Student Testimonies
Fallon
My time at Marist Learning Centre has been enjoyable but also quite a different experience than normal school but it just seemed like I didn’t really fit in to any normal school.
I also didn’t enjoy normal school, it didn’t really work for me, and I didn’t really get along with any of my teachers or any of the other teachers.
Marist has done some really good things for me in the time that I have been here. It has been 1 year and 3 terms nearly.
Even though when I started I didn’t know anything or anyone apart from Chloe who had been a family friend since I was little but that was all. I didn’t know how they ran the centre or what their expectations were but I didn’t want to give up on school and also as I had only just turned 14 I had to be in some kind of school.
In my time that I attended a normal school I never wanted to go to school or even be there. It just killed me the thought of going there. I didn’t like it at all, but now that I’m enjoying Marist Learning Centre I don’t really want to leave.
The tutors at Marist Learning Centre are really nice except for some times but not everything you want can go your way, Jacqui and Melodie really helped me out a lot even though Melodie is really mean but she was just trying to help and Jacqui is always nice and didn’t really have a mean side to her but sometimes she could get upset at some of the things that I did but she always explained to me what I had done wrong. She is the best tutor and I really enjoyed being in her classes.
There are also other tutors like Marty who was like the boss of the centre and also my English tutor and there was some times that I didn’t really get along with him but I had to in the end, and there is also Kevin who had a very good sense of humor and was always trying to make funny jokes and he was my Geography tutor and there was also Nina who was my Maths tutor and she’s all good but we always muck around when we are in her class.
I have met some new people through Marist and all I have got along with.
At Marist you kind of have a say but when you at any other normal school you don’t have a say, they also understand most things that a teacher at any other normal school wouldn’t.
When I first got to Marist I was scared to do or say anything but now that I have been here for quite a while I’m not scared and I’m not that same person that I was when I first started here.
They are always there for you when you need some one to lean on or have your down times, which when I first started had quite abit of down times I didn’t really get along with any of the boys but now they have taught me to stand up for myself and not let other people walk all over me, and I thank them for that its really changed me in to who I am now.
But overall Marist is really fun and really different to any other normal school and if school isn’t your thing then Marist just might be...
Fallon
Ruthanne
My name is Ruthanne and I am 17 years of age. Before I came to Marist I was attending Rangitoto College as a Year 9 student. Rangitoto College was a new school for me as I had just moved into the area. I had made new friends and the whole deal. While attending Rangitoto College I got into things that made it hard to attend school on a regular basis. I was drinking through most of the week which of course, had a huge affect on my schoolwork. Eventually I started wagging school. One day turned into two and then three and finally I was wagging the whole week, every week. I then had a Truancy Officer.
Finally, when they realized that Rangitoto College was not working for me, I was assigned to the Marist Brothers Learning Centre. At this stage I had not much confidence in my ability to work and make friends, but I settled in well. The first thing I noticed about the Marist Centre was how the teachers listened to me and were always there when I needed help, whereas at a bigger school, there are far too many students to be able to pay attention to every single one, when help was needed. This was something that made a huge difference with my learning process. The teachers were also my friends, which is something I had never experienced before. I could relate with them well. The teachers were very understanding and forgiving people, which made school life a whole lot easier.
One of the things I really enjoyed about Marist were the opportunities that arose for me. There were so many. One thing they really helped me with was confidence. I had never spoken in front of an audience but an opportunity came my way for my friend Shannon and I to meet the man who created the ASDAN programme we did at the Centre. It was an honour. We were to write a speech about our experiences of Marist and how it had changed our lives. I had so many things to say, as I do now. But I was also really nervous about talking in front of so many people. My teachers really helped me with this and I was no longer afraid. We traveled to Napier which was a lot of fun. I delivered my speech well and was given a lot of good feedback which I was wrapped about. I am so glad that I had this opportunity because if I am asked to speak again, I will gladly accept and actually look forward to it.
The schoolwork was just great. The teachers made the work a lot of fun; they even managed to make Geography fun which, I believe, is a big break through!! I loved working on the computers as I was able to express my creativity. The teachers were very encouraging when it came to your schoolwork. There were no rights and wrongs when it came to expressing your originality!! We also had great afternoon activities. Those activities were... ten pin bowling, ice skating, mini golf, pool and other things. This was a time to just have fun, relax and get to know each other in a different light. My personal favourite was bowling. When I first started I was absolutely useless! Now I can say with confidence that I can win!
Being at Marist was great. I will never forget the time I spent there and the fact that I actually had fun being at the Centre. I now have qualifications, confidence and a smile on my dial!
Thank you to all my teachers…..Catherine, Melodie, Kevin, Rom and Martin, for helping me give education another go.
Ruthanne
Jamie
When I was at Birkenhead College I was struggling to keep up the other students and I was defiant towards every teacher that tried to help me. I felt that every subject we covered at the school was pointless and had no place in helping me with any career I chose in the future. That eventually lead me to hang out with the wrong kind of people and in time, break into Birkenhead College. When I was caught and with my record of misbehaving, the Principal thought that it would be in the best interest of the school to let me go.
I wouldn’t change a thing though, because that sent me straight to Marist Learning Centre. When I first started at Marist I had the same attitude - school was a waste of time and pointless – but after a few months I came to enjoy this school. I wanted to show up every day because it wasn’t the same as mainstream. The teachers could focus all their attention on one student there because there were only twelve of us and five of them. They were also more like friends who helped you out when you had trouble at the Centre or at home.
If I could go back in time I wouldn’t change a thing. Going to Marist was the most enjoyable and profitable thing I’ve ever done.
Jamie