020 they decided to develop their own curriculum and programme - The Head Office. It is tailored towards the needs of our Taranaki community, giving the flexibility to respond to student interests, needs and local requirements even more.
The aim is to deliver in-depth intellectual and creative learning so that our students flourish as well-balanced individuals. Students come together, with a specialized teacher, one day a week in small classes.
In 2022 they took up the challenge to expand their services to support students with dyslexia. They ran a Pilot Programme for 6 months with a group of selected students and after its successful completion they now offer Project D to Taranaki students. Project D is a strength-based programme supporting the well-being and creative thinking of learners with dyslexia to increase academic engagement and success.
Where can you learn more?
If you are interested to learn more about the work of The Head Office programme, listen to Volly Voices on Access Radio 104.4fm on Sunday August 4th, at 2pm or Sunday August 11th at 2pm when Katja chats about what is happening on their programmes and how they support the school communities throughout Taranaki, and these young people to thrive and what is involved and where their programme locations are.
This can also be listened to from Monday August 5th on:
Spotify open.spotify.com...
Apple Podcast podcasts.apple.com...
Access Radio website www.accessradiotaranaki.com...
Volunteering New Plymouth website www.volunteeringnewplymouth.org.nz...
Who can you contact?
If you curious to learn more about The Head Office and /or you are interested in becoming a volunteer with this great programme, please contact Wendy at Volunteering New Plymouth on Ph: 06 758 8986; E: admin@vnp.nz or Ph / Text: 022 571 4228 to take the next step
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
Suellen’s sweet Christmas tradition
The festive season is always a great excuse to indulge your sweet tooth, and this time of year poses the perfect opportunity to bring a real showstopper to the Christmas table.
For Suellen’s family, that showstopper is Croquembouche, an impressive tower of cream puffs bound together with spun sugar that is popular at weddings in France and Italy.
What began as a birthday treat at a local French café has become a cherished Christmas tradition for Suellen and her 17-year-old twin granddaughters, Ellie and Sadie. Every year, the trio gather in Suellen’s apartment at William Sanders Village to cook this festive dessert - a holiday highlight they all treasure.
Click read more for the recipe.