The Fairhaven School class, based at Tamatea Primary School, having the time of their life on the day trip to Kelly Tarlton’s.
The Fairhaven School class, based at Tamatea Primary School, having the time of their life on the day trip to Kelly Tarlton’s.
A group of boys aged from 8 to 11 years old who attend the Fairhaven School class based at Tamatea Primary School were surprised with a special end-of-year treat.
The Fairhaven School is a school for students who have additional needs, and with help from local business owners, the group and their carers flew off to an unforgettable adventure at Auckland’s Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium.
Chris Sullivan, owner of The Thirsty Whale Bar and Restaurant and Paddy’s Irish Bar, sponsored the experience for the group of boys and their adult supporters, while Frazer Best from Best Travel House in Hastings organised and booked the flights so the class could fly up and back in a day, as well as organising ground transport while in Auckland.
Max Heron was excited waiting on the plane for take-off.
Teacher Miriam Crouch explained the class had been preparing for this adventure all term and had been watching video clips of Kelly Tarlton’s and preparing for what a plane ride would be like.
“They were all very excited when they arrived at school on the morning of the trip,” said Crouch.
For some of the students, this was the first time they had ever been on a plane and for most, the first time they had been to Kelly Tarlton’s.
This trip continues a relationship between Fairhaven School and The Thirsty Whale owners, who have previously sponsored two class trips to the Wellington Zoo. Without this generous sponsorship, these boys would never have had this opportunity, Crouch said.
Crouch approached Sullivan several years ago, when the students were reading the book Giraffes Can’t Dance. She realised that most of the children had never seen a giraffe and asked him if he would consider sponsoring the class to fly to Wellington to go to the zoo.
“This was the first big adventure for Fairhaven Tamatea Primary, and was such a success that it was repeated with another class of students the following year. This sponsorship shows Chris and Kerri’s generous nature,” she said.
Often sponsorship is reciprocal, and teams wear shirts advertising the business or the recipients eat and drink at the restaurants and bars owned by Chris and Kerri Sullivan in Ahuriri, however they sponsor the trips solely for the benefit of the students and their families.
While of course the kids who went on the most recent trip where excited, so were their parents.
”The parents were informed first and they were all amazed and so excited that their children would get this opportunity and all gave their permission for the outing immediately,” Crouch said.
“The plane was a big part of the adventure and all the children loved the flight, and each child had a window seat with a staff member sitting next to them.
Logan Burton-Kupa looking up in amazement at the sharks and stingrays.
“All the adults with the group watching for the reaction one of the children in particuar, who had never been on a flight before - he looked excited as the plane started to take off, and he looked out the window smiling and laughing and when the plane started flying up in the air, he looked around at us smiling the biggest smile he could, looking at amazement at the ground below us.”
Once at Kelly Tarlton’s, Crouch said the students were all very excited and loved seeing the penguins, especially the large emperor penguins and the fluffy baby penguins in their nests.
“The boys were amazed at the large crayfish and the jellyfish and loved the turtles, fish, sharks and stingray.”
“We could hear excited squeals and children’s voices as they called out, “Look, a shark”, “Look, a fish”, “Look, a turtle” - the whole way around Kelly Tarlton’s,” Crouch said.
One of the students, Max Heron, said “it was the best day ever, thank you thank you thank you”, when Crouch told him their friends at The Thirsty Whale and Paddy’s Bar paid for the whole trip.
Crouch said “an amazing outing like this gives the students an opportunity they wouldn’t normally get, as having a child with additional needs brings another layer of complexity to parenting and can be a barrier to families being able to provide this kind of experience for their child”.
“Going for a big day trip, away from their families, going on a plane and seeing sea creatures they may have only seen in books before is an experience they will not forget.”
