The dynamic kiwi charity Sustainable Coastlines has launched a hard-hitting campaign aimed at raising awareness around the truly shocking effects of litter that makes it onto our beaches and into our oceans.

Students at Christchurch’s St Mark’s School are experiencing a fundamental shift in the way teaching and learning is delivered, with Canon’s modern multimedia solutions bringing new dimensions to education.

Fifteen years, over 7,000,000 books and tens of thousands of students ago, Alan Duff and Christine Fernyhough envisaged a programme which would help end the cycle of booklessness in NZ homes.

Upper Hutt City Mayor Wayne Guppy cut the ribbon at the launch of Goodtime Music Academy’s brand new Music Bus, Wednesday 1st September, 2010, at Birchville primary school in Upper Hutt.

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.

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.”

An award-winning choir from Auckland’s Diocesan School for Girls has scooped two top prizes at an elite international competition in China.
The 40-member Virtuoso Voce choir from the all girls Anglican independent school has returned home with two magnificent glass trophies after winning a Silver Award and the International Friendship Award at the 10th China International Chorus Festival in July.

Education consultancy Cognition Education won the Consultants & Services Exporter of the Year Award at the Auckland Export Awards earlier this month.
Cognition has grown from a supplier of support services to NZ schools (called Multiserve) to a multimillion-dollar enterprise exporting NZ educational values and systems throughout Asia, the Middle East and beyond.

The Nestle NZ, Cambria Park factory in Wiri, Manukau, has donated $25,000 this year to the Wai Care Environmental Program which focuses on environmental sustainability, particularly around water. This is the 8th year that the Nestle Cambria Park team has contributed to this important local initiative, with the funding enabling projects to be taken to local schools.
The money will be used to educate students and promote environmental sustainability in Manukau schools, particularly in relation to waterways.

High school can be a mysterious and daunting place for many young children. That’s why Duffy Books in Homes is working to bring high school students into almost 550 primary and intermediate schools to share their experiences of senior school life.

NZEI says expert research on National Standards backs up the deep concern being expressed by principals and teachers and proves that they are doing thousands of children a disservice.
The New Zealand Council for Educational Research has found that about 35 per cent of Year 8 students will not reach the National Standard in maths despite making normal or satisfactory progress for their age on the Progressive Achievement Test.

Eduvac/The Education Weekly welcomes news and information from schools and communities by e-mail, fax or mail.
It can be e-mailed to ­eduvac@millspublish.co.nz with attention news in the subject line along with digital photographs saved as jpeg images – full-sized images only.
You can also send it to our postal address: PO Box 26-302, Epsom, Auckland 1344, or by Fax to 09-849 7103.

According to the English Language Providers survey, there were 41,798 international students enrolled in English language schools in the year ended March 2010, Statistics NZ has said.
This is an increase of 4,808 (13.0 per cent) from the previous year.

See the changes that took place in NZ following World War II and how they transformed the Kiwi way of life forever.
Between July 1945 and March 1946, 73,000 men and women came home from serving in the War overseas.
Upon their return a number of astonishing developments were made including a total re-construction of the roading system in Auckland, the first automatic traffic lights were installed and a Royal Commission in favour of building the Harbour Bridge was passed.
In this new exhibition, notice the change in social structure in NZ once the war was over as women who had stayed behind and adapted to masculine war time roles returned to their jobs as mothers and homemakers.

More than 370 kids from across Auckland descended on LynnMall Shopping Centre over the July school holidays, donning their chef hats and aprons in aid of a fabulous cause.
The Kids Cook at LynnMall campaign aimed to teach young ‘masterchefs’ basic cooking skills and about healthy eating, while supporting the Foundation for Youth Development (FYD). Over the two week period, the campaign raised more than $4,300 for the Foundation.

Understanding China is essential for the future of NZ, according to a businessman who has funded a new scholarship at Victoria University.
“We want young NZ’ers to engage with China, to understand the culture and connect with the Chinese leaders of tomorrow,” says Rodney Jones, who established the James Bertram Scholarships through the Victoria University Foundation with his wife Sajini Jesudason.
“A greater awareness of China is essential for NZ in the 21st century,” says the investment banker, who was a partner with the Soros Fund in Asia before returning to NZ.

Leading Maori academic Dr Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai has been appointed the first academic director of the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development.
Her appointment was announced at the end of June by chair of the College board of trustees, John Heremia.
Dr Tiakiwai has had a long association with the vision of the college, working closely alongside Tainui’s chief negotiator, the late Sir Robert Mahuta, whose dream was to create a post graduate facility for the tribe.

An opinion piece written by Pat Lynch, CEO, NZ Catholic Education Office

The last two years have witnessed crisis leadership at work in most countries of the world as political and economic leaders have sought to mitigate the worst effects of the ‘great recession’ on their populations.

There will be no Maori Language Award given this year in the country’s most prestigious book awards – the New Zealand Post Book Awards – as there were no books submitted into that category; a sign, says Te Reo advisor and Awards’ judge, Paul Diamond that there are still very few books being written or published for adults in Maori.

Mobile access plays an increasingly important role as NZ’ers use the Internet both at home and away from home, Statistics NZ has said. In over half of households with the Internet in 2009, a laptop or a handheld computer was used to access the Internet at home, five times more than in 2006.

Many schools feel their hands are tied when it comes to providing for children with high special educational needs, according to the education sector union NZEI.
An Education Review Office (ERO) Report has found that half of the schools in its study were inclusive for students with high needs.  A further 30 per cent had some inclusive practices, while 20 per cent could demonstrate very few. 
NZEI says those children looked at in the ERO report are at the very top end of the high need scale.

Encouraged by the ongoing success of the Paper4trees programme, which began in 2001, Bayfair Shopping Centre in Tauranga, has for the third year in a row contributed to the national environmental project run by the Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust (EERST).
To date, 1,701 schools and pre-schools throughout the country have signed up to the major recycling project.

NZEI Te Riu Roa says there are no financial or educational benefits for NZ’ers in public private partnerships.
The government has announced it is moving ahead with plans to establish public private partnerships in education, saying a tender process could start as early as next year.

With last year’s Standout Winner a finalist at the Panda Awards (“the green OSCARS”), the annual The Outlook for Someday film challenge is growing its profile and building international reputations for young NZ film-makers.
The Outlook for Someday is calling for entries to the 2010 film challenge.

The National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) wants to give people who are hearing impaired and deaf the opportunity to be heard by their Members of Parliament.
NFD chief executive Louise Carroll says the hearing-impaired and deaf have taken a number of serious hits from government decisions over the past year, and the NFD believes part of the reason is that MPs just don’t realise the impact of hearing loss and deafness.

Auckland City Council residents can look forward to free fun and interactive experiences at MOTAT during the month of August.

Congratulations to the newly SunSmart accredited schools in Term two. This is the result of great work done to incorporate Sunsmart practices into their school environment, policy and curriculum.

Ten North Shore schools are benefitting from a substantial investment from the Chinese government in NZ’s first ‘Confucius Classrooms’, set up around the world to assist the teaching of the language and culture of China in schools.
Glenfield Intermediate School and Willow Park Primary School are to be the North Shore’s Confucius Classroom ‘hubs’ for two clusters of ten schools who are among the first in NZ to benefit from the Confucius Classroom Programme.

A nationwide survey of more than 800 volunteer managers has found that the greatest challenge they face is the recruitment of volunteers.
This is followed by not having enough time or money to achieve goals, and matching and retaining volunteers.

The NZQA has awarded Outward Bound the highest rating a tertiary education organisation can receive for its educational performance.
Outward Bound chief executive, Trevor Taylor, said the award of ‘highly confident’ by the NZQA was viewed by Outward Bound staff as further recognition of the hard work done by them in providing the highest quality course outcomes for students.

A snapshot of NZ’s childcare landscape showed that over half of pre-schoolers attended formal early childhood education (ECE) and care, Statistics NZ have announced.
Results from the NZ Childcare Survey 2009 showed that informal care options were also common for pre-schoolers.

New Zealand’s specialist land based university, Lincoln University; has recently signed a significant three–way agreement for research collaboration with two Chinese Universities.
The agreement was a key milestone in the programme of events during NZ Education Week aimed at highlighting NZ as a highly developed centre of education and re search at the NZ Expo in Shanghai.

A Wellington writer’s first novel will go head-to-head with works by two of our most acclaimed authors as finalists in the country’s most prestigious literary honours, the inaugural NZ Post Book Awards.

Over 200 people attended the opening of Auckland’s newest all-access playground for children of all abilities in Pt Chevalier’s Coyle Park.
This unique playground features an inclusive, all-access play space that is accessible to children of varying abilities, including disabled children.

The world’s most famous sea sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, is back this year playing his part in promoting Maori Language Week with full episodes in te reo Maori all week screening on Nickelodeon NZ from Monday 26th July until Sunday 1st August (SKY channel 041, 8.10am and 4.00pm weekdays and 8.10am and 8.40am on the weekend).

With the winter flu season upon us – and the impact of last year’s swine flu epidemic still fresh in people’s minds – Kiwi parents are calling for schools to improve their washroom hygiene as a crucial part of protecting their children from colds and flus this winter.
A new survey by BIS Shrapnel shows that, although most schools have installed warm air dryers or paper towel dispensers, many people were unaware of the difference between the two when it comes to clean hands.

Social stigma, intolerance and ignorance are holding back the development of children on the autism spectrum, Autism NZ says.

The seasonally adjusted value of electronic card transactions in core retail (which excludes the motor vehicle related industries) was up 1.0 per cent in May 2010, compared with April 2010, Statistics NZ has said.

Tickets are on sale now for the seventh New Zealand International Science Festival.

A full programme of festival events is now available on-line and visitors are urged to book early as many of the events, including free children’s workshops, will book out quickly.

Grey Lynn School is excited to be celebrating its Centennial in September 2010 and is inviting all past and present students, as well as the local community, to join in the festivities.

How do you effectively block ‘bad stuff’ on the internet, protect your children and simultaneously provide a flexible, parent-controlled environment that can’t be circumvented?

A new MoE subsidy, which will allow schools to install an Early Notification text and e-mail alert system, is expected to have a dramatic impact on improving school attendance.

Because a child’s food tastes develop at a young age, the encouragement of healthy choices early in life can help to create a lifelong preference for healthy foods. What’s more, there’s nothing like a bit of fun to promote learning about food and nutrition.

A new animated video clip has been added to PPTA’s Dimming.co.nz website.

Food prices fell 0.7 per cent in May 2010 and by 0.5 per cent for the year to May, Statistics NZ has said. This is the first annual fall in food prices since the year to July 2004.

According to a US study of over 400 university students, the use of sunbeds may become addictive for some young adults.

Variety – The Children’s Charity is calling for grant applications from sick, disabled and disadvantaged Kiwi kids, their families and child-related organisations nationwide.

New Zealand’s estimated resident population increased 1.3 per cent (56,300) in the year ended 31st March, 2010, to reach 4,362,000, Statistics NZ has said.

The ‘attack rate’ of the pandemic H1N1 virus was higher for children than it was for adults (including the elderly) in NZ in 20091.

A prestigious national childcare award presented to Manukau Leisure’s Annette Reilly last month was recognition of her passion for childcare and contribution to outstanding after-school services, Brett Jude, Manukau Leisure’s CEO said.

Common knowledge suggests that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But is it really?

David Glover, chief executive of Learning Media Limited, the leading NZ-owned educational services company, has been elected a director of the board of the US-based Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).

Improvements to first aid training and health assessments resulting in a healthier, more productive workforce have won Hamilton-based Life Care Consultants a 2010 Vero Excellence in Business Support Award.

Liz Evans was announced as the new national president of Rural Women NZ at the organisation’s national conference in Oamaru last month, as former president Margaret Chapman stepped down at the end of her three year term.

Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) has released drowning statistics for the month of April 2010, reporting that there were seven drowning deaths over the 30 day period.

In the year ended March 2010, the median age of women giving birth was 30 years, Statistics NZ has said.

Broadband operating costs have been slashed for a number of North Shore schools thanks to the NEAL fibre network.

Sir George Fistonich joins Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as a Vice Patron of Variety – The Children’s Charity in NZ.

Teachers around the country, along with their partners, are eligible for a free one month’s trial at Les Mills, simply by enrolling their school in the Les Mills School of Fitness programme.

Whangarei’s Hora Hora School has a unique and positive school culture, according to a research report by PhD student Karen Pohio.

There are several and varied definitions of dyslexia but the problem with many of these are that they often include components that have little or nothing to do with the key concept.

Written by Astrid Von Sommaruga who is director of Learn4Potential, a student coaching organisation, specialising in helping dyslexic students achieve their true potential.

If you know a child who has difficulty understanding verbal instructions and who struggles with reading and spelling, they could have an auditory processing disorder.

by Brian O’Shea – Staff writer

OK, so its 2010, there’s a shortage of money to buy books, materials and resources, friends in your social network are losing their jobs and staff at the school are not being replaced.

There are children, who despite good teaching, cannot produce nice neat handwriting.

Identifying and catering for dyslexic learners – and others with processing difficulties – is a major challenge for schools and parents.

Now What?

With an estimated 20 per cent of the population showing traits of dyslexia, The Gifted Education Centre acknowledges that at least one in five gifted students is likely to be dyslexic.

BookTalks – an initiative using on-line technology to link authors and readers, was launched recently to coincide with the NZ Post Book Awards.

In 2006, young people were studying for longer, more likely to work part-time, and received lower levels of income than 20 years earlier.

NZ’s Hector’s World® launches in Bermuda

New Zealand’s digital citizenship resource for two to nine-year-olds, Hector’s World®, has been launched in Bermuda during their national Tech Week ’10 celebration.

Kiwi start-up DIYFather.com has announced it would be giving away the world’s first “Fathers Pack”, a box filled with free products and information available to new dads all over NZ.

The extra airport security measures that are being phased in following the Christmas Day scare over the skies of Detroit City, along with the daily stream of reported violence in an increasing range of countries, heighten the awareness of the need to work towards an enduring solution to all international violence.

How important are relationships between teachers and students in the context of academic achievement and motivation?

There is widespread concern about the large number of students who are under achieving in education and leaving school without suitable qualifications for tertiary study or employment.

New Zealand residents departed on 13 per cent more overseas trips in March 2010 than in March 2009, Statistics NZ has said.

The National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC) are running an essay competition for school students.

Tapawera Area School was one of seven Area Schools from the Top of the South Island who participated in a week long sporting and cultural competition held in Tapawera recently. Teams came from Rai Valley, Collingwood, Murchison, Reefton and South Westland.

Two Team Solutions staff members at the Faculty of Education at The University of Auckland have won a prestigious international award for using online media to support teachers in Auckland and Northland.

Six teachers each with a strong existing reputation for innovative practice and leadership in eLearning from around NZ have been selected as the inaugural CORE Education Foundation eFellows.

This year Kids Congress celebrates its 10th birthday. It is going to be bigger and better than ever. Waimairi and Windsor Schools, along with Core Education are teaming up for this exciting event.

The new offices of NZ education consultancy Cognition Education in Abu Dhabi, were officially opened on 29th April, 2010.

Food prices increased 0.2 per cent in the March 2010 month, Statistics NZ has said. This increase follows a 1.3 per cent fall in February and a 2.1 per cent rise in January.

Rural Women NZ is delighted to announce the North and South Island winners of the Rural Women NZ Enterprising Rural Women Award 2010.

Runners and walkers will take part in NZ’s largest and most scenic stand-alone half marathon on the shores of Lake Taupo.

The rise is one of 80 per cent from $120 to $216, not the $107 to $192 Dr Lind claims, because no teacher I know of can reclaim GST.

Can a substance with no physiologically active properties affect memory performance?

The boldness of Prime Minister David Lange, who in 1989 initiated the education reforms which we now call, ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ cannot be overestimated.

New research out of the University of Waikato suggests one way to keep children safe but active on their way to school is to introduce supervised ‘cycling trains’ like the successful ‘walking bus’ initiatives already in place in several Hamilton schools.

ACG Strathallan officially opened its new Arts and Technology Centre at the Karaka independent school recently.

In a bid to send the orchestra from Christchurch’s Linwood College to Europe in 2011, more than 130 pieces of art were sold at Turners Auctions.

Eight Mandarin Language Assistants (MLA) are taking up residence in NZ for the 2010 academic year to assist teaching and learning of Mandarin in NZ schools. The programme is an education product of the NZ-China Free Trade Agreement and the first of its kind to be sponsored by the MoE.

Good morning. How was your holiday? Mine was excellent, thanks for asking. I went to Leh and Shey and Lamayuru. Delhi first and then into the Himalayas with my woolly hat and fleecey jacket made from recycled plastic fizzy drink bottles.

The Asthma Foundation is encouraging schools to participate in Asthma Awareness Week in early May this year (3rd-9th May inclusive).

This month LEGO® has once again been running the National LEGO Building Competition in conjunction with Toyworld stores nationwide.

Reality television shows featuring obese people may be deterring children from eating junk food, says marketing researcher Jacinta Hawkins.

The Waikato Animal Welfare Foundation has announced its intention to develop the country’s first major animal welfare education initiative.

Leading NZ paint manufacturer, Dulux, teamed up with Auckland based charity Life Centre Trust, to help give an Auckland school an extreme makeover.

A major challenge for a therapist or educator working with people with emotional difficulties is determining exactly what that person is feeling, and how best to make them feel more in control of those feelings.

Talented school students from around NZ were presented with awards totalling more than $30,000 recently for science and technology research projects they had completed.

New Zealand not-for-profit research and education organisation CORE Education announces the new CORE Education Foundation Awards.

A group of senior officers from Qatar’s Professional Licensing Office for Teachers and School Leaders (QORLA)­ recently took part in a study tour around NZ.

ENGLAND – Every expectant parent will now get a personal introduction to their local Sure Start centre and their own Sure Start contact to give them advice throughout pregnancy and early years, the government has announced.

Max Your Marks: Tips from top students on how to conquer Year 13 is the first book to offer study advice and lifestyle tips from the highest-achieving students in NZ and Australia.

Recent figures released from the Family Violence Death Review Committee showed 16 children abused to death at the hands of a family member in 2009. This equates to a child being killed by a family member in NZ every 23 days.

New Zealand’s first senior secondary school is open for business on Auckland’s North Shore and it doesn’t just push the boundaries for new schools, it breaks them.

“After the first day at Porirua College I wondered what I’d got myself into. I couldn’t pronounce many of the students’ or teachers’ names, I had no idea of their background and little idea of where to start in terms of building relationships with them – well, without sounding a bit thick or ignorant… at this point I knew I had a challenge ahead of me,” Helen Hardwick (HOD PE Porirua College).

Children have until 15th April to submit their pictures for the 19th International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment.

Cecilia Johnson has recently returned from Tanzania where she worked as an English Teacher Trainer on assignment with Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) in a secondary school in Arusha. She muses on whether she ‘made a difference’.

It’s a globe-trotting year ahead for two Lincoln University Commerce degree students who have wrapped up their study and will soon be capped.

Students in Wellington and Hutt Valley secondary schools are being denied information about local Te Atiawa history according to Victoria University graduate Dr Richard Manning.

When Papakowhai School in Porirua took over the running of their after school programme from a private provider it could have been a huge headache.

Education Outside the Classroom brings the revised NZ Curriculum ‘alive’ encapsulating the underlying principles; vision and values; key competencies and learning areas. It offers teaching and learning in ‘real’ contexts through connections with community and environments.

Sixty per cent of school trustees are planning to re-stand in the 2010 triennial trustee elections, with a further 10 per cent yet to make up their mind says the president of the NZ School Trustees Association (NZSTA).

When do fish become fishes and mice become mouses?

An educational programme designed to rewire the human brain for better learning is improving the lives of thousands of Australian and NZ school children struggling with learning difficulties, including Dyslexia, Autism, Auditory Processing Disorders, ADHD and other language disorders.

New Zealand alumni of the prestigious Harkness Fellowships exchange programme to the US have raised funds to launch a new award allowing an emerging NZ leader in any field to study or research in the US.

There were nine drowning deaths in NZ for January 2010. A significant improvement on the 23 deaths that occurred in January last year and the lowest number of drowning recorded for the month of January since records began in 1980.

Visitor arrivals numbered 341,300 in December 2009, the highest total ever recorded for a month, Statistics NZ has said.

Variety – The Children’s Charity wants to help Kiwi kids reach their lifelong dreams in education, music, art, and sport through its Gold Heart Scholarship programme.

New Zealand parents are invited to take part in a free research trial of an internationally successful positive parenting programme.

The judges selected for the inaugural NZ Post Book Awards bring with them a wealth of literary expertise as they set about choosing the country’s best books published in 2009.

Leading NZ business and employee organisations are urging schools to prepare young NZers for the future by teaching them more about Asia, says Asia NZ Foundation director Dr Richard Grant.

More could be done to promote the rights of children in early childhood settings, according to Victoria University graduate, Sarah Te One.

Is your child up with the larks or still hooting with the owls?

This year sees the introduction of new standards to achieve and maintain full teacher registration.

During NZ’s history of Prison Reform prisoners have been set many varied tasks while completing their sentences. One of these earlier challenges after due process was followed with the clearing of land and the planting trees in conjunction with The Department of Lands and their project of ‘State a forestation in NZ’ in response to the results of deforestation as thousands of acres had been cut out and not replaced.

From Term One this year, Oasis Education and EDUVAC­/The Education Weekly are pooling their resources, to meet the ever-changing personnel needs of schools and also meet the employment aspirations of teachers wanting to “move-up-the-ladder”.

There were a total of 98 drowning deaths in NZ in 2009. Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) has announced the annual drowning toll and released official statistics from DrownBase, the world’s leading integrated drowning database.

A $1million pledge made by Stephen Tindall at last years Jobs Summit has been exceeded in the form of support for a range of major new training and employment initiatives. Together they represent a commitment of over $1.7 million by the Tindall Foundation over the past nine months to Jobs Summit-related projects.

For the first time in its history, the prestigious Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing has been awarded to a work of creative non-fiction.

A ground-breaking new youth leadership programme is bringing our national icon – the kiwi – up close and personal to 19 senior South Island secondary school students.

ASB has announced a long term multi-million dollar commitment to help raise financial literacy to new levels for NZ primary school students.

Anita Singh, a team leader and science curriculum leader at Royal Oak Intermediate School in Auckland was amongst the first lot of teachers to win the Primary Science Teacher Fellowship funded by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology and administered by the Royal Society of NZ based in Wellington.

Last year, the world passed an historical milestone – for the first time in history, more people lived in towns and cities than in the countryside. This fact alone tells us the world is undergoing massive changes – and fast.

The inaugural NZ Water Safety (NZWS) Awards were presented at a Gala Dinner in Wellington at the end of November.

Due to the changing nature of press advertising Eduvac/The Education Weekly, will be published fortnightly. Our first issue will be Monday 8th February, 2010, which means we need your vacancies in by midday Thursday 4th February, 2010.

Nine projects have received funding in the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative’s 2009 funding round.

Barnardos has celebrated the 40th anniversary of its incorporation in Aotearoa NZ. However, the child-focused organisation is anything but growing old.

Two of NZ’s leading child health and parenting organisations have redefined their existing Memorandum of Understanding to support each other in improving parenting skills and child health for NZ families.

State-owned enterprise and educational provider Learning Media Limited announced an after-tax profit of $1.5 million for the 2008-09 year, on total revenues of $24 million.

A delegation of Japanese from the Blue Sea & Green Land Foundation – Japan (B&G) have been in NZ to attend the NZ Water Safety Conference “Charting the Future” and also to formalise a partnership with Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ).

Visitor arrivals in October 2009 (187,400) were up 13,400 (eight per cent) compared with October 2008, Statistics NZ has said.

For Thomas Busby, all his Christmases came at once. The football-mad nine-year-old from Raumati earned the spot next to Santa in the Tip Top Santa Parade in Wellington, which also celebrated the All-Whites’ historic football victory.

Students from Alfriston College talked about their involvement in the development of Randwick Park to over 50 business leaders and school representatives at an Education-Business forum facilitated by COMET earlier this month.

A remote-controlled lawn mower, a great tasting gluten-free ice cream, and the power of peppermint to increase concentration are just three of the research and technology projects developed by students chosen for the Genesis Energy Realise the Dream event being held in Wellington next month.

A new Samoan language coursebook written by Victoria University Senior lecturer Galumalemana Afeleti Hunkin shows the growing prominence of the Samoan language in NZ and the world.

Schoolgen, a programme that has been designed by Genesis Energy to bring the concepts of solar energy, sustainability and climate change to life for children, was launched into the Manawatu and Wanganui regions at Hokowhitu School last month.

At a special ceremony in Parliament last month, minister for social development Paula Bennett presented the 2009 Every Child Counts Award for an individual to Therese Luxton, a truancy officer employed by the Otara Boards’ Forum.

Role model students from all around NZ will receive brand new bikes and helmets as part of Variety – The Children’s Charity’s annual Bikes for Kids tour from 23rd-29th November which sees 1000 children from around the country benefitting from this activity.

A highly regarded researcher and composer, Dr Charles Te Ahukaramu Royal, has been appointed as director of Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, the Maori Centre of Research Excellence.

There were 28,680 deaths registered during the September 2009 year, down two per cent from 29,130 in 2008, Statistics NZ has said.

Relief Teaching jobs in London offers a career pathway towards improving your self confidence and growing your personal and professional development as a teacher.

Jobs in International Schools offer a career pathway towards improving your self-confidence and growing your personal and professional development as a teacher.

With a project promoting responsible use of cyberspace, six 11 to 12-year-old students may be winging their way to the USA to compete in an international Problem Solving Competition after winning the NZ Community Problem Solving (CmPS) Competition recently.

Practice pays for Browns Bay, Auckland, resident, Wei-ting Shyu, a 14-year-old harpist who performed for an exclusive dinner on 5th November at Auckland’s Government House, in honour of HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex.

Barnardos New Zealand and Plunket are proud to be jointly launching a new publication, A Theology of Children.

The Canterbury Primary Principals’ Association has added its voice to those opposing the closure of Aorangi School, calling on the MoE to back down on her decision.

A Dunedin student with a view of a clean and safe nuclear-powered future has been recognised as one of the world’s top young scientists, and will complete a PhD at a leading American university thanks to his selection for a prestigious International Fulbright Science and Technology Award.

The government has chosen not to invest in a new adult literacy and education programme developed by COMET and the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).

A new report commissioned by the Cancer Society estimates that skin cancer costs the NZ health system in excess of $57 million each year.

Schools have given a strong message to IT suppliers and government that they’d like more centralised procurement of computer equipment and services to help reduce costs.

As part of our Environmental Studies at Te Wharau School, Gisborne, children have been involved in the process of Worm Farming.

Welcome to the fourth of six articles in Teacher Awareness Series II. The two primary objectives of the Teacher Awareness Series are (1) to review positive teaching behaviours and (2) to alert teachers to the scope of student abilities in underlying reading skills.

The NZ Water Safety Conference ‘Charting the Future’ is nearly here, but there is still time to register.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of unemployed rose by 12,000 to reach 150,000 people, and the unemployment rate increased to 6.5 per cent during the September 2009 quarter, Statistics NZ has said.

Are pension reforms reinforcing the gender wage gap and extending it past women’s working lives and in to retirement?

The Cognition Education Trust announced its major new philanthropic initiative when it launched the Cognition Institute in Auckland on Saturday night, 31st October.

School teachers around the country were able to register their class in the Fresh ’n Fruity competition that requires classrooms to keep a diary of their garden which is submitted for judging in December this year.

Teachers struggling to make themselves heard can now ensure every child has a front row seat in the classroom, with the launch of the Panasonic Front Row Classroom Sound System.

A Westmere teenager who has received an international award for her positive and inspirational attitude towards her physical disabilities plans to write a book about how to deal with bullying.

New Zealand’s population aged 65 years and over (65+) is projected to eclipse one million in the late 2020s, Statistics NZ has said.

A nationwide search for future hospitality and adventure tourism stars has resulted in two high school students each winning a $25,000 scholarship to study in Queenstown.

From a bilingual school building to a ‘buried’ sports pavilion, striking new education buildings have carried off honours in the 2009 Auckland and Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards.

A record 640 teachers and leaders have been nominated in the 2009-2010 round of the NEiTA Foundation’s National Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards, a 236 per cent increase over the previous 2007-08 round.

The education sector union NZEI says students will be the ultimate losers from cuts to professional advice and support services for teachers.

Welcome to the third of six articles in Teacher Awareness Series II. Teacher Awareness Series II examines some of the early literacy or underlying skills of beginning reading.

Visitor arrivals in September 2009 (172,400) were up 14,700 (nine per cent) compared with September 2008, Statistics NZ has said.

Complete blindness is no obstacle for early childhood graduate Leyna Coleman, who has won a national student of the year award for academic excellence.

Google has revealed the Kiwi school students whose Google ‘doodles’ have made the top 20 in NZ’s first ever Doodle 4 Google competition, proudly supported by the Museum of NZ Te Papa Tongarewa.

The organisers of an innovative art competition for youth, led by youth, are now calling for entries from around the country.

Research released by the Families Commission, Discipline in Context: families’ disciplinary practices for children aged under five, shows a welcome trend, with the majority of parents embracing positive parenting techniques.

Principals, teachers and boards of trustees facing privacy issues in schools can find useful guidance in a new book recently launched by Privacy Commissioner, Marie Shroff.
 

Twenty-six-year-old Wellington writer, Alice Miller has won the country’s top short fiction award, confirming her place as one of the nation’s most talented emerging writers.

On Thursday 5th February 1908 at 5.30pm Timaru suffered its biggest fire since half the town was burnt to the ground in December 1868. On fire was the impressive building of the Canterbury Farmers Co-operative Association which had been built in 1900. Sited on Strathallan Street, it was a two storey building stretching down to a single storey on Beswick Street. Damage was estimated to be at least 70,000 pound.

Thirty-two primary and secondary teachers have been awarded NZ Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowships for 2010.

The NZ inter-school chess team tournament, held in Palmerston North, during the weekend 26th-27th September, 2009, attracted enthusiastic chess players from around the country.

The annual Variety Mini Bash, which travelled from Auckland to Cambridge early in September, raised almost $20,000 while distributing grants worth over $20,000 to sick, disabled and disadvantaged children throughout NZ.

Paihia Primary School, in Northland’s Bay of Islands, recently hosted a full day phonemic awareness workshop at the school’s whare-house.

Two teachers have been recognised for outstanding contributions to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education at ULearn, the country’s largest conference for educators. Jan Anderson and Steve Martin received the Microsoft Distinguished Teacher Award for their development of innovative approaches to ICT in the classroom.

The entire full-time teaching staff of 13 from Napier’s Arthur Miller School were at this year’s ULearn 09 as their professional development for the year.

Mount Albert Primary School principal Enosa Auva’a will research ethnic minority leadership in American schools at the University of Hawai’i next year, as the second recipient of the Fulbright-Cognition Education Research Trust Scholar Award.

Microsoft NZ has announced that Marvin, an interactive software-based learning tool, will now be available to all qualifying NZ schools at no cost.

September 1st, 2009, marked the 70th anniversary of the commencement of World War II. Representatives of the combatant nations met in Gdansk to commemorate the six year ordeal which saw 65 million people lose their lives. One central political theme which has emerged since 1939 is the ascendancy of the politics of hope.

In the Age of Discovery, intrepid explorers returned to Europe with so many exotic plant and animal specimens extracted from Africa, the Indies and the New World that chaos loomed for naturalists.

After adjusting for seasonal effects, the total value of electronic card transactions increased 0.4 per cent in September 2009 compared with August 2009, Statistics NZ has said.

Statistics NZ has released its report on the content that will be included in the 2011 Census.

Instructional materials for educators.

Student Samantha Harrison of Diocesan School in Auckland says her experience captaining her victorious First XI Hockey team should stand her in great stead while she is in South Africa this month as the youngest member of the Black Sticks.

Wildlife ambassadors from four Manukau schools continued to help regenerate their local environment by planting a further 1200 native trees across four key sites near Manukau’s main waterway, the Puhinui Stream – a vital next step in the Wai Care and Nestlé Community Environment Programme Into the Wild project.

Researchers are calling for parents of disobedient three to five-year-olds to take part in a study, and learn strategies to improve their parenting.

Welcome to the second of six articles in Teacher Awareness Series II. Teacher Awareness Series II examines some of the early literacy or underlying skills of beginning reading. Series II builds upon the concepts discussed in Series I, which can be accessed on the Eduvac website.

The education sector union NZEI says a petition on pay and employment equity should make the government sit up and listen to the voice of low paid women workers.

National’s Youth Guarantee scheme is an extravagant exercise in smoke and mirrors that only marginally addresses the problem of disengaged youth – PPTA president Kate Gainsford says.

Manaia View School in Whangarei was awarded their fifth Heart Foundation “Gold Heart Beat Award” at a school assembly last month.

Entries are being sought for the inaugural Water Safety New Zealand Awards.

A picture book telling the story of a Christchurch boy’s fight for life has been written to inspire other sick children.

After adjusting for seasonal effects, electronic card transactions in core retail (which excludes the motor vehicle-related industries) remained flat in August 2009, up just 0.1 per cent compared with July 2009, Statistics NZ has said.

The votes have been tallied and we can announce that the winner of the 2009 Nick Rocks! Competition is D.N.A from Auckland.

New Zealanders can now freely download – and store in their pockets – hundreds of our most well-known books, courtesy of Victoria University’s NZ Electronic Text Centre (NZETC).

There’s been great excitement down at Hukanui School’s ‘Living Room’, eco-classroom building site. After nearly five years of planning, building started in July.

The Totalspan Undercover Kids Bus Shelter Programme has announced another 71 shelters will be erected over the coming months on rural school bus routes.
 

An OECD report on children’s wellbeing is a wake up call that education initiatives alone won’t lift the achievement levels of NZ’s disadvantaged children, says the education sector union NZEI.

Are you thinking of holidaymaking, working or teaching in the UK?

Of all the beautiful constellations in the sky, the signs of the zodiac are the most intriguing … and the most significant to astronomers.

Primary and intermediate school principals around the country have been sent a valuable resource to help with the implementation of the revised curriculum.

Welcome to the first of six articles in Teacher Awareness Series II. If you are just now joining us in reading the Teacher Awareness Series, I would encourage you to visit the five articles that comprised Teacher Awareness Series I via the Eduvac website.

Over the past few days Eduvac personnel have been deluged with “opinions” regarding a recently supplied contribution.

Pitcairn Island is a small volcanic island situated in the South Pacific Ocean half way between NZ and Panama. The island is surrounded by cliffs and access is almost exclusively by longboats into Bounty Bay the only jetty and safe landing area on the Island.

Careers website CV tool registers 500 visits per day in 2009

At the National Youth Mentoring Conference held in Auckland during August, attendees with experience in the field were impressed by the high levels of care and thought that planners have been bringing for best ways of implementing the government’s vision of the Fresh Start approach.

The SAASIA Biennial Conference is happening on 25th-26th September, 2009, in Wellington with the theme: Toe autaluga o le sao o Aoga Amata; Critical reflections on the contribution of Aoga Amata.

Airline Jetstar is launching its Collect4Schools programme in NZ to give schools the chance to collect Jetstar boarding passes to redeem flight vouchers.

As the world remembers 1939 EDUVAC wishes to release The Way It Was, Stories from New Zealand. Author Colin Townsend has cobbled stories from the 19th century through to World War Two.

Schools from across the country will be helping to clean up NZs electronic waste (e-waste) with the launch of School eDay 2009.

We have covered five suggestions to increase our Teacher Awareness regarding the students in our classroom.

There were 62,960 live births registered in the June 2009 year, down 1,180 (two per cent) from the June 2008 year, Statistics NZ has said.

“A broad view of sport or physical recreation is needed within schools in relation to the new Kiwisport physical activity initiative announced this month,” says DANZ (Dance Aotearoa New Zealand) executive director Tania Kopytko.

Private sector investment will compromise the self managing environment of NZ schools according to the education sector union NZEI.

As part of National Library Week, Manakau School in Levin participated in the National Co-ordinated Activity, ‘New Zealand’s Biggest Storytime’.

Picture this. A demolition company is poised to knock down an abandoned old wool scouring factory.

Welcome to the last of five articles focusing on what we as classroom teachers/clinicians can do to increase our awareness of our students’ learning profiles.

A Victoria University PhD student is using the ‘Lost & Found’ section of Trade Me to find pet turtles living in the wild because they can damage native flora and fauna.

Australian academic Prof. Richard Tinning has been appointed Adjunct Professor of Physical Education at The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education.

Students with serious conduct problems need the same level of support as those with special needs, a new report says.

It’s time for the government to recognise that school support staff are highly valued by their school communities and front up with a fair deal, says the education sector union NZEI.

Nominations for the 2009 Asthma and Respiratory Achievers Awards close in just one week on 31st August, 2009.

The government is on the wrong track cutting teacher staffing, when other countries are investing in education as a pathway out of the recession, PPTA president Kate Gainsford says.

With children settling back into school mode, two lucky students from Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School, two from Titirangi Primary and four from Willowbank Primary have just had another exciting adventure as the winners of the Fit2Fly extreme adventure day out.

LunchMate; a Young Enterprise Company of five senior students from Macleans College, launched its school lunch-ordering website at Owairoa Primary School, Howick, Auckland, last week.

Support for Samoan language teachers in NZ is taking another giant step forward with the TRCC Teaching Samoan in NZ course to be held in October, 2009.

The government’s just-announced timeline for the implementation and reporting of new national standards of educational achievement represents a victory for commonsense, says the education sector union NZEI.

Welcome to the fourth of five articles focusing on what we as classroom teachers/clinicians can do to increase our awareness of our students’ learning profiles.

Save the Children is calling on all NZers to get together and host a Tea Party during Save the Children Week, held 28th September to 4th October.

We all get a warm fuzzy feeling when we hear a familiar accent in a strange place – it can make you feel like you’re home away from home.

According to the English Language Providers survey, international students at English language schools spent $142 million on tuition and related fees in the year ended March 2009, Statistics NZ has said.

Total paid hours, when seasonally adjusted, decreased by 3.4 per cent in the year to June 2009, and 1.2 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, according to the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) released by Statistics NZ.

The Diwali Festival of Lights – one of India’s best-loved festivals – celebrates its eighth anniversary in Auckland and Wellington this October.

Budding eco-educator Lyttelton Main School was awarded a cheque for $50,000 from Yealands Estate to help re-build the school with sustainability in mind.

Google has announced the launch of the first ever ‘Doodle 4 Google’ initiative for NZ schools, proudly supported by Te Papa.

The New Zealand Association for Gifted Children has announced the winners of a national competition designed to celebrate gifted kids, their families and professional educators.

Welcome to the third of five articles focusing on what we as classroom teachers/clinicians can do to increase our awareness of our students’ learning profiles.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s Achievers Awards are held every two years and are coming up again soon. Nominations close on 31st August, 2009.

Chess is one of the most loved games in the world. In some countries, it is a fiercely contested sport. In other countries, it is a recreational pastime.

Statistics NZ has announc­ed Tuesday, 8th March, 2011, as the date for the next NZ census.

Homework may be the norm for students, but their parents have less than one month to complete a special homework assignment – nominating school leaders and teachers for the National Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards – and the deadline of 31st August, 2009, is fast approaching.

More than half of Kiwi teens say they spend two hours or more a day on the internet and texting their friends¹.

Over 1,500 families from throughout NZ will benefit from a government grant to the Computers in Homes programme.

Members of the education sector union NZEI have added 10,000 signatures to a petition on pay and employment equity which aims to eliminate the gender pay gap.

After a nerve-wracking concert that saw six young soloists performing before a panel of exacting judges, Hamilton student Hilary Hayes emerges as the winner of the 2009 KBB Music National Performers’ Competition.

There aren’t many budding volcanologists who are trained in childcare and have experience in property management, but University of Waikato student Holly Goddard has proved she can turn her hand to most things.

NZ On Screen has added a snow-themed collection of titles to the website to mark the winter ski season and all things to do with snow.

For the six month period of 1st January to 30th June, 2009, there have been 51 drowning deaths in NZ according to statistics Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ).

Persuasive technologies such as educational video games are more effective at changing people’s attitudes or behaviours when they are adapted to a specific cultural audience.

Early on Friday, 26th June the Hukanui Primary School community in Hamilton gathered for the ‘Blessing’ of their ‘Living Room’ building site.

Over 180 schools have been earning money while students order their stationery on-line, with one Auckland school receiving $30,000 over the last three years.

Once the students are familiar and comfortable with establishing eye contact during verbal exchanges with the teacher, start noting the clarity of the student’s oral language.

During terms two and three many local and regional chess tournaments are held throughout NZ, culminating in a  national school tournament for primary, intermediate and secondary school teams, to be held at Palmerston North Boys’ High School on 26-27 September.

Hundreds of Waitakere kids are joining a groundbreaking on-line club to spread water conservation messages to their family and friends.

It’s mid winter and if you are thinking about going to a solarium for a tan – don’t!

Times have been tough for us all in this economic climate.  None would say more so than the board at Hill Top School, who recently had to make the decision to restructure; downsize the school, sell its premises and move to a new location.

With up to 80,000 donated books, games, jigsaw puzzles, DVDs and CDs for sale at the Variety Monster Book Fair to be held from 30th July to 2nd August at Alexandra Park Function Centre, Greenlane, it’s a bargain-hunter’s paradise!

A set of limited edition prints from the 2008 Kapiti Collection was gifted to One Tree Hill College – a low-decile school with a remarkable collection of NZ art, at the end of Term Two.

When searching for reasons for student underachievement, the school board of trustees is not usually high on the list. However, a visiting education specialist from the US says that needs to change.

Speld NZ held their annual conference in New Plymouth from 19th to 21st June, 2009.

Welcome to the first article focusing on what we as classroom teachers/clin­icians can do to increase our awareness of our students.

Your leader on page one of the issue of 22nd June 2009 reads: “Marlborough children plant natives”.

Dr John Langley, a leading educationalist who was made an Officer of NZ Order of Merit in January for his services to education, has been appointed to the Board of Governors at Diocesan School for Girls.

The ‘New Zealand Virtual School’ proposal, led by the 163 student Catlins Area School, Owaka, has been short listed by the MoE to become one of five new national Trade Academies.

“A smokefree school is a sign of wellbeing, not just a sign on the gate.”
 

The week of June 15th was Dyslexia Awareness Week – and many wonderful articles, workshops and resources were shared throughout the country.

Orchids have driven rational people to crazy extremes for centuries. What makes this flower so irresistible? That’s exactly the question explored by Auckland Museum’s multi-sensory exhibition Wonderland: The Mystery of the Orchid.

Any Kiwi band with two or more members aged between five and 15-years-old can enter Nick Rocks! by simply submitting a demo track and a band bio form, available from http://nicknz.co.nz/ or in the June/July issue of Upstart Magazine.

More than 300 young people will compete at the 2009 Waikato Culinary Fare held at Wintec’s Centre for Hospitality Avalon Campus on Thursday 2nd July and Friday 3rd July.

Professional development programmes for teachers need to be carefully scrutinised and schools need to strategise where they are spending money in these areas, leading NZ educational organisation CORE Education says.
 

New Zealand businesses wanting to upskill staff and increase productivity during the recession can take advantage of an Australasian first by redeeming Fly Buys Points for courses at the Open Polytechnic.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the Antarctic continent, experience its majesty and appreciate its future vulnerability is being offered by Victoria University early next year.

Subtropical cyclones (STCs) cause extensive damage in NZ on average three times a year, yet research into these weather phenomena has been largely absent.

Research by Victoria University PhD graduate Anasuya Vishvanath into infantile haemangioma, or strawberry birthmarks, suggests that stem cells play an important role in the growth of these common infant tumours and could be used to more effectively treat them in future.

Yealands Estate joined forces with children from Seddon School and Awatere Playcentre to plant 1,500 native trees and flaxes to mark World Environmental Day (WED) on Friday 5th June, 2009.

Students from Kristin School in Auckland, attended the Independent Schools New Zealand (ISNZ) Conference 2009 in Wellington earlier this month; only minutes later, these same students were taking part in a task in a room at Kristin School.

Three independent schools teachers have been given top awards for exceptional professional performance.

Fulbright NZ invites applications for two award programmes funding short-term exchanges between NZ and the US:

Taking on the role of general manager of the Confucius Institute, based in the University of Auckland, is a new career step for Gillian Eadie, past principal of Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, in Wellington.

Secondary schools are not getting the support they need when it comes to dealing with students with drug problems.

A new book offers a fascinating range of never-before published perspectives on the teacher and novelist Sylvia Ashton-Warner, and in particular her complex relationship with NZ.

This year’s highly anticipated Dyslexia Action Week (15th-21st June) is focused on activities to raise awareness and champion change for dyslexic individuals. Conservative estimates are that one in 10 NZers has dyslexia, including 70,000 school children.

If you think sitting through a chemistry lesson is tough, try teaching it for 28 hours! Starting at 1.00 a.m. on Wed­nesday 27th May, Tawa College principal, Murray Lucas (pic­tured) taught for 28 hours to raise awareness and funds for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine.

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. The word dyslexia comes from the Greek language and means poor language.

The Gift of Dyslexia is not a gift. Dyslexia by definition means a student has significant differences between their learning abilities and that usually means they are good at something but because they are dyslexic they struggle with reading, spelling and written language.

Two key processes that children need to acquire when learning to read are sounding-out ability and whole word recognition ability.
 

At last dyslexia has been recognised by the Education System as a Specific Learning Difficulty that requires attention and funding.

Identifying and catering for dyslexic learners – and others with processing difficulties – is a major challenge for schools.

It is often mistakenly thought that difficulties with mathematics are caused by dyslexia.

Dyslexia affects many families in many forms and recently the MoE has recognised that dyslexia has been sufficiently researched to indicate the involvement of educational researchers and, at the ‘chalk face’, teachers and other specialised special needs professionals to assist in identifying and consulting with families for future programme advice and teaching.

Developmental Dyslexia (specific reading disability) is characterised by moderate to extreme difficulties in acquiring reading related skills in spite of normal intelligence and adequate educational opportunities and affects around six per cent of the population.
 

Your chance to nominate and acknowledge a great teacher or leader in your school community.

SPELD Wellington, in partnership with many Wellington schools and classroom teachers, is doing just that!

The New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) has expressed concern about the lack of available access to swimming pools for school children to attend water safety and swimming lessons.

Marcescent is a word that NZ Champion Speller Christopher Jury, 13, Hamilton Boys’ High School, will probably never forget.

The Wilson School in Takapuna has been named the inaugural winner of the NZ Architecture Medal, the country’s highest architecture accolade for a building.

Forty schools from throughout the country entered a competition, which ran during March and April. Students had to observe and monitor koura in local waterways and enter their results into an on-line database on the EMAP website.

The major prize in the Freemasons BIG Science Adventures DVD competition has gone to a team of three year 12 boys, Ryan Ammar, Matthew Keelty and Adam Simpson and their teacher, Tony Bunting, from Timaru Boys High School.
 

This is an opinion piece from Martin Thrupp of the University of Waikato, the second part of two looking at the consultation of the National Standards that are currently underway.

Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) congratulates Jacky Stafford on her appointment as parent community representative to The Correspondence School Board of Trustees.

Debut novelist, Eleanor Catton is a finalist in this year’s Montana NZ Book Awards for her book, The Rehearsal; a work that has launched her onto the international stage, being snapped up by major-league publishers in the US and UK.

Asthma Awareness Week.

More East Tamaki Primary students can now enjoy fresh vegetables straight from the garden thanks to a recent $5,000 grant from the Four Winds Foundation, with the promise of more to come.

Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) says the government must act without delay to improve safety for children travelling on school buses, particularly in rural areas.

Moves to bolster the numbers and training for principals and school leaders is a welcome acknowledgement of the important role they play in our schools, says the union NZEI.

Two years ago Carl Nixon won the coveted BNZ Katherine Mansfield Award; this year the critically acclaimed author will be a judge in the same competition.

Over the next two weeks we have an opinion piece from Martin Thrupp of the University of Waikato, looking at the consultation that is underway for the National Standards.

National Fieldays are proud to announce the eight finalists competing for the 2009 ‘Fieldays Rural Bachelor of the Year®’ title at NZ National Agricultural Fieldays, 10th-13th June, held at Mystery Creek Events Centre, south of Hamilton.

Safety on the water shows signs of becoming an issue of concern for Auckland schools, following last summer’s much-publicised spate of fatalities.

DonateNZ is a great website which connects community organisations with people ready and willing to help.

Primary and intermediate school students from around the North Island converged in Auckland recently for the first of the 2009 National Young Leaders’ Day events for their age group.

Kids will be excited to hear that NZ’s own musical super-group could soon be coming to a school near them.

A poignant poster about her koro matua (great-grandfather) who served in the 28th (Maori) Battalion has won Dahnyelle Hinemaurea Rogan-Ngata, 12, of Palmerston North, first prize in Operation Anzac Spirit, a competition run by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).

National NCEA statistics for 2008 are available on-line on the NZQA website: www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications/ssq/statistics/statsreports.do

There is plenty of sadness from the events just over a week ago, in Napier and lots of things for schools to consider when being put in ‘lock up’.

At the end of the school holidays, nine St Matthew’s College (Masterton) senior students returned from Tanna Island, Vanuatu, motivated to get behind this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Famine after witnessing poverty firsthand.

Samoan is a widely used Aotearoan language and is believed to be the third most spoken of the languages behind English and Maori.

As we head into the winter season, Clinical Associate Prof. of Virology at Canterbury Health Dr Lance Jennings says from France that new survey findings are a stark reminder that NZers are not taking cold and flu hygiene seriously enough

Those of us who deal with dyslexia on a daily basis know only too well the frustration it can bring.

Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) drowning data released earlier this month shows that approximately two thirds of all drowning deaths for the autumn months of March and April were men aged 50 and over, who were in the water for recreational activities.

The Family Court granted 9,700 divorces in 2008, slightly below the annual average of 10,000 for the last decade, Statistics NZ has said.

Not just books, but all print media will be affected, says organiser.

These courses are suitable for Learning Support Teachers, SLT’s, RTLB’s, RTLits, SPELD Tutors, and all teachers who wish to further their knowledge in dyslexia and research-based reading instruction.

Waitakere’s new Water Ambassadors Kids Club is making a big splash with more than 250 youngsters already signed up.
 

It is the time of year when large numbers of children sign up for winter sports and thousands of parents – many for the first time – find themselves involved as coaches.
 

Critical pay talks are underway aimed at delivering fair pay and job security for thousands of low paid education staff around the country.

The National Library of NZ celebrates the delivery of its 20 millionth book to a NZ school since 1992. The lucky recipients were the students at Mt Roskill Primary School.

 

Rural Women NZ (RWNZ) encourages a national solution on a single platform to improve Broadband services to the whole of NZ.

Inexperienced drivers on their restricted licence can have other road users diving for cover, but an initiative by Associate Prof. Sam Charlton of the Traffic and Road Safety (TARS) Research Group at the University of Waikato and the AA Driver Education Foundation aims to bring young drivers’ parents into the picture.

Teacher, blogger, palaeontologist, and science historian, these are some of the day jobs held by the writers whose books were shortlisted in the inaugural Royal Society of NZ (RSNZ) Science Book Prize announced recently.

The search is on for the 2009 Fieldays Rural Bachelor of the year. Entries are now open to single men from all over the countryside.

Announcing the 2009 Harkness report-back seminars, with Rhema Vaithianathan (PhD), 2007-08 Harkness Fellow.

A new book by leading educationalists from The University of Auckland is challenging teachers to rethink what they know about learning.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation is thrilled with the buy in from educators for its upcoming Balloon Day awareness and fund-raising campaign.

Alliance Party education spokesperson Richard Mitchell says that it comes as no surprise that funding has been identified as the single biggest issue by parents, teachers, principals and school boards in a recent NZCER report.

The American Declaration of Independence was bold in proclaiming, amongst other things, that “all men are created equal”. It went on to say that such truths are self evident.

A report recently released by KPMG shows that schools using private funding partnerships have a 44 per cent faster improvement in educational attainment and show less absenteeism than their conventionally funded counterparts, from research conducted in the UK.

The eagerly awaited made for TV series of Penguins of Madagascar comes to NZ in May.

With more than 25 per cent of NZ’s population expected to be 85 or older by 2051, paid domestic work will increase despite the economic downturn, according to Victoria University researchers.

NZ On Screen is marking Anzac Day with an exclusive on-line collection of war-themed NZ documentaries and films from through the years.

Research at Victoria University has revealed remarkable longevity in wild populations of NZ native frogs, particularly in the threatened Maud Island frog (Leiopelma pakeka).

New Zealand Music Month gets a grassroots boost with 20 of this year’s 50 Smokefreerockquest events scheduled during May, starting in Auckland with the North Shore heats on 9th May.

Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, the special character state secondary school in central Christchurch, has appointed John Mather as its new director.

Kindergarten teachers and school support staff are putting the government on notice to get negotiations of their collective employment agreements under way.

Dear Editor,

Dianne Bardsley, main judge at the NZ Vegemite Spelling Bee, is quoted (March 30th) as saying “there is nothing old-fashioned about correct spelling.” Not so.

Teachers are among the keener registrants for the second conference of the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust, to be held in Tauranga on Saturday, 11th and Sunday, 12th April. That is because Monarch butterflies have always been a rich source for science lessons and for building up a sense of wonder.

It was a long-awaited day of celebration at Kristin School as Prime Minister John Key performed the official opening of Kristin’s new Middle School Learning Centre (MSLC) on Friday 27th March.

School students around the country are voting now for their favourite book in the celebrated Children’s Choice Award; one of the highlights of the 2009 NZ Post Book Awards.

ChildFund NZ has launched an appeal to get books in schools to improve reading and education standards in the youngest nation in the world, East Timor.

New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) is welcoming reports that back up what it has been saying to the government for a number of years – schools need more money.

Alliance education spokesperson Richard Mitchell says Prime Minister John Key could put his charitable impulses to good use and freeze the upcoming tax cuts to those on high incomes like himself to solve the crisis.

NZEI says new curriculum guidelines for te reo Maori in mainstream schools will help boost the value and status of the language for all NZers.

Skylight, an organisation that helps young people and their families and whanau deal with change, grief and loss, is not surprised by the report School Safety: An inquiry into the safety of students at school prepared by the office of the Children’s Commissioner, as it often deals with the fallout from bullying.

Wally Penetito believes NZers have reached an historic consensus that has elevated biculturalism to a reality rather than a goal.

Five leading university students have been selected to represent NZ at the prestigious Asia-Pacific regional Eco-Minds sustainable development forum, being hosted by The University of Auckland on 25th-29th May in Auckland and Rotorua.

In May 2008, Dr Jean Schedler (USA) treated the SPELD conference attendees to a ride on “The Bus” – a journey into the history and research progress in the fields of dyslexia and reading.
 

A just released report into Operational Funding and non-teaching staff in schools highlights the increasingly important role of frontline school support staff and underlines their claim for fairer pay.

Getting your communications right in any pit-stop can be a major headache during the adrenalin-rush of race day.

Auckland’s Stardome is one of hundreds of observatories around the world allowing free use of its telescopes as part of the “100 Hours of Astronomy” project.

Professional historians say they are alarmed about what a proposed multi-million dollar redevelopment of National Library could mean for access to vital historical documents.

The official launch of the Professional Association for Gifted Education, giftEDnz, took place in Rotorua on Saturday 14th March.
 

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has helped to give children a new perspective on Monet, by producing a 5x5 metre print of a Monet painting for Te Papa.

This award, valued at up to US$20,000 plus travel expenses, is for a NZ educator or educationalist to pursue research in the US for three to five months, on a project designed to have an impact on NZ schooling and student achievement.

Jennifer Gottschalk has won the Yellow Pages Group Art Awards for Auckland, thanks to support from her school and votes from the public.

After 90 minutes of high drama and suspense, Christopher Jury, a 13-year-old from Hamilton Boys High School, Hamilton, was declared the 2009 NZ Vegemite Spelling Bee Champion and the country’s representative at the 82nd Scripps Howard Spelling Bee, the Olympics of Spelling, in Washington DC from 26th-28th May.

The Northcross Intermediate Performing Arts group “Stuff N Nonsense”, have a busy term one ahead of them, preparing for their road trip to Hamilton in May.
 

A generation comfortable with high levels of debt, a global economic downturn, and low levels of financial literacy have driven ASB to reinvigorate school banking in NZ – an institution it pioneered in 1926.
 

People have just one week left to apply for special grants to fund projects that help the lives of the hearing impaired.

Increased youth violence in schools is likely to be associated with youth anger, and factors contributing to youth anger are often ignored, according to recent research by Presbyterian Support Upper South Island (PSUSI).

NZEI is welcoming the recent launch of a petition calling for the reinstatement of pay equity investigations in the public sector.

$41 million for school buildings

Eighty-one schools around the country will get new or expanded buildings through the first allocation of property funding to schools under the government’s recently announced infrastructure package, education minister Anne Tolley has announced.

Hewlett-Packard and the Digital Porirua Trust have announced an initiative that will dramatically improve the Porirua community’s access to essential new technologies.
 

Young Kiwi industrial designers are being invited to let their futuristic imaginations run wild in the Electrolux Design Lab 2009 global design competition.

A business partnership with flare, is exactly what Evans Bay Intermediate is enjoying with one of their local banks.

New Zealand’s academic high-achievers may give up a lot financially if they stay home.

Helping people improve their reading skills can also boost their self-esteem and motivation to learn, says literacy specialist Prof. Tom Nicholson.

NZCER was established in 1934 and are celebrating their 75th birthday this year.

The Paediatric Society of NZ, the Royal NZ Plunket Society, Barnardos NZ and Parents Centres NZ have joined forces to put their weight behind calls to get tobacco out of sight in shops.

The key to raising active teenagers is giving them plenty of opportunities to play at home and be part of an active family when younger, new University of Otago research suggests.
 

Kiwi teachers and educators will have the opportunity to benefit from latest international thinking on dyslexia this June, when renowned dyslexia expert Neil Mackay holds a series of workshops throughout the country.

Are you thinking of holidaymaking, working or teaching in the UK?

Earthrace NZ tour

Earthrace – the world record breaking powerboat for circumnavigation of the globe will be touring NZ for the next four months.

Waikato University’s Continuing Education department once again teams up with Hamilton City Council to present the Gully Restoration Series from 23rd April to 30th May. Last year the series attracted about 300 people.

Auckland astronomers are involved in a new high technology telescope which has just been installed on a Marlborough vineyard. It will be used to study the birth of the universe and to search for distant planets.

Fulbright NZ and Creative NZ invite applications for the 2009 Fulbright-Creative NZ Pacific Writer’s Residency, an award which offers a NZ writer of Pacific heritage the opportunity to work for three months on a creative writing project exploring Pacific identity, culture or history at the University of Hawaii.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s 2009 Balloon Day campaign is under way and this year schools can register on-line and request resources at www.asthmafoundation.org.nz

Thousands of Kiwi “mathletes”, backed by the Prime Minister, are now hard at work, exercising their digits as the third annual World Maths Day gets under way.
 

An educational trust which links business with promising senior students in low-decile schools has been named as NZ Trust of the Year by the NZ Trustees Association.
 

A leading children’s author has teamed up with some Waikato University students to produce a manual on worms and waste for teachers.

Thirteen Auckland families from refugee backgrounds graduated from the national Computers in Homes, Rorohiko I roto nga Kainga, programme recently in a ceremony held at the Wesley Community Centre in Mount Roskill.

Unisys NZ has opened applications for Unisys Kidz Connect 2009.
 

Are you thinking of holidaymaking, working or teaching in the UK?

The rights of children as citizens have become an increasing focus of international attention as the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is celebrated in 2009.

Alliance Party launches Drop Debt Today Campaign

Northland’s own tall ship the R. Tucker Thompson is launching a new range of youth sailing adventures for the up coming winter.

See Here is warning parents that B4School vision screenings are not effectively picking up vision problems.

Three youth debaters from Wellington, Tauranga and South Auckland stole the show in a debate with three newly-elected Members of Parliament to kick off celebrations of Children’s Day 2009, where MPs conceded they were often not at their best when they listened and talked to children and youth.

More than three hundred events were organised across NZ to celebrate the ninth National Children’s Day on Sunday, 1st March 2009.

The government has turned the clock back on women’s rights in the workplace by halting all further work on pay equity investigations, and imposing what amounts to a blanket wage freeze, according to NZEI.

Some private schools will consider integration into the state school sector as the economic downturn has a direct effect on school roll numbers.

Two young Bright Sparks chosen to represent NZ have been awarded first and second place in the engineering category of the 2009 Taiwan International Science Fair.
 

Musician Nathan King, actor and television presenter Oscar Kightley and Dr Ocean Mercier, the first Maori woman to graduate with a PhD in physics are among those set to inspire the nation’s youth at the 2009 National Young Leaders’ Days which takes place around the country from 2nd March.

A Waikato University project which connects science with teachers and students has hired extra people to cope with its growing popularity.
 

A teaching resource that has already taught te reo Maori to tens of thousands of absolute beginners is set to get a new life as a free-to-air show on Maori Television.

A chance encounter with a rare shrub – once used extensively in Maori medicine – has set Kawerau man Graeme Weavers on the path to research success.

Descendants of William Satchell are being asked to check their homes for any correspondence, paperwork or manuscripts belonging to the novelist and poet.
 

What do the Brothers Grimm, Albert Einstein and Karl Marx have in common? They’re all former students of Berlin’s oldest university, Humboldt University.

Howick College has been at the forefront of implementing individualised learning for its ESOL students for the last five years.

Student, Georgia Halcrow, has taken maths one step further after designing and developing a maths concept that is now ready for the marketplace. 

University academics, school principals and boys’ learning experts are set to deliver the latest research and study results of boys’ learning at an up coming course held at The University of Waikato.

A survey of Hawkes Bay teenagers shows overwhelming support for a ban on tobacco displays in shops.

A meeting held in Wellington earlier this month of representatives from five school regional broadband initiatives, from Otago, Christchurch, Nelson-Marlborough, Wellington and the North Shore, applauded the announcement by Minister Tolley of a $34 million investment in school ICT networks.

NZEI says National Standards on literacy and numeracy will not provide a magic bullet in raising Maori educational achievement.
 

What needs to happen?

It is all go for Kiwi “mathletes” who can train for the world’s largest on-line education event – World Maths Day on 4th March.

Parents can claim one-third back on school fees
 

Nearly 5,000 families will benefit from digital literacy and skills training following a $1.2 million injection of funding and software by Microsoft NZ to the 2020 Communications Trust and regional partners.
 

Saving habits formed early can make a life time’s difference when it comes to managing money, according to a recent survey, Attitudes to Money released recently by AMP Financial Services (NZ).
 

And what makes this $12million Aquatic centre so special?

Stargazers at Auckland’s Stardome Observatory are watching out for the close approach of a new comet in the skies above NZ this month.

NZEI says the majority of schools are performing well, and changes to the review cycle will let them get on with the good job they are already doing.

Fulbright NZ invites applications for its first round of awards for 2009.

New schools will be built and refurbishments brought forward under a $216.7 million boost to education in the government’s Jobs and Growth Plan.

Schools will no longer be required to act as food police under changes announced by education minister Anne Tolley earlier this month.

New research from The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education led by Prof. Stuart McNaughton has achieved remarkable increases in reading comprehension at seven decile one schools in south Auckland.

Master craftsman to pass down age-old skills

January 2009 has been a tragic time for many families coping with the drowning of a loved one. Statistics released by Water Safety NZ (WSNZ) show that 23 people drowned in January – nearly a quarter of the total 2008 drowning toll.
 

How can the new science curriculum help?

Even after looking at literally millions of photographs of waves for two years, University of Waikato Masters student Shari Gallop admits she finds it difficult to pick a rip when she’s at the beach.

Predicting when a volcano will erupt is the aim of advanced research currently being undertaken by Victoria University’s School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences.

The researcher behind a prominent American study which reduced child abuse rates in nine South Carolina counties is to set up a research group at The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education.

Dear Editor,

Lorraine Kerr’s comments in the recent article “Clutching at Straws” amply illustrate the fundamental failing of ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ – the division between management and staff. Any management system that sets itself against its staff is doomed to failure.

Excelerator: NZ Leadership Institute, based at The University of Auckland Business School, is facilitating their third Future Leaders Programme for the development of NZ’s young leaders.

Over the next three weeks Ian Milne, senior lecturer in primary science and mathematics teacher education programmes at the University of Auckland, is going to look at science education in primary schools and its decline and possibilities for the future.
 

Ngati Toa School in Titahi Bay has collaborated in the development of a new series of books for years 4-6 boys who are failing or reluctant at reading.

The Correspondence School (TCS) has announced its student prize winners for 2008.

Spending an entire weekend in a computer lab might not sound like everyone’s idea of fun, but for 37 keen gamers participating in the first-ever Global GameJam at the University of Waikato it was a weekend of doing what they like best.

The election of President Barrack Obama not only marks a dramatic milestone in American history, it also represents a recurring theme where inspiration provided by a leader taps the aspirations of many millions of people, not only in the USA, but elsewhere in the world.

Variety – The Children’s Charity is currently calling for applicants for its 2009 Variety Gold Heart Scholarship programme.

TRCC (Teachers’ Refresher Course Committee) are interested in ‘casting a wide net’ with their up coming course Students of Promise for gifted and talented educators.
 

Graduation marks local milestone with over 800 families now supported since 2001.

The incoming president of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation, Ernie Buutveld, says classroom size matters, and so does who is sitting in the classroom. He is not surprised by the reaction to John Hattie’s research, Visible Learning.

A new principal has been appointed to head Diocesan School for Girls in 2009, the school’s Board of Governors has announced.

Dr Margaret Southwick has been paving the way in education and health for Pacific Island students at Whitireia Community Polytechnic since 1986. Her contribution and dedication was recently acknowledged with a Queens Service Medal for her contribution to Pacific communities.

Two community education courses at Waikato University are aiming to help people understand more about autism and Asperger’s syndrome.

Some year nine students will have had spelling on their mind during the holidays as they crammed lists of words in preparation for the NZ Vegemite Spelling Bee 2009.

The first NZ-specific study to show two-year sustainability into the benefits of “exercise on prescription” shows significant increases in physical activity and quality of life for its participants.

Government must clarify school ‘fees’ or ‘donation’

There were a total of 96 drowning deaths in NZ in 2008. Water Safety NZ (WSNZ) has officially announced the annual drowning toll. It follows one of the highest holiday period drowning tolls in recent time.

DANZ proudly announces the second year of their national training programme which follows on from the successful 2008 series. These workshops cover new topics with wider geographic spread.

The results of an international study showing a marked drop in student achievement levels in science comes as no surprise, according to the education sector union NZEI.

Education minister Anne Tolley announced late last year, capital funding of $17.3 million for a new primary school in Queenstown, Remarkables Primary School.

On Friday 2nd December, 2008, Toko School in Taranaki was the first school in NZ to have a new bus shelter installed as part of the Totalspan Undercover Kids Bus Shelter Programme.
 

Thousands of school children will get to see some of Shakespeare’s works thanks to a Waikato University sponsorship deal with the Ugly Shakespeare Company.

The Commerce Commission issued guidelines in December to provide information and guidance to schools when they enter into arrangements for the supply of school uniforms. The Commerce Act prohibits conduct that restricts competition.

The PPTA is clutching at straws in its attempts to discredit the Tomorrow’s Schools process, and is insulting trustees in the process.
 

Dear Editor,

It’s easy to agree with Dyslexia Foundation Chair of Trustees Guy Pope-Mayell (Eduvac, 8th December, 2008) that childhood learning difficulties cause social dysfunction.

The International Associ­ation for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement survey showing that bullying in NZ schools is in the worst category in the world comes as no surprise to national child helpline 0800WHATSUP.

A trial to teach young people money skills at school has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Retirement Commissioner ­Diana Crossan.

A new series of on-line videos, “EDTalks”, launched to provide teachers with best practice interviews from leading educators, is attracting international attention.

Four lionesses Jade, Ruby, Gypsy and Queenie of Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary have taken their rightful places on a new $1,500 custom built bed, fit for a queen.

Schools had the chance last year to design machines to compete against Valerie Vili.

The latest weapon in the fight to save the rare native NZ wood pigeon, the kereru, is an interactive website that was launched in December.

A major national exhibition on NZ fossils opened at Canterbury Museum during December. Called NZ Fossils: Dead Precious! the exhibition showcases NZ fossils as indicators and predictors of climate change, evolution, natural disasters, and resources such as mineral deposits and oil and gas.

Developing a less invasive way of monitoring foetal heart beats is the basis of research being undertaken by Victoria University’s School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Children travelling by one of Auckland’s highly popular Walking School Buses to attend the ‘School Day – LA Galaxy and Oceania Training’ at Mt Smart recently got an exciting treat, as players from the Oceania All Stars team jumped aboard and participated as volunteers.

Prime Minister John Key visited the Foundation for Youth Development’s successful Kiwi Can programme at Wymondley Road Primary School in South Auckland recently.

Digital NZ, a nation-wide project to help make NZ digital content easier to find, share and use, was launched at the National Library of NZ on 3rd December, 2008.

 

Water Safety NZ (WSNZ) has released research indicating that the swimming ability of our youth has reached a crisis point and forecasts that continued failure to address this issue will inevitably result in a significant increase in drownings in NZ.

Just eight chances remain for Kiwi teachers to embark on a life changing opportunity to experience the challenges of teaching in poverty stricken Zambia with the 2009 ChildFund Global Schools programme.

PhD graduand Jennifer Moore studied the mating system of tuatara as a way to ensure the reptiles are healthy and genetically diverse in the future.

Sixty-four councils (of 73 total) across NZ have given the green light to the NZ Food Safety Authority’s (NZFSA) voluntary programme for managing food safety.
 

A new on-line career profiling tool helps students choose a career path that matches their natural gifts and talents.

Harold the Giraffe – the much loved mascot of NZ’s Life Education Trust – will soon be starring alongside international stars such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer on Nickelodeon (SKY Channel 41) throughout the country.

Jerry Rickman, chair of state-owned enterprise Learning Media Limited, has announced the appointment of David Glover as the company’s new chief executive.

Dyslexia Foundation of NZ chair of trustees Guy Pope-Mayell has said that new research showing 90 per cent of prison inmates were not functionally literate was further evidence of the potentially destructive impacts of childhood learning difficulties.

A quarter of NZ children are not adequately supervised at the beach, according to new research from The University of Auckland, WaterSafe Auckland and Surf Life Saving NZ.

Latest birth rate statistics should send a clear message to the new government that teacher recruitment and retention need to be placed at the top of its education agenda, according to NZEI.

CORE Education’s annual conference for educators, ULearn, will return to Christchurch in 2009 after a very successful event in the city earlier this year.

Recently more than 100 children committed to cultivating a clean, green future when the “OfficeMax Promise Tree” was unveiled at OfficeMax’s new environmentally sustainable head office in Highbrook Business Park.

Seven of NZ’s top fashion designers have showcased their creative talents when their version of the classic Kiwi jandal for KidsCan Charitable Trust is launched.

Nickelodeon’s global Let’s Just Play initiative, supported in NZ with partner Anchor CalciYum, challenged Kiwi kids and schools around the country to submit their own imaginative game or play ideas in the MY WAY TO PLAY competition.

Year 10 students from Kristin Middle School in Albany had two very special visitors recently. Bob and Freda Narev, survivors of the Holocaust, came to share their story with the school as part of the students’ Humanities studies.

The University of Auckland has appointed NZ’s first Associate Dean, Pasifika to the Faculty of Education. Dr Meaola Amituanai-Toloa has taken up the role.

A group of concerned parents and community members is seeking an assurance that the Opononi Area School will continue as a full area school providing secondary education.

The estimated resident population of NZ was 4,280,000 at 30th September, 2008, Statistics NZ has said. The population increased by 40,100 (0.9 per cent) in the September 2008 year, compared with 43,300 (1.0 per cent) in the September 2007 year.

Fulbright NZ’s Board of Directors elected Auckland-based US immigration attorney Barbara Johnson as its new chairperson in September, to replace Ruth Harley who stood down from the Board after accepting a new job in Australia.

Ten families from Otangarei in Whangarei celebrated recently at a Computer in Homes graduation attended by local dignitaries.

Sick of giving socks and jocks for presents at Christmas? Oxfam Unwrapped aims to solve your gift giving woes with 60 fantastic gift ideas that will not only make life easier for you this festive season, but also for those working their way out of poverty.

Thirteen projects have received funding in the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative’s 2008 funding round.

Variety – The Children’s Charity’s will gift 450 new bikes to deserving children from Auckland to Invercargill during its annual “Bikes for Kids” tour commencing this month.

On 20th October Timaru hosted two ‘Kids for Kids’ performances starring Suzanne Prentice. These performances were in aid of World Vision and were supported by a large number of schools from the South Canterbury district.

Most principals and teachers either oppose or are very cautious about the idea of nationally-prescribed standards of achievement for students, according to a survey by the NZ Council for Educational Research (NZCER).

The spirit of co-operation between food manufacturers and health promotion groups is proving stronger than ever.

Considering the increase in allergic reactions from bee stings and mosquito bites over the last years, in this article we ask ourselves, what can we do to avoid getting bitten in the first place and give some recommendations for suitable first aid treatment.

Auckland gets its chance to see the largest, most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus ever discovered when the exhibition A T-rex Named Sue opens at Auckland Museum on 15th November.

In September to support Conservation Week, the Royal Society of NZ’s environmental education programme, EMAP (Environmental Monitoring and Action Project), ran a competition which gave schools the opportunity to win a wildlife experience of their choice.

A personal story of life in a Tanzanian refugee camp has won 17-year-old Burundian Emile Ntahogwisiga the Talk with Me! creative writing competition.

Interactive and memorable science presentations to many Waikato community groups have earned Dr Elizabeth Carpenter of AgResearch this year’s Science Teacher/Educator/Communicator Kudo award, sponsored by Wintec.

Education and Ethnic Affairs minister Chris Carter has launched a new booklet to assist migrant parents in the education of their children at Mt Roskill Primary School recently.

The Totalspan Undercover Kids Bus Shelter Programme has been so popular that the company is donating extra shelters to meet the high demand from rural schools throughout NZ.

Auckland’s Stardome is answering the call of the International Astronomy Union (IAU) to spark an appreciation of science and astronomy in the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

The New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) is disappointed by news that the Health Camp Foundation may close a residential school in the South Island.

Pre-natal exposure to farm animals and plants helps protect children from asthma, allergies and eczema.

All NZers have free access to a unique on-line collection of NZ television and film content.

People in the Wanganui region will soon have a unique way to map out the best study route to their chosen careers.

A senior tutor at The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education is officially a Guinness world record breaker.

A determination to speak clearly to its audiences has won Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, the top award for Best Plain English Website (public sector).

Award-winning interactive writing tool Te Tuhi a-Hiko helps motivate and support students to learn and practice writing in te reo Maori.

A new national association, ‘giftEDnz’, has been set up to support professionals working with gifted and talented students.

Over 120 delegates from schools offering the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) gathered at King’s College in Auckland on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th October, the final weekend of the holidays, for the Third Biennial Association of Cambridge Schools in NZ (ACSNZ) Conference.

Thousands of school support staff are currently attending paid union meetings over three weeks (20th October to 6th November) to consider a pay claim to take into crucial collective agreement negotiations next year.

Chris Carter announced at the opening of the brand new St Anne teaching block at Sancta Maria College, that the government has agreed to contribute $18.888 million in capital funding toward the cost of the building.

The Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand (DFNZ) has launched a revolutionary guide for NZ schools to tackle dyslexia in the classroom – a resource designed to support educators on the frontlines in the absence of dedicated government funding or resources.

Chris Carter has given special education in Wellington a boost by announcing that $18 million will be invested into the rebuilding of two special schools in the region.

Students at Victoria University can now enrich their formal qualifications by joining the Victoria International Leadership Programme (VILP), the first programme of its type in NZ.

The OSCAR Foundation is looking for people or organisations nationwide interested in providing “out of school care” programmes for five to 14-year-olds.

The famous American, Judge Wendell Oliver Wilkie, once observed, “Taxation is the price we pay for a civilised society.”

At the end of September four new tarantulas took up residence in Discovery at Canterbury Museum.

It was a blending of old and new at Parliament late last term as MPs, secondary school students and business people gathered to celebrate 100 years since an Act of parliament established the NZ Society of Accountants (now known as the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants) in 1908, changing the face of business in NZ forever.

Christchurch eDay for schools was an outstanding success says local organiser ­Insite Technology.

Are you thinking of holidaymaking, working or teaching in the UK?

Pacific children with hearing impairment and their families are being targeted with new information in Samoan and Tongan to help get the most from a child’s hearing aids.

The 13th annual Eduvac Teachers’ Golf Tournament held at the Cambridge Golf Club on Monday 29th September provided the large gathering of teachers with a swinging start to the school holidays.

Kiwi kids can have a realistic look at the battles sheep farmers confront at lambing time in a new educational book Cold Snap Lambs.

Are you thinking of holidaymaking, working or teaching in the UK?

Internationally, Kiwi kids rank relatively highly on the literacy scale, with them being listed seventh amongst OECD countries.

Water Safety NZ (WSNZ) has officially launched the Pacific Peoples Water Safety Strategy.

A novel invention by students from the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Auckland is helping students with Cerebral Palsy at a special school experience freedom of movement.

NZEI says thousands of teacher aides and other support staff in schools will be deeply disappointed that the National Party has failed to commit to a promised “pay jolt” for school support staff.

Local computer assembler Insite Technology has offered its premises as a drop off point for the disposal of Canterbury schools’ unused IT equipment during the 2008 national School eDay initiative.

Parents Inc founder John Cowan will discuss the issues facing children and teenagers in today’s society at a University of Waikato conference next month.

Would you like to get your finances under control but don’t know where to start?

Calling all photographers, Habitat for Humanity is launching a nationwide on-line photography competition based on the theme, “Place to Be”.

Taupo’s Lorraine Kerr is welcoming the chance to tackle unfinished business, following her re-election to president of the New Zealand School Trustees Association.

The 2008 Nick Rocks competition has been taken out by RPM (Rock Per Minute) from Tahatai Coast School in Papamoa, Bay of Plenty.

At the beginning of the year the Kaikohe Christian School applied again to have the roll cap of 100 lifted on the Kaikohe campus after the ministry had reduced it to 100 in 2005.

The redeveloped website NZMuseums (nzmuseums.co.nz) was launched on Wednesday 17th September 2008 by National Services Te Paerangi, a team at the Museum of NZ Te Papa Tongarewa.

An increasing number of primary schools and kindergartens around NZ are encouraging their pupils to participate in environmental awareness and care by recycling their food scraps with a worm farm.

AUSTRALIA – Speech Pathology Australia has awarded four authors for excellence in the development of children’s speech, language and literacy skills.

InternetNZ (the Internet Society of New Zealand Inc) congratulates the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative for donating 500 low-cost laptop computers to the South Pacific island nation of Niue. It is part of a larger initiative in the Pacific and to developing countries globally.

Making history come alive for the eight and upwards age group is Marcia Stenson’s gift, amply demonstrated in her new book, Illustrated History of New Zealanders at War.

World Vision has launched a new way of doing Child Sponsorship called Worldbuddies. Designed to engage young NZers in social action, involve parents and support the education work being done by teachers, Worldbuddies is Child Sponsorship with a difference.

Around $2.5 million will be poured into the Christchurch economy from this year’s annual conference for educators, ULearn08.

Carless Days were introduced to NZ by the Robert Muldoon led National government in July 1979 to address the oil shortage.

The City of Manukau Education Trust (COMET) has recommended the creation of an Education Services Hub in the city centre in its recently-released report to Manukau City Council.

Chris Carter and Pacific Island Affairs minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban launched the Pasifika Education Plan 2008-2012 late last month, stepping up the government’s commitment to ensure more Pasifika students achieve their educational potential.

Specialised education computers sponsored by Insite Technology are making a difference at Christchurch-based alternative education provider Agape Trust.

A recent report proves that a collaborative approach to youth development works.

A campaign for fair pay for school support staff was recently launched in Rotorua at NZEI’s national Support Staff Conference.

With the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games finally over, and to celebrate the hand-over to the next Olympic Games due to be held in London in 2012, we are inviting NZ schools to take part in our first ever Olympic Games competition.

From professionals to students, to student professionals, last year a bunch of Aucklanders turned indie fund-raiser 100 Days 100 Dollars into NZ’s very own back yard solution to African poverty – in fact, it was so successful that this year’s version kicked off on 15th August.

Wellington Playcentre Association have celebrated the achievements of a record 321 graduates who have gained certificates towards the NZQA recognised NZ Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education at the Johnsonville Club. The graduates included 18 men.

Students in schools in the Nelson community are to benefit from new technology that makes it easier for students to listen and learn and teachers to teach, thanks to a partnership between Oticon NZ and the Hearing Association Nelson.

We are proud to be the first and as yet only special school in NZ that has participated in the Stage Challenge event (Auckland).

A Nest of Singing Birds: 100 years of the NZ School Journal written by Gregory O’Brien was named winner of the Reference and Anthology category at the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Auckland Central MP Judith Tizard is delighted by a decision from Chris Carter that three school bus routes on Waiheke that the MoE was proposing to axe will be retained for at least two further years.

The estimated resident population of NZ was 4,268,600 at 30th June, 2008, Statistics NZ has said.

A new book that tells the stories of breakthrough discoveries by NZ scientists has received high praise from Prof. Gerry Gilmore of Cambridge University’s Institute of Astronomy.

New Zealand children with mild and moderate vision impairment are falling through the cracks unnecessarily a new report has found.

The new educational website Asia Knowledge was launched at Wadestown School in Wellington last month by Chris Carter.

Plunket has won the award for Excellence in the Use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Health.

Research showing that memories can often be manipulated and falsified when people discuss their experiences has earned a Victoria University PhD student a prize at the MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year Awards.

Go to MOTAT and take a ride in the brand new five seater flight simulator.

It was a match made in the 1980s when Rachel Hunter stepped out of a Trumpet ad and onto the world stage. Fonterra Brands (Tip Top) and Rachel teamed up again last year to find new ways to give NZ’s littlest Kiwis moments to remember, with initiatives using funds from Tip Top’s factory tours.

A new members’ bill to protect working children aged 15 and under has been announced by Labour MP Darien Fenton and she is calling on all parties in Parliament to support it, both before and after the election.

Chris Carter has announced that 87 new schools nationwide will receive funding to implement Information and Communication Technologies Professional Development (ICT PD) at a cost of $5.4 million.

The report released earlier this month by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and Barnardos NZ makes it clear that the enormous social and economic impacts of child poverty in NZ are unsustainable.

New Zealand’s largest payroll is to have a new provider and significant improvements. The current outdated service will be replaced by new arrangements to support taking the schools’ payroll into the future.

AnyQuestions.co.nz, the on-line realtime student helpdesk, can now support study 24/7 with the addition of the ManyAnswers database.

Always searching for that perfect fashion item that allows you to make a bold personal statement?

Recently Chris Carter launched a new website and an ERO report that will help schools meet the educational needs of boys.

Expenditure by international students studying at English language schools was $242 million in the year ended March 2008, Statistics NZ has released. This expenditure was $7 million higher than for the year ended March 2007.

A new book by education historian Kay Morris Matthews tells the story of the first wave of NZ women to gain higher education.

More is expected of education today than ever before, especially with the emergence of the so-called knowledge society.

List MP Russell Fairbrother is pleased to announce that the former Pirimai School site in Napier, is to be kept and used by the local community as a green area.

Dawn Engelbrecht and Bev Parsons have a golden rule about welcoming people into their organisation – if they don’t detect a genuine passion for caring for children in the first interview, there is no second interview.

This txtng, MTV generation of teens are a breed of their own, and here at Focus on the Family, we’re talking with a lot of parents who are struggling to connect with them in a way that gets past the bombardment of the multimedia-filled world they live in.

A load of old rubbish, a love for the environment, and a little creative talent, is all young kiwis need to take up Auckland Zoo’s Trash to Taonga challenge for Conservation Week (7th to 14th September).

As the election campaign starts heating up the Electoral Finance Act (EFA) complaints come rolling in.

Dear Editor,

When at the SPELD Conference I was given a copy of your publication – an interesting read BUT the item by Peter Giddens I found more than “rotten” – totally revolting in fact!

Kids on the Duffy Books in Homes programme are often told by adults about the benefits of books and reading. However, the message is well and truly brought home when they hear from other kids.

Job-seekers and employers will both stand to benefit from changes made to the country’s largest and longest-running Careers Expo series when it makes its Wellington stop in August at TSB Bank Arena (Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th August).

The New Zealand Council for Educational Research has launched a new survey tool aimed at helping schools understand how their students feel about school and learning.

“Polly sat quietly in class. It was the start of another day and she felt her muscles tighten as the teacher began the roll call. Polly knew her name – it was easy to say to the dog, or when she was on her own, but not when it was time for her to say it to answer the teacher. She felt panic rising through her as she started to say her name, and nothing came out…”

The total number of internet subscribers continued to increase, reaching 1,504,000 users in March 2008, Statistics NZ said recently.

New Zealand’s emerging star soprano Anna Leese performs in Wellington in August as part of a 10-centre tour with Chamber Music NZ.

Katikati College student Pippa Grierson, 16, has been selected by the Royal Society of NZ to participate in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) in Copenhagen, Belgium from 19th-26th September.

Amnesty International NZ has launched its new-look campaigning website created specifically for student activists.

School students throughout NZ now have the chance to learn about avoidable blindness and how they can take action to help eradicate the condition which affects more than 30 million people around the world.

Chris Carter has announced that Flat Bush, a suburb of Manukau City, will be getting a new senior high school, expected to open in 2011.

You are invited to be part of a unique and challenging year long schools programme.

College of Education (CoE) Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. James Chapman has called for more effort to bridge the widening gap between good and poor readers and halt the downward trend of NZ children’s reading abilities compared with those of other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Suspension rates in NZ schools have hit an eight year low, Chris Carter has announced.
The figures have been published in the MoE’s annual Student Engagement Report, which tracks suspensions, stand-downs, expulsions and exclusions.

Thirty-seven Far North families celebrated recently at a Computer in Homes graduation attended by John Carter, National Party MP for Northland, Kelvin Davis, Te Tai Tokerau Labour candidate, along with other local dignitaries.

An opinion piece by Brother Pat Lynch, CEO of NZ Catholic Education Office.

 Increasing pressure to perform on the sports field from an early age is one reason some young people are dropping out of sport, says Sport and Recreation NZ’s Lawrie Stewart.

July 14th, 2008, marked 155 years since NZers’ first trip to the polling booths.

For the six month period of January to June 2008 there were 55 drowning deaths in NZ according to statistics released by Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ).

Fifteen-year-old Stephen Mackereth, a year 11 student from King’s College, was named this year’s Brain Bee Champion at regional finals staged last month at The University of Auckland.

New Zealand children will have no excuses for not knowing everything about airports, thanks to a new educational website developed by Auckland Airport.

In Term Four 2003 St Joseph’s School enrolled eight children from three Sudanese refugee families. Two of these families had arrived straight from the Mangere Refugee Centre and the third had been in the country for three years.

Picture a rundown classroom of 40 to 50 kids eager to learn.

There’s still time to register your school for Kicks for Courage and get involved in helping brave kids with cancer.•

When a day in the classroom requires you to stand before 70 children, most of whom are so poor they have few books and count a pencil as a privilege, and you yourself have no teaching aids apart from your own skills and creativity – then you face the teaching challenge of a lifetime.

Technology from Oticon NZ that has been designed specifically for the classroom environment is helping to break down barriers to learning at schools in Porirua.

Chris Carter has announced that Alternative Education (AE) providers will now be able to get free access to the Correspondence School for their students.

Toshiba helps children learn, create and collaborate with RoboCup Junior.

The NZEI is calling on the government to take a realistic look at the cost of delivering quality education in the 21st century.

How to make the principal-whanau connection Leader, visionary, trusted servant of the community, and someone who pronounces Maori words and names correctly – these are some of the qualities the ideal school principal should embody from

Plans to teach financial literacy in schools has moved a step closer now that the Retirement Commission received more than $400,000 from the country's banks to help fund a trial programme in ten schools.

More than 600 school trustees from all over NZ are expected to converge on Christchurch next month to tackle some of the big education issues.

During this week (June 30th to July 4th) close to 90,000 children in low-income areas will receive the gift of a brand new book, courtesy of the NZ government.

These holidays Auckland Museum will reveal its secrets…

Up to 900 Group Special Education field staff have been attending paid union meetings recently as part of a bid to improve their pay scales and professional conditions.

The NZ curriculum was the centrepiece of the APEC Education Ministers’ meeting in Peru recently and was widely praised, Chris Carter said.

An Auckland woman has started to receive the first of what she hopes will be thousands of buttons in the mail – all of them from people who have been through the experience of abortion.

Mid-winter traditionally means forgoing physical activity in favour of hibernation and evenings on the couch.

It is the five senses, (sight, touch sound, smell and taste) coupled with our genetic inheritance and environmental influence in which all learning takes place. Thinking in the visual system, uses pictures, colours, abstract plans, diagrams etc.

 Do you have one or two children in your class who are struggling with reading for no obvious reason? These children may have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a severe difficulty in reading which cannot be explained by general cognitive difficulties or lack of educational experiences. Dyslexia occurs in at least five per cent of the population and often runs in families.

The Dore Centre has embarked on a series of public meetings in regional centres around NZ to talk to parents and educators about the Dore Programme, an individualised exercise based programme which treats the symptoms of learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD and ADHD. 

The gift that children with dyslexia have is their ability to think in pictures and this deceptively simple book gives the opportunity to do just that with its uncluttered pages and limited text. 

Students who are limited by dyslexia are not a homogenous group; they have specific, different learning needs. Classrooms are usually frustrating for students limited by dyslexia. 

 Children often want to hide their problems. They are usually excellent at creating a camouflage to protect themselves from potential hurt and damage to their self esteem.

Brain Gym® was developed by Dr Paul Dennison, (US) in the 1970s in the context of assisting children with learning difficulties. Brain Gym® movements are part of the Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K) System. They can be used generically in group/class situations or tailored to individual needs to improve learning readiness. 

Research in many countries, including NZ, Australia, the UK and the US, has shown that a significant proportion of children with reading disorder have an auditory processing disorder (APD). 

Many researchers think there is a difference between dyslexia and other reading problems. One way to spot the difference is to use the Simple View.  

Recognising that vision, may be a contributing factor to a child’s difficulty with learning, depends on the Model of Vision that the individual optometrist and parent has. 

 There are children, who despite good teaching, cannot produce nice neat handwriting.

Dysgraphia is a difficulty writing coherently, if at all, regardless of ability to read.

The LIANZA (Library and Information Association of NZ Aotearoa) Children’s book Awards, including NZ’s longest running book prize, announces its 2007 shortlist in the fiction, non-fiction, illustrated book, and te reo Maori categories.