I expect that many of you have been so focused on embracing the challenges of this new school year that  it is hard to remember the holiday that you just had. I trust that that you have navigated the challenges of severe weather, drought and Covid 19 sufficient to settle into the year.

During this month we have continued to work with the Minister and Ministry to address the issue of maintenance funding. Through our legal Counsel we have communicated with the Minister and we have been advised by the Ministry that they expect to meet with us to look at next steps. The APIS Executive have agreed to support the work being done to get this funding. NZCEO Board are also very supportive.

We have also been very involved with reviewing the implications of the Draft Education and Training Bill. In total we have lodged three submissions and I have appeared in person to speak to and discuss the main comment from our submission.  They include a concern about  the primacy of the integration being guaranteed by the Crown, developing clarity about the opt in opt out of religious instruction for state integrated schools and the way the act defines the prime focus for Boards of Trustees.   APIS argued, the prime focus for a state integrated school is its Special Character.  

The Ministry will meet with APIS to develop a set of protocols to manage the provision of office space for Learning Support Co-ordinators. Those schools who have been affected by this policy will be advised by their Proprietor who will also have some responsibility for funding a portion of the cost of the new office space.

The Board is working through the process of appointing a new CEO and will advise an outcome in due course. We wish you all a busy and productive term.

Ngā mihi nui

Paul Ferris

Chief Executive.

SCHOOL LEAVERS TOOLKIT WORKSHOPS

Education Support Services, University of Otago has been contracted by the Ministry of Education to design, develop and deliver a programme of support for teachers and school leaders to learn about the School Leavers Toolkit. The programme will support teachers and school leaders to understand what value the Toolkit can provide, to know how to select and use Toolkit resources and integrate these resources sustainably into their local curricula.

The support provided will include workshops across Aotearoa New Zealand in Terms 1 and 2, e- learning modules and webinars.

School Leavers’ Toolkit Workshop - Māori Medium for Term One
School Leavers’ Toolkit Workshop - English Medium for Term One

Here is the link to register for the workshops.

TŪTURU 

Tūturu helps schools plan and develop their approach to improve student wellbeing and develop critical thinking. The first focus area is helping to prepare secondary school students for a world where alcohol and drugs exist. The resources were made for schools, with schools, and have been reviewed by several health and education experts. They are free and highly tailorable for schools to use. Tūturu is led by the NZ Drug Foundation and overseen by the Ministries of Health and Education, the Health Promotion Agency and NZ Police. Read more on the Tūturu website.

The Tūturu Summit is aimed at secondary school leaders, teachers, pastoral care staff and board members. This event will share learnings from New Zealand secondary schools who worked with local alcohol and other drug services to develop Tūturu. They will share approaches to student wellbeing, tools and pathways to help rangatahi build agency, critical thinking skills and decisio nmaking confidence around alcohol and other drugs. Take a look at the programme

For more information and to register, visit the Tuturu Summit website

CHANGES TO THE NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced changes to the NZ Scholarship awards.

“Changes to New Zealand Scholarship awards will allow more young people to be acknowledged for their significant academic achievements,” Chris Hipkins said.

Changes include up to 12 students being recognised for the Premier Award, (up from 10)

“In addition, students who achieve two Outstanding Scholarship grades in the same year will be eligible to receive a Scholarship Award.

Click here for more detail on the changes

THE PRIME MINISTER'S EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Entries for the 2020 Awards are open from 24 February until 10 April. The Awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements in early learning, primary and secondary schooling.

Start thinking about what story your team might like to share, visit the Prime Minister's Excellence Awards website for information on how to get started on your entry.

NEW SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA

A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced.

“It is estimated that as many as one in seven children may have a form of dyslexia, and the new resources provide, for the first time, a simple way of screening for dyslexia in the classroom.”

The Minister said the dyslexia kete will be a tool for LSCs to use and teachers and other literacy educators would also find them invaluable in helping students learn in ways that work best for them. They will also be helpful in supporting the families of students with dyslexia or dyslexic-type traits.  

Click here to read the full release from Minister Martin

Click here for Dyslexia resource Kete 

LITERACY PROGRESS LIFTED WITH EXPLICIT TEACHING OF PHONIC AWARENESS

At Whanganui East School, a dramatic lift in literacy progress and positive behaviour has come about as a result of explicit teaching of phonic awareness as part of a rich literacy programme.

Click here to read more on this article from the Education Gazette 

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDED TO TEACHER FROM PALMERSTON NORTH 

Cornerstone Christian School teacher Carl McIntyre, won an  Excellence in Education

Award as well as the Founders' Award for for Leadership at the ASG National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA)

Carl is passionate about supporting students who struggle to succeed in a normal classroom environment. He stands out as a leader on a range of important issues such as learning support and developing tailored support programmes for students with learning disabilities and helping them create successful and relevant career pathways.He helped to remove obstacles for children with learning difficulties like dyslexia. 

"You watch students who have little belief in their own success or ability to succeed. You watch them far outstrip their goals."

To read more about Carl McIntyre click here.

Nine Year 11 students and a student from Year 10,from St John's College, Hastings in their own time, have formed an advocacy group Policy Light House which is making submissions on Bills before Parliament of interest to youth from the province.  Click here to read about their submission.

Students are  simultaneously advocating for a permanent Drug Court in the region. This follows a pattern of advocacy and community engagement established three years ago with our social enterprise prison relationship with Youth at Hawkes Bay Prison.

Last year, two students publicly advocated for more expenditure on prison programmes and a Drug Court,  the college community heard from the Auckland Drug Court Judge, Lisa Tremewan, about the difference of moving away from the traditional  approach.  

In summary, a  Drug Court is where  sentences are suspended on condition of treatment; shifting from a judicial model of punishment to one of treatment. There is no questions that crimes committed require punishment and sanction – a Drug Court would provide a greater range of options – making the community stronger and safer.

Students are using quality evidence/data to support their arguments, and being politically neutral with a clear focus on the issue.  

On 19 February, three of the nine students met with  the Hastings Mayor. Students report Ms Hazlehurst is supportive of their  idea and has invited them  to a meeting with nine High Court  Judges when they meet in Hastings to discuss the New Zealand youth court system.

St Johns College is defining quality project work within the community – consistent with the special values the college holds.

Voice of Islam team would like to invite you to be part of the Togetherness Tour, Kotahitanga, March 2020. The tour will start in Auckland, on the 29th February and will end in Christchurch, on the 15th of March. They will be travelling to different cities and holding talks and exhibitions on “What is Islam?”. Their aim is to create an opportunity for people to meet Muslims in their local community and create better understanding and harmony.

they have been very blessed to have their friends, Tim Chambers (UK), John Fontain (UK) and Fahad Tasleem (USA) supporting them  for the tour. They will do a short talk, followed by Q+A session and will meet with visitors. They strongly encourage any organisations, churches, leaders, community groups, schools, media to take part in this short but important event.

Click here for more information about the tour and locations of the talks.

Al-Madinah  School, a state integrated area school in Auckland is featured in the latest Education Gazette about how they can support a group of gifted and talented learners.

Al-Madinah enlisted the support of a RTLB team - Nicola Talbot, Kobus Van Schalkwyk, Tania Longair and Runnitty Tagaloasa-Peteru.

“After reviewing our data, we found that there were 26 students (10 percent) ranging from years 6 – 13 who scored either at or above the 90th percentile (superior level), and 17 scoring above the 95th percentile (very superior level). 

The full article is in education gazette