I have been in the programme for five years now, but some people have asked me over the years how I got into the programme. Well, I couldn’t answer them, because half of the story occurred when I was very little, in fact, before I had even started school. At the age of about two years old, my parents started to realise things were different. VERY different. Apparently it got as far as reading the telephone book, which I don’t remember doing. After seeing a few psychologists who confirmed there was nothing ‘wrong’ with me, they were reassured that what I had was a gift. After another year of mulling this over, it seemed that Mum and Dad had finally found the answer. They attended a meeting at Onerahi Yacht Club about some ‘thing’ called the Gifted Kids Programme. It was all about the programme moving to Tikipunga Primary School to target the whole of the gifted sector of Northland.

When I was finally able to attend school, my very first was Whangarei Primary. Whangarei Primary had their own gifted programme and the idea of sending me to GKP was forgotten for another three years. Then at the age of eight, when I was just getting used to the school, I found I was moving to Bream Bay, having to get used to another school, One Tree Point Primary. One Tree Point didn’t have their own gifted programme, so it was the perfect opportunity to start going to GKP. I went to the Entry Selection Day, meeting lots of different people, being asked different questions, and the challenge that I remember the most was attempting to draw cubes only because I was hopeless at it. The year after that I found out that I made it to GKP and started attending in the Monday Class.

I don’t really remember my first day, but I soon learned that all these people had the same yearning to learn as I did. I got on well with my peers and learnt from them as well. I benefited from the small class sizes because there was an optimal one-on-one learning experience.

Over the years there have been many people I want to thank. I want to thank Michelle Parsons-Sim, for being my teacher at GKP, being part of a Future Problem Solving team and being part of another gifted programme in Waipu involving the mainstream schools. I also enjoyed my other teachers at GKP, Tracy Krivan taught us that each one of us is able to extend our talent and we all have the opportunity. She also helped calm the class down when things got a bit rowdy! Also thanks to Jenny Wilson who taught us that we are all part of a community and a team. Thanks to Rosemary Smith who made French exciting and enjoyable for everyone and let me know how much I enjoy Camembert cheese. And finally, thanks to Janine Faulkner who enlightened our mornings with a bit of unexpected humour.

GKP has been amazing and I am glad to have been attending it for the past five years. Tonight is when we celebrate achievement in the unit, and GKP has certainly helped me achieve a lot. GKP has armed me for the future and now I am ready to face new challenges ahead.

Andrew, Ben and Daniel thoughtfully apply colour to their portratits.