Filter Content
He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai.
If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive.
Kia ora e te whānau
This is my first Principal Matters newsletter for the fourth term mainly because I have been attending the International Confederation of Principals’ (ICP) Council meeting and Convention (conference) in Shanghai, China. Alongside me I was privileged to have the President of Te Akatea, Myles Ferris, and Leanne Otene of the Te Akatea executive.
International Conferedation of Principals (ICP)
The ICP represents over 200,000 school leaders across five continents and, as such, commands a unique global position as a major voice for school education. Each year the ICP holds a Council meeting and every two years, a convention or conference for member countries.
It is surprising that despite the diversity of countries represented, school leaders face very similar issues across the globe. These include principal health and wellbeing, equity of learning outcomes for all students and the threats of standardised assessment and the creep of privatisation. Hearing from other jurisdictions about how they approach these threats is enormously helpful.
As we in Aotearoa New Zealand look towards the release of the Tomorrow's Schools Review and the launch of the promised Leadership College, we can learn so much from our international colleagues who have faced similar issues. I thank our Canadian colleagues and those from Singapore, the UK and Ireland for sharing their leadership centre initiatives with us and convincing us that the best location for the College is the Teaching Council. In my remaining months as President, I will be lobbying hard to have the Leadership College located within the Teaching Council and I know that the Minister and Ministry will be looking for leadership from NZPF in establishing the parameters of this new College.
Our Australia based Oceania ICP representative was elected at the Council meeting and I look forward to establishing a strong connection with Michael Hall and working jointly on supporting the Pacific countries in our region.
NZPF Awards
As you know NZPF underwent a complete reorganisation of its national conference three years ago, so that any surplus funds from conferences might be shared more equitably across the membership. We established new awards including grants for Principal Associations and Tauri Morgan awards, and increased the number of awards for the Don Le Prou and Rural awards, to allow principals from smaller schools to attend conferences and other PLD opportunities. The deadline for the Rural awards is upon us now (see notice below), so I urge you to get your applications in.
I trust your last term of the year has started well and continues apace. Remember, taking a breather for yourselves is not a treat, it’s an essential part of your job if you want to perform well.
Ngā manaakitanga
Whetu Cormick
whetu@nzpf.ac.nz
Grants for Rural/Teaching Principals - Applications Close Today!
NZPF annually awards grants of up to $1000 to assist local Rural Principals’ Groups to run their own seminars and conferences. Applications need to be made NOW to fund your seminar or conference in 2020.
For further information and an application form, click here. Applications close at 5pm today.
APPA-NZPF Trans-Tasman Conference 2020
Next year's conference will be held in Melbourne from 15 - 18 September 2020.
Registration for the Conference is now open!
Click here for more information.
NZ Principal Magazine also Online
You and/or your team members can easily access the NZ Principal Magazines online, as an e-magazine or as a PDF. Additionally you can search for a previous issue, an article by title or by the author of the article. All magazines back to Term 1 2012 are available in this format. To view or search click here.
Petition for Safer School Buses
First Union, representing bus drivers, has started a petition calling on the government to prioritise safety and the Living Wage for drivers when awarding school bus contracts.
Please sign the online petition, which calls for a Safe buses Charter.
Drawing the Future
If you are a Principal of a Primary or Intermediate school, we'd like you to take part in Drawing the Future.
Drawing the Future from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) asks students to draw what they think they’d like to do when they grow up, and answer a few simple questions.
It’s an easy 30-minute exercise and a fun way to get children thinking about their futures.
Why Drawing the Future?
- The drawings will help the TEC understand children’s career aspirations and what factors influence these.
- The findings will be used to develop a programme called Inspiring the Future that shows tamariki all the career pathways that exist, helping to broaden aspirations for all our young people.
- Schools that take part will be amongst the first to receive a Drawing the Future research report.
- Every class that submits five or more drawings goes in a draw to win one of 10 art supply packs! The closing date for entries is 15 November 2019.
Look out for your Drawing the Future Pack
Every Primary and Intermediate School should have received a Drawing the Future Pack at the start of term 4. Each pack contains 30 drawing templates. Teachers will be able to request more packs from careers.govt.nz.
Questions? Contact the TEC on 0800 601 301 or email sectorhelpdesk@tec.govt.nz
VLN Primary School - Online Programmes 2020
Find out more and register your interest online or contact primary@vln.school.nz with queries.
All NZ children are welcome to learn with the VLN Primary - Nau Mai, Haere Mai!
Rachel Whalley, VLN Primary School
Teacher PD Opportunity in Malaysia
The Asia New Zealand Foundation is offering up to 14 places to social science teachers from New Zealand, to take part in a professional development opportunity in Malaysia. The trip will take place between 16-22 April 2020.
The purpose of the trip is to:
- provide teachers with first-hand experience of the rich diversity of Malaysia as well as the economy, history, culture and customs.
- allow teachers to learn about how social sciences are taught in Malaysia (similarities and differences in approaches).
- build teacher confidence to incorporate Malaysia/Asia content into the social sciences curriculum and allow them to share knowledge with students, colleagues and wider communities.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- be New Zealand registered primary teachers or secondary teachers of social science who are currently in a teaching role and have full support of their principal.
- be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.
- not have travelled to Malaysia previously (apart from transit).
For more information and to apply on-line, go to the website.
Applications close 5pm, Monday 18 November 2019.
NZPF assures its business partners that, as members, you will contact them to have a conversation if you are purchasing products, services or solutions for your schools that a business partner supplies. Please support our partners as their assistance to NZPF means better membership services to you.
