Gutsy Beast goes to hospital

Sick children at Rotorua Hospital will benefit from the ingenuity of pupils at St Mary's Catholic School.

In a technology project, five classes of Year 5-6 pupils from St Mary's Catholic School, Rotorua, designed, produced and packaged a toy suitable for a child confined to a hospital bed.

Room four teacher Sylvia Dunkley said the first two weeks of the term were spent learning about inventor John Britten, a Kiwi who designed motorbikes, so the pupils would learn about inventors and the process of inventing. Then the class split into 10 groups to fulfil the brief.

They visited The Warehouse to see what the most popular toys were and and how they were made.

The Warehouse became involved when the school asked if the children could do their research at the store.

Warehouse staff member Meg Russell said when they learned how worthwhile the project was the store wanted to be involved.

"It was hard not to get caught up in the children's enthusiasm. We wanted to help, to give some prizes for the students, but their teacher asked if we would donate some toys to the hospital to [distribute] with the classes' toys instead."

Which The Warehouse did.

It has taken the children six weeks from the first design to the final product.

The toys were judged on Tuesday afternoon. The contenders for best toy included: Squishy Owls - a modification on pet pillows, Gutsy Beast, a hollow wooden monster for boys, Daisy Doll, mazes, and puzzle builders.

Mrs Dunkley said the winning design was Daisy Doll, created by Emily Park, Emma Brown and Talei Kaitani, who each received a $10 gift voucher.

Daisy Doll is a modern-day rag doll. It won because of its finishing - reinforced stitching on buttons and wool to prevent choking - and the girls did everything themselves.

"They also helped other groups with their sewing."

All the toys will be donated to the children's ward at Rotorua Hospital next week.