Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2011 through lens of 'i' word - Otago Daily Times

URL: 2011 through lens of 'i' word
Otago Daily Times
The subtext was that inappropriately qualified "advisers" were being employed to help principals run their schools - with half an eye to the implementation of National Standards. Subsequent revelations have shown the RNZ report to have been vindicated ...

Doing the honours - my way - Otago Daily Times

URL: Doing the honours - my way
Otago Daily Times
We have you on record as saying you cannot understand why "the Government is bleating on about choice in education when it has spent the past three years trying to shove the nonsensical National Standards down the throats of primary teachers". ...

Charter school plans merit hearing | Otago Daily Times Online News ...

URL: Charter school plans merit hearing | Otago Daily Times Online News ...
I have been in education since 1991. I did a business degree, a teaching diploma, master's in education, and all that was talked about 20 years ago was the 20% achievement tail in New Zealand and how poor pupils, Maori ...

Charter schools for better learning…yeah, right. — Earthtalk at ...

URL: Charter schools for better learning…yeah, right. — Earthtalk at ...
Each school had to submit a Charter for approval by the Ministry of Education, demonstrating how it would meet the learning needs of its students and the special character of its community. .... And, even more ironically, the current Minister of Education has recently written to another primary school, this time a decile one school in a rural community, ordering it to stop teaching an extraordinary senior class (up to 98% success in NCEA)and make the students go to a ...

school suspensions, expulsions halve - Stuff.co.nz

URL: school suspensions, expulsions halve
Stuff.co.nz
"We had more students coming to us from other schools because of earthquake stuff and all that moving," Edmundson said. No school wanted to exclude a child but it was sometimes forced to when the pupil became a risk to other pupils, he said.

Computer Society to launch schools outreach programme ...

URL: Computer Society to launch schools outreach programme ...
NZCS piloted the ICT-Connect school outreach programme a couple of years ago, but although the feedback was positive, it needed to be properly funded. “The big lesson from the pilot was that you need to do it properly, you ...

Editorial: Saga exposes poor form from Tolley - The Dominion Post

URL: Editorial: Saga exposes poor form from Tolley
The Dominion Post
Included among them were that the school's NCEA accreditation was at risk, that students' work was not being adequately assessed, that the school's finances were deteriorating and that students were engaging in plagiarism. ...

Saturday, December 24, 2011

No appetite for charter schools in south Auckland

URL: No appetite for charter schools in south Auckland
The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says contrary to claims by the Education Minister, principals in south Auckland have no appetite for charter schools.

Anne Tolley caught out lying: possible significant constitutional

URL: Anne Tolley caught out lying: possible significant constitutional
Anne Tolley caught out lying: possible significant constitutional implications I think we should watch this one very closely. Tolley is an electorate mp, which could mean a resignation and out of parliament. This would mean a by-election, and a by-election could mean – yes, you get the picture.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Education advice 'poor or borderline' - Stuff.co.nz

URL: Education advice 'poor or borderline'
Stuff.co.nz
It also plans to start using the results of the controversial National Standards to target poor-performing primary and intermediate schools and students. Some experts have spoken out against the publication of National Standards data because it could ...

Editorial: Bad timing to deliver vision for country - New Zealand Herald

URL: Editorial: Bad timing to deliver vision for country
New Zealand Herald
Undeterred by the row over National Standards during its first term, it intends to set up a more rigorous system of assessing teachers and principals this term. Tertiary education, too, will be made more accountable, with funding based on measures of ...

High demand for charter schools, says minister - Stuff.co.nz

URL: High demand for charter schools, says minister
Stuff.co.nz
Principals and parents are queuing up for the first "charter school", Education Minister Hekia Parata says. A controversial plan for new "charter schools" to be set up in poorer parts of Auckland and Christchurch was agreed as part of the confidence ...

Education Minister defends Kawerau school merger

URL: Education Minister defends Kawerau school merger
The Education Minister, Hekia Parata.

Poor schools dominate list - Radio New Zealand

URL: Poor schools dominate list
Radio New Zealand
The list also included a 32nd entity - the Otara Boards Forum, which supports parents and schools in South Auckland. The Office of the Auditor General provided the list on Thursday following the publication of a summary of audits of school financial ...

Claim school gap in rich and poor areas growing - Radio New Zealand

URL: Claim school gap in rich and poor areas growing
Radio New Zealand
Ten are decile one schools and ten others are in deciles two and three. The Secondary Principals Association, the Post-Primary Teachers Association and the primary school teachers' union, the Educational Institute, say such schools are finding it ...

Calls for social workers in schools after horrific abuse - TVNZ

URL: Calls for social workers in schools after horrific abuse
TVNZ
New Zealand Educational Institute President Ian Leckie says it would be great to have personnel to support the school and families. He says social workers should be made available in every school throughout the country. There has been a renewed call ...

Claim gap between schools in rich and poor areas growing - Radio New Zealand

URL: Claim gap between schools in rich and poor areas growing
Radio New Zealand
Ten are decile one schools and ten others are in deciles two and three. The Secondary Principals Association, the Post-Primary Teachers Association and the primary school teachers' union, the Educational Institute, say such schools are finding it ...

PM speaks to Tolley about Mutu case

URL: PM speaks to Tolley about Mutu case
Prime Minister John Key appears to be satisfied with former Education Minister Anne Tolley's handling of the Deborah Mutu case.Mrs Tolley has come under fire this week after the Teacher's Council made public its decision to deregister...

PPTA’s history gifted to prime minister

URL: PPTA’s history gifted to prime minister
“Our latest book to John Key is the history of the PPTA. It is a reminder that secondary teachers have a powerful and long-term commitment to a fair and equal public education system,” says PPTA vice president Doug Clark.

Go ahead for speedy internet at schools - Hawke's Bay Today

URL: Go ahead for speedy internet at schools
Hawke's Bay Today
Four more Hawke's Bay schools have been given the go-ahead for ultra-fast broadband that will bring vast changes to classrooms and teaching practices. William Colenso College, Tareha School, St Joseph's Maori Girls' College and Mangateretere School ...

big tick for Witt - Stuff.co.nz


Stuff.co.nz
URL: big tick for Witt
Stuff.co.nz
The achievement comes on the back of a vote of confidence from the Tertiary Education Commission's report released yesterday. After decades of financial woes the tertiary provider announced a financial surplus of 12 per cent of its revenue in June this ...

Trades teaching and classroom danger - Auckland stuff.co.nz


Auckland stuff.co.nz
URL: Trades teaching and classroom danger
Auckland stuff.co.nz
a top topic in hundreds of homes, the critics are standing by their criticism of standards and safety levels in the country's tertiary workshops. Arthur Moore, former head of department at Penrose High School, former president of Auckland Technical ...

Glowing report for Otago Polytechnic - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Glowing report for Otago Polytechnic
Otago Daily Times
"It is pleasing that the report acknowledges our commitment to providing high quality, hands-on education which enables our students to leave us well prepared and ready for the workplace." The highest possible rankings from the NZQA meant the ...

Hastings Mayor to give one on one training to potential Maori Leaders - All About Hawke's Bay

URL: Hastings Mayor to give one on one training to potential Maori Leaders
All About Hawke's Bay
Young Maori leaders from around Hastings can now apply for a leadership programme with the mayor. The Mayoral Taskforce Rangatahi Leadership Programme chooses a leader between 18 and 25 years to be mentored one-on-one for a year by Lawrence Yule. ...

Kids know a thing or two about HAKA!

URL: Kids know a thing or two about HAKA!
To compliment the "HAKA! Speaking with every move" exhibition National Library Auckland Centre has developed a schools programme inviting students and teachers to engage with the exhibition and our collections.

English language opens doors for top student - The Aucklander

URL: English language opens doors for top student
The Aucklander
Hom Panther lies on her bed, workbook on her lap. She has memorised her spelling list and is happy. She's a paraplegic, her legs paralysed and her right arm weakened in a car crash four years ago, but that hasn't stopped her desire to learn. ...

Thursday, December 22, 2011

New secondary school for Kawerau

URL: New secondary school for Kawerau
Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister, Hekia Parata, has today announced her decision to establish a new secondary school, for years 7 to 13, in Kawerau to replace both Kawerau College and Kawerau Intermediate. The Government last month announced $6 million to establish a new secondary school in Kawerau and invited the Kawerau College and Kawerau Intermediate Boards to provide feedback before a final decision was made...

Miramar South School and Strathmore Community School to merge

URL: Miramar South School and Strathmore Community School to merge
Hekia Parata | Education
The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, has today announced that two Wellington schools, Miramar South and Strathmore Community School, will merge. “I have carefully considered the information provided to me by the Boards of Trustees, and through the wider community consultation, and believe that creating one large, full primary school will strengthen education and provide stability for children and their families in the area,” says Ms Parata...

Standards 'not telling whole story' - The Bay of Plenty Times

URL: Standards 'not telling whole story'
The Bay of Plenty Times
"That's one of the failings [of National Standards], that they don't have a mid-point," he said. The second issue related to reporting student achievement in Year cohorts rather than age. "When it comes to the end of the year, there can be eight ...

Calls for social workers in schools after horrific abuse - TVNZ

URL: Calls for social workers in schools after horrific abuse
TVNZ
New Zealand Educational Institute President Ian Leckie says it would be great to have personnel to support the school and families. He says social workers should be made available in every school throughout the country. There has been a renewed call ...

Education Minister defends Kawerau school merger

URL: Education Minister defends Kawerau school merger
The Education Minister, Hekia Parata.

Anger from Kawerau community over school merger

URL: Anger from Kawerau community over school merger
Kawerau Intermediate in Bay of Plenty is vowing to continue to fight against its merger with the local college.

New school to replace two Kawerau schools in 2013 - Radio New Zealand

URL: New school to replace two Kawerau schools in 2013
Radio New Zealand
Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced a new college will replace two eastern Bay of Plenty Kawerau schools in 2013. Kawerau Intermediate and the town's college will close, and the new secondary school for years seven to 13, will be set up on ...

School to fight merger - Radio New Zealand

URL: School to fight merger
Radio New Zealand
The Government announced last month it wants a new $6 million school built and confirmed on Wednesday it will go ahead with that plan. The Ministry for Education sought feedback from the school boards on the proposal, with both of them opposing it. ...

Merger site for Miramar schools revealed - Stuff.co.nz

URL: Merger site for Miramar schools revealed
Stuff.co.nz
The site on which two Miramar schools will officially merge in 2013 has been announced by the Education Minister. Education Minister Hekia Parata announced the merger of Miramar South and Strathmore Community School this morning. ...

Murupara schooling consolidated | infonews.co.nz New Zealand's ...

URL: Murupara schooling consolidated | infonews.co.nz New Zealand's ...
The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, says the consolidation of schooling in Murupara will help strengthen education in the area and raise student achievement levels. Today's announcement confirms the establishment of a new year 1-13 ...

Milk in schools may reduce bowel cancer risk - The Southland Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Milk in schools may reduce bowel cancer risk
The Southland Times
However, from 1950, many Southland schools opted out of the scheme after being given the option by the provincial education board. For people who started school in Southland from 1951 to 1967, only 36 per cent had had school milk at least once. ...

Number of schools in serious financial difficulty jumps - Radio New Zealand

URL: Number of schools in serious financial difficulty jumps
Radio New Zealand
In a report presented to Parliament on Wednesday, Lyn Provost also highlights financial problems at a significant minority of Maori immersion schools (kura kaupapa Maori). The report is based on an overview of the financial audits of public education ...

Community buys in needed for Murupara school plan - Waatea News

URL: Community buys in needed for Murupara school plan
Waatea News
At the end of the day, the children in Murupara deserve the very best in education. They're parents in their community must be alongside any proposal to list achievements and remodel the educational options out there". Hekia Parata says the new school ...

Troubled schools numbers expected to rise - Radio New Zealand

URL: Troubled schools numbers expected to rise
Radio New Zealand
The Principals Federation says the number of schools in financial trouble is likely to rise. A report by the Auditor General on the education sector issued on Wednesday, found 32 schools are facing serious financial difficulty, up from 19 the year ...

Principals say number of schools in financial trouble will rise

URL: Principals say number of schools in financial trouble will rise
The Principals' Federation says the number of schools in financial trouble is likely to rise.

Prospects bleak for teacher graduates - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Prospects bleak for teacher graduates
Otago Daily Times
Nearly 170 full-time teacher positions will be axed in Christchurch this week as a result of the earthquakes which have forced many pupils to move to other cities around the country. The situation has left College of Education student Ralph Miller with ...

big tick for Witt - Stuff.co.nz


Stuff.co.nz
URL: big tick for Witt
Stuff.co.nz
The achievement comes on the back of a vote of confidence from the Tertiary Education Commission's report released yesterday. After decades of financial woes the tertiary provider announced a financial surplus of 12 per cent of its revenue in June this ...

NCEA answer-giving teacher 'doing what he thought best' - New Zealand Herald

URL: NCEA answer-giving teacher 'doing what he thought best'
New Zealand Herald
17 students won't get their NCEA credits after their teacher gave them the answers they needed. Photo / Greg Bowker A teacher at a Tauranga college gave his students the answers to internal assessments, forcing the school to withdraw the NCEA results ...

Students win story comp - Auckland stuff.co.nz


Auckland stuff.co.nz
URL: Students win story comp
Auckland stuff.co.nz
Most of the book is illustrated with drawings but the five-year-old Fruitvale School pupil features as Sione in photos. The bilingual read, written by students of the New Lynn school, is published in both English and Samoan and focuses on travelling ...

Mum rallies community to end school bullies' 'terrorism' - New Zealand Herald

URL: Mum rallies community to end school bullies' 'terrorism'
New Zealand Herald
A Flaxmere mother fed up with school bullying has taken matters into her own hands after seeing "little action" from a school following an attack on a pupil that left her with a fractured spine. Flaxmere College student Ardriana Kemp, 14, ...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

150 more schools to receive network upgrades

URL: 150 more schools to receive network upgrades
Hekia Parata | Education
The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, today confirmed the next 150 schools to receive government-subsidised internal network upgrades, in readiness for ultra-fast broadband. The Ministry of Education’s School Network Upgrade Project (SNUP) has so far upgraded networks in more than 700 state and state integrated schools with more in progress...

Murupara schooling consolidated

URL: Murupara schooling consolidated
Hekia Parata | Education
The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, says the consolidation of schooling in Murupara will help strengthen education in the area and raise student achievement levels. Today’s announcement confirms the establishment of a new year 1-13 area school in Murupara. It will open at the start of the 2013 school year on the site of the Murupara School...

beehive.govt.nz - Murupara schooling consolidated

URL: beehive.govt.nz - Murupara schooling consolidated
The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, says the consolidation of schooling in Murupara will help strengthen education in the area and raise student achievement levels. Today's announcement confirms the establishment of ...

Maori students take legislation to Waitangi Tribunal - Radio New Zealand

URL: Maori students take legislation to Waitangi Tribunal
Radio New Zealand
The Maori Students' Association says it will be before the Waitangi Tribunal next year to fight Government legislation it says has breached the country's founding document. In September, the Government passed legislation making student union membership ...

Key to probe Tolley's handling of Mutu questions - Stuff.co.nz


3News NZ
URL: Key to probe Tolley's handling of Mutu questions
Stuff.co.nz
Mutu was an education ministry-appointed student achievement practitioner and Labour had questioned whether it was appropriate to send a suspended principal into schools as an expert to assist with the implementation of national standards. ...

Further scrutiny of Tolley's Mutu answer - Stuff.co.nz


3News NZ
URL: Further scrutiny of Tolley's Mutu answer
Stuff.co.nz
Debroah Anne Mutu was an Education Ministry-appointed student achievement practitioner and Labour had questioned whether it was appropriate to send a suspended principal into schools to assist with the implementation of national standards. ...

Education Ministry tightens procedures after Mutu case

URL: Education Ministry tightens procedures after Mutu case
The Ministry of Education admits its process for appointing people as specialist advisers to schools was not rigorous and it did not know a Northland kura principal was facing disciplinary action when it gave her one of the adviser jobs.

Nepotism and bullying alleged - Stuff.co.nz

URL: Nepotism and bullying alleged
Stuff.co.nz
"These concerns have been relayed to the Ministry of Education and obviously the ministry has deemed these issues serious enough to warrant an investigation into the school's management practices. "We hope that action is taken to ensure taxpayer and ...

Where do drama teachers come from? Initial investigations into the ...

URL: Where do drama teachers come from? Initial investigations into the ...
My own personal experience has illustrated that it is often assumed, usually by people who know little if anything of what either teaching or acting actually involves, that those who decide to teach drama do so because they can't get a .... The results of projective techniques such as cartoon tests can offer useful alternatives to more traditional quantitative methods such as structured questionnaires that, inevitably, produce answers to questions which directly reflect the ...

Problems With Process – Sshh! Don't use the P word | Drama New ...

URL: Problems With Process – Sshh! Don't use the P word | Drama New ...
They need to be aware of assessment issues, and how to write assessment tasks and schedules. They need to be familiar with the requirements of the New Zealand Curriculum that are necessary for teaching years 9-13. ...

Primary school fares well - Otago Daily Times

URL: Primary school fares well
Otago Daily Times
The achievement of Maori pupils reflected the achievement of their non-Maori peers. "Students recognise that their culture is being valued within the school and this is helping them to experience success as Maori," Mr Randell said. ...

Spirit of Adventure Trust supports job seekers

URL: Spirit of Adventure Trust supports job seekers
The Spirit of Adventure Trust will help young New Zealander’s learn essential skills to help them enter the work force during February next year.

Massey project to halt ‘summer slide’ in reading

URL: Massey project to halt ‘summer slide’ in reading
Summer – for adults at least – is the perfect time to catch up on reading, and the idea of kicking back with a good novel is sheer bliss for many. But school children do not usually have books on top of their fun list, and reading levels can deteriorate ...

Health camp school bid farewell - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Health camp school bid farewell
Otago Daily Times
The health camp organisation -Te Puna Whaiora Children's Health Camp, will take over the education contract for five of the country's health camp schools next year, including Roxburgh. The school will close on January 27 in its current form and reopen ...

New Facilities at UCOL - Voxy

URL: New Facilities at UCOL
Voxy
Students will also enjoy a re-vamped, centralized place on campus for all student services. Located on the upper campus, the cafe, learning support, disability support, health nurse and students association will all be together under one roof. ...

Big rise in enrolments - Auckland stuff.co.nz


Auckland stuff.co.nz
URL: Big rise in enrolments
Auckland stuff.co.nz
The school is so full it is not accepting any new out of zone students. Student numbers are rising rapidly at many Rodney-Hibiscus Coast schools. That reflects growth in the area, with some schools no longer taking pupils outside their zones as rolls ...

Teacher gave students NCEA answers - Radio New Zealand

URL: Teacher gave students NCEA answers
Radio New Zealand
A college in Tauranga had to withdraw the NCEA results of 17 students after the Qualifications Authority found a teacher gave them the answers to internal assessments. The case was in Qualifications Authority documents obtained under the Official ...

Top student too busy to slack off - Stuff.co.nz


Stuff.co.nz
URL: Top student too busy to slack off
Stuff.co.nz
From being named her school's top student to speaking on live television moments after her team won the Maggi Showdown, 2011 has been quite a year for Palmerston North's Madison Dyash. The 13-year-old's staggering list of achievements was recognised ...

Tauranga teacher gave students answers to NCEA assessments

URL: Tauranga teacher gave students answers to NCEA assessments
A Tauranga secondary school had to revoke the NCEA results of 17 students after discovering a teacher had given them the answers to internal assessments.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Rumour concerns boards - Stuff.co.nz

URL: Rumour concerns boards
Stuff.co.nz
Mr Facer said he believed the change was triggered by principals speaking out about national standards. "[The Government] is becoming increasingly frustrated that we have been very vocal against that policy." Mr Facer had also heard another rumour ...

Schoolyard bullies out over charter schools - The Dominion Post

URL: Schoolyard bullies out over charter schools
The Dominion Post
As in the past, most recently with national standards, they will present themselves as taking a principled stand on the public's behalf, but their primary motive is good old-fashioned self-interest. They will fight tooth and nail to preserve the status ...

Government needs to come clean on principal plans

URL: Government needs to come clean on principal plans
The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is urging the government to come clean about its agenda for education and any plans it may have to change the way school principals are hired.

Government must confirm or deny reports on principals

URL: Government must confirm or deny reports on principals
The New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) President, Peter Simpson, is challenging the Government to either confirm or deny today’s reports in the media that school principals are to be employed by the Ministry of Education.

Convicted teachers working in classrooms - The Daily Post

URL: Convicted teachers working in classrooms
The Daily Post
Some teachers in the classroom have a range of convictions from drink-driving, drug offences, dishonesty and violence. Under section 139AP of the Education Act 1989, a teacher is required to inform the council within seven days when they receive a ...

Big rise in enrolments - Auckland stuff.co.nz


Auckland stuff.co.nz
URL: Big rise in enrolments
Auckland stuff.co.nz
The school is so full it is not accepting any new out of zone students. Student numbers are rising rapidly at many Rodney-Hibiscus Coast schools. That reflects growth in the area, with some schools no longer taking pupils outside their zones as rolls ...

Politics with Deborah Coddington and John Pagani

URL: Politics with Deborah Coddington and John Pagani
Former Education Minister Anne Tolley is being accused by Labour of misleading the public about what she knew about a suspended school principle's appointment as an expert adviser; Labour is set to announce its shadow cabinet.

Tolley 'didn't know of charges' - Stuff.co.nz

URL: Tolley 'didn't know of charges'
Stuff.co.nz
The practitioners are ministry-appointed experts sent into schools to help them implement national standards. Labour has accused Mrs Tolley of misleading Parliament and the public after education spokeswoman Sue Moroney raised questions at the final ...

Secretary for Education welcomes Kindergarten settlement

URL: Secretary for Education welcomes Kindergarten settlement
Secretary for Education Lesley Longstone today welcomed ratification of the Kindergarten Teachers, Head Teachers and Senior Teachers Collective Agreement (KTCA) 2011-2013.

Inspiring Teens Awarded GABA Charitable Trust Scholarships - Impact PR - Public Relations (press release)

URL: Inspiring Teens Awarded GABA Charitable Trust Scholarships
Impact PR - Public Relations (press release)
Auckland students Farran Ram and Iefata Williams and Hamilton student Jack Winter were announced as this year's scholarship recipients at the Gay Auckland Business Association Christmas party on December 7. Farran, who is planning a career in medicine, ...

Whistleblower principal wants apology from Anne Tolley

URL: Whistleblower principal wants apology from Anne Tolley
A Northland principal who blew the whistle about the background of one of the Ministry of Education's school advisers says he's still waiting for an explanation - and an apology.

Lenovo ThinkPads to be deployed across NSW students ...

URL: Lenovo ThinkPads to be deployed across NSW students ...
Lenovo will distribute its new ThinkPad X130e laptop to more than 60000 students across NSW in 2012. ... I also have a thinkpad laptop and am a student. I ended up getting a laptop table for when I'm on the go working or ...

Post-quake anxiety in children

URL: Post-quake anxiety in children
Some children in Christchurch still have quite serious post-earthquake anxiety issues - we hear what to look for and why professional help might be a good idea.

Trades Academy brings vocational training to high school - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

URL: Trades Academy brings vocational training to high school
Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Students joining the Academy will study at school for four days each week, and Polytech one day towards NCEA and a vocational (trade) qualification. There are 36 places available for 2012 in construction, automotive and primary industry. ...

US learning institue to offer online certificates - TVNZ

URL: US learning institue to offer online certificates
TVNZ
Students will soon be able to earn qualifications online through a new programme developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The new technology developed by the world famous MIT allows students to take simulated lessons online and interact with ...

Thumbs up for Marvin - Voxy

URL: Thumbs up for Marvin
Voxy
Thumbs up for Marvin UCOL student Marvin Chase used his thumb almost as much as his brain this year. For four days every week, Marvin hitch hiked from his home in Dannevirke to UCOL's Palmerston North campus, to study for his Certificate in Electrical ...

Monday, December 19, 2011

Capturing literacy learners: Evaluating a reading programme using ...

URL: Capturing literacy learners: Evaluating a reading programme using ...
Yelland, N. (2010). Multiliteracies and learning in a new age. In J. Fletcher, F. Parkhill, & G. Gillon (Eds.). Motivating literacy learners in today's world (pp. 133-146). Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. ...

SOAPBOX: Be wary of charter schools - Marlborough Express

URL: SOAPBOX: Be wary of charter schools
Marlborough Express
New Zealand students' average achievement equals or exceeds that of students from other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in core areas such as reading, mathematics and science. Of the 57 countries taking part in ...

Reaching for education stardom - Gisborne Herald

URL: Reaching for education stardom
Gisborne Herald
National Standards and the newly announced Charter Schools have not lifted student achievement in other countries where they have been in practise for a number of years. In fact, in most cases achievement levels have fallen dramatically in these ...

Guest editorial: What about what students think - Wanganui Chronicle

URL: Guest editorial: What about what students think
Wanganui Chronicle
When we hear about any changes around the structure of our education system, be it National Standards, performance pay for teachers or charter schools, the public seems to very seldom hear from those who will be affected most by those very changes. ...

Principal-hiring review likely - The Southland Times

URL: Principal-hiring review likely
The Southland Times
The ministry has come under fire in the past year from teacher unions and schools, including several in Southland, critical of the National Standards policy introduced last year to schools with pupils between years one and eight. ...

Success and the common touch - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Success and the common touch
Otago Daily Times
Mrs Tolley clashed with teachers and boards over the introduction of National Standards, adopting a dogmatic and often confrontational stance which antagonised more often than it appeased. It is too soon to say how Ms Parata will fare but the immediate ...

Mixed school views on NCEA changes - Timaru Herald

URL: Mixed school views on NCEA changes
Timaru Herald
Timaru secondary schools have mixed reactions to changes to NCEA as part of the Ministry of Education's realignment project. The first crop of students to sit exams under the changes are nearing the end of the 2011 NCEA exams. Timaru Boys' High School ...

Sue Moroney calls for answers from Anne Tolley

URL: Sue Moroney calls for answers from Anne Tolley
Labour's education spokesperson Sue Moroney.

Anne Tolley accused of hiding truth about school adviser

URL: Anne Tolley accused of hiding truth about school adviser
The former Minister of Education is being accused of concealing the truth about an expert advisor to schools who has been struck off the teachers register for serious misconduct.

Teacher training needed for broadband - Radio New Zealand

URL: Teacher training needed for broadband
Radio New Zealand
To make full use of what the network offers, it says more teacher training and better technical support will be needed. The trust's chairperson, Laurence Millar, says with the extensive amount of information now instantly available, the teacher's role ...

Fonterra says free milk for Northland primary schools - New Zealand Herald


3News NZ
URL: Fonterra says free milk for Northland primary schools
New Zealand Herald
Fonterra partnered with Sanitarium in 2009 to provide free school breakfasts, and nearly half of decile one to four schools served meals to students up to twice a week in that programme. Under a scheme that ran from 1937 to 1967 half a pint of milk was ...

No funding for milk research - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: No funding for milk research
Otago Daily Times
The school milk programme will cover 110 schools and 14000 children and, if successful, it might be extended to a national programme by the start of 2013. Earlier this year, Prof Cox and Dr Mary Jane Sneyd, of the Hugh Adam Cancer Epidemiology Unit, ...

Line drawn from TV to dole - Stuff.co.nz


Stuff.co.nz
URL: Line drawn from TV to dole
Stuff.co.nz
It has been known for some time that increased television-watching is associated with lower educational achievement and lower attentiveness. The study of 1037 children born in Dunedin between 1972 and 1973 showed that of those who watched less than two ...

New Report on ICT in Schools: Schools need faster broadband

URL: New Report on ICT in Schools: Schools need faster broadband
A new report released today by the 2020 Communications Trust reveals that while most schools are ready and eagerly awaiting the roll-out of the government’s ultra-fast broadband initiative, principals believe they will need help in making full use of ...

Push for youth training - Wairarapa Times-Age

URL: Push for youth training
Wairarapa Times-Age
TRAINING: A young man welds a piece of farm machinery at the Otorohanga Trade Training Centre. The YMCA is proposing Masterton copy the successful Otorohanga zero youth waste programme to solve its youth unemployment problem. ...

Apology to missing school girl who wasn't noticed - New Zealand Herald

URL: Apology to missing school girl who wasn't noticed
New Zealand Herald
The kura says staff will be required to retrain in the appropriate Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) safety procedures. It is understood other schools are also reviewing their EOTC safety procedures in light of the Te Reinga incident. ...

Online students rewarded - Wanganui Chronicle

URL: Online students rewarded
Wanganui Chronicle
Most of the school's 4000 full-time primary and secondary students live in urban areas. Chris Scott, a former college principal and correspondence teacher, works from Gonville Cafe Library tutoring teens not enrolled in mainstream education. ...

Girls, 14, face charges over school bullying attack - New Zealand Herald

URL: Girls, 14, face charges over school bullying attack
New Zealand Herald
She was repeatedly punched by two girls at Flaxmere College in Hastings three weeks ago. The assault was filmed by another student on a cellphone. Adriana has been in and out of hospital for checks and scans since the attack. Her mother Moana Hawkins ...

Maori urged to forge building careers - The Press


The Press
URL: Maori urged to forge building careers
The Press
More than 200 Maori had been inducted into the He Toki training programme in the region, with 148 now in the classroom learning nine different trades. "I know from our community of Kaikoura, there's about nine of our kids on courses, ...

New school initiative praised - SunLive

URL: New school initiative praised
SunLive
Jason says parents should have the right to send their children to their local school and expect a quality, well-resourced public education. However, Alwyn says the comparison between charter schools and public schools is that charter schools allow the ...

A State School with a Difference - Indian Weekender


Indian Weekender
URL: A State School with a Difference
Indian Weekender
The school has Years 1 to 8 and full New Zealand curriculum is taught under the direction of the Ministry of Education. However, it is unique in several ways. While many schools may offer a second language to the pupils, Hare Krishna school must be the ...

Rotorua student success at national design awards - The Daily Post

URL: Rotorua student success at national design awards
The Daily Post
Six John Paul College students have taken out top individual placings in the National Young Designer Awards this year. In the senior evening wear category, students had to create show-stopping gowns for less than $100. Year 13 student Angela Liu took ...

Year 9 class shows up students - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Year 9 class shows up students
Otago Daily Times
But beating university film-making students can only be described as "wunderbar". A class of year 9 German language pupils at Columba College not only won the years 7-10 category of the 2011 German Short Film Contest, they won the best film award, ...

Discredited principal employed by ministry - New Zealand Herald


3News NZ
URL: Discredited principal employed by ministry
New Zealand Herald
In a decision issued last week, the Teachers' Council said Mr Mutu"favoured" certain students and would buy them presents, allow plagiarism and take them for rides in his car during school hours. He visited one 15-year-old student at her home when he ...

Dream job careers advising - Stuff.co.nz


Stuff.co.nz
URL: Dream job careers advising
Stuff.co.nz
Marlborough Boys' and Marlborough Girls' colleges are decile-seven schools, although their students come from all sectors of the community. If the call to give families more educational choice for their children brought a third school to Blenheim, ...

Friday, December 16, 2011

Eye research nets student $50k - Auckland stuff.co.nz

URL Eye research nets student $50k - Auckland stuff.co.nz:

Auckland stuff.co.nz


Auckland stuff.co.nz
Spectacles are often associated with brainpower - now an Auckland pupil is being rewarded for a science project proving the correlation. Nina Huang, 17, has won a $50000 scholarship for her research into short-sightedness, being awarded the Prime ...

The eyes have it for top science student - New Zealand Herald

URL  The eyes have it for top science student - New Zealand Herald:
New Zealand Herald
During non-cognitive tasks, such as reading a simple sentence, the pupils widened. The results were too scattered to be conclusive, Nina said, but they indicated future experiments, such as MRI brain scans and filming to obtain more-accurate pupil ...

Schools need help with ultra-fast broadband - report - Voxy

Schools need help with ultra-fast broadband - report - Voxy:
Voxy
School curriculum areas with the most computer and internet use are Computer Studies, English, Mathematics and Social Science. - Online education resources appear to have a relatively low level of usage by students; it is not clear whether this is due ...

Happy school's issues are over - Otago Daily Times

URL  Happy school's issues are over - Otago Daily Times:

Otago Daily Times
Otago Daily Times
Mr MacDonald was hired as a result of a damning report by the Educational Review Office (ERO) outlining "divisions in communication within the senior management structure". Appointed in May to work with the school's senior managers after an ERO review ...

Rethinking Pacific Education Symposium - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

URL  Rethinking Pacific Education Symposium - Scoop.co.nz (press release):
Scoop.co.nz (press release)
A regional symposium that brought together Pacific educators, researchers, scholars, leaders and emerging leaders to reflect on the past decade (2001 – 2011) of Pacific Education as well as to envision the future concluded at the University of the ...

New science qualifications will build primary teacher skills

New science qualifications will build primary teacher skills:
New graduate qualifications offered by distance learning at the Open Polytechnic will give primary school teachers the skills to inspire children to engage in the world of science.

Workers earn second chance at learning - Wanganui Chronicle

URL  Workers earn second chance at learning - Wanganui Chronicle:
Wanganui Chronicle
PHOTO/STUART MUNRO A group of workers at Axiam Plastics in Wanganui graduated from its Training For You workplace programme yesterday. The eight graduates were the third group from the company to graduate, achieving unit standards in literacy and ...

Hawkins and Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu Establish Partnership - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

URL   Hawkins and Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu Establish Partnership - Scoop.co.nz (press release):


Scoop.co.nz (press release)
“As well as identifying work opportunities, Hawkins will provide practical learning in the workplace for these trainees to support their work readiness. The benefit of this approach is that together we can widen the potential labour pool for the local ...

The new ministerial committee on poverty

The new ministerial committee on poverty: NIne to noon
The Deputy Prime Minister is chairing the new ministerial committee on poverty which is set out in the confidence and supply agreement National signed with the Maori Party.
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20111216-0908-the_new_ministerial_committee_on_poverty-048.mp3

Fonterra says free milk for Northland primary schools

URL Fonterra says free milk for Northland primary schools:
Fonterra today announced that a pilot "Milk for Kiwis" scheme would be trialled in Northland schools next year and if it was successful would be rolled out in schools across the country in 2013."Milk is an important...

Unique publication will 'create a stir' - Otago Daily Times

URL Unique publication will 'create a stir' - Otago Daily Times:

Otago Daily Times

Otago Daily Times
By Matthew Haggart on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 A special Maori-focused edition of the University of Otago's annual publication of research highlights will be sent to ethnic peoples around the world, as a leading example of academic partnerships with indigenous ...

Maori urged to take up building careers - Stuff.co.nz

URL : Maori urged to take up building careers - Stuff.co.nz:

Stuff.co.nz

Stuff.co.nz
JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Ngai Tahu chairman Mark Solomon says young iwi members are training to help in the Christchurch rebuild and move into careers in construction. Young Maori are being encouraged to forge careers in the building trades in the ...

Updated FFTO handbook now available ~ Tertiary Education ...

Updated FFTO handbook now available ~ Tertiary Education ...:
A revised edition of the Foundation Focused Training Opportunities (FFTO) Handbook is available on the TEC website. It is effective from 1 January 2012. ... to secondary content; Skip to footer. Tertiary Education Commission ...

Study: Most people still don't trust online info

Study: Most people still don't trust online info:
A new study has found that people are even more distrustful of the information they find online than ever before.

LinkedIn releases 'Top 10 Buzzwords' list

LinkedIn releases 'Top 10 Buzzwords' list:
Business networking site LinkedIn has released a list of the most overused buzzwords found on their user profiles. 

Govt industry training investment crucial: study - TVNZ




Stuff.co.
URL: Govt industry training investment crucial: study
TVNZ
A new study suggests New Zealand could lose up to $15 billion dollars annually if the Government withdraws its investment in industry training. The study by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) sets out to quantify the costs and benefits of ...


Thursday, December 15, 2011

We can't afford to let our kids lose - The Nelson Mail

URL: We can't afford to let our kids lose
The Nelson Mail
Cynics could believe that the implementation of National Standards has prepared the ground for performance pay in charter schools. Mr Banks and others of his political ilk promote the concept of parental choice as if it was the Holy Grail. ...

Big fish-hooks in educational vision | Otago Daily Times Online ...

URL: Big fish-hooks in educational vision | Otago Daily Times Online ...
Teachers and schools are very capable of manipulating academic results particularly under the current assessment regime of NCEA. This concern about the validity of results is why many primary schools are ... School administrators have long learned how to create a facade of documentation evidence of achievement to impress Education Review Office staff on their periodic visits. There is scope for major reform to improve teacher and school performances in New ...

Charter schools are like a mixed up chameleon

URL: Charter schools are like a mixed up chameleon
Prime Minister John Key has a lot to learn from the character in The Mixed-Up Chameleon says PPTA junior vice-president Doug Clark.

Deficiencies seen in charter schools plan - Otago Daily Times

URL: Deficiencies seen in charter schools plan
Otago Daily Times
The Government's proposal to introduce charter schools is nothing more than an opportunity for a school to "cherry-pick pupils and usher low-achieving students out the door", a teachers' leader says. ...

Making interactive learning possible - The Ashburton Guardian

URL: Making interactive learning possible
The Ashburton Guardian
The trial has been exploring the issues and opportunities involved in providing schools with online access to education content and services over a dedicated private network. Borough and Allenton joined the trial earlier in the year. Allenton School ...

english teachers and education-employment linkages for young people.

URL: english teachers and education-employment linkages for young people.
English in Aotearoa; 10/01/2011
(AN 69597938)
Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre

Our Ministers

URL: Our Ministers
The Ministry of Education is accountable to the Minister and Associate Ministers of Education and the Minister and Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment.

Making interactive learning possible - The Ashburton Guardian

URL: Making interactive learning possible
The Ashburton Guardian
The trial has been exploring the issues and opportunities involved in providing schools with online access to education content and services over a dedicated private network. Borough and Allenton joined the trial earlier in the year. Allenton School ...

Where’s the PABX?

URL: Where’s the PABX?
Visitors to Wanaka Primary School might wonder why the recently-built school made no provision for a PABX. It’s because the tech-savvy team opted for the new wave of telephony, where a computer replaces the telephone exchange. Principal Wendy Bamford ...

Education unlocks life - Manawatu Standard

URL: Education unlocks life
Manawatu Standard
The 48-year-old did not do well at school and was a 2nd year fifth former when she left. Miss Mischefski struggled with English and maths, but did not like the "baby work" she was given in the "special" class. "They only taught you to play pool and do ...

Sadness as school gates shut for good

URL: Sadness as school gates shut for good
As the gates closed on the final day at Parawera School the swimming pool was green with algae, the football fields covered in dandelions and the classrooms stood in eerie silence.

Fonterra poised to offer free milk in schools - Manawatu Standard


Stuff.co.nz
URL: Fonterra poised to offer free milk in schools
Manawatu Standard
GLORIOUS MILK: Free milk is coming back to New Zealand primary schools with dairy giant Fonterra poised to launch a peace offensive. Free milk is coming back to New Zealand primary schools with dairy giant Fonterra poised to launch a peace offensive. ...

Milk in schools

URL: Milk in schools
Fonterra is poised to announce an iniative to bring back free milk in schools.

Successful collaboration of tertiary institutes - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

URL: Successful collaboration of tertiary institutes
Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Two of Aoraki Polytechnic's Diploma in Business graduates are heading to Lincoln University next year, thanks to a collaborative partnership of the two institutes. Phillip Wood and Joanne Rooney are both enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce, ...

Workplace Bullying Research Wins Prestigious Award

URL: Workplace Bullying Research Wins Prestigious Award
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s Business Tutorial Assistant Michelle Allwright was recently awarded the “Best Early Career Refereed Submission” by the New Zealand Applied Business Education Forum.

Chisel attack boy's suspension extended - Stuff.co.nz

URL: Chisel attack boy's suspension extended
Stuff.co.nz
The board can either end the suspension, extend it or permanently exclude a pupil from school. The Education Ministry says the purpose of its "student engagement" regulations, which include suspensions, is to ensure pupils are afforded natural justice, ...

Hawkins partners with iwi organisation - guide2.co.nz

URL: Hawkins partners with iwi organisation
guide2.co.nz
The result is Hawkins' involvement with He Toki ki te Rika (He Toki), a collaborative Maori trade training initiative focused on building Maori capability and leadership within the trades workforce. He Toki partners are Te Rananga o Ngai Tahu, ...

Anger at phasing out of school dentists - TVNZ

URL: Anger at phasing out of school dentists
TVNZ
The school dental lab is being dismantled this week and in future it will share facilities with a number of other schools in the area. Principal Graeme Newall told TV ONE's Breakfast the change will impact on the health of the children. ...

Computer Society to launch schools outreach programme - Computerworld New Zealand

URL: Computer Society to launch schools outreach programme
Computerworld New Zealand
He says an email sent out to schools to gauge interest in the programme attracted around 400 replies from schools around the country. NZCS piloted the ICT-Connect school outreach programme a couple of years ago, but although the feedback was positive, ...

East Otago pupils stand out - Otago Daily Times

URL: East Otago pupils stand out
Otago Daily Times
Meanwhile, East Otago High School year 13 pupil and proxime accessit to the dux Hayley Keith is making a move from being a pupil to being a teacher. Starting on January 18, she will spend seven months at Nawaquvesi, a remote village on the north coast ...

Eco-schools on Simon's trip agenda - Marlborough Express

URL: Eco-schools on Simon's trip agenda
Marlborough Express
Renwick School principal Simon Heath says it "made my year" to learn he had been awarded a prestigious education fellowship. Mr Heath is one of four New Zealand principals awarded the Woolf Fisher Trust Fellowship. He will spend about 14 weeks next ...

school trustees resign en masse - Radio New Zealand


Otago Daily Times
URL: school trustees resign en masse
Radio New Zealand
The trustees of a Dunedin school have resigned en masse as it deals with an employment matter with the principal. A limited statutory manager was appointed to Rotary Park School in Waverley in June after the Education Review Office found relationships ...

Workplace Bullying Research Wins Prestigious Award - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

URL: Workplace Bullying Research Wins Prestigious Award
Scoop.co.nz (press release)
I also enjoy learning through research.” Michelle's research on' Kiwi Managers Contribution to Workplace Bullying' revealed that New Zealand managers either dismiss workplace bullying as “tough management”, turn a blind eye because “it's too hard to ...

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Big fish-hooks in educational vision - Otago Daily Times


Otago Daily Times
URL: Big fish-hooks in educational vision
Otago Daily Times
Peter Lyons argues that, while there is much scope for innovative public policy to improve teacher and school performance, charter schools are not the way to go. The concept of charter schools is a radical yet unheralded change to our education system. ...

Charter schools

URL: Charter schools
Alwyn Poole is the academic manager of Mt Hobson Middle School and an advocate of charter schooling.

Good public education is at risk - The Dominion Post


The Dominion Post
URL: Good public education is at risk
The Dominion Post
The attack focuses on giving grants to the school instead of those students most in need, and on corporate control of the curriculum. The social experiment will be conducted in schools in South Auckland, where the popular myth is that schools are ...

Let's talk about real choices for children - The Dominion Post

URL: Let's talk about real choices for children
The Dominion Post
Religious groups will be rubbing their hands with glee - there's no pesky state curriculum or National Standards to adhere to. Ms Tolley should rename them National Double Standards. So what will charter schools be like? Although our no-growth economy ...

Kura kaupapa Maori happy with new Education Minister

URL: Kura kaupapa Maori happy with new Education Minister
Kura kaupapa Maori are delighted with the elevation of Hekia Parata to the post of Education Minister.

Advocates have cautious hopes of Hekia's double portfolio

URL: Advocates have cautious hopes of Hekia's double portfolio
Pacific community leaders and educators are giving a cautious welcome to Hekia Parata as the new Minister of Pacific Island Affairs. Their disappointment that a Pacific MP didn't get the job is tempered by hopes that Ms Parata's double duty as education minister will help to boost Pacific educational achievement.

Alora's long-held dream comes true - Marlborough Express


Marlborough Express
URL: Alora's long-held dream comes true
Marlborough Express
Queen Charlotte College head girl Alora Johnson has dreamed of being dux of the college for eight years. Last Thursday night, that dream finally became a reality. "It felt better than I ever imagined," Alora said after being awarded the top academic ...

New mines training facility announced - MSN NZ News

URL: New mines training facility announced
MSN NZ News
A West Coast trust will donate $1 million to a new mine training facility, following the Pike River mine tragedy which claimed the lives of 29 men. Development West Coast's (DWC) donation, made to the Pike River Distribution Fund following the mining ...