Ministry of Education New Zealand

Getting a driver’s licence can open a world of opportunities, as discovered by nine Tamatea High School students. From driving emergency vehicles to piloting planes, ākonga explored the importance of licensing in various fields.

You know you're in New Zealand when ... you see native birds painted on our schools! Check out this beautiful new mural at Matatoki School, painted by local Thames artist Kylie Gunn and funded through the Thames-Coromandel Creative Communities Scheme.

A MIGHTY MILESTONE 🚌 Did you know we've had school buses for 100 years in Aotearoa New Zealand? Here's a photo from a recent event at Piopio College with a replica 1924 Model T Ford bus, which was used back when school buses first started in April 1924! 🌟 To read more about the anniversary event, check out https://lnkd.in/g7bHchtn

CHANGE TO IMMIGRATION GREEN LIST 🌟 Today the Government announced secondary school teachers from overseas will move to the “Straight to Residence” pathway under Immigration’s Green List. This is intended to address the pressure on teacher supply in secondary schools. The change will come into effect in May 2024. There is no change to immigration settings for other teacher roles, which remain on the “Work to Residence” pathway. ➡️ More information is available here: https://lnkd.in/gz72N2pz

THERAPISTS’ PAY EQUITY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ⚖️ Yesterday at the offices of NZEI Te Riu Roa, a signing ceremony was held for the settlement of the Therapists’ pay equity claim. This is the seventh pay equity claim settled in the education sector since 2018. Learn more about the settlement: https://bit.ly/3TBFtUG Photo: Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted, and NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary, Stephanie Mills, signing the settlement agreement.

WATCH LIVE 🎬 The 2024 Ngarimu Award Ceremony will be livestreamed on Friday 22 March, 11am-3pm from C Company Memorial House in Gisborne. The awards presented at this year’s ceremony include one doctoral, four Masters, four undergraduate, two vocational education and training, two video competition awards, and the prestigious Manakura award. To find out more about the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships, head to our website: https://bit.ly/3vbTCbD This page will also be updated with the livestream link closer to the time.

CALLING ALL EDUCATORS 🏫 Take part in our research and shape the future of teacher recruitment! We're conducting a survey to learn what makes people want to become teachers and what makes them stay in the profession. The info we gather will be used to encourage more people into teaching and teacher training. We're seeking participants to express their views in either: ⭐ 1 hour interviews ⭐ 2 hour group workshops If you'd like to participate, please register your interest at https://bit.ly/42K2dop

SCHOOLS DOING COOL STUFF 🌱 KETE is the adopted name of the Kids Enhancing Tawa Ecosystems, a unique environmental education programme involving eight schools (primary, intermediate and secondary) in the Wellington region. Tawa College principal, Murray Lucas says, the concept for KETE began in 2021 by the then Wellington City Council education lead Elspeth McMillan, as a response to observed climate anxiety in rangatahi (teenagers). In conjunction with local charitable trust Growing Places, KETE began a collaborative community project which was allocated an area at the top of Takapū Valley, owned by Transpower New Zealand and the Department of Conservation (DOC). More than 1,500 students, 10 community and stakeholder organisations and over 800 community volunteer and whānau support hours have contributed to the planting project. As a result, more than 12,000 trees have been planted over two years. A love of animals inspired Alex, 9, to apply to be a KETE student leader, saying, “I want to make sure we keep the environment clean for them. Planting native trees and flax at school and at the top of Takapū Valley was really fun.” Read the full Education Gazette article: https://bit.ly/3w7JO8E

SLEEP WELL 💤 Did you know ... sleep is an important part of the learning puzzle? Students and teachers at Broadgreen Intermediate School in Nelson are discovering how much a lack of sleep affects their lives and learning outcomes through a new programme they are helping to develop with technology and internet safety expert John Parsons. John says that sleep deprivation affects four key domains of wellbeing: movement, food, sleep and learning levels. “I was working with a family with a seven-year-old child who went to bed at 8.30pm and lights were turned off at 10.30pm. From 8.30 to 10.30pm the child is on his device – it’s very common, by the way." “The hippocampus has two primary functions – to receive information and then deposit it in long-term memory. When this child goes to bed at night, without enough sleep, there’s only half the time for the information to get into long-term memory. The next day he cannot recall what he has learned because it’s not in his brain,” he says. Once the child’s sleep patterns returned to 12 hours a day, his energy levels returned, he was eating better food, learning levels came back up and extra maths coaching was no longer required. WHAT STUDENTS SAID: 'Tell me one key thing you have learned about sleep?' 🏉 When I get more sleep, I’m going to be better at rugby because sleep helps my body to recover. 😊 Sleep is good for my skin. 🕵️ Sleep is really helpful for me to stay focused, because at kura I muck around a bit and maybe it’s because I’m tired.  Read the full Education Gazette article: https://bit.ly/4901ce2

EMISSIONS REDUCTION IN SCHOOLS AND KURA 🌱 Want to know what we're doing to support climate change action? The Ministry's first emissions inventory (Te Tahuhu Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for the FY22/23) is now available on our website, and provides an overview of the carbon footprint left by schools and kura: https://bit.ly/49BxRq7 We are looking to utilise data and technology to understand our environment, our impact, our options and empower our ākonga with the skills they need to participate in and shape the shift to a low carbon economy.   Our highest emitting activities annually are: 1. Transport 2. Construction 3. Food 4. Energy.   Our next step is to explore and test – alongside Boards, principals, kaiako, ākonga and their communities – different initiatives across our largest emissions sources, to understand where the biggest impact over the short, medium, and long term can be achieved. We’re looking at:  ✅ Active and multi-modal transport to and from school. ✅ When and why we build or expand schools, looking for opportunities to build less, build smarter, heat, and operate our buildings more efficiently, extend the life of our buildings where possible and repurpose them at the end of their life. ✅ Understanding our food choices and working with our schools and suppliers to find lower carbon pathways to both produce and deliver food to our schools. ✅ Giving students the opportunity to participate in recording emissions and tracking emissions reductions for their school to understand the choices and challenges of what we emit and why and to explore locally relevant opportunities for change.   Find out more about how we're planning to reduce emissions (and see a larger version of the pictured graphic) on our website: https://bit.ly/49BxRq7