We can find many reasons to be concerned at the potential for changes in the way education might, or might not be, organised in the future. These systemic changes will be expected to put the child at the centre and to raise achievement. Anyone involved in education would support this goal because everyone I know involved in teaching and learning in New Zealand wants to make a difference for the children in their class. System change has been made before and people have become excited by the results of some of the shifts in practice that such change brings. Some such shifts bring opportunities for Boards and communities be more engaged in decision making locally.

The great danger in system change is that it can avoid addressing the most important area that makes a difference in schools. It is teachers who bring passion and commitment to their work that make the biggest difference. Systems play with the operation of schools but teachers engage with the people who matter. Any government that wants to bring about a change in the outcomes for large sections of our school population should look to recruit, train and retain the best and brightest of our young people to be teachers. It’s not rocket science – it’s common sense.  We need to encourage our young people to take up the exciting vocation of teaching.

Blessings to you all,

Paul Ferris, CEO

ILLEGAL/LEGAL PAYMENTS BY PARENTS CIRCULAR

Boards of Trustees and proprietors need to be aware of this recent circular, which explains what may be charged for, and what can only be a donation. While the information has not changed, the layout and explanatory information has been redeveloped and it is important that schools take it on board. Read more.

PAYMENT OF FEES AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 2018

NZQA has updated their advice for the payment of NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship fees and applications for financial assistance 2018, link here.

WELLBEING SURVEY

This free anonymous student survey tool provides a means for schools to capture student voice to inform the development of their Strategic Plan, 2019 Charter and Annual targets. Link here.

SCHOOL PROPERTY REFORM

At the South Central Property Sector meeting earlier this month, the Ministry of Education provided further detail about the School Property Reform work presently underway. They reported that Government has idenfitied inconsistencies between school properties, with too many schools having outdated or poor quality facilities that no longer meet their educational needs.

Throughout August the Ministry was engaging with the school sector. In October 2018, they intend to take an early iteration of the long term property plan to Cabinet. If you are interested in contributing your ideas, email the engagement team (click here).

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION THANK YOU

A big thank you from Ministry for submitting responses to Policy One Confirmation on time. This helped them achieve a KPI!

WARREN TRUST AWARDS FOR ARCHITECTURAL WRITING

Secondary school students are encouraged to enter the Warren Trust Awards for Architectural Writing by writing an 800 word essay describing the best building they’ve been to and why they like it.  Essays should be sent to writingawards@nzia.co.nz. Winners of the secondary school category will receive a $1000 cash prize. Entries close 10 September 2018. Read more here.

Aotearoa New Zealand is one of a small but growing number of nations whose demographics are categorised as culturally and linguistically superdiverse.  We were home to 160 languages in 2013, and it is believed that we are now home to approximately 200 languages.  An increasing number of children are growing up in in bi- or multilingual homes.  Besides te reo Māori, English, and NZ Sign Language (NZ’s offical languages) NZ’s most common languages are Samoan, Hindi, Northern Chinese, French and Yue (Cantonese.)

Also related, National Hindi Language Week celebrations run from 7th to 14th September this year. The TKI website has material on celebrating language weeks in schools, click here.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) is 10-16 September 2018. The theme is 'Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.

Resources for Te Wiki o te Māori are available at:

• Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI): link here
• Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission): link here

The Archidiocese of Wellington has released a te reo Māori Sign On/Sign Offs guide prepared by the Vicar for Māori, Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard. He is happy for us to share this with schools. Click here to download a PDF copy.

The paper below may be of use to schools:

• Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) paper: describing its history and how it fits in with schools (click here for a PDF copy).
  

Got a Trade? Got it Made! career events are held across the country. These events are aimed at promoting careers in the trades and services industry. There will be two sessions at each event - Speed Meets and Career Evenings.

The Speed Meets will give young people a chance to be interviewed by employers and training organisations, and if successful, receive an offer of work experience training, apprenticeship or employment. Students who want to participate in the Speed Meets must be aged 15 and older, and are encouraged to bring along their Curriculum Vitae.

The Career Evenings session is open to all and is an opportunity for students, teachers, school leaders, parents, whānau, iwi and the community to hear from employers and young people already working in the trades and services industry.

Find out more and register your students by visiting the Got a Trade? Got it Made! website (link here).

St Peter’s College, Auckland: Jamie Laing and Kyle Sterne (Y12) attended the National Chinese Speech Competition and their cultural performance (Xiang sheng – a re-enactment of a traditional Chinese talk show) was awarded the “Best talent” prize. They received $500 in prize money and were awarded a scholarship of a 2 week trip to China in December. To watch Jamie and Kyle's performance click here. 

St Bernard’s College, Lower Hutt: Student Jack Tetley (Y9) featured in the Education Gazette (13 August 2018) for his volunteer work at the Island Bay Marine Centre. The article noted that he has attended the Trust for Sustainable Living 2018 Schools Essay Competition and Debate in the Seychelles. His essay focused on the over-use of plastic. He was the only New Zealander to enter and win at the competition (link here).

Middleton Grange School, Christchurch: Rachael Winder was selected to go to Chile for a week as part of the Young Enterprise Scheme. This is sponsored by the Latin American Centre of Asia Pacific Excellence. She will make site visits to established companies and start-ups, and will meet with local business leaders, engage in a variety of cultural activities, ad partner with local students to participate in a business challenge.

Marian College, Christchurch: Maria Ilalio won the National FAGASA Samoan speech competition for Year 9 students. The topic for the competition was 'Kindness given, kindness gained' (link here).

Christ the King School, Christchurch: was one of the schools whose work was highlighted in an article in the Education Gazette on 27 August 2018, Parent-School partnerships key to increasing achievement (link here).

Click here to read more of the fantastic work happening in integrated schools throughout New Zealand.