The links displayed on this page are suggestions of pages that may be of interest to you. We have not had regard to your financial situation or goals and this must not be relied upon as financial advice.The requested URL /reviews/review.php?id=5360 was not found on this server.It has been a bit of a soap opera, but today Wellington City Council agreed to include compulsory microchipping for cats as part of their animal bylaw. This is a massive step forward for both the welfare of cats and our native wildlife.After months of ‘will they won’t they’, today the Council confirmed compulsory microchipping as part of their animal bylaw. The recommendation for compulsory microchipping has appeared, disappeared and reappeared throughout the process. Following 89% support by public submissions and a legal opinion that the Council has the power to enact this change, an amendment supporting compulsory microchipping was proposed by Simon Woolf and Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, and passed by the Council.

Only Jo Coughlan, Nicola Young and Helene Ritchie voted against it.The Council also decided to stop feeding stray and feral cats on public property, which should bring an end to stray cat colonies in our reserves. However, they decided not to require desexing and limiting cat numbers to three (or fewer in sensitive wildlife areas), despite 77% support for the cat limit in submissions.The new rules will have an 18 month transition period and there will be some funding in next year’s budget to provide help for people that can’t afford to microchip and desex their cats.high seer window ac unitsThe changes have to be approved at a full Council meeting on August 17th. 2 ton ac evaporator coilCat curfews, limits on cat numbers and wildlife sensitive areas will be looked at further in the Animal Policy, which is slated for next year.how to check freon level in ac unit

Why microchips are so importantMicrochips are good for cats and good for wildlife. Cats found with microchips can be safely returned to their owners – already 50% of Wellington cats are microchipped and 2,000 are returned to their owners every year.Cats found in reserves where our native species are breeding without a microchip can be rehomed or, if they are wild, humanely euthanised. Given the millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours that have gone into returning wildlife to Wellington City, there is simply no place for stray and feral cats in parks and reserves where threatened native species are breeding and living.One submitter Kent Duston has already threatened the Council with legal action. He argued that under the law City Councils have no role to protect wildlife, and made legal threats of a judicial review if the Council tried to enact any form of mandatory identification. He argued that the Council has not demonstrated a problem, nor demonstrated why microchipping is the solution.

What Duston overlooked is that without microchipping, any management of stray and feral cats not only becomes far more expensive, but it also puts owned cats at risk. This makes clear Duston’s hidden agenda – he doesn’t want cats managed at all. His arguments amount to a desire to preserving the right of cats to wander unimpeded. It would also mean that there was no way to manage stray and feral cats in reserves where native birds are breeding. Judging by submissions and surveys this is a situation that the majority of wildlife and cat loving Wellingtonians simply won’t stand for.Ultimately if Duston’s threatened legal challenge is successful and Councils can’t act in this area, then it is clear that central government legislation will be required before we have any hope of managing cats. Regardless the angst surrounding this decision should encourage central government to clarify the legal situation and give Local Authorities a toolkit to manage cats. Until that happens Predator Free New Zealand by 2050 remains a pipedream.

Which makes you wonder how mayoral candidate Jo Coughlan plans to achieve her vision of a Predator Free Wellington when she opposes the most sensible first step toward cat management.The requested URL /default.cfm?l=1&t=100 was not found on this server.At Kohanga Reo all education and instruction is delivered in te reo maori (Maori language).  Learn more about Kohanga Reo and how it works in our article. Kohanga Reo is an early childhood education and care (ECE) centre where all education and instruction is delivered in te reo maori (Maori language). At Kohanga Reo mokopuna (children) are totally immersed in Maori language and tikanga (culture) from birth through to the age of six. This means that the only language spoken at Kohanga Reo is Maori. Kohanga reo is a whanau (family) dependent programme, parents and whanau are closely involved with children’s’ development and learning. They are also responsible for the management, operation and everyday decision making for the Kohanga Reo.

Parents are also encouraged to take part in the daily programme provided by Kohanga reo. The translation of the words Kohanga Reo is ‘language nest’. This translation relates directly to one of the key objectives of the Kohanga Reo movement – the retention of the Maori language. Kohanga Reo totally immerses children in Maori language and culture in an effort to promote learning within a context/situation that is relevant to the children and which draws on Maori styles of learning and teaching. The three fundamental aims of Kohanga for its children are that There are several levels on which Kohanga operate. Whanau and parents are ultimately responsible for the operation of Kohanga Reo. The whanau may consist of the parents of the children attending, elders and the community involved on the Kohanga. The whanau is responsible for: Some whanau organise themselves to administer and manage more than one Kohanga reo. For example, one whanau manages both a senior (children over two years old) and junior (under two years) Kohanga reo that operate as separate Kohanga reo in the same complex.

Parents are also expected to play a part in the day to day delivery of the mokopuna programmes. The intention is for parents to learn with their children. The reason for whanau involvement on such a large scale is Kohanga Reo are overseen by an umbrella organisation call Te Kohanga Reo National Trust. It is through this organisation that Kohanga Reo are chartered (see charter). The Trust’s role is that of kaitiaki (guardian) of Kohanga Reo. Its role is to ensure the quality of education and care provided by Kohanga Reo and to promote and ensure the survival of the Maori language. It does this by providing Kohanga Reo with support and advice in the form of whanau-based learning to Kohanga Reo whanau. It offers Whakapakari Tino Rangatiratanga – a training course for kaiako (teachers), training courses for whanau in te reo Maori (Maori language), computer training, Te Whariki (ECE curriculum) and business administration. As with other NZ ECE service providers, Kohanga Reo are reviewed by ERO.

To search for a review visit www.ero.govt.nz . As with other ECE services the ECE curriculum Te Whariki is used as a basis for creating learning programmes. This curriculum sets out the learning experiences and goals for children before they reach school age. It also outlines learning outcomes for Kohanga Reo. The early childhood curriculum is founded on four principles: It is obvious that a large amount of what the children will learn will be Maori language and culture. Parents and whanau play a large part in the education of children at Kohanga Reo. Aside from them The Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1990 (amended in 1991, 1992, and 1993) determines that at least one person who is employed to work with children in the Kohanga Reo be: …attested, that is, determined by the district and local TRU (Tino Rangatiratanga Unit), the Trust, NZQA and Ministry of Education as a suitable person to work in an early childhood education centre and be both fluent in te reo Maori and knowledgeable about tikanga Maori.

There are several ways a person can learn to work in Kohanga Reo including attestation and training on a course. This is a process which ensures potential staff are able to provide appropriate teaching based on their fluency in the Maori language and their knowledge of tikanga (culture). The process is undertaken by both Te Kohanga Reo National Trust and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. There are three relevant qualifications a person can undertake to complete that will enable them to teach at Kohanga Reo. These courses range from one to three years in duration. They are Te Ara Tuatahi, Te Ara Tuarua and Whakapakari Tino Rangatiratanga. Kohanga Reo have a whanau contribution system which makes providing cost guidelines difficult. The contribution expected of a whanau depends on the needs of the whanau . The contribution can be koha (gift), donations for food and/or paying fees. It is important to understand that although the primary aim of Kohanga Reo is to totally immerse children in order that they learn the Mäori language and culture, including the spiritual dimension, the Education Review Office (ERO) makes us aware of some flaws in this ideal.

In ERO’s report ‘What Counts as Quality in Kohanga Reo” updated February 2005, an inability to find teachers fluent in, and therefore able to teach in, Maori was noted. This has implications where the total immersion of children in the Maori language is concerned. Sixty-four percent of Kohanga reo were delivering their programmes entirely through te reo Maori. These Kohanga reo had good programmes in place to foster Maori language and cultural growth in children and to encourage children to communicate in Maori. While they were committed to delivering programmes through te reo Maori, 27 percent of Kohanga reo were unable to do so consistently because of a lack of Maori language expertise within their Kohanga reo. Most of these whanau need to develop better strategies for promoting Maori language growth in children and in whanau members working with the children. In nine percent of Kohanga reo, little or no Maori language was spoken by whanau and children. Where Maori was spoken by whanau it tended to be managerial rather than instructional.