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Reflecting on grief, love and hope with Aya and the Butterfly storybook
8/8/2021
Aya and the Butterfly is a new picture book to help children come to terms with grief, cope with change, and build resilience. An online version is now available to early childhood and primary school aged children across Aotearoa New Zealand.
The book is written by Dr Maysoon Salama who lost her beloved son, Atta, in the mosque attacks. Dr Salama said she wrote this story for her granddaughter (Aya) and for other children dealing with loss and trauma.
"Aya’s father’s death is implied, but this is not the story’s focus, and children do not need to know how it happened. They do need to know that sometimes we have to say goodbye to the people and the things we love the most. In the face of such overwhelming loss, we must allow ourselves to remember and feel sad, but we must also learn to let go and keep going. There is hope," says Dr Salama.
Aya and the Butterfly is part of a four-book series designed to support, reflect, and celebrate the Muslim community in Aotearoa New Zealand. It has been developed with the Islamic Women’s Council and published by the Ministry of Education through Lift Education.
"The book joins part of a growing collection of learning resources that reflect the diverse culture and perspectives of children and young people across Aotearoa New Zealand," says Ministry of Education Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement, Ellen MacGregor-Reid.
"The book is accompanied by a teaching guide to assist with conversations with learners around the topics of grief and loss, and the cycle of life in general. We thank Dr Salama for trusting us with her story and enabling us to share it widely to all learners."
The online book can be downloaded for free from NZC Online | Ā Mātou Kōrero – Our Stories. It will be available in English and Arabic.
Print copies of the book will be delivered to early learning services and schools during term four 2021.
Refreshing our national curriculum for schooling
15/2/2021
The national curriculum for schooling will be refreshed over the next five years to ensure it is more clear, more relevant and easier to use.
The curriculum refresh was announced by Associate Ministers of Education, Jan Tinetti and Kelvin Davis.
Find out more about the refresh of the national curriculum for schooling
In September 2019 the Minister of Education, the Hon Chris Hipkins, announced the need to refresh the national schooling curriculum to ensure it remains fit for purpose and clear about the most important learning that can’t be left to chance.
Since then the Ministry has been working with people from the education sector and wider communities to really understand how to make the improvements needed for students to succeed now and in the future.
An example of what the refreshed content could look like is the draft curriculum content for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and Te Takanga o Te Wā, which is open for public feedback:
NEW – Leading Local Curriculum Guide: Aotearoa New Zealand's histories
5/2/2021
This guide complements the Leading Local Curriculum Guide series.
It is the first in a series of two guides designed to support primary, intermediate, and secondary school leaders to understand and plan for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories within social sciences.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories
3/2/2021
From 2022, Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories will be taught in all schools and kura.
Find out about the development of the draft curriculum content, download the curriculum content, and give feedback at Education.Govt.NZ – Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in our national curriculum.
Professional support for early literacy coming in 2021
2/2/2021
Professional support will be available in 2021 and 2022 for literacy specialists and Years 1 to 3 teachers, with an initial focus on new entrant and Year 1 teachers.
The Better Start Literacy Approach | Te Ara Reo Matatini (BSLA) professional support will be delivered by the University of Canterbury during terms one and two 2021. The BSLA is an integrated approach to developing vocabulary, oral, listening, spelling, writing and reading skills in the first year of learning, utilising the Ready to Read Phonics Plus texts. It focuses on the link between spoken and written language, systematically supporting children’s phonological and phonic awareness, letter-sound knowledge and oral language.
Applications are open now for schools, Kāhui Ako and clusters to apply for professional support for new entrant and Year 1 teachers, along with a nominated literacy specialist, through the PLD website. Literacy specialists include RTLits, Kāhui AKo Cross-community Leads, School Literacy Leads, Learning Support Coordinators and RTLBs with a strong literacy background.
Attached is a presentation that has recently been provided to the sector. This presentation provides information about the early literacy approach and, in particular, the professional support currently provided for schools; the Better Start Literacy Approach. The presentation outlines the nature of this professional support and how to access it.
More information will be published in the Education Gazette and the Bulletin for School Leaders early in 2021.
Early Literacy Approach
(PowerPoint 2007 4 MB)
digitalpasifik.org
2/12/2020
This site is a key part of the Pacific Virtual Museum pilot project, implemented by the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga in collaboration with the National Library of Australia, and funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia. This pilot will run until February 2022.
It aims to empower people in and of the Pacific Islands, enabling them to explore, discover and view thousands of items held in museums, libraries, galleries, and collections around the world and to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures of the Pacific. It includes images, objects, video, audio, text, and maps.
VLN Primary School – Registrations invited for online programmes for 2021
16/11/2020
All NZ children are welcome to learn with the VLN Primary – Nau Mai, Haere Mai!
Extend curriculum choices for your learners and increase your school's confidence and capability in online and distance learning.
A wide range of programmes are available including:
- Languages and culture
- Digital Technology
- Gifted and Talented
- Creative Arts
- Science and Maths
- Literacy
Students may participate from school or home, independently, in small groups, or with their teachers in a whole class situation.
- Find out more and register your interest online
- Email: primary@vln.school.nz with queries
New Inclusive Education guide – Collaborative planning for learning
2/11/2020
This new Inclusive Education guide provides strategies for how tumuaki and kaiako can build genuine learning-focussed partnerships with ākonga and whānau.
Three areas of collaborative planning are addressed in the guide: learning environment or classroom planning, individual or group plans, and cluster-wide planning.
Each area is interconnected to the other and each requires multiple voices to guide the inclusive design.
Science Learning Hub resources: Our atmosphere and climate
26/10/2020
This section of the Science Learning Hub introduces a collection of resources - articles, interactives, activities, and videos - that accompany the Ministry for the Environment & Stats NZ 's report 'Our atmosphere & climate 2020'
These resources have a focus on science and communicating the issues New Zealand faces due to the uncertainty of a changing climate.
An interactive planner groups Hub resources into key science and teaching concepts and suggests ways in which climate change can be broken down into smaller, more manageable themes or investigations.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum content and a refreshed Social Sciences Online
9/10/2020
The Ministry of Education is partnering with a wide range of people to design Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum content. See education.govt.nz for more information.
As part of the support for the curriculum, Social Sciences Online has a refreshed design and a section on Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories resources, where you can discover some of the inspiring resources already available. Keep an eye on Social Sciences Online for more information and resources.