Cutting the cloth
Teacher CELESTE RYAN and student LUCIE GRAY tailor a curriculum and a scholarship result
eachers around the country are working hard to ‘gear up’ their students for scholarship success, and the number of technology students gaining scholarships has soared over the past three years. 
Students gaining scholarships has more than doubled since 2007, with 13 successful scholarship students and 32 in 2009.
The relationship and support provided to scholarship students by their teachers plays a vital role.
Fresh from her teacher training last year, Motueka High School’s Celeste Ryan found she had a scholarship applicant in her class – inevitably “a learning process for both of us”.
Her Year 13 scholarship student, Lucie Gray, was working in soft material technology for the third year, so Celeste made contact with one of her training placements, experienced technology teacher Barbara Knight at Queen Margaret College in Wellington.
“Reading the words in the NZQA outline can’t really give a clear idea of what’s needed to get a project to scholarship level,” Celeste says.
Barbara provided exemplars of the subject which gave Celeste, and Lucie, an idea of the standard to be achieved and direction to take.
Reaching out to the teaching fraternity was the first step in what became a key element in the project. Celeste and Lucie kept a regular dialogue throughout the project, and Celeste pushed her student outside her comfort zone in choosing a client.
“Lucie got hold of PR companies who put her in touch with fashion houses. Auckland-based photographer Robin Smith offered to do industry-standard fashion photography if Lucie designed for his girlfriend, model Selina Daysh.
“This gave real depth to her project. By picking up professional help from the community Lucie found depth that was already there,” Celeste says.
Robin introduced Lucie to Auckland-based fashion designer Michael Pattinson who gave ideas and guidance throughout the project. Selina, Robin, and Michael also became stakeholders.
“This lifted Lucie toward scholarship level. Most commonly ‘clients’ and ‘stakeholders’ are parents or close friends. Lucie was pushed well into the wider community by these choices.”
Michael’s guidance brought industry expectations home to Lucie, who soon discovered a garment had to be well-designed and relatively easy to make. Hundreds of hours spent on a garment would not work in the industry.
Lucie’s research into her project resulted in her ‘ghetto meets couture’ theme – high fashion garments with a street edge. The wider community stepped up again with Auckland street artist Peap Tarr agreeing to design artwork.
Lucie was obliged to use a corporate communications style through her project, identifying stakeholders, emailing them, winning their support and input, and meeting the requisite deadlines.
The latter meant Peap Tarr’s ideas were hand-painted by Lucie onto the main garment because school and client deadlines precluded the screen-printing method preferred by the artist. It also meant Motueka-based Lucie had to find fitting times and send mock-ups to Selina, working within tough timeframes and delivering to the high standard expected by the client.
“There was the main garment, an evening dress, and it was relatively complex with beadwork, but the client expected more than this. Lucie designed and produced a small collection, with the other garments being simpler, with guidance and critique from Michael in what the industry would expect her to achieve.”
Celeste points out it is these processes that meet the curriculum expectations on the student, and the teacher.
“Research, ongoing planning, time management, discipline, critical and creative thinking – these projects are a thorough exercise in curriculum objectives,” Celeste says.
The last word should go to Lucie: “Being awarded the scholarship for me was about the recognition of my hard work and what I had achieved.”