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He Pitopito Kōrero
Update - 7 June 2022

07 June 2022
Home
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he pitopito kōrero

He Pitopito Kōrero

Update - 7 June 2022
FOREWORD

Tēnā koe i tēnei ahiahi,

I hope you all enjoyed a restful long weekend. It was great to see so many people recognised through the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to education (and often to the community too). Congratulations to every one of you who have earned that recognition.

Queen’s birthday would usually mark the last break before a long stretch without a public holiday, but this year we have the inaugural Matariki public holiday.

This holiday will recognise the rise of Matariki (and also Puanga, which is celebrated by several iwi). This indigenous celebration of the new year will be celebrated Friday 24 June. Resources to integrate Matariki and Puanga into teaching and learning can be found on Kauwhata Reo, details below.

On a different note, I want to acknowledge the passing of Shona Macaskill. Though she won’t be familiar to many, Shona was a first-class teacher, principal, mentor, Ministry of Education policy advisor, advocate for women in education and an overseas volunteer.

Have a great short week,
Iona

Internet connections extended

All learner households currently connected through the Ministry will continue to have free internet access until the end of the school year.

Services will remain connected until 15 January 2023 to provide time for potential transition to another service.

Provided as part of the COVID-19 support plan, these connections were due to expire at the end of this month.

The extension will help you continue to provide distance learning support and enable learners in these homes to remain engaged during periods of public health restrictions or self-isolation.

Please pass this message on to learners and whānau that are currently using this service. In the coming weeks, they will also receive a letter sent to the household address about the extension.

The Equitable Digital Access team has funding available to offer internet connectivity to additional households that are not connected up to 15 January. If you know anyone in your school community that needs assistance with internet connectivity, please get in touch by Wednesday 31 August.

If you have any queries, please contact the Equitable Digital Access helpdesk at EDA@education.govt.nz or 0800 783 744.

Reflections on navigating COVID-19: Part 3

Erika Ross and Steve Lindsey have talked to more principals about their experiences with leading their school communities through the pandemic.

Hobsonville Point Secondary School: Maintaining what is important

Kadimah School: Reaching out to the community

Papatoetoe High School: Familiar faces

Find the series so far on Te Mahau website.

Navigating Covid-19: School leaders reflect – Te Mahau

Second COVID-19 vaccine booster for higher-risk people

We know there is a high level of interest in when the second vaccine booster for those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 will be available.

We will share information about accessing the second booster when it has been confirmed with the Ministry of Health.

COVID-19 boosters – Ministry of Health

Proposed pay equity settlement for school administration support staff

We’re pleased to announce that, together with NZEI Te Riu Roa, we have reached a proposed agreement to settle the pay equity claim for school administration support staff.

Employees covered by this claim now have the opportunity to consider the proposed settlement and vote on whether to approve it. If approved by covered employees, the settlement would see more than 11,000 school administration support staff – mostly women – being fairly valued for the work they do and paid the same as people working in male-dominated roles of equal value.

Subject to the settlement being endorsed by covered employees, we will provide ongoing funding to schools and kura to cover the increased cost of the school administration support staff settlement.

We are currently working through the kaiārahi i te reo pay equity claim and hope to provide more information on an outcome soon.

Next steps

Details of the proposed settlement will be widely communicated by NZEI Te Riu Roa to all school administration support staff covered by the claim before those employees vote on the proposed settlement later in June.

NZEI Te Riu Roa will be running a series of webinars from 21-23 June to run through the details of the proposed settlement and answer any questions. School administration support staff can register for these on the NZEI Te Riu Roa website.

Pay equity for school administrators – NZEI Te Riu Roa

Subject to the proposed settlement being endorsed, we will – with NZEI Te Riu Roa and NZSTA – be releasing guidance for schools and kura to help them understand the changes resulting from the settlement and how they impact them at a school level.

More information about the school administration support staff claim can be found on our website.

Administration support staff in schools pay equity claim – Ministry of Education

Donation scheme eligibility under the Equity Index

As you know, as part of Budget 2022 the Government announced that we will introduce the Equity Index from 1 January 2023.

The Equity Index will impact eligibility for a number of funding initiatives, including the school donations scheme. We expect to provide more information including the new eligibility threshold in the coming months.

However, for the 2023 year, all schools and kura who are currently eligible and still wish to be part of the school donations scheme should opt in as normal as part of their 1 July roll return.

We'll provide a late opt-in process for schools and kura whose eligibility will change so that you have time to consult with your community about joining the donations scheme. Further information will be provided to newly eligible schools and kura in July 2022.

For more information on the donations scheme please see our website.

Fees, charges and donations – Ministry of Education

Donations scheme FAQs – Ministry of Education

We’ll provide further information about how the Equity Index changes will impact other funding initiatives over the coming months.

Deadline for information for the Carbon Neutral Government Programme

As noted in our bulletin last week, the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) aims to make selected government organisations carbon neutral by 2025.

As part of this, organisations are required to measure and report emissions annually.

We have now sent out an email to state school boards asking that you:

  • give us approval to collect necessary information on your behalf
  • send a short one-off energy survey to someone from your school to complete.

This needs to be completed by Thursday 30 June.

Further information

We will be following up with schools throughout June to see if they need support.

If you have any other questions, email CNGP.schools@education.govt.nz.

For more information and to learn how to complete the energy stocktake, see our website.

Carbon Neutral Government Programme in schools – Ministry of Education

Carbon Neutral Government Programme – School Bulletin 31 May

Operational funding notification

The Quarter 3 2022 operational funding entitlement and instalment notices will be available via the Secure Data Portal on Wednesday 29 June.

While schools’ funding entitlements are being prepared, staffing entitlement notices will not be updated on the Secure Data Portal during the period 13 June to 29 June.

Visit our website for more information and instructions on how to access the Secure Data Portal.

Secure Data Portal – Applications & Online Systems

Mānawatia a Matariki: Celebrating Matariki

Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki   Celebrate the rising of Matariki
Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi   Celebrate the rising of the lord of the heavens
Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau Celebrate the rising of the new year
   
Matariki hunga nui    Matariki, a time to come together
Matariki ahunga nui Matariki, a time of bounty
Matariki manako nui Matariki, a time of aspiration

Across the country, communities are getting excited about the first ever celebration of Matariki as a public holiday. To mark the occasion, we have created a range of teaching and learning resources that support learning about Matariki, including Puanga. Development of these resources was undertaken with the support of Dr Rangi Mātāmua.

As noted earlier, some iwi name this time of year Puanga because they’re not able to see Matariki clearly from their locality. They look to the next important star near Matariki – Puanga

Matariki can be a gateway into authentic indigenous learning. And while Matariki, including Puanga, may be celebrated around this time of year, the new learning resources have been designed with year-round learning in mind.

Find information below about the Matariki and Puanga resources, as well as a number of other different places you’ll find information and activities for learning about Matariki.

The latest Education Gazette also shares information about Matariki and Puanga and how schools and kura around Aotearoa have observed it and taken the time to share kai and connect with whānau and their wider communities.

Issue 7 2022 – Education Gazette

Te Mātahi o te Tau on Kauwhata Reo

Matariki, including Puanga, has traditionally been celebrated with several important themes. These themes have guided the creation of our learning resources.

These themes are:

  • reflection: remembering loved ones who have passed on, especially within the past lunar year
  • celebration: celebrating the bounty and blessings of the present
  • aspiration: setting aspirations to ensure that that bounty can continue long into the future with a focus on environmental protection and regeneration.

The full suite of resources includes waiata, pao, videos, ebooks, ākonga worksheets, activity cards, kaiako guidance, and aromatawai that are relevant from early learning to secondary schooling in both Māori-medium and English-medium education.

Find the suite of Matariki teaching and learning resources on the new Matariki landing page ‘Te Mātahi o te Tau’ located on Kauwhata Reo.

Te Mātahi o te Tau Matariki Ahunga Nui – Kauwhata Reo

Other resources

There are a range of other great resources you can also draw from.

Matariki official website

The official Matariki website has information and resources featuring the official Matariki public holiday logo.

Mānawatia a Matariki – Matariki

Te Papa

Te Papa has information, videos and teacher resources about the history of Matariki on their website.

You’ll also find an outline of the difference between Matariki and Puanga, and which iwi celebrate Puanga.

Matariki: The Māori new year – Te Papa

The difference between Puanga and Matariki – Te Papa

Living by the Stars

Information and videos about Matariki from Professor Rangi Mātāmua (Tūhoe), a pioneering Māori scholar who has revolutionised understandings of Māori astronomy.

Matariki – Living by the Stars

Museums Wellington

Information about Matariki

Matariki: The stars and their story – Museums Wellington

Events

Stuff has a guide to the different family-friendly events taking place around Aotearoa.

What's happening around Aotearoa for Matariki in 2022 – Stuff

Opening soon: Creatives in Schools Round 4

Applications for Round 4 of Creatives in Schools will open in mid-June 2022.

Along with a partner artist (or artists), your school can apply for up to $17,000 for a creative project that will be implemented in 2023.

Creatives in Schools – Te Kete Ipurangi

If you need support with your application email our Creatives in Schools regional coordinators: cisregionalsupport@core-ed.ac.nz.

For questions about the programme email: creativesinschools@education.govt.nz.

New report on the impacts of cohort entry

The Education Review Office (ERO) has released a new report examining the impact of cohort entry on new entrant children and their peers, whānau, schools, and early learning services.

Starting school together: What do we know about cohort entry? – ERO

The ‘Starting school together’ report finds that cohort entry can:

  • help with new entrants’ successful transition to school
  • have a positive impact on peers
  • help whānau connect with the school
  • help schools plan for transition and give teachers more time to teach.

Although cohort entry has a range of benefits, it may not work for all schools. Alongside this report, ERO has released a guide for schools considering cohort entry.

A guide for school leaders considering cohort entry – ERO

You can read more about cohort entry, including the process that must be followed to change your school’s entry policy, on our website.

Cohort entry information for schools – Ministry of Education

Upcoming Microsoft webinars

Microsoft are providing the following free training to teachers and IT managers.

Finding your way with cybersecurity frameworks

‘Finding your way with cybersecurity frameworks’ is happening tomorrow 8 June from 10am to 11am.

This webinar will help your school understand industry-endorsed cybersecurity frameworks and when to recommended controls to improve your cyber resilience.

Register for ‘Finding your way with cybersecurity frameworks’ – Microsoft

Staying connected with Microsoft Teams and Office 365

This webinar is happening next Tuesday 14 June from 3.30 to 4.30pm.

Register for ‘Staying connected with Microsoft Teams and Office 365’ – Microsoft

Inclusive classroom with special education and online learning

This webinar is happening Tuesday 21 June from 3.30pm to 4.30pm.

Register for ‘Inclusive classroom’ – Microsoft

Digital tool design competition for students

We’re inviting students across Aotearoa in Years 7 to 13 to help us design a digital tool that will be used to collect, measure and share wellbeing information.

Wellbeing tool competition – Ministry of Education

Students will work as a team and great prizes are available at team and school level!

What’s required

This is a conceptual design competition based on design thinking and is aimed at creative students in any subject area who wish to think through a brief and design a solution.

The competition is open now and entries must be submitted by Friday 30 September. Entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts.

For more information visit our website or email the project team: swm.competition@education.govt.nz.

 

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