Learning Auckland Issue 2, 2014

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STUDENT VOICE.

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Learning Auckland, established 2012 Issue 2, June 2014

Publisher Education Today Limited PO Box 22321, Wellington 6441 New Zealand www.educationtoday.co.nz ISSN 1175 9240 Advertising For rate card, media specs and general enquiries phone 04 499 9180 email production@educationtoday.co.nz

01 adding the edge to education 05 words have life 06 gender in the blender 07 getting out of your own way 08 creating an e-learning community 09 westie goes south 10 making life add up 11 comic cuts 23 vietkids 24 lest we forget 26 opera bought to life 27 winning shelter 28 book reviews

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Cover Our cover art is by Gabby Westerlund, a Year 13 learner at Alfriston College in Manurewa.

Gabby has been creating original comics for the last three years as part of the school’s comic creation project, run by deputy principal Steve Saville. See his profile on page 12.

Learning Auckland is produced by Education Today to tie in with the Learning Auckland Accord, Whakakotahitanga te Ara Mātauranga, as part of a wide range of collaborators working together for a shared goal.

Education Today and Learning Auckland are independently owned and promote creative, stimulating thoughts and ideas for the benefit of students and educators.

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Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the writers.

EDUCATION TODAY

editorial - June 2014

More than a voice

THE EDUCATION MAGAZINE OF THE FUTURE

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here’s a lot of talk these days about ‘student If those views are not then able to influence voice’. decision making at a class, team or school level People are a bit vague about what that means and there is no action, then the whole exercise – for some people it is about asking students to is nothing more than posturing and a waste of express their opinions, or fill in a survey, or to time. write an article for a magazine like this.

In some classrooms it can be about students having ‘air time’ so there is more student talk and less teacher talk. But, at the end of the day, ‘student voice’ can be just a lot of blah, blah, blah if the talk is seen as the end in itself, rather than part of a process that leads to something more.

When teachers and students consider ‘student voice’ and how to gather students’ opinions, ideas and thoughts, they should also be thinking about ‘student agency’.

As with the local government ‘consultation’ requirement, it can be almost impossible to see if the consultation had any effect at all once the box to meet that requirement is ticked. For students, they are often invited to this conference or that discussion so their ‘voice’ can be aired – but what comes of it? This needs consideration, given the subtle creep of disillusion that can result. How do people engaging or inviting ‘student voice’ demonstrate they are seeing, allowing or ensuring tangible results from the engagement?

invited these students to help choose fitness equipment and playground elements for a local walkway.

Their ‘student voice’ became ‘student agency’, with the support of adults who were listenStudents have great ideas. Students should ing, heard the message then made something have a voice, but their voice needs to be both happen. heard and actioned. ‘Student agency’, a new Those kids made a difference for all the youth in buzz phrase in education, is about students their area - and that is what it is about. Student having a view, expressing their view and then agency is about students making a difference. taking action, so they are seen, heard and sup- In a city that has the youngest demographic in ported to make the change they want to see. the country, students need to aim not just to One example of this was a project run at be heard, but to have their ideas actioned so Flanshaw Road School last year. Student writer Auckland City becomes a really great place to Tilak Patel did some research for an article live – for everyone. about playgrounds in the West Auckland area This is the case across the nation. What is (Schools are the best playground, LA2 2013). being actioned as a result of student agency From this work a team of students presented in Christchurch, post-earthquakes? What has their finding to the Board of Trustees, an exer- been gathered, and actioned, from the young cise in ensuring ‘student voice’ was heard by people who went through that? Where it has the governors of the school. happened, do the young people know they The Board then went out and got funding from were effective? different charitable trusts, so the students’ vision for a new updated playground could be made a reality. The team officially opened the first of their chosen playground elements on the last day of the school year, 2013.

In towns and cities of all sizes, in rural and urban communities, there are a variety of agencies engaging with young people. There are simple and effective processes for gathering the views of young people on how they During the year that same group of students view their lives, and what makes a difference also did a presentation at Local Board level, for them.

For example, being a Student Representative suggesting playgrounds in the area needed to Taking the next steps and ensuring student in a high school might involve going to meet- be upgraded. This year, the Auckland Council voice becomes student agency will improve ings, listening and presenting student views. Parks and Recreation division of the council everyone’s life, and especially those to come.

Colonel Kernel

By Michael Sanders

By Hutt International student Michael Sanders.

More by Michael on http://otherramblings.yolasite.com/colenel-kernal.php

WRITING * ART * PHOTOS * IDEAS

We publish student writing, art, photographs and ideas. Send material to: production@educationtoday.co.nz or call 0277344756 for more details.

Education Today can provide a permission form where photos and interviews of students require principal and caregiver signoff. www.educationtoday.co.nz

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STUDENT VOICE.

Adding the edge to education

LINDA WHITTAKER from Wainuiomata High School follows her interview with international educator Andreas Schliecher (Education Today, edition 2, 2014) with this interview with the Ministry of Education senior research manager LYNNE WHITNEY.

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Q: Lynne, can you briefly tell me what you do?

Q: How do PISA results influence your work in the Ministry of Education?

A: I work in the research division of the Ministry of Education and there are three types of things that we do. We look at what is going to work with students, so we look at the research and we find out if there are things that we do, programmes that we put in, policies that we put in that are raising student achievement. For those that raise student achievement we will continue with them. For those that don’t, we stop them.

A: The PISA is a very important piece of information for the Ministry of Education; however, it is important to remember that it is only one piece of work. We do work that provides different windows on how students perform right across the education system.

When we assess PISA, we do two things. The first to ask students to do tasks relating to maths, reading, and science. The second part of PISA is that we ask students to complete a background questionnaire which gives us a lot of information, not just about the student but also about their family, the school and about the classrooms in which they are operating during the year.

We are also looking at how students perform.

We don’t look at how students are performing in the classroom; we look at how students are performing at the system level. So we are interested in how students perform in areas We put that information together to provide a like reading and maths and science. picture about what students can do and what For those we have studies which originate they think, and about the factors influencing here in New Zealand. We also have studies those students performance. that originate overseas and as you have interviewed Andrea Schleicher you’ll know that one For example, we look at what students’ attitudes are, we look at how they feel about of those studies is PISA. whether they can do very complicated maths tasks. We ask them about the kinds of classes they are in; whether those classes are quite noisy, or quiet.

The PISA is a very important piece of information for the Ministry of Education; however, it is important to remember that it is only one piece of work”

you have a much higher chance of achieving. Now that seems pretty self-evident, but if people can work together to get kids in the class at school then we are going to start to make much more of a difference than if kids are not making use of their education.

Q: How did New Zealand PISA results influence education systems in New Zealand?

A: Good question. I think it’s really important when you think about the PISA study to understand that it has two main jobs.

The first thing that Andreas, for example, was interested in was the ability to look at education within different countries, and it’s important for New Zealand to understand not only how it operates in terms of an education system but We don’t look at how students We ask them all kinds of questions about their also how other countries operate. are performing in the experience of education and we find, in some I recently went to Korea, which has a very difcases, the kinds of things that students report ferent education system. The kids in Korea classroom; we look at how are going on in their class influence the kinds were complaining because they were doing students are performing at the of results that they get. education for seventeen hours a day. So undersystem level” So we can understand not just what students standing that those children at fifteen are in can do, but also the context in which they are education seventeen hours a day makes you We can’t possibly assess every student in New learning. We understand the kind of relation- understand why they do very well in the PISA Zealand so we take a sample of students. We ships they have with teachers. assessment. go to a sample of schools and they’re chosen We can pass that information on to policy so Another way we can learn from PISA is by lookby an international consortium and we take a they can think about what are the kinds of ing at what’s going on in New Zealand, and random sample of students and assess them things we can change to raise student achieve- perhaps for the Ministry that’s the most imporin reading maths and science and whatever ment. We pass it on to teachers and principals tant thing. We want to understand what’s other subject comes up. so they can think what is it we can do in school going on with students, how they are performFor example, in the latest piece of study we and in the classroom that can help students to ing, and what relates to that performance. looked at how students perform on tasks that learn.

We want to understand what’s going on with are about financial literacy. Another thing we We can also provide that information for the teachers and for principals within the consider is how students perform in problem students; for example, one of the biggest fac- school, and their perceptions of schooling, as solving. A large part of my work is finding out tors linked to poor achievement is not being well as understanding PISA for the broader how students perform in those areas right in class. So if you’re at school in class and if policy that the Minister of Education and the across the education system. you’re focussing on what you’re being taught Secretary of Education are involved in.

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For example, although PISA provides quite a bit of information from principals’ perspectives and from students’ perspectives, one of the things it doesn’t touch on is what teachers are doing, what work they are doing and their working conditions.

New Zealand is taking part in another survey, from years seven to ten, and it’s going into New Zealand schools this year and it’s called TARLIS, which stands for Teaching and Learning International Survey.

It will give twenty teachers in each of the selected schools the opportunity to tell you about their work and what they do. PISA is one of a number of studies that help us to draw a very big picture about what’s happening in education. From PISA we can look to other studies, are they saying the same things? Are teachers telling us the same things? We can also look outwards into the global world and say what does it tell us about what other education systems are doing.

Q: From New Zealand’s 2013 PISA results how ready are our students for tomorrow’s world?

A: I think the first thing I would say is that we have to remember that we are assessing kids in three areas: maths, reading and science and from the 2012 PISA we have most information about how kids are doing in maths – what their skills and knowledge are in maths so when I’m talking about it I’m really talking about maths.

How well are they doing? First on average our kids are doing really well, they are doing as well if not better than the average kid in the OECD countries – countries like France, Germany, Spain and Korea. We also have kids who are very advanced in maths as they are in reading and science. They have six levels of proficiency in PISA – they go from the top, level 6 to the bottom level 1. If you’re doing really well in PISA you’re in levels 5 and 6 and you are

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It’s important for New Zealand to understand not only how it operates in terms of an education system but also how other countries operate.”

relatively high proportion of kids at those basic levels and the education system has to take those kids very seriously. We have to have high expectations for those children and we as teachers and policy makers must do all we really can to support those kids to learn and raise their achievement. It’s a bit like that old saying it takes a village to make a successful kid. If you’ve got mum and dad and the whanau if you’ve got the community, if you’ve got the teachers and the principals, if you’ve got the peers and if you’ve got the right settings that the Ministry of Education can put in place then you’ve got a kid who’s well positioned to learn and we have to be able to expect all our kids to learn. We have to expect all our kids to be ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges, and they are challenges. The other thing is where New Zealanders have taken reading via an electronic assessment, the use of a computer instead of pen and paper we’ve done really well. I think, particularly when we can give those kids who at the moment need a bit of a leg up - they need to improve on their basic skills - we are a fantastic country. I’m very proud of the results New Zealand gets.

Q: What are the main messages PISA passes on to Government and decision makers?

A: Probably the key message that I got out of PISA and that I think that we pass on to the Government and hopefully the people of New Zealand is that it’s about all kids having good access to education and having potential to do really well and I think that’s something that Andreas strongly believed in and the OECD that funds the study strongly believe in. It’s about ensuring that kids are supported by all

those people that can help them and they have the potential to do well. I think that is one of the key messages that comes out of PISA. What that means in New Zealand, I think is that often when people ask you to look at the PISA data they ask you to look at the same old things. They ask you to look at gender, they ask you to look at students’ ethnic background, they ask you to look at the kind of socio-economic status the students may have, what kind of education their parents had, what kind of profession. For example a classroom where you can really learn, where there is no disruption, where the teacher can start teaching early, where kids are supportive of each other to learn where they are exposed to all the different things that make up mathematics – those are the things that really make a difference in education, yes a child’s background may be in the mix but what’s really going to make a difference is those kids being there – those kids being in class in school. It’s about the teacher having the opportunity to teach and managing the classroom so that he or she can teach. It’s about teachers giving children access to all different areas of mathematics not limiting their expectations about what children can do. It’s about children having information that also relates to their experience. Think about what kids bring to the classroom. At the festival of education I was in a really interesting presentation about working with young pasifica kids about mathematics – what they did was they brought pictures of the coral churches that they built in the Cook Islands – that their ancestors built and they had withstood many different cyclones and things – other European buildings had sometimes fallen over but these coral churches were there and they asked the

A large part of my work is finding out how students perform in those areas right across the education system”

called a top performer. We have quite a high proportion of our kids who are top performers in maths. In fact we have a higher proportion of top performers in maths than many countries. However there is another thing as well.

If you are a top performer in maths, reading and science you are called an all- rounder. Eight per cent of students in New Zealand were allrounders. In the OECD the average is four per cent. However one of the challenges that we face in education is that we have kids who have only basic levels of proficiency. These are kids at level one. These are kids who the OECD would say might struggle to make choices for work and their future education. We do have a Student interviewer Linda Whittaker and Ministry of Education research manager Lynne Whitney.

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question perhaps you don’t see yourselves as mathematicians but your ancestors were mathematicians – in order to build this coral church they had to think about the symmetry they had to be able to do geometry to look at the slope of the roof. They had to be able to do algebra and mathematics to look at the measurements that were needed, to calculate the amount of bonding that was required to keep the coral together. So actually you may not think of yourselves as mathematicians but your ancestors were proud mathematicians when they built those churches. So it’s about making things that a teacher is doing relevant to children.

It’s also I think about kids being able to bring their knowledge and that being respected in the classroom. So all these kinds of things are important – the extent to which a child believes that they can do mathematics, a part of that belief is seeing it in your relatives and your family and your whanau. So all these things are important, I think that’s what PISA does.

Yes there are standard things we can measure, there are also other things – education things which can really make a difference to how a kid learns, how a kid performs, their achievement and ultimately to what they do in their future lives. Because it is important – what education does is give you options and I think that’s what’s really important and when I was 15 I didn’t really think about those options but the education I had really did give me options.

Q: What do you think is the most important factor influencing a child’s education?

A: That’s a very complicated question even though you are asking me for one thing.

Thousands of things come into my head. I think there are two things for me which over my

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New Zealand is taking part in another survey, from years seven to ten, and it’s going into New Zealand schools this year and it’s called TARLIS, which stands for Teaching and Learning International Survey”

years in research in the Ministry about which I’m very passionate. These two things for me will really make a difference. The first is part of the child itself. The child has its own expectations and own confidence that it can learn the knowledge and skills that it needs at whatever age you’re talking about. That children are encouraged and supported and made to feel they have self confidence, the potential, they have the information. That they have what it takes to actually succeed in their own right and when I talk about success I don’t just mean, as PISA measures doing well in reading, mathematics and science I mean that children feel they can reach their potential. They feel that they have what it takes. They have respect from their peers. They have respect from their teachers. They have the educational resources they require. They understand what they are meant to learn and they know what they can do. So for me it’s that child having that confidence that whoever they are they can achieve and learn. Even the smallest baby can start to learn what’s important and what they can do.

So I think the other side to that for me is that all those who are involved in education, that’s the parents and whanau, that’s the siblings, that’s the teachers, the principals and certainly us in the Ministry of Education. We think about what children need to make that journey through education and that starts very, very young.

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We have to make sure they have the physical nourishment, the mental nourishment that they are supported to believe they are learners irrespective of what their learning is and irrespective of their potential. For me there is no one thing in education that can make a difference more than a child believing in itself and a child having the confidence to learn and to achieve and that’s supported by very important people, very significant others in its life. That journey starts very, very young. The Growing Up in New Zealand Study is a study that looks at children even before birth and it tries to look at things that happen to kids on the way. It’s going to look at some of the things that kids can do as they grow older. Now some of those kids will have been in households which are not very supportive of education but those kids can still achieve. If that kid’s got the strength to believe it can achieve and the confidence that what it brings to the classroom is important and what it can do is important – that makes a huge difference. It’s a complicated answer but it’s in some ways simple. It’s about what you believe in what you want to do and making it happen for yourself. That’s all that matters.

A: Thank you Lynne that’s all the questions I have for you today. Thank you for your time.

Q: Thank you Linda. That was a really good interview, I enjoyed it.

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STUDENT VOICE.

Words have life

Otahuhu College student MARIANNE LATU discusses how her peers can easily be encouraged, or discouraged, by how they are seen and spoken to, and the expectations placed on them by their education community.

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magine being born into a world where someone tells you what you have to become in life and if you disobey, you will be nothing to them. What if that person was your biological mother or father? I hear too much “You have to be” and less “You could be”.

them and are thankful for them. Disappointing succeed they are the happiest, when we fall them is like disappointing the Almighty. they are the saddest.

The problem is our parents sometimes tend to force us to follow their dreams and their wishes instead of our own. Our own that will led us to success, our own that we will enjoy, Young people are sensitive. They want to our own that we’re passionate about. achieve, and especially to please their parents.

But many parents, in all communities, push their children toward goals the students have Live your dream, or spend the not set for themselves.

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This is quite common in the Pacific Island community, and that’s the community I am part of so I will talk about that. I see many Pacific Island students pushed by their parents to attain goals the students have no interest in achieving. It is ironic that the very people who push their child to be a doctor or lawyer, for example, are inadvertently pushing them to become a rubbish collector.

rest of your life working for someone else who lived theirs”

Parents need to realize that we children all have our own unique little talents, our own likes, dislikes and dreams that we want to pursue but their strict attitude and high expectations could only lead us into two things. Either, we succeed in life but suffer emotionally, or succeed I feel the same parents forget the lawyers and then end up unsuccessful. doctors need electricians, plumbers, nannies No one wants to get up every morning not and the many other career roles in the comlooking forward to work; no one wants to sit munity around them. I also feel many parents in a lecture classroom not understanding a forget achievement and a sense of purpose is word, and no one wants to study something much more than a university degree. they aren’t interested in. Forcing someone to Students in my community are talented, intel- do something they don’t want to do is just like ligent, independent and creative young people telling an armless person to drive. They will try that are capable of so many things. I see so and try hard to succeed but will always fail; but much potential but not enough encourage- if they do succeed, they won’t be enjoying it. ment; the right encouragement.

Parents need to realize that we children have Being raised in a highly Pacific island populated community, we all get taught to respect our parents and their wishes. They are like gods.

We worship them, praise them, look up to

rights to make our own decisions pertaining our future because at the end of the day, we are the ones actually doing the work. Our parents are our number one supporters. When we

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They are the closest people to us and will always be, but sometimes they need to let us make our own decisions in life, decisions that will benefit ourselves. Their encouragement is always appreciated but encouragement together with strict and high expectations can result in a disaster. Why are people who have gained University Entrance flipping patties?

How does a girl who studies medicine end up hanging clothes on racks for a living? Why is a talented rugby star sitting in a law school lecture day dreaming about being on the field playing?

These are all real life situations and real life stories that have happened but it needs to end.

Affected teenagers feel pressured into becoming something they don’t want to be.

Our parents need to let us live our dreams, pursue them and enjoy what we do for a living.

They already have the right amount of encouragement by being parents; now all they need is to use that encouragement wisely.

All of this is unfair to me. I see a lot of my Pacific Islander brothers and sisters suffer from this. They go to work frowning, they sit in lectures, lost, and they attend courses when they want too because they’re either not motivated or just not keen on the job.

All I want is for our parents to support us in what we want to do in life. A powerful quote that I live by is “Live your dream, or spend the rest of your life working for someone who lived theirs”.

Photo supplied by: Natasha Laree Photography

STUDENT VOICE.

Gender in the blender

Are social demands changing who does what in and out of the home? ANA TUITA from Otahuhu College describes the shifting shape of gender roles in our communities.

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ender roles for society are descriptions and the public view of how males and females dress, behave and how they should represent themselves to the world.

Gender roles also influence children at early stages in life as they learn their roles from parents, religion, and even from toys. By about aged three, apparently, children have learnt to prefer toys and clothes appropriate for their gender.

Certain expectations society has upon the roles of men and women are not as relevant to society now as they were back in the 1960’s and 70’s. Mostly, women were to stay home, take care of the children, cook, clean and cater to their husbands; basically, a stay at home housewife. Society expects the feminine role as the “nurturers” whereas the more masculine roles are for men.

These roles are still seen in media through violent, machismo, aggression and independence being depicted for men. Men also have considerably more economic and political power in society than women.

fields, as well as take care of the babies, while the men went out to hunt for the tribe.

It varies in different cultures and at different times in history, sometimes because of necessity as with World War 2 women, but women have achieved a lot in the last 70 years. Before World War 2 they were expected to stay home, to take care of the children, to cook, to clean.

There have been changes, but women are still not equal to men. It sometimes seems women want to take more responsibilities and choose professions which are traditionally for males – “they got angry and decided to show their capabilities” is one comment.

Opinions like these show the kinds of ethics both genders think about and disagree over.

I believe we still have strong roles and stereotypes of how a certain gender should present themselves and behave. Traditionally, the female stereotypic role is to marry and have children. She is to put her family’s welfare before her own; be loving, compassionate, caring, nurturing and sympathetic – and find Gender roles differ according to cultural historitime to be sexy and feel beautiful. cal context. From approximately 1700 through 1900 woman served as soldiers for the king- The male’s stereotypic role on the other hand dom of Dahomey, a slave trading nation. is to be the financial provider.

Another example of woman’s history in action is during World War 2 where woman performed certain roles which would otherwise have been considered male jobs.

Women in society are now being seen in the business world making money and providing for their families and with many other responsibilities – a long way from gender roles around the time of Christ, for example, where women would gather wild fruits and cultivate

I don’t think this has changed much, despite the popular idea of female achievements. He must be confident, competitive, independent, and career-focused as well as being able to

hold his emotions in check. These sort of stereotypic roles are meant to be changing, but it still happens.

We have the chance to be different, to move away from gender stereotypes. Through the ages men have been the providers, confident and independent, while woman have been paid less in the job market, often for the same work, and expected to do housework and largely raise the children. Now, a family model can be based on a partnership, rather than a patriarchy, allowing woman to have more rights and possibilities both in the home and on the labour market.

We see men becoming the stay-at-home dads; cleaning, cooking, raising the children and then seeing the females leaving household duties and joining in the labour market to become the financial providers and, in some cases, creating a matriarchy. People should be able to do what they want, and to construct gender roles according to their needs. Looking at different societies, the role of women and men differ, men and women obviously have different roles in society, but these will change even more in the future.

Society wants to know what each individual has to offer. Gender roles are less important as we become increasingly egalitarian, even in our homes. The sheer cost of raising a family is adding to this – couples need the woman’s earning power, which can often equal men’s despite wage rates still not reflecting equality at work.

Do gender roles matter? Gender, obviously, makes all the difference. But the expected and programmed roles for each gender? Necessity and the future may prove they can be flexible.

Photo supplied by: Natasha Laree Photography

STUDENT VOICE. FIONA LEMOTO from Otahuhu College looks at the effects of positive and negative affirmation and the conversations students have in their own heads.

Getting out of your own way

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he only person standing in your way is yourself. As a student I can understand the demands of achieving good grades and keeping on top of things.

Negative enforcements like ‘I can’t do it’, ‘it’s too hard for a person like me’ are repeatedly said by students, and though it holds no truth their minds are limited to the possibilities of I can also understand the difficulties in com- trying to complete work and the chances of pleting an assignment. Sometimes you feel as succeeding are limited only by what the stuif you are not proficient or intelligent enough to dents think they can produce.

The only person standing in your way is youreven give the task a go. self. I see this like a fence, and affirmation sits This is a mistake I see most of my fellow classon it, waiting to go either way. One side of this mates including myself committing. We don’t fence is the positive outcome from enforcing believe in our own ability to achieve greatness; positive affirmation and the other the negative we deprive ourselves of going that extra mile outcomes from enforcing negative affirmation. or give all our efforts into learning because we You are either a barrier or an enabler to your fear all we can accomplish is failure. success.

I know because I am one of these students.

Positive affirmation has the power to encourEvery day I come across challenges with learn- age students to keep striving for their ing and I find it difficult each time to conquer education goals, and simply enforcing positive them. I don’t feel as capable or as bright as my encouragements such as ‘I can do it’ changes classmates and so I doubt myself capable of a student’s way of thinking. producing a good quality piece of work.

When you begin to believe in what you have So I allow negative affirmation to dictate my been saying you make the statement facthoughts. tual. ‘I can’t do it’ becomes the lie; ‘I can do it’ For example, as I write this article I question if becomes the truth. Self-belief pushes you to it is good enough in comparison to the others challenge yourself to uncover your mental and who are also writing for this magazine. I don’t physical capability; it inspires you to achieve a feel that I am writing this correctly and I just goal. Confidence generates success. have a low self-esteem about my work.

So consider negative affirmation. The same This is a mistake I make too often, and I think will be true, of course. The tables are turned many students do the same. I realise that when positive affirmation is replaced with negthinking in this way can greatly impact a stu- ative affirmation. dent’s life, both mentally and even physically, The hassle of criticising myself and not having with their learning also jeopardised by the lack self-belief takes up more energy than actually of self-esteem. believing in myself for a change, and using

positive affirmation, so I thought I should convert that energy into something more positive and start trusting that I have the ability to achieve more things than I think I can.

I don’t credit myself enough for my achievements so it’s time to turn things around.

Would anyone else care to do the same?

EDITOR’S NOTE: The OECD’s Andreas Schleicher, who studies student results all over the world, told student interviewer Linda Whittaker of Wainuiomata High School (Measuring results around the world, ET2 2014) that his experience showed selfbelief is the single most powerful tool any student can have. See this excerpt from the end of the interview: LINDA WHITTAKER: What do you think is the single most important factor influencing a child’s education?

ANDREAS SCHLEICHER: Good question.

There are many factors, but the single most important is the aspiration that you have.

When children expect a lot and aim high they usually achieve a lot better. The expectation the children have for their own future and the expectation their teachers have is the best predictor of the results we see in the PISA tests.

For children that come from poor families and neighbourhoods it is particularly important that teachers have high expectations for them. Selfbelief is the most important. Self-assertion. If you have that ingredient you will succeed in anything.

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news

Creating an e-learning community

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rincipals are establishing a Rotorua- opportunity to work together to create “anywide e-learning community that aims where, anytime learning” for all the district’s to have internet connectivity across students. the district and to equip all students “Research shows that where these types of with personal learning devices. models exist, student achievement increases

received support to purchase children’s e-learning devices, there were protocols for e-safety, care and management and families were engaged in overseeing and participating in their children’s learning. The Rotorua initiative would take the concept further by The vision is to see all students – from early significantly,” he said. childhood centres to secondary schools –digi- Rotorua Intermediate School Principal Garry incorporating the entire district, and it would be tally connected at school, in the community and de Thierry said e-learning increased students’ tailored to local needs and aspirations, he said. at home. The project aims to lift engagement learning opportunities and gave them the skills The establishment of a single Rotorua district and achievement in education and ensure all needed to function in the digital world. e-learning community would be followed by students have the same learning opportunities. creating “communities of places of learning”, “We’ve seen what this can do on a small groups of schools and ECE centres in various It is part of the Excel Rotorua education iniscale at our school – whole families are now parts of the district working together. It’s envistiative, a Social Sector Trial facilitated by Te engaged in learning. The potential benefits for aged there could be five or six of these clusters.

Taumata O Ngati Whakaue Iho Ake Trust a district-wide initiative are huge,” he said. and supported by the Ministries of Social An education trust will be established to conDevelopment, Education, Health and Justice “We talk about poverty in terms of housing, tinue supporting the initiative and ensure that and the New Zealand Police. Excel Rotorua dif- food, clothing, those types of things, but there support is sustained. fers from other Social Sector Trials around the is also poverty of opportunity. We want to max- Work is underway on options for a network country due to its focus on education and it is imise opportunities for students and build their to enable all of Rotorua to get connected to anticipated the initiative could provide the blue- capacity to learn in different ways and at any e-learning and there will be engagement with time rather than just during school hours.” print for other communities to follow. and support for parents, Mr Comer said.

“Sixteen years ago we began talking about Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata Principal, changing our teaching for the 21st Century and Cathy Dewes, said e-learning would be catering for 21st Century learners,” Lynmore attractive to students, most of whom were ABOUT EXCEL ROTORUA School Principal and Rotorua Principals already “techno savvy” and engaged well with Excel Rotorua takes a collaborative Association Co-President Lorraine Taylor said. e-learning. approach to building on current “There have been some changes but not the “Wider access to e-learning is an inviting opporsuccesses and finding new and huge shifts we wanted to see. Most schools tunity and the challenge for kura will be to innovative ways to achieve better are still trying to establish modern teaching enhance students’ learning through this inieducational outcomes for all children environments with largely 20th Century tools tiative while at the same time maintaining the and young people in our community. plus a few 21st Century pieces of technology, focus on Maori language revitalisation.”

The initiative is an opportunity to tailor solutions to local needs and mostly shared across 30 children in a class.”

Ms Dewes said discounts on equipment puraspirations.

Mrs Taylor said Rotorua needed a district-wide chased for e-learning will be made possible Supported by Government agencommunity approach to propel the city’s teach- through having a Rotorua-wide initiative, procies, the two-year Excel Rotorua ers, children and communities into the modern viding added benefit for schools and parents. initiative is one of the Government’s world.

Excel Rotorua Lead, Leith Comer, said Excel Social Sector Trials, established in “We need to enable children to learn new Rotorua would support the e-learning project communities around the country to things in new ways, create new partnerships by helping with connectivity, professional test innovative ideas for improving learning and development, economies of scale and find a common and continuous way of the quality of life for young New learning, so transition between institutions is purchases, best practice, data collection and Zealanders. smoother and personalises the learning for our research. students, resulting in better outcomes.”

Mr Comer said Auckland’s Manaiakalani Rotorua Boys’ High School Principal Chris e-learning project, with 11 schools, was a good Grinter said the task was too big for schools example of how the concept could improve to undertake individually but there is now an educational achievement. There, families

i EducationToday.co.nz

For previous stories on Excel Rotorua by student writer Mathew Ditchburn, see ET6 2013, ET1 2014.

STUDENT VOICE.

Westie goes south

FRANCES MORRISON recently moved from a buzzing West Auckland life to the relative seclusion of Central Otago. She gives us a glimpse of her new life.

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’m Frances. I’m 16 years old. I used to live in Auckland and I was a girl that loved the city and had a lot of friends and I was always going out on the weekends.

get no homework, and you don’t have other students to put you down. The negative thing about home schooling is there’s no one to talk to, so it can get really boring. My mum signed But last year I decided to move somewhere me up to Te Kura Correspondence, but only completely different from the city. School some kids get it if they have good reason to wasn’t working for me and I was having family be home schooled. They send you work books problems. So I went to live on a farm called En Hakkore, a Christian community, with my aunty and uncle (Judy and Stew) The children living here are En Hakkore is a small community with five families and 13 children. The children living here are the kind of kids that won’t talk about you behind your back, and they help you when you’re sad. You could call them true friends.

“

When I lived in Auckland I would just go shopping for new clothes and the latest shoes with my friends. But now I go shopping with my mum to get warm clothes and gumboots.

I used to never go to church, but now every Sunday I get up at 10am and go to church. We have a church house in the community, but we usually go to a family house for church then have a shared lunch. When I walked outside in Auckland it smelt like nothing. But when you walk outside in En Hakkore you can smell cow and sheep poo, and silage (winter food for the cows). It really stinks. If you want to go into town it’s an hour and 40 minutes, and the closest is Dunedin.

the kind of kids that won’t talk about you behind your back, and they help you when you’re sad. You could call them true friends”

and you write in them, and then you send it to Wellington and they send it to your teachers.

Your teachers read your work, mark it and then send it back, and after every book you do there is always a test you have to do, which sucks.

But you get more opportunities, and you get one-on-one time with teachers on the phone and on email, so that helps me learn better.

drink out of it, its dirty water and sometimes it comes out brown. I was surprised when I found that out, I thought it was disgusting. And we have a little tap for water that comes out of the mountains that you can drink.

Also in En Hakkore they don’t support you having a boyfriend, they think you should have one when you’re 18. But in Auckland they don’t care what age you get a boyfriend, so that’s one rule I don’t go by. It’s also so cold in the morning. More freezing than Auckland.

You just don’t want to get up. It’s that cold. We also have to have the fire going all day or part of the evening so our shower will be warm.

When I turned 16 I had two birthdays, one in En Hakkore and one in Auckland. At my En Hakkore party we did an amazing race where we have go around to the parents’ house and do something that they say then we get our next clue. Then after that we played Operation Overland with a car my uncle and his friend go in, and they have try and spot you and you have to run in the long grass and when they come you have drop where you are, even if it’s in mud so you don’t get caught. In Auckland I had a rowdy party with some of my friends.

I get homesick a lot, missing my mum, dad, brother and friends, but I get to return to It’s not as bad living here as my friends in Auckland every holiday and see them.

Auckland think. I thought it would be terrible - a In En Hakkore they are strict, and in Auckland city girl going to a farm In the South Island. But my parents weren’t that strict so I have to get I’ve been living here for nine months and I’ve used to that. And with trust issues, I have to kind of gotten used to it, but not the freezing earn trust. And I’m not allowed to go out every bit yet. And yes, sometimes I wish I didn’t live here and I can be all grumpy about it, but someweekend.

In En Hakkore we have three different taps. The times I’m so glad I have moved.

I also do home schooling. I started home schooling in term 4, and before that I went to Rutherford College. Home schooling can be fun. You get to sleep in and if you finish school early you get the rest of the day off.

You also get to wear mufti, even your pjs; you two taps that everyone has, and one you don’t But I will be a WESTIE for life.

Frances Morrision in the wilds of Central Otago at En Hakkore, near Ranfurly.

Top pic: Westie friends Skyla Smith, foreground, Frances, Olivia Gwiazdzinski, Tareece Thompson. Bottom pic: En Hakkore crew, from left, Jessica Canning, Katie Canning, Sally Bradfeild, Miriam Canning , me, Issac Canning, Sam Bradfeild, Hamish Bradfeild, Jed Bradfeild, Chris Eder, guest; front, Kaleb Eder.

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STUDENT VOICE.

Making life add up

Massey High School student RORY O’CONNOR believes students need to leave school with a survival kit of financial and life skills.

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assey High School prepares students for The government acknowledges the problem something about finance, getting a job or signwith initiatives like sorted.org. They realize ing important legal documents. further study or work.

We have multiple academies that prepare that many adults do not know this stuff either. students for everything from automotive to Community service centers, high school extenhairdressing. Or, for a more academic student, sion courses and websites fulfill a useful LINKS the school has an impressive Level 3 pass rate function.

and a fair number of scholarships gained too. The issue with these efforts is that they are So I’m set. Ready to go and enter the work- not preventative or proactive. In fact they are force with the qualifications the government more like an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff. There would not be a call for so many outhas deemed fit for such a purpose. Right? reach programs for adults if they were already Not even close. The things people fresh out of educated on the subject in secondary school, high school don’t know about the “real world” before they need it. of work and self-support would fill many libraries. How do I write a CV? What does it mean This knowledge is entirely essential for living to sign a lease? How do I fill out my tax forms? in the real world, especially for people who What is compound interest? How do I stick to don’t understand things like credit. Cards, pay day loan companies and HP agreements can a budget? leave a young person crippled with debt before The list could fill the pages of this magazine. they know it. Educating teens in basic life skills Students are leaving school with little to no needs to be a high priority for the government knowledge of basic skills required to work and so young people can be better prepared for live on their own. adulthood.

In an ideal world, parents would teach their chil- Current government programs only service dren these things; however, many adults are people who seek the help. Often things have no better than high schoolers. It’s not uncom- got pretty bad before someone seeks guidance. mon for people to lurch paycheck to paycheck Furthermore, most programs are designed for without any form of planning. It could also be adults, who should have learned this stuff a true that some parents may not have looked long time ago. for a job or signed a lease in 20 years. While nothing can replace good parental training, it’s Maybe instead of figuring out how to put a not realistic to expect a parent to be an expert condom on a banana in year 9 and 10 health we should devote some time to learning in all of these areas.

Note: Rory’s piece was written before we reported in ET2 that there is a new suite of financial education tools available to teachers from April, rolled out with the Retirement Commission, Young Enterprise Trust and the Ministry of Education.

The toolkit as available at: • FCP toolkit (Financial Capability Progressions toolkit) - the resources are available on the TKI website with downloadable versions on the right.

• www.nzcurriculum.tki.org. nz/Curriculum-resources/ Financial-capability/Financialcapability-progressions • Webpage link to recent Comet employability report: www. cometauckland.org.nz/wa.asp ?idWebPage=60395&idDetails =179

We help you to make learning about money fun To access free resources visit www.youngenterprise.org.nz e: support@youngenterprise.org.nz t: 04 570 0452

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Comic cuts

Clippings from our comic artists

To the top of tranquility BY Casey Bigus Curiosity killed the cat BY Gabby Westerlund the magpies by krizelle requilman Someday by Kim-Leng Cheav dinner by connor makata

Cover by Gabby Westerlund

Alfriston College deputy principal STEVE SAVILLE, left, collates our comics section, and talks about the part comic art can play in education.

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hether or not comic creation has a valid place in the modern and very busy secondary school classroom is part of the bigger question of the role creativity has in the modern curriculum.

My involvement in providing opportunities for students with an interest in comic creation to have the time and space to develop their creativity has convinced me it enables the development of a host of valuable and complex skills.

The skills needed to successfully combine language and image cannot be underestimated. Comics depend on this relationship between words and pictures where the two complement each other but are careful not to repeat with words what the eye can see.

It is like two parallel lines of narrative. The one page comic of Casey Bigus (Year 11, Tranquility, next page) is an excellent example of how effective this combination can be. The pictures by themselves tell a story and the words in isolation make perfect sense but when the two are combined a greater depth is created and the visuals are complemented by the words and vice versa.

Due to the need to be economical with language, a successful comic creator has to have a perceptive understanding of symbolism. The symbolic effect of frame size and shape, shading, colour, angle as well as the more traditional understanding of symbol is vital if a comic creator is to maximise the meaning on a particular page.

STUDENT VOICE.

Linked to this is the skill of telling a self-contained story through a careful selection of words and pictures. The art of storytelling is complex and taking a young artist who can draw stunning pictures on a journey to the point where they can use those images in such a way as to tell a story is very exciting. Our classes are full of ‘drawers’ but it takes a real determination to transition from drawing pictures to telling stories. The first part of Krizelle Requilman’s new comic (Year 11, The Magpies, overleaf) shows how, through careful selection and editing, effective stories can be told using minimal words and careful selection of image.

To do this effectively, skills relating not only to careful selection and planning but also to a sense of overall design and page layout, are imperative.

To see students develop their understanding of a page as an entity that is made up of a series of component parts that create an overall effect, is a joy.

Size and shape of frames, selection of close ups, mid shots, high and low angles, size and shape of font, even whether to frame or not to frame. All of these decisions have to be made with an eye to aesthetic quality as well as establishing the emotional tone of a page.

These are complex concepts and if mastered allow for not only a successful flow through a page but also for the flow from one page to the next. This need to link the transitions is one that requires careful planning. A successful comic has been meticulously planned with careful attention to detail.

WRITING * ART * PHOTOS * IDEAS We publish student writing, art, photographs and ideas Send material to: production@educationtoday.co.nz or call 0277344756 for more details Education Today can provide a permission form for photos and interviews of students requiring principal and caregiver signoff

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What all comic creators know is that comics are complex beasts taking a lot longer to create than they do to read, and that the keys in their creation are patience and perseverance.

I fear that the time to be patient and the time to persevere is not always readily available in our busy classrooms and therefore I fear that the chances for a student to be truly creative in any field are being increasingly compromised, but then again as soon as I see a complete page from one of my students my faith and belief is restored.

Ultimately I hold tight to the optimistic view that the creative are driven to create and will always find a way to express themselves. The best we, as teachers, can do is to understand this need and where possible encourage and facilitate it.

 EducationToday.co.nz

From Curiosity Killed the Cat

by Gabby Westerlund

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VIETKIDSNZ - GÌN GIỮ TIẾNG VIỆT VÀ VĂN HÓA VIỆT CHO TRẺ EM Ở NEW ZEALAND Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hà và Khiếu Thị Quỳnh Trang

VietKidsNZ ra đời với mục tiêu gìn giữ tiếng Việt và văn hóa Việt cho trẻ em ở NZ. Chương trình do cộng đồng người Việt tại New Zealand xây dựng từ tháng 1/2014. Đối tượng tham dự VietKidsNZ là các bé từ hai tuổi trở lên, được chia làm hai nhóm: nhóm dưới 5 tuổi là các bé trong độ tuổi nhà trẻ mẫu giáo và nhóm trên 5 tuổi với những trẻ bắt đầu đi học. Mỗi nhóm trẻ sẽ có những chương trình riêng phù hợp với đặc điểm tâm lý và sinh lý nhóm tuổi.

Chương trình được thiết kế theo dạng tương tác “học mà chơi, chơi mà học”, hai tuần một buổi và thời lượng mỗi buổi từ 1-2 giờ, khuyến khích các bé sử dụng hoàn toàn bằng tiếng Việt khi tham gia. Mỗi chương trình là mỗi chủ đề khác nhau như gia đình, lịch sử Việt Nam, ẩm thực Việt Nam, các lễ hội dân gian Việt Nam… với các hoạt động kết hợp các trò chơi vận động, trò chơi trí tuệ, trò chơi dân gian, kể chuyện, diễn kịch… nhằm rèn luyện các kĩ năng cơ bản như kĩ năng làm việc nhóm, kĩ năng kiểm soát cảm xúc, kĩ năng sử dụng các

đồ dùng hàng ngày, kĩ năng giao tiếp…đồng thời trau dồi tiếng Việt và văn hóa Việt cho các trẻ em tham gia. Mỗi trẻ tham gia chương trình sẽ có một bộ hồ sơ để lưu lại quá trình học tập vui chơi cũng như ghi lại những tiến bộ, thay đổi của trẻ.

Chương trình cũng là nơi gặp gỡ, giao lưu giữa các bậc cha mẹ nên mỗi chương trình được thiết kế đều có “Góc cha mẹ”, nơi các bậc cha mẹ có thể chia sẻ với nhau kinh nghiệm dạy dỗ con cái, một công thức nấu ăn ngon, một trang web hay, một câu chuyện vui…

Chương trình với mục tiêu phi lợi nhuận và miễn phí cho trẻ em tham gia và hoạt động trên cơ sở kêu gọi nguồn tài trợ từ các cá nhân, tổ chức và doanh nghiệp. Chương trình hiện đã nhận được sự hỗ trợ ban đầu từ Đại sứ quán Việt Nam tại New Zealand, Sandy& Mark Moore từ ISMNZ, tập đoàn ThaiViet, công ty 4seasosnail, Mareware4square Napier, TMConnect, DVP Techs, tạp chí Education Today và đặc biệt là sự tham gia

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nhiệt tình, sự cam kết và nhận thức của các bậc cha mẹ về tầm quan trọng của gìn giữ tiếng Việt và văn hóa Việt cho chính gia đình của mình sẽ là điều kiện vô cùng quan trọng để chương trình có thể phát triển bền vững.

VietKidsNZ hy vọng tiếp tục nhận được sự cổ vũ và hỗ trợ của toàn thể cộng đồng để chương trình trở thành một phần không thể thiếu cho việc phát triển cộng đồng người Việt ở New Zealand.

Mọi liên hệ với chương trình xin gửi về: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hà – chủ nhiệm chương trình, email: Vietcommunitynz@gmail.com

NOTE: Education Today works with organisations such as VietkidsNZ to help preserve the Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture for Vietnamese children living in New Zealand.

The programme was founded by the Vietnamese community in New Zealand in January 2014. For the English translation of this item, contact production@educationtoday.co.nz

lest we forget

Simple things taken for granted By runner-up Ben Brodie

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Hero: Bravery, acts for others.

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hat is a hero? Is it the old man that got up every morning to tend to his son’s farm, his son who is off fighting on the shores of Gallipoli, the son’s siblings who wake up each day expecting a letter… hoping … they hope, and it hurts. All they can do is hope.

Or is it the wife who puts on a strong face everyday for her children, her students at the local school.

Worrying, every day for that man in the green uniform who showed up at her neighbour’s porch days ago?

Or could it be the man who so bravely volunteered to fight for his country, fight for freedom, fight for his friends, his family, his community?

Could it even be the Turks … who like us volunteered so valiantly to defend their loved ones, their children, their friends, like us, their country?

So what makes a hero? – I don’t believe a hero can be purely defined by words, but the hero’s actions.

Actions define the fundamentals for being a hero.

Such as Charles Mackie Begg, a medic serving at Gallipoli, he literally took his work to the front lines, making a station on the very beach of Gallipoli to treat the wounded immediately.

He put his own life at risk to save others; this is what defines a hero. On June 27, his station was struck by a Turkish shell, wounded, Charles mustered his courage and began making another station on the very frontlines.

Tenacity, pure tenacity is what he showed here, another remarkable defining trait of being a hero.

When the worst itself stared Mackie in the face, he didn’t think about his own safety, for a second, only the safety of others and what would happen if he wasn’t there to help the mortally wounded.

Between April 25 and August 5 his dressing station

ANZ RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition runner-up Ben Brodie of Napier Boys High School.

ANZ RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition

As part of the 100 years celebration of World War One and Anzac Day, and the 100th birthday of the NZ RSA in 2016, Education Today will run each of the ANZ RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition finalists in subsequent editions through to Anzac Day 2015.

We started with competition winner Jack Potaka of Rotorua Boys High School and in this edition we feature the speech by runner-up Ben Brodie of Napier Boys High School. ANZ RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition finalists for 2014 were: Jack Potaka (winner), Rotorua Boys High School / Benjamin Brodie (runner-up), Napier Boys High School / Ben Alsop-ten-Hove, Ellesmere College / Isobel Pepper, Palmerston North Girls High School / Caitlin Thomas, Kerikeri High School / Ben Gatting, Sacred Heart College / Emily O’Connell, Garin College / Ihlara McIndoe, St Hildas Collegiate School

Links to speeches online: www.rsa.org.nz/

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lest we forget had attended to a remarkable 15,000 troops, 15,000 men, 15,000 fathers, 15,000 heroes.

On August 16 Mackie was evacuated for treatment of paratyphoid fever.

After recovering he came right back to the front lines, continuing his fight to help the wounded. Again he shows his hero-defining trait of tenacity. Not giving up, not giving in until the job is done.

This hero is the reason we get up at first light every Anzac day, we pay our respects to him and appreciate what we have here, in New Zealand - freedom, freedom to see the sun rise and set each day, freedom to feel the breeze. So many things they died fight for us to have, we take for granted.

Another achievement of one man that defines a hero was Sergeant Harry Barlow, displaying initiative in the face of adversity.

Harry was assigned to one of the most notorious posts of Gallipoli, Quinn’s post, where the Turks were merely a stone’s throw away.

Barlow’s citation reads: “For great gallantry and ability on the night of the 21st-22nd June 1915, at Quinn’s Post (Dardanelles). On his own initiative he crawled from the trench to reconnoitre an enemy bombproof shelter some distance away. He was successful in dropping two bombs into it, and returned with two Turkish bombs which he found outside. Throughout the operations, he has distinguished himself as a most courageous and skilful bomb thrower.”

Initiative is what Harry showed here, initiative and courage to aid his friends by insuring their safety through this heroic act. Harry risked his life for the safety of others. This is what defines a hero. This is why we must remember them. This is why we must pay our respects.

It is acts demonstrated by these men that define what a hero is, not some definition out of a dictionary. They showed tenacity, initiative and selflessness through their sacrifice of life. Each and every soldier who went to the shores of Gallipoli is a hero; they all went on the account for others. By doing this they showed non nobis solum - not for ourselves alone.

These Men, these brave fine young men, no, these heroes … woke up every morning to a see a sunrise knowing it may be their last, greeting a comrade knowing they may never see him again.

We can never truly appreciate their sacrifice without being there ourselves, but what we can do is live. We can honour the gift they gave us and appreciate every sunset.

We must embrace this gift they died striving for us to have. By doing so we are respecting them, we are appreciating them. The sacrifices they made have helped to set the fundamentals of New Zealand’s society; every year we celebrate them, and year after year we will continue to do so.

They all fought so their children and their children’s children wouldn’t have to fight in another war. This is what it is to be a hero.

Pictured from top to bottom: Heroes set sail for war half a world away, and the heroes and heroines left at home, Wellington 1914. Inset; Colonel Charles Mackie Begg, of the NZ Medical Corps, took his peacetime skills as a surgeon to the frontlines at Gallipoli. An ANZAC soldier risks his life getting a wounded comrade to safety at Gallipoli.

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working with schools

Opera brought to life outside concentration camp

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“Ostensibly, it’s a simple tale about children and talking animals, but when you look deeper there’s a strong message about standing up to tyranny and oppression. Krása’s music is Rehearsals for Hans Krása’s opera Brundibár very beautiful so the piece is a pleasure to (Bumblebee) are underway and the produc- rehearse.” tion will be staged later this year as part of the Written at the start of the Second World War, Krása’s work is famous for the many Recovering Forbidden Voices conference.

The opera will be conducted by Dr Robert performances it received inside the Nazi conLegg, a senior lecturer in music education and centration camp at Terezín, and for the positive pedagogy at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of contribution it made to the cultural life of the Music (NZSM). It will be directed by Frances camp. hildren and adults are coming together in a production exploring music actively suppressed and banned under the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s.

to accommodate the skills of musicians also being held in the camp.

The opera’s story of a young brother and sister struggling against a tyrannical organ grinder has been interpreted as a symbol for Europe’s struggle against fascism.

A cast of soloists from the NZSM’s Young Musicians Programme and an orchestra of 12 instrumentalists will be joined by a 40-strong choir from Kelburn Normal School.

“Children take to the arts, which benefits their learning across the board. We are fortuMoore, a graduate of the school, who says the The production is rehearsing with a revised nate to be part of a wider community where wonderful thing about Brundibár is that it can version of the original orchestration which institutions like the NZSM include us in their was created while Krása was inside Terezín activities,” be read on different levels.

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arts director at Kelburn Normal School Charles Bisley said.

The Recovering Forbidden Voices conference is a collaboration between NZSM and the German and History departments at Victoria University of Wellington and will include a range of performance, presentations and keynote addresses. Performances of Brundibár will be held on Thursday August 21 and August 22 August at St Andrew’s on The Terrace, Wellington.

Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music is a joint venture of Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington.

LINKS Recovering Forbidden Voices conference www.nzsm.ac.nz/rfv-conference Pictured: Kelburn Normal School students study their parts in the Hans Krása’s opera Brundibár to be performed on August 21 and 22 at St Andrew’s on The Terrace in Wellington.

Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) student soloists at work on Hans Krása’s opera Brundibár.

news

Winning shelter encourages sustainable transport A

n architecture project designed to make an Auckland primary school safer and encourage sustainable modes of transport has won an international student design award.

Sam Wood and Yusef Patel, students from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland won first prize in the Innovation in Structural Engineering Design category of the 2014 Bentley Student Design Awards for their seating shelters made for Onehunga Primary School, created as part of their Master of Architecture study.

Responding to Auckland’s increasing traffic problems, particularly the road congestion around school drop-off and pick-up times and wanting to encourage initiatives like walking school bus programmes, Sam and Yusef designed a safe, sheltered area with seating for children and their parents to meet at the entrance of the school.

Sam aimed to promote sustainable travel such as walking and cycling to and from school, while Yusef focused on innovative structural jointing methods adapted from furniture design.

The structure incorporates Pacific weaving and tapa patterns, as well as messages in Maori, Samoan, Tongan and English devised by the school children to encourage personal changes to the way they travel to and from school.

While the team had the use of the School of Architecture and Planning’s advanced design software and CNC milling machine, the structure was built using unskilled labour and materials donated by local businesses.

Sam Wood and Yusef Patel’s award-winning shelter at Onehunga Primary School.

Sam, from Central Auckland and Yusef from Mt Eden receive a trophy and cash prize of US$2,000.

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EducationToday.co.nz

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Title: The ADHD Handbook Author: Stuart Passmore Publisher: Exisle Publishing

book reviews

Exploding the ADHD myths going on with their children and discover how they can help them.

With the most up-to-date research from all over the world, this book presents a comprehensive look at ADHD, covering from the causes of ADHD and diagnosing it to medicating and alternative ttention Deficit Hyperactivity therapies.

Disorder (ADHD) is found in 2-5 The book has a chapter on ADHD sufper cent of children in New Zealand.

Although up to three times as many ferers’ experiences, from their point boys are diagnosed with ADHD as girls, of view as well as facts and myths of it is now suspected the incidence is ADHD in adults.

ISBN: 978 1 921966 11 8 RRP: $39.99 From: www.exislepublishing.co.nz

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more like 1:1.

Myths that ADHD is caused by sugar or bad parenting, and shrill headlines claiming that the disorder is simply a confection cooked up by a big pharma to pedal drugs to kids all adds to the confusion.

Author and psychologist Stuart Passmore says parents need to understand ADHD is real, it’s a neurological disorder, and it can be treated.

In his new book The ADHD Handbook, Passmore sets out to help families who are struggling with ADHD, in a no-nonsense way. The book is filled with great tools to help families find out what is

Written in a calm, direct and non-judgmental language this is a must-have for any family juggling the maze of ADHD treatments and lost in the jungle of contradictory and confusing messages.

Stuart Passmore is a private practice psychologist. He has developed evidenced-based Parent Management Training program for parents of children with behavioral disorders ranging from ADHD to Oppositional Defiance Disorder to Conduct disorder and children with explosive and non-compliant behaviour.

Stuart also conducts professional development training workshops on Parent Management Training for behavioral and anxiety disorders.

The write stuff Title: Everyone Can Write Author: Howard Gelman Publisher: Exisle Publishing

ISBN: 978 1 921966 51 4 RRP: $24.99 FROM: www.exislepublishing.co.nz

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ou have a piece of writing due tomorrow and are stuck sitting there looking at a blank screen. You pace the floor back and forth, clean the house, make dinner, and do anything but start writing.

You have first-sentence syndrome.

Many people find it difficult to write that first sentence whether it is in an essay, a report, or narrative writing and can often result in writers block.

Howard Gelman who has taught writing for over 25 years has released Everyone Can Write where he explains little steps you can take to cure you of first-sentence syndrome and start writing.

Everyone Can Write is a practical ‘how to write’ book that solves problems that beginner writers struggle with by giving them an easy to follow and simple set of rules that allows them to write rapidly and clearly.

He has a three-step formula: Pre-write, free-write and rewrite, which helps you improve quality of work, research necessary information, and editing.

This book is good for aspiring writers who feel they have something to write about but need the tools to get started and for struggling writers who need a push to get back on track.

It is a useful pocket reference for anyone from a student to a business executive.

Howard Gelman is an associate lecturer at the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University, where he teaches business and media communications.

2* EducationToday.co.nz

Can your students conquer the

EPIC Challenge?

Photo courtesy Young Country

Our new competition for Year 10 students Potential Careers include: kicks off this term.

The EPIC (Enterprising Primary Industries Careers) Challenge is a free programme and competition that takes just two weeks to complete and has links to the Science, Social Sciences, Commerce, Careers and Media Studies learning areas. It can be completed at any point during Terms 2, 3 or 4 and can be easily introduced in your classroom, or given to keen students to complete as an extracurricular activity.

The challenge is simple - students research career options in one of the Primary Industries, choose one career and then develop a promotional strategy to market that career to fellow students.

Students can enter their work into the national competition, and there are a wide range of prizes available, thanks to The Ministry of Primary Industries and DairyNZ.

Enrol for the Challenge now at www.youngenterprise.org.nz tel. 04 570 0452

e. support@youngenterprise.org.nz EducationToday.co.nz

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