Public school students let down

SYDNEY: The Australian Education Union (AEU) hs expressed bitter disappointment at Labor’s decision to break its promise to introduce a new school funding system before the 2013 election.
AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said it was clear Labor had caved in to pressure from private schools and put their interests before those of the two thirds of students who attend public schools.

Children detected with hearing loss much earlier

Children are being diagnosed with hearing loss much earlier than before thanks to the rollout of newborn hearing screening across the country this year.
Previously the average age of finding out a child in NZ had a hearing loss was 45 months but now it can be within days of birth.


The government giveth and the government taketh away

NZEI says the government is giving on one hand and taking away with the other when it comes to early childhood education (ECE).
It has just announced a $4.6 million funding boost to build or extend five ECE centres, which will benefit 280 children. The money from the Early Childhood Discretionary Grants Scheme will target greater participation of Maori and Pasifika children and children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.


Warriors lead library reading scrum

Players from the Vodafone Warriors and Vodafone Junior Warriors visited Pakuranga Library, in Auckland last month, to deliver an important message, and read with local school children who topped the League in Libraries table in an Auckland-wide literacy competition. 
The third annual Vodafone Warriors League in Libraries programme, in partnership with Konica Minolta, aims to show kids that ‘reading is cool’ and improve the literacy levels of year four and five students, encouraging them to learn the valuable life skills of reading and writing at an age when reading can become difficult.


Students impress Auckland mayors at Trade Fair

The business skills of secondary school students took centre stage recently at an annual Auckland Trade Fair impressing three Auckland mayors. 
More than 250 students from across Auckland sold products and services produced by their own student companies as part of the nationwide Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES).


Prestigious postion for Education expert

An education expert from The University of Auckland has been selected to represent NZ in an international working group tasked with transforming the world’s education system.
Dr Brian Annan, director of Business Development at the Faculty of Education, is one of four NZers chosen for the second year of the Global Educations Leaders Programme (GELP).


Coalition wrong on students with disabilities

The Australian Education Union (AEU) said the Coalition was clearly blinded by ideology in education and had chosen the wrong approach in its new policy on students with a disability.
AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said that instead of a long-term strategy to provide adequate teaching resources and programs for students with a disability Mr Abbott would hand out individual vouchers to a tiny proportion of students.


Elite Ballet Academy launched at top School

Top NZ independent boarding school, Wanganui Collegiate, has launched a Ballet Academy and is holding auditions for its first intake in October.
Headmaster Tim Wilbur explains; “NZ is crying out for a ballet academy in a boarding school environment where the ballet students will not only get an excellent international education but also world-class ballet tuition.”