Waihi College Students Gain Swim Teacher Award

A group of Waihi College students will finish this year with more than their usual academic achievements with the addition of a Swimming New Zealand Swim Teacher Award.

Late last year a group of Year 11 students from the college attended the Swim Teacher Award course with the view to offer free swimming lessons to the local primary schools over the 2015/16 summer season at the High School pool.

Following on from the course the students were trained and mentored by High School teacher and Waihi Swim Club swim teacher Nicole Clare. 

Nicole mentioned a highlight of her role has been watching the students interact with the children and having their eyes open to the fact that sometimes kids just don’t listen.  Nicole’s response, “welcome to my world”.

The local schools have been extremely impressed with the student teachers and thankful for the extra swimming tuition their students have received.

It was with great pleasure that Swimming New Zealand Education Advisor Wendy Smith attended the end of Term 3 assembly to award the now Year 12 students with their certificates for the Swim Teacher Award.

Waihi College has organised to run the Swim Teacher Award course for another group of Year 11 students this November to make sure the programme has enough teachers to cater for the demand from schools this season.