How the digital world has changed the way primary school children learn and understand maths is the subject of a new book recently launched at the University of Waikato, Tauranga.

Creating children who love healthy and adventurous foods such as Curly Kale and eggplant may seem a far-fetched dream to many parents, but the three winning schools of the Mother Earth Reward are already proving they can do it.

Twelve Year 13 students from Auckland’s Kristin School took a step onto the world stage on Monday 22nd August, 2011, as they presented via video conference to the 5th Biennial Equity Conference – Schooling for Futures, in Sydney.

A School Journal that is part of a series published to redress a historical grievance has won the Pearson Award for Best Educational Book Design at the Publishers Association of New Zealand’s (PANZ) 2011 Book Design Awards.

A South Auckland Sports Academy has found an innovative way to raise funds for their students’ sporting dreams.

As a major fundraiser, Tamaki Sports Academy offers a free metal collection service, which is an excellent source of work experience for its 15 to17-year-old members.

Variety - The Children’s Charity is looking for deserving children to receive a bike as part of the 2011 Bikes for Kids tour, which will distribute 450 bikes around the country.

The tour will be travelling from South Auckland through Cambridge, Taupo,  Ruapehu District, South Taranaki, Porirua, Lower Hutt, Wairarapa, Hastings and Napier from November 13th to 18th, 2011.

Primary school teacher Karlene Thomson at Pahiatua School near Palmerston North didn’t expect the day to be much different than any other school day.

But when a team equipped with $1,000 worth of crafts stationery and office supplies, flowers, balloons and a certificate of appreciation entered her classroom, it was surely one of the better days.

The Tread Lightly Caravan (TLC), Auckland’s first ever mobile environmental education classroom, is on the road visiting Auckland schools teaching children about living sustainably. 

The TLC aims to educate Auckland children about the environmental consequences of their individual actions and encourage them to live more sustainable lifestyles.

After months of carton collecting, five primary schools from all over the country have earned $10,000 in sports equipment of their choice in a toothpaste carton race.

The winning schools are Akitio School in Dannevirke, Te One School in the Chatham Islands, Lynton Downs School in Kaikoura, Waimate Main School in Waimate, and Belmont School in Auckland.

ACG (Academic Colleges Group) won the Air NZ Cargo Exporter of the Year Award in the consultants and services category, at the annual ceremony held at the Auckland Langham Hotel.

Founded in 1994, ACG now owns and operates seven schools in NZ, two in Vietnam and one in Indonesia, and has over 5000 students and 500 teaching staff.

Thousands of children are going hungry each day as the country’s largest charitable school programme struggles with demand, The Dominion Post reports.

KidsCan, which last year distributed 1.6 million food items to decile 1 to 4 primary and intermediate schools, has 105 schools on its waiting list.

Different learing produces honey and successful students

Oturu Primary near Kaitaia is a school where they do things a little bit differently. Students here produce honey from the school’s beehives, olive oil from their olive trees, lip balm, soap and even beauty cream.

Community Swim, the cornerstone project of Sir John Walker’s Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation, marked a major milestone with its 200,000th swim lesson for Manukau youngsters.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown and Sir John Walker were the key participants in the ceremony at the Otara Leisure Centre.

The Young Authors’ Challenge is back this year with offering more primary and intermediate school children in Auckland and Northland the chance to publish their creative works.

Eight classes will win the chance to have their short story featured in a real book, which will be printed and sold to benefit the Starship Foundation.

More than 90 per cent of Auckland primary and intermediate schools have signed up for Auckland’s Rugby World Cup 2011 schools programme.

This means more than 400 Auckland primary and intermediate schools – around 125,000 pupils – will have the chance to participate in RWC 2011 through this education programme.

Richmond Road Primary School in Auckland is the first school to be part of the Equico-Eco initiative that aims to improve the sustainability of NZ‘s schools.

The free programme enables schools to dispose of ICT equipment in an environmentally friendly way.

NZ Ironman champion Cameron Brown launched Youthtown’s national Fitness Trail initiative at Balmoral School in Auckland on March 24th, 2011.

The fitness trail has been specifically designed to suit the fitness requirements of NZ primary and intermediate school children in conjunction with fitness guru and personal trainer, Graeme Ahern.

The ‘League in Libraries’ programme is back this year with Rugby League player Jerome Ropati encouraging Y4 and Y5 students to write an illustrated short story or poem that creatively incorporates their favourite Vodafone Warriors player.

The initiative aims to improve the literacy levels of primary school children and make reading fun and enjoyable. 

Victory Primary talks to ISS crew right after US President Obama 

Victory Primary School children had the unique opportunity to talk to astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) on 4th March, 2011 - directly after US President Barack Obama congratulated the crew on their accomplished mission.

NZ’s next generation of eco-warriors is encouraged by Bayer and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to enter the 20th International Children’s Painting Competition on the environment.

The competition is open to entrants aged 6-14, who are encouraged to paint an A3 or A4 sized picture to theme of biodiversity and ‘Life in the Forest’. 

As the spread of flu has been found by Australian scientists to be literally “child’s play”, Counties Manukau District Health Board’s 35 public health nurses are teaming up with the Kleenex SneezeSafe lesson to teach children about respiratory hygiene.

The education campaign is designed to reach up to 80,000 children, 3,000 teachers and 200 primary and intermediate schools in the area by the end of the school year.

Six children under the age of five have drowned in New Zealand during 2011. This represents nearly a quarter of the total year to date drowning toll of 26. In 2010, only six preschool children drowned and the average (last five years) is eight.

Three schools in the North Island and one in the South have been selected to receive a Treemendous School Makeover - a joint initiative by the Mazda Foundation and Project Crimson Trust.

Spotswood Primary School (New Plymouth), Westshore School (Napier), Epuni Primary School (Lower Hutt) and Rapaura School (Blenheim) were chosen to have their grounds enhanced with native tree gardens.

A groundbreaking eco classroom at Hukanui School in Hamilton is the winning design celebrated at the 2010 Waikato Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards, which are run by the NZ Institute of Architects and supported by Resene.

The Hukanui EnviroClassroom “The Living Room”, by Antanas Procuta Architects, was the only winner in the Sustainable Architecture Category this year.

Dunedin-based Julie Woods is more than your ordinary woman. She went blind over a decade ago, but that does not stop her from inspiring Kiwi kids.

From term one 2011, school children across Auckland will have the opportunity to learn about environmentally responsible energy with the launch of Vector’s ‘Be Sustainable with Energy’ schools programme.

Cutting, drilling, sanding, masking and painting. These are just some of the activities small groups of senior boys get to enjoy once a fortnight at Halsey Drive Primary School in Lynfield, Auckland.

Over the past eighteen months, the school’s Board of Trustees has employed Keith Dawkins, an enthusiastic semi-retired teacher, who instructs the boys in the craft of model making.

Renée Morin, Music Director of ACG Sunderland’s primary school in West Auckland, lives and breathes music and has recently achieved something beyond what most hope to ever achieve in their career.

Students at Manurewa Intermediate School were given a special experience, as they collaboratively researched, painted and celebrated a school mural project.
The mural project was initiated by local NZ artist Shane Hansen through the school’s principal, Iain Taylor, and coordinated by Dianne Macdonald, a professional learning leader at Manurewa Intermediate School.

People visiting Westfield Queensgate Mall in Lower Hutt will have the unique opportunity to learn about Montessori Education this week. From 6th until 10th September, 2010, the children from Wa Ora Montessori School will take their Montessori classroom to the mall.

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.

Room 12’s class of excited nine–year–olds at Parnell District School are jostling for the chance to stand up and speak in another language.
They are enthusiastic, engaged and articulate – and could be laying an important foundation for their futures.

“Kevin Locke attacks the other team like he is a champion of wrestling. Steve Price is as tough as elephant skin, yet moves as slippery as a gecko. Brent Tate is like a train with no brakes – accelerating, huffing but never puffing.”

Year seven and eight students from Waiau Pa School near Pukekohe have been announced as the winners of the third annual Barfoot & Thompson Magic of Reading Storybook Competition.

Faculty of Education Professor John Hattie and the Visible Learning Lab at The University of Auckland will run national standards workshops for teachers in 2010.

Local primary and intermediate school students are being offered the chance to have their very own story idea developed into a real book.

Four NZ schools were selected late last year for the third round of annual Treemendous School Makeovers, a joint initiative between the Mazda Foundation and Project Crimson.

Late last year Visy launched a new on-line education programme called Visy Enviromaniacs, designed specifically to teach primary school students practical initiatives and actions to preserve and protect our environment.

With just two weeks before schools reopen, the implementation of the government's National Standards hangs in the balance, says the union NZEI.

Four students from Maungatapu School in Tauranga have been named the winners of NZ’s first e-Waste Eddie Awards.

Initial Hygiene’s ‘Hands on Hygiene’ campaign launches this Foodsafe Week.

Thousands of low paid school support staff have attended paid union meetings around the country to consider their next move in their stalled pay talks.

Hundreds of school children will be safer in and around the water this summer thanks to Youthtown.

New cyberbullying resources have been launched for children, teachers and parents, and are free on-line at Kiwi website www.hectorsworld.com

Thirty-five primary school teachers from throughout NZ have been awarded Primary Science Teacher Fellowships for the first two terms of 2010.

Be in to win a share of $20,000 for your school!

A pilot scheme to connect primary school teachers with scientists and develop leadership in teaching science is now underway with 20 teachers taking part.

Primary school students across NZ will win their schools a total of $25,000 in the inaugural Kmart art of giving competition.

A day with the Navy, Army or Air Force is up for grabs as prizes in Operation ANZAC SPIRIT, a competition for year seven and eight students, launched by the NZ Defence Force (NZDF).

 

Any teacher who has worked with students to perform one of Shakespeare’s works will be able to tell you of a transformation they have witnessed in their students.
 

Using computers to explore maths concepts helps students to understand ideas more quickly and makes maths more engaging.
 

Dawn Engelbrecht, director of the “Safe Kids In Daily Supervision” (SKIDS) after-school care centres, said pressure on government funding for after school care centres is not unexpected.

Five hundred primary and intermediate age children around the country will be awarded the prestigious Mainfreight Award for Excellence in Attitude during their end of year school assembly.

Children at Tamaki Primary School in Glen Innes have been digging deep and getting their hands dirty while learning about growing vegetables and how to make healthy meals with them.

Four NZ schools have been selected for the second annual Treemendous School Makeovers, a joint initiative between Mazda Foundation and Project Crimson.

All of NZ’s 16 regions recorded population growth in the June 2008 year, Statistics NZ has said.

“School should be seen as a learning gym, and not as an old-fashioned assembly line,” says a leading UK educationalist visiting the Waikato.

Kelburn Normal School celebrated, with support from Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) and construction company Mainzeal, the unveiling of their waharoa (gateway) recently.

A recent Education Review Office (ERO) report highlighting the need for initiatives that help schools manage students at risk is no surprise to Skylight.

Scientist and Inglewood High School teacher Michael Fenton has won an award to attend the Asia Pacific Microsoft Innovative Teachers conference in Malaysia next year.

Wanaka Primary School’s redevelopment is ready to proceed to the next stage, David Parker announced in Wanaka late last term, on behalf of Chris Carter.

The inaugural Keep Cricket Strong campaign in October 2007 saw 107 players, including Blackcaps and White Ferns, visit 173 schools throughout the country.

Household steel cans were given a new shape as Wellington primary school children brought steel cans to school to create monsters.

What sound does a Hector’s dolphin make?

Cricket player numbers have grown rapidly since 2000 to over 100,000 with half these players participating in school teams.

The union that represents teachers and support staff at independent (private) schools has registered a change to its name.

A focused new way of teaching aimed at vastly improving Kiwi students’ achievement in reading comprehension, and already used in some schools with great success, will be presented in a series of practical, interactive workshops throughout NZ, beginning this month.

The decorated rafters of the meeting house at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds rang to a different sound of music recently, when the girls’ choir from Southwell School in Hamilton gathered to sing traditional melodies.

One hundred copies of Elwyn’s Dream, the winning short story in the competition for unpublished authors that was launched by Mitre 10, will be donated to nationwide charity Duffy Books in Homes.

Former NZ Children’s Commissioner Roger McClay is the patron of a substantial campaign to improve literacy through the encouragement of family reading in all NZ homes.

NZEI says communities, schools, parents and the government have a joint responsibility to ensure that children with special needs can access quality public education.

Recently Maxim Institute released a new education policy paper, “National standards for excellent teachers, reporting of student progress and the NCEA.”

Four Christchurch schoolchildren have won a place in the world final of the Kids’ Lit Quiz and will travel to England next month to represent NZ against seven other countries.

A healthy and tasty new way for schools to raise funds

Innovative school fund-raising initiative launched by Natures Foods