The Government has been engaged in a detailed review of Tomorrow’s Schools which could significantly impact on the way we organise and manage schools in the future. The impact of the review will be felt for many years, so we await the detail in the report with some anticipation.  There is likely to be commentary about choice and competition among schools which has characterised much of the administration of education in the last 30 years.

In October we held a meeting with Ministers Salesa and Hipkins with 100 Proprietors and principals of state integrated from APIS. The meeting focused on our partnership with Government and both Ministers confirmed the coalition commitment to working with state integrated schools. Just what that commitment will look like is likely to be subject of discussion in 2019.

2019 will bring its own challenges but as we move to the end of 2018 we should celebrate the learning and achievements of our students in all fields. The Spirit is alive in our schools thanks to the commitment and talent of our teachers and principals.

We thank all those parents, students, board members and parish communities who have supported and encouraged our schools. Together we are stronger.

Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou

Season's greetings for Christmas and New Year

Paul Ferris, CEO

TEACHING COUNCIL ELECTIONS

A reminder that nominations for the new board of the Teaching Council open 23 November and close 25 January. Voters in seven teaching sectors will elect seven board members, one teacher and one principal from the primary and secondary sectors, one teacher and one leader from early childhood education, and one teacher educator. More information is available on the Councils website, click here.

ATTENDANCE DUES CIRCULAR

Proprietors are required to submit audited attendance dues accounts each year. For more information, Ministry of Education has released this year’s circular for Attendance Dues Accounts (click here).

NCEA REVIEW

Submissions for the NCEA have closed, and the Review team have advised they have had engagement with over 16,000 people. 8,058 filled in a survey or provided a detailed submission. Approximately 8,000 people attended a workshop, meeting, hui, fono, focus group, in-depth interview or debate. For the next steps, see the timeline below or visit their website here.

ROYAL COMMISSION INTO ABUSE IN STATE CARE

This inquiry has now been expanded to include Faith-Based Institutions. More information about the Commission can be found on their website, click here.

PROPERTY SECTOR FORUMS

A useful summary update from the nationally held property sector forums is now available (Click here to view the digital PDF; note this is for the South Central group; the information is the same nationally, just the contact people on the final page are different). Topics include police vetting and asbestos management and will be relevant for Proprietors and Principals.

We also wanted to share the Holiday property checklist, which was provided at the forums:

And Fire and Emergency New Zealand also have a checklist on their website for protecting schools (click here).

Proprietors and Principals of state integrated Schools embraced the opportunity to meet with Education Ministers

On 25 October Proprietors and principals of state integrated schools flew into Wellington from around the country to meet with the Minister of Education, Hon Chris Hipkins and Associate Minister, Hon Jenny Salesa.

The meeting was coordinated by the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) and drew together almost 100 people from the state integrated school sector.

There was significant interest to hear first-hand about the Government’s planned review of state integrated schools, due to begin next year.

Associate Minister Salesa, who has responsibility for contact with state integrated schools, started the morning’s discussion by expressing the government’s commitment to working collaboratively with our schools.  Minister Hipkins reiterated this commitment. He provided reassurance to those present by saying that he saw state integrated schools as playing a vitally important role in the New Zealand education system and affirmed the government’s commitment to support the growth of state integrated schools.

Much discussion among those present centred on the relationship between this government and state integrated schools. This included how the schools can play a greater role in sharing the educational aspirations of the government and what key actions the government can take to support the work of proprietors of our schools.

The Minister encouraged dialogue and collaboration between the sector and the government to ensure complementary and sustainable growth.

NZCEO Chief Executive Officer Paul Ferris commented that it was a welcome opportunity to meet with the Minister and his Associate Minister. The Minister’s responses to the many questions fielded were reassuring for the group.

 

Caritas' Social Justice Week in September was about disability and participation. Congratulations to schools that took part. In addition, our thanks to Sr Nerina, who has prepared a list of websites with valuable resources for educators:

Students with learning support needs
https://www.education.govt.nz/school/student-support/special-education/#Further

Early Intervention Services
https://www.education.govt.nz/early-childhood/teaching-and-learning/learning-tools-and-resources/early-intervention/

For further support - National organisations
https://www.education.govt.nz/school/student-support/special-education/where-else-can-i-get-information/
 
Contact details for the Ministry of Education’s Senior Advisors: Refugee and Migrant Support
https://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/regional-ministry-contacts/ministry-of-education-refugee-education-coordinators/

Inclusive Education - Guides for schools (Information for Māori, Pasifika, LGBTIQA+, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD))
http://inclusive.tki.org.nz/

For more information about Social Justice Week, visit the Caritas website here.

The following have been elected on the Religious Studies Teachers Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (RSTAANZ) Executive Committee for 2019-2020. Our congratulations and best wishes for them in their work:

• Andrew Murray (Sacred Heart Girls' College, New Plymouth) Vice President
• Colin MacLeod (National Centre for Religious Studies)
• Amjad Ali (Al-Madinah School)
• Maria Fouhy (De La Salle College)
• Andrea Craig (Villa Maria College)
• Tamar Aiono (Longburn Adventist College)
• Linda Aitchison (Rosehill College)

The following was included in the recent Principals' Digest Newsletter:

John Hattie’s research shows that what produces truly meaningful results in schools is teachers’ collective sense of efficacy, constant feedback to students, and other low-tech factors. Individualisation and web-based learning do quite poorly in Hattie’s meta-analysis – 0.23 and 0.18 effect sizes, respectively.

In order for learning to be personal, it must be meaningful and transferable which only comes when human connection is at the centre of what we do. He suggests four guiding questions for tech in the classroom:

• Does the technology help to minimise complexity?
• Does the technology help to maximise the individual power and potential of all learners in the room?
• Will the technology help us to do something previously unimaginable?
• Will the technology preserve or enhance human connection in the classroom?

If the answer to all four questions is yes, you’ve chosen effective technology. If not, keep looking or go low-tech.

“Why Are We Still Personalizing Learning If It’s Not Personal?” by Paul Emerich France in EdSurge News, July 2, 2018

Kingsway School, Auckland: teacher Ben Sharplin, with support from Ben Cahill, created a charming parody video for their end of year song for the Year 13 group.

Baradene College, Auckland: won the Girls Lotto Premier Tournament (football). Student Hannah Pilley was co-Golden Boot recipient for the tournament and Most Valuable Player for the school.

Sacred Heart College, Auckland: won the Boys Lotto Premier Tournament (football). Student Jack Duncan was Most Valuable Player for the school.

St Mary’s College, Auckland: Senior Choir students took part in a recording project with singer-songwriter Chelsea Jade. They performed her song Perfect Stranger.

St Peter’s College, Auckland: won the national secondary schools rugby top four championship.

Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Hamilton: student Simone Peers won the GirlBoss New Zealand Enterprise award for her vending machine franchise, Hot Nutz.

Campion College, Gisborne: student Madeleine Pittar was interviewed about her work as a Gateway student, and was the only student featured in the article ’Transitioning into the world of work while at school’, page 26 of the 30 October 2018 edition of the Education Gazette (view online here).

Francis Douglas Memorial College: teachers have been growing Movember moustaches to raise awareness of men's health and encourage students to talk about mental health. (Read more here.)

Staff from Francis Douglas Memorial College.

St John’s College, Hastings: the school has won one of only four national Young Enterprise Teams excellence awards for their project that partnered students and prisoners in the design and creation of rimu bread boards. This is along with their National Whai Tikanga Award for the use of the arts as an integral part of a tikanga programme to encourage a strong cultural identity and support pro-social living and their highly commended status at the 2018 New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO Awards. In addition, students Kadyn Newport, Rhyva van Onselen, Shane McDonald, Brad Selwood and Ben Gardiner featured on national news recently, for their invention of a low-cost rain and flood monitor alert system. It detects flooding levels for holiday homes and farms and sends an alert to the owner's cell phone.

Bishop Viard College, Porirua: Head student, Imran Tautu was recognised for his outstanding leadership at the Graeme Dingle Foundation 2018 Excellence Awards. He received the Stars Outstanding Contribution from a Peer Mentor Award, as a mentor making a significant difference in the lives of juniors in their school.

St Thomas of Canterbury College, Christchurch: the school was featured in Tukutuku Kōrero | The Education Gazette for their use of gaming mechanics to enhance teaching methods. Read here.

St Bede’s College and Marian College, Christchurch: The combined efforts of students from St Bede’s College and Marian College for Canteen Run for a Life resulted in a $160,000 donation to the Canteen organisation.  This is the highest amount ever raised in the history of this event. More than 200 St Bede’s College and Marian College students participated.