Stepping Up As A Parent
A recent speech by a Dunedin Principal, which challenged parents to “step up” in their parenting and not leave so much for schools to do, met with much support and media attention. The Principal of Kings High School, Dunedin, said that it was unreasonable for parents to expect schools to [...]
Congratulations to Schools and Individuals
Sacred Heart School, North East Valley, Dunedin: Won the primary school section of the national “Keep New Zealand Beautiful” Wall Worthy Mural competition. Middleton Grange School, Christchurch: Tournament of Minds team Michael Phillips, Mackenzie Hoskins, Emily Coleman, Emma Gree, Trinity Chevelle, Bethany Connor and Madeleine Bakker placed 2nd in the [...]
School News Update
2018 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards The Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards are now open. There are four awards categories: Excellence in Engaging, Excellence in Leading, Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Excellence in Governing. Plus, this year’s Focus Prize celebrates outstanding inclusive practices that enable all children and [...]
Policy Update
Education Act Update Boards are reminded that there are changes to statutory interventions, cohort entry, compulsory attendance, arrangements for off-site locations, changes to consultation and physical restraint. A summary document is available on request from NZCEO. Guidance for Proprietors around Complying with S427 and S457 of the Education [...]
Welcome to our new site!
Haere mai! Things are looking a little different around here! We are delighted to share our updated website. We hope it reflects the diversity, passion and brightness found in our schools every day. This process has been under way for some time. It started in March when we sent out [...]
NZCEO’s New Principals Programme
In 2016 the Ministry of Education ended their First Time Principals programme, changing it into a mentoring programme. NZCEO stepped in to begin a New Principals Programme in early 2017 for new Principals in our Catholic schools. This programme complements the diocesan and regional Ministry support by providing specific information [...]
Policy Update
Updated Documentation as a Result of the Replacement of the PSCI Act Review and updating of documents containing references to Part 33 of the Education Act 1989, which has subsumed the material in the PSCI Act, is almost complete. Information will be provided as soon as possible. New TCI Qualifications [...]
School News Update
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand - State of the Environment The latest State of the Environment for Oceania 2017 Report: Turning the Tide, was released by Caritas on St Francis Day, Wednesday 4 October. http://www.caritas.org.nz/state-environment. We congratulate Caritas on this important report. It is very worth reading and using with [...]
Congratulations to Schools and Individuals
Otago, Southland Regions: Roncalli College, Timaru: Caitlin Bradley won the senior category of the Caritas SINGout4JUSTICE song writing competition with her song ‘Stronger Together.’ Kavanagh College, Dunedin: Tobias Devereux recently won the University of Otago Junior Maths competition in which he achieved an almost perfect score. Tobias also gained High [...]
The Cry of the Poor
“The Lord hears the cry of the poor, blessed be the poor.” I heard this antiphon at mass recently and it continued to resonate throughout the following week. If we are his hands how are we hearing the cry of the poor? It occurred to me that if we were [...]
Special Character Celebrated At Marian College
From Staff at Marian College, Christchurch (C)DUDA-DERWAHL.DE The Catholic Special Character at Marian College in Christchurch is a daily enrichment of activities and learning, inspired by two remarkable women of faith – our charism of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Catherine McAuley. The college is thriving [...]
St Joseph’s School and Their Very Special Faith Community
Lorraine Melloy, Deputy Principal, St Joseph’s School, Hastings St. Joseph’s School in Hastings is, to all intents and purposes a traditional Catholic School. The exterior is much as it would have been in the days of Tenison College, and the buildings retain the beauty and charm of buildings from the [...]
Uni Lasalle: Tertiary Students Return to Assist Lasallian Schools
Denis Tutake, Former Campus Minister and Peter Autagavaia, Vice President Uni Lasalle Uni Lasalle is a group of former Lasallian students attending tertiary institutes in Auckland who aim to re-ignite and live by the Lasallian values of Faith, Service and Community at the tertiary level. The Lasallian charism is commonly [...]
Challenging the Secular/Humanist Path
Colin McLeod, Director NCRS Don’t be frightened of teaching young people our Catholic message, because if we don’t answer their deep questions you can be sure that others will. One of the particularly challenging aspects of living in the digital age is that there are such strong voices for choosing [...]
Curriculum at St Teresa’s Karori
Mary-Angela Tombs, Principal At St Teresa's School Karori, Wellington we set about designing a vibrant and responsive curriculum that explicitly communicates what we are about as a Catholic school. Our driving force was our belief that: our Catholic Character, through our school's Mission, Vision and Gospel Values, must motivate [...]
School and Parish – Evangelisation Initiatives
Here are some of the initiatives being put in place by schools round the country. Life in the school also means life in the parish, so whānau new to the school are welcomed at the next school/parish Mass by the whole faith community, parish priest and principal. They are presented [...]
Excellence as a Value, as Used By St Teresa’s School Karori, Wellington
Mary-Angela Tombs, Principal We talk about excellence as being the best you can be, as Jesus was, for example below: excellence is not about getting everything right - it's about making mistakes and learning from them, and being fully present in the moment - Peter's attempts to walk [...]
Our ‘New’ Pedagogy – as it relates to Religious Education at Our Lady of Kāpiti School
Martin Elms Principal, Maria Higgison Deputy Principal Pedagogy, the method and practice of teaching, is always evolving. Currently the trend is towards modern or innovative learning practices, in open, multi-use teaching spaces. The truth is, that the staff at Our Lady of Kāpiti School have been implementing modern learning practices [...]
Sporting Congratulations
Integrated Schools’ Sporting Achievements August 2017 Pompallier Catholic College, Whangarei: D’Artagnan Gould has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 10th World Karate Federation Youth Cup in Croatia. Ciara Smith was selected by the New Zealand Olympic Committee into the NZ Youth Commonwealth Team to compete in swimming at [...]
Policy Update
Reminder to Boards of Trustees about GovTalks NZSTA has a Govtalks website dedicated to useful videos for school Boards of Trustees. Board members are encouraged to visit the site. Click here for more information http://www.govtalks.co.nz/leadership?videopage=2 “Tagged” Positions in Integrated Schools Proprietors, Boards of Trustees and Principals are reminded that S65 and S66 [...]
School News Update
A Recent Book for Parents New Zealand Secondary Schools and Your Child, a Guide for Parents by Bali Haque, a leading New Zealand educator, has just been published by Bateman Press, and is available in bookshops. It is a sensible and clear guide, and is worth drawing to the [...]
Congratulations to Schools and Individuals
Otago, Southland Regions: Holy Family School, Wanaka: See Nat Warburton’s interview on Seven Sharp www.facebook.com/sevensharp/videos/10155577618537268/ Kavanagh College, Dunedin: Kieran Kelly won first prize in the NEWZATS Cleveland Junior Award for Musical Theatre and Contemporary Solo Singing. Deputy Head Boy Niko Cockerill represented Dunedin as an 'Aspiring Leader' at a [...]
Recent Publications from ERO
Year 9 Plus 2016 – the first year (Year 9), is a report on this initiative to improve the chances of educational success of one cohort of students. http://www.ero.govt.nz/publications/year-9-plus-2016-the-first-year-year-9/ Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity in NZ Schools and Early Learning Services. http://www.ero.govt.nz/publications/food-nutrition-and-physical-activity-in-nz-schools-and-early-learning-services School trustees booklet: helping you ask the right [...]
Connecting with Millennials
In her book, It’s About Learning, Louise Stoll tells the story of a parent who laments the change in the pedagogy associated with spelling. She complains to her child’s teacher and says, “Why can’t we learn to spell the way I did by using rote learning?” The teacher looks at the [...]
Taonga
As a young person I was raised by parents who saw it as their right and duty to define the beliefs and values that we would take into our adult life. On this basis they chose our religion and they made it clear what our politics should be. They believed [...]