Studious school saver success
Hampton Hills School launched a savings scheme in April that has proved to be a hit with its pupils. ?Approximately thirty pupils are regular savers and the number is steady. ?The savings can be 10 cents per week, it doesn?t really matter how much, it?s about teaching the habit of saving,? says Hampton Hills School principal Alison Cowan. Although they do not know how much is saved weekly, as this goes directly into a Cash-in Box and is picked up by a Bank courier, they have seen the saving successes. ?The students set savings goals at the start of the year, and one boy Jackson Lacy, has been able to buy a laptop,? says Mrs Cowan. Building up the habit of saving early is the aim of the scheme, and at the end of last term the Johnsonville ASB branch held a quiz at the school and provided prizes to those pupils most informed about money matters. The savings initiative was adopted after a report found that Kiwi children were not clued up when it comes to saving money. The Retirement Commission report showed that, when asked where money came from, the majority of children thought it came from "a hole in the wall". ?We were astounded at the lack of knowledge of the money situation and savings. ?This is very worrying, children learn about numbers and counting in math class but they don?t have any idea about saving,? she says. Mrs Cowan vividly remembers doing school banking as a child. "Those savings helped get me through my teachers training, when I moved to Christchurch I could afford to flat and live ? it helped out greatly towards my career.? After the report was made public, she approached the ASB branch in Johnsonville and asked for their assistance. The savings scheme is now part of the school?s enrolment package, aiming to entice five year-olds who are given moneyboxes, brochures and calculators upon arrival.
