Taupō schools getting into RWC 2011 spirit

Schools in the Taupō district are getting into Rugby World Cup 2011 mode with the Taupō Schools Multimedia Competition and the release of the RWC 2011 Activity Books. Schools will also have the opportunity to meet the teams at public training sessions in September.

The Taupō Schools Multimedia Competition invites all primary through to highschool age students in the district to take part in designing a multimedia project which promotes Taupō district as “World’s Best Host”. There are three categories; still image/photo, animation/slideshow and short film/advertisement. There are four age groups in each category and each will take away a prize for their school thanks to support from Noel Leemings Taupō. Prizes include Canon Video Cameras, Fuji Finepix Digital cameras, and Flip Mino 3 cameras.

Principals Association President Karl Bishop says the competition is designed to get students to engage with the Tournament at a local level, while developing the students’ creative and multimedia skills. “So much of what schools do now is interactive, so it’s a great excuse to showcase what our students are learning. It’s also a fantastic opportunity for the schools to gain some of the latest digital technology for their students to use.”

A prize giving will be held on Sunday 11 September at 6.00pm at the Great Lake Centre in which the best works from each category will be displayed. The event will be followed by the South Africa v Wales match in the Family Friendly Fanzone at the Great Lake Centre from 8.30pm.

The Government, through the New Zealand 2011 Office, and Tournament Organiser Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011) is providing 480,000 primary and intermediate students across New Zealand with RWC 2011 Activity Books as part of the RWC 2011 Education Programme. The programme is aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum so students and teachers can be sure of their relevance in the classroom.

The programme focuses on the Tournament as a significant world event and aims to enhance student learning across a range of activities. “We want every young New Zealander to be part of the Tournament and understand the importance of New Zealand hosting this world event,” says RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden.

In conjunction with the Education Programme, RNZ 2011 will provide schools with a group booking opportunity for classes or school sports groups to attend local matches. For a number of matches, child price tickets will be available for school groups of 20 or more. For more information visit www.rugbyworldcup.com/groups

School children will also have the chance to get up close to the teams staying and training in Taupō at the public training sessions at Owen Delany Park September. Dates and times will be advertised in due course, so watch this space.

Schools in Taupō can find out about all the other ways they can be part of the Tournament with the ‘Get Involved Toolkit for Schools’ at www.nz2011.govt.nz/get-involved