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Central Leader : March 9th 2011
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6 CENTRAL LEADER, MARCH 9, 2011 NEWS Corner Walmsley Road & Kaka Street Otahuhu www.thesalecentre.co.nz Wednesday 9th - Sunday 13th March, 9:00am - 5:00pm IMPORTERS CLEARANCE SALE! Furniture & Plant Pots RIDICULOUS PRICES 5 DAYS ONLY The Affiliated Provider of radiology to Southern Cross. www.aucklandxray.co.nz • Computed tomography (CT, CAT scan) • Ultrasound scans (including ACC, 3D/4D pregnancy scans $70, shoulder injections) • X-ray (ACC, medical, immigration) • Pregnancy scans now FREE OF CHARGE for NZ residents Keep your medical costs down without compromising quality. All referral forms accepted. Immediate reporting of your x-ray/scan if required. Phone 09 638 5169 290 Dominion Rd Mt Eden (near ASB and Valentines) 3169135AC Reupholster Your Favourite Lounge Suite 24 Bruce McLaren Road Henderson, 09 8386561 • FREE on-site quotation • FREE Collection & delivery within Auckland area g FREE it t ti www.craftexpo.co.nz Make it at CraftExpo! Shop for supplies & see new, fun, crafty ideas. Plus learn in over 30 workshops daily! March 17 - 20, 2011 ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland Thursday to Sunday • 10am to 4.30pm Freecall: 0800 399 378 Admission charges apply Organised by: Supported by: First Time in Auckland! Agassi has something to shout about It was like a deep, high lob to my suspect backhand -- the sort of shot which forced my retirement from highly competitive family tennis when my second son perfected it as an early teenager. Like his winning shots, it was unbeatable. It was actually a paragraph at the end of a reader s letter. And it evoked an unlikely role model in Andre Agassi -- he of the prolonged rages over tennis umpires decision and sometime highly colourful lang- uage and behaviour. Now read on. The letter writer said: I know most people are angry, I know most people want the government to do something but what? For a start it would be a step in the right direction if some of our Maori leaders started intervening. Whether we admit it or not, a huge percentage of child abuse is within Maori families. They all blame the colonists (Turiana Turia) or the government in the main but that is just a cop- out. I have a sister-in-law in the police, a friend who works at Middlemore Hospital, another who is a school teacher and I visited a young friend in prison a few years ago. Believe me, our Maori are their own worst enemy. Until we can get some educated, unbiased, brave Maori leader who Maori look up to and will listen to nothing will change. It is frightening and sicken- ing what is going on out in our dark little country but who really wants to do anything? Usually it s because people are scared to say or do anything in this ridiculous PC age for fear of intimi- dation and abuse themselves, like I was when I tried to intervene with a violent parent in a supermarket carpark. I am a grandmother myself and I have realised as I got older and wiser that the more you give people the more greedy and demanding they get. I m not talking about the rest of the world but in New Zea- land the opportunity for anyone to get on is there for the taking. Our education and hospitals and help for all, especially if you have a brown skin, is like no other in the world. Unfortunately if you were unlucky enough to be born to stupid or useless parents that is a cross that takes huge determination to overcome and I pray for those chil- dren. Life has never been fair and never will be. Perhaps a big help in the right direction would be for every school to teach every child, no matter what colour, creed or cul- ture, the code of respect that Andre Agassi has all the children at his school in Las Vegas learn which they say every morning before they start school. Respect for each other is what is sadly missing in New Zea- land. -- Name provided Scrambling back to cover that backhand, I reached for Google to find thought-provoking detail on the new Agassi winner and the organis- ation he founded. His Andre Agassi Foundation for Education in Las Vegas is more than a school or a set of beliefs. It is a movement committed to transforming education so that all children have a shot at success. Andre and his team see education as the key to opportunity in life and a challenge. We believe we can do better. And we believe we must do better. Every child deserves an outstanding edu- cation -- when children are placed in an environment where expectations are high and excellence is the stan- dard they embrace it. We believe in children. We believe every child has the right to thrive. That is why I have devoted my life to this work on the path to excellence, to transform education, create opportunities and empower young people. Agassi founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Association in 1994 to help Las Vegas young people achieve excellence. He won the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 1995 for helping disadvantaged youth. (Arthur Ashe was the first great black tennis star.) Agassi charities help children reach their athletic potential. His Boys and Girls Club draws 2000 children a year and has a world- class junior tennis team, a basket- ball programme (the Agassi Stars) and a rigorous mix of academics and athletics. In 2001 Agassi opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Acad- emy in Las Vegas for at-risk chil- dren. He visits the school 25 to 30 times a year, often dropping in unannounced to give tours to poten- tial donors, everybody from Presi- dent Clinton and Muhammad Ali to Lance Armstrong, Robin Williams, Janet Jackson and a Who s Who of Corporate America. In 2009 the graduating class had a 100 percent graduation rate. When will a New Zealand low decile school get such help and produce such results? His charitable foun- dation supports Child Haven, a resi- dential facility for abused and neglected children. He donated funding for a six-room classroom building -- the Agassi Centre for Education. His foundation also gave $720,000 to help build the Andre Agassi Cottage for Medically Fragile Children with its 20 beds for handicapped children and those quarantined for infectious diseases. In 2007 Agassi with Muhammad Ali, Armstrong and others founded Athletes for Hope, which helps pro- fessional athletes get involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities. In all this Agassi makes a clear point. What about an All Blacks foun- dation giving our seriously over- paid and idolised stars something constructive to do now and into their high profile retirement? It could give them a new role and a new goal, could inspire the young more than hastily-signed footballs or jerseys, establish our players as more than simply sportspeople who advocate particular underarm sprays or one brand of beer. They could set a new horizon for another generation. This is the full Agassi Code of Respect -- the children and staff recite the first four lines every morning before work begins: The essence of good discipline is RESPECT. Respect for authority and respect for others; respect for self and respect for rules. It is an attitude that begins at home, is reinforced in school and applied throughout life. Respect for authority is shown by ...Listening carefully and quietly. Being on time, prepared and ready to learn. Accepting personal res- ponsibility for your actions. Respect for others is shown by . . . Communicating in a polite, sup- portive and friendly manner. Taking into account the needs and feelings of others as well as your own. Allowing others to enjoy their personal space and property. Respect for self is shown by . . . Using proper dress and language. Behaving safely. Keeping your word. Respect for rules is shown by . . . Obeying the policies of Agassi Prep. Considering the spirit of a rule in making decisions. Realising that different situations create dif- ferent expectations. Okay. Admittedly it s rather do asIsay,notasIdid --butitworks. Game set and match to Agassi.
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