Mid and South Canterbury

Overview

Life Education Trust Mid and South Canterbury covers the Mid-South Canterbury area, from Rakaia in the North to the Waitaki River in the South and from the sea in the East to Mt Hutt, Mt Somers, Mt Cook and Twizel in the West.

We have been operating since 1991 and have celebrated over 30 years teaching children about the wonders of their bodies and which substances are needed and not needed to live a healthy lifestyle.  The Mid and South Canterbury Trust was launched with the support of the Trust Bank and the Community Trusts.

The Mid and South Canterbury mobile classroom travels to 60 schools in the area and the educators see over 6,500 primary school aged children a year. We have 18 schools with less than 50 children: 27 rural schools and 33 urban schools.

The state-of-the-art mobile classroom is air-conditioned and heated and is equipped with electronic aids which make learning a very exciting experience.  We have two qualified Educators who share the workload. They are continually delivering at the top of all the New Zealand Trusts and are visiting about 92% of the schools in our area.

Life Education Trust Mid and South Canterbury has a very strong Friends of Harold Club (FOH), with members from a wide range of local businesses, community organisations, service groups and families. The FOH creates an ongoing income which helps fund the annual running costs of the trust. Our FOH Club and grants raise a good portion of our funds needed to run our mobile classroom.

The classroom and tractor unit are well recognised in the area with the recent outer rewrap of creating a presence wherever it goes.

The classroom and tractor unit is well recognised in the area with the tractor unit being sponsored by local trucking companies, who also donate the time and personnel to shift the classroom from school to school.  The tractor unit has been donated to the Mid-South Canterbury Trust and stays with the classroom.

Facts

• Life Education is non-Government funded.
• Schools are charged $6 per child – with the remainder of funding met by Trustees’ successful grant applications, fundraising and donations
• Trustees are responsible for three paid staff, the operational budget, maintenance of truck and classroom, technology, insurance, resources, learning materials, promotional activities – everything!
• The logistical planning to schedule visits to schools is always planned one year ahead with a full calendar.
• Transport businesses support and collaborate by providing professional drivers to relocate the classroom according to the schedule of school visits.

Our people

The office of Life Education Mid-South Canterbury is located in Community House, Strathallan Street, Timaru where we lease the space.

Trustees come from a variety of backgrounds and currently include a retired school principal, retired teacher, public servant, rural communities’ representative, engineer, lawyer, current teacher, administration/logistics etc. Our trustees reflect the Timaru and Ashburton parts of our region. We are volunteers who commit our time, expertise and knowledge without any reimbursement for costs incurred.

Combined, we are a small team of dedicated progressive and professional people, committed to contributing to our society and most particularly to children.

• Jeff Paul, Chairperson
• Clare Bruce, Vice Chairperson, Secretary
• Kiri Pope, Treasurer
• Marion Dent, Trustee
• Moyra Whiting, Trustee
• Murray Page, Trustee
• Annette Bray, Trustee
• Keriann Gardner, Trustee
• Alice Goode, Trustee
• Melodie Graham, Administrator

Contact details

Chairperson: Jeff Paul 027 243 6228 [email protected]
Educator: Amy Pateman, 027 292 4324, [email protected]
Educator: Rudi Keggenhoff, 027 433 2652, [email protected]
Administrator: Melodie Graham, 03 687 7369, [email protected]