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 They reported that Government has idenfitied inconsistencies between school properties, with too many schools having outdated or poor quality facilities that no longer meet their educational needs.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.

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).

REFLECTIONS FROM PRINCIPALS

Over the past few months we’ve noted what different Principals have shared about their experience at the Catholic Education Convention 2018. We have compiled some of the responses as a reminder that what we take on board during opportunities like Convention must be passed on and reflected in our daily practice to be truly effective. Click here to read.

CONVENTION WEBSITE UPDATES

A video recording of the keynote presentation from the effervescent David Wells is now available on the Convention website. Link here.

We've also recently added the main projection images from Convention (the stained glass fish shown here) to the Convention page on our website. You can download a Zipfile of the images and we are happy for schools use them in their own work. Link here.

There is a wealth of material on our website – all three international keynote presentations and copies of the presentations from many of the seminars. We encourage people to share what they learned at Convention, with their colleagues, students, family and friends. Everyone can learn something from the concept of finding JOY in the work we do!

CONVENTION FEEDBACK AND SURVEY WINNER

Over three hundred people responded to our Convention evaluation survey. Congratulations to Caron Olivier, St Patrick’s School, winner of the $100 gift card for completing the survey. Here is a summary of some of the feedback received:

• Over 90% of respondents thought overall organisation was Very Good
• Over 90% of respondents thought the communication and registration, venue, seminars, opening ceremony, all keynotes, the mass, concluding ceremony, receptions, A/V support and catering were Very Good or Good.
• We received lots of great suggestions for next Convention
• Some of the most heart-warming comments:
• It was an amazingly positive first time experience for myself personally! I took away so much from the speakers and the workshops, thank you.
• Very inspirational keynote speakers and a great variety of seminars were offered. The venue was excellent and catering outstanding. It is always a great time to network with like minded people and refreshing to know that everyone is on the same page and we all want the best for Catholic Education and our schools and children.
• I found the convention exciting and a real wake up call. The Keynote speakers were highly engaging with great messages to take away. They inspired me to pass on the message.
• The speakers were inspirational, the atmosphere super, the whole feeling so positive and fulfilling.
• I loved the opportunity to meet with people from similar schools and listen to what they are doing. I found the keynote speakers inspirational and I loved how approachable people were.
• The overall feel and friendship, with a commitment to Catholic teaching. The speakers were excellent - this would be the best convention that I have attended.

We are delighted you got so much out of the event. The surveys are now closed but feedback is always welcome, email nzceooffice@nzceo.org.nz.

In the May-July 2018 edition of Kete Korero (the Hamilton Catholic Diocese magazine) there was an excellent article from Kath Joblin, Principal at St Thomas More Catholic School, Mount Maunganui about growing Catholic teachers.

In the article she describes how "Building Catholic teachers is building community", she goes on to say "You can't have faith in isolation from other people. We are all at different stages of faith in the school, but we feel comfortable together."

Click here to read the full article (page 6-7).

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.

Pope Francis spoke recently at an international conference to mark the third anniversary of his encyclical Laudato Si'.

He asked again that we should “hear with our hearts” the increasingly desperate cries of the earth and its poor, who look for our help and concern.  He spoke of the urgent need for concrete steps to save the planet and the life it inspires, reminding us that “everything is connected.”

He asked for citizens’ pressure groups worldwide to respond to the Global Climate Action Summit to be held 12-14 September in San Francisco.

He said that young people and indigenous peoples must be enabled to be at the forefront of efforts to foster an integral ecology.

Link here for the full text of Pope Francis' address.

September 1 is the annual global day of prayer for the care of creation.  September 1 also opens the Season of Creation, which lasts till October 4 (Feast of St Francis). (The Season of Creation website is an interdenominational site, which includes specific Catholic resources: https://seasonofcreation.org/.)

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).

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 Catholic schools throughout New Zealand.