Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti

Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti (better known as Unlimited or UPT) is a state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. Prior to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Unlimited was the only secondary school within the central city.

The school is one of eleven schools running under the "Designated Special Character" criteria of the Education Act 1989.^[2] This special character element is similar in some respects to the charter school system in the United States.

Students are given the flexibility to pick from a variety of interchangeable classes and subjects to design their own customized learning programme, including working on individual projects as an alternative to total classroom learning. They also have the option to learn subjects which are not traditionally taught in New Zealand secondary schools, such as philosophy, video game design, as well as DJ performance and music production.

Unlimited is subject to a merger in early 2014 with Discovery 1, an associated primary school also founded by the Learning Discovery Trust.

History

Hallenstines Building, September 2008.

Unlimited was established in 2003 by the Christchurch-based Learning Discovery Trust,^[3] which had earlier set up the primary Discovery 1 School. The school started with just 40 students (dubbed the "foundation forty") as well as 7 staff. It opened in January of that year at its site on Cashel Street.^[4] Unlimited was originally based on the first floor of the Southern Star House building (which housed shops on the ground floor) and later occupied the second floor as well.

In 2004, students watched the construction of the Hallenstines Building (known as "Northern Tower" by those at the school) which was situated across from their original premises on the corner of Cashel Street and High Street. It was built to help facilitate the growing number of students, which was upwards of 200 at the time.^[4] Students and staff moved into the building in 2005. Unlimited also expanded into the basement of The Crossing building that year, next door to the Southern Star Building.

Unlimited reached a roll of 400 students by 2008.^[4]

February 2011 Christchurch earthquake

Some students, staff and visitors were present in the Unlimited buildings during the 6.3 magnitude earthquake on 22 February 2011. A number of people, particularly students, were not present that day or had left the school the hour before the quake, due to planned industrial action by staff that afternoon. Teachers around the country had been protesting since 2010.^[5]

The Hallenstines Building (dubbed the "Northern Tower") had already suffered minor damaged in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake but was safe to use through to February 2011. After the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the building was said to be structurally safe, but was demolished in 2012 allegedly at the will of the owners.^[6]

The Southern Star Building was severely damaged, losing some of its front facade, as well as having a partially collapsed ceiling on the second floor. The building was demolished by 2013.^[6]

Unlimited also occupied a basement area below The Crossing food court building. The building still remains in late 2013, but is not accessible to the public. It is unknown if it will be demolished. Surrounding buildings, which were connected to The Crossing, have already been de-constructed to basement level.

Before demolition work began on the Unlimited buildings, John Mather (then the school director) announced that the school Board of Trustees had decided the school would not return to the site. A key factor in the decision is likely to have been the position of the buildings, which were in the centre of the devastated red zone cordon. Mather announced the school would consider rebuilding in the city in the future.

Unlimited's presence in the city center was a main factor in the development of the school's identity, and the Hallenstines Building (despite its later demolition due to earthquake damage) remains an iconic representation of the culture and philosophy the community developed.

Post-Earthquake

Unlimited was relocated to the Halswell Residential College campus in Aidanfield, where the closely associated Discovery 1 School also moved to. It remained there throughout 2011 and 2012.

In January 2013, Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti relocated to the premises of the former Christchurch Teachers' College in Parkstone Avenue, Ilam, which is now part of the University of Canterbury.^[7] They are located at the Wairarapa Block of the Dovedale Campus. Discovery 1 has remained in Aidanfield.

After the Discovery 1 merger, the school intends to rebuild and relocate to the city center by 2016.^[8]

2014 Discovery 1 Merger

On 26 March 2013, Minister of Education Hekia Parata wrote to Unlimited and Discovery 1 with confirmation of a proposed merger between the schools. The decision was made as an outcome of the Ministry of Education's "Shaping Education" consulation.^[8]

By January 2014, both schools would be merged into a single school for years 1 to 13 students. The school is temporarily named Unlimited Discovery Merged School until such time a permanent name is confirmed. An elected board will govern the school within three months after the process is completed.^[8]

Key People

Founders

The three original co-directors of Unlimited as it launched in 2003.

• Richard Belton -- Belton left in 2004, during Unlimited's second year of operation.^[8]
• Gill Herald -- Herald resigned from her position in 2007, but remained for a few years to assist staff development.^[8]
• Vince Dobbs -- Dobbs became the full-time director in 2007. He left the school in 2008.

Later Directors

• John Mather -- Director of the school from 2009 to 2011.
• Tanja Grzeta -- Became co-director in 2011, but had been a part of Unlimited for years prior.
• Alastair Wells -- Co-director since 2011.
• Steven Mustor -- Director of school post-merge from late-January 2014.^[9] Mustor was also a learning advisor at the school, prior to 2011.

Distinctive elements

• Students can follow their own pathways of learning. The school uses the term "independent, collaborative learning" to distinguish between learning taking place in a class and learning driven or directed by the student outside of a classroom setting. Often called inquiry learning, this means that students can opt to work outside of classes and courses on their own passions and interests. In practice the amount of time given over to this individual, and often independent, style of learning varies according to the interests and maturity of each student. An example of a long-term group ICL is the Audiodreams project—an event management company being run by students during school hours.
• Teachers at the school are known as "learning advisors". They are responsible for running classes as well as running individual homebases, where they support each student. Each year, students are allowed to select their preferred homebase, which is distinguished largely by the learning advisor who runs it.
• The school year at Unlimited is divided into seven or eight half-term blocks of four to six weeks. Students take courses in subjects for the duration of these half-term blocks, or can enroll for longer periods up to a full academic year.
• Students are vertically grouped in homebases (similar to form classes). The homebases have up to 15 students in them.
• Up until 2011 students were allocated 30 minutes each per week to meet with their Learning Advisor to discuss and progress their learning. In 2011 the school board reassessed the value of this level of individualized support and reallocated staff hours back towards classroom teaching, thus effecting a significant change in the school's model. Students were allocated 15 minutes each per week to meet with their Learning Advisor until 2012, when they reverted to a longer allocation. In 2013 the time allocated to these individualized meetings was re-assigned to a full homebase day. This day, held on Wednesdays, allows students to spend time outside of the classroom working, with support from their Learning Advisor, on individual projects or study. During the homebase day students can meet individually with their Learning Advisor if they wish, however they can also meet in small groups. Learning Advisors often run full homebase activities on this day. The homebase day also gives students the opportunity to meet with subject specialist teaching staff.
• The school is resourced with high-end information and communications technology (ICT), all students have the opportunity to gain qualifications in the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). There are a range of secondary school subjects on offer including English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, Computing, Drama, Dance, and Physical and Outdoor education. In addition to these subjects, UPT offers a range of courses that are not normally provided at secondary schools. These include DJ performance and music production, Entrepreneurship, Holistic programmes, Philosophy, Psychology and Videogame design.
• Courses provided by outside providers are also offered, for example Unlimited offers students the ability to participate in courses taught by Natcoll Design Technology, the Christchurch Polytechnic and The University of Canterbury. They also offer a Cisco networking course with the ability to gain a Cisco Certified Network Associate qualification taught by Aranui High School

References

External links

• School website
• Education Review Office (ERO) reports
• Provider details at NZQA