Have something to share? Get in contact with one of our Across School Leaders – we would love to hear from you!
[email protected] Te Ao Māori
[email protected] Hauora
[email protected] Future Ready
[email protected] 21st Century Learning
[email protected] Structured Literacy
Welcome back to the new year. I know this time of the year is frantic, and it seems this year is more so than ever before as we start using the new Maths and English curriculums, get our heads around structured literacy and the new maths programmes. Hang in there, you are doing amazing!
Most of our Kahui Ako schools are implementing new maths programmes. However, don’t forget to integrate maths into other subject areas or just make it highly visible with lots that you do.
Here are some ideas to keep it fun.
Estimation Jars
Have an estimation jar. Fill it with different sized objects each week. You could even have a student responsible for it.
Mental Maths Relay Races
Divide the class into teams and set up a relay-style game with quick mental maths challenges. Each team member solves a problem before passing the baton to the next.
Include a mix of operations suitable for your year group, such as:
- Year 2: “What’s 10 more than 23?”
- Year 4: “Double 35, then add 10.”
- Year 6: “What’s 15% of 80?”
This game promotes rapid recall and mental calculation strategies while fostering teamwork.
Introduce rhymes to remember times tables: Last year my Year 3 students loved creating their own and sharing them with their classmates.
I ate and 8 till I hit the floor
8 times 8 is 64
6 and 6 stacked the bricks
6 times 6 is 36
5 and 5 dance danced the jive
5 times 5 is 25
9 and 9 had some fun
9 times 9 is 81
Foster that positive attitude and love of mathematics and have a fabulous year!
Welcome back to 2025! Another big year for Structured Literacy as we begin to implement the new NZ English Curriculum.
Structured Literacy is explicit throughout the new Curriculum and fortunately, all of our Kāhui Ako ki Orewa kura have begun their journey into embedding Structured Literacy approaches.
It is important to remember that whatever approach your kura has embarked on they all stem from the same place and contain the elements and principles of Structured Literacy. So no matter whether you are doing BSLA, Blend, iDeal or any other of the approaches available you will be delivering programmes that adhere to a Structured Literacy approach which will match the progressions outlined in our new English Curriculum.
An Invitation:
Any teachers who are new to Structured Literacy, including beginning teachers, teachers returning to teaching or those who have not had an opportunity to have any professional development in this area are welcome to attend a session at Orewa Beach School on Thursday the 13th of March from 3:30 – 4:30. It doesn’t matter which approach your school is doing and would be a great launchpad before embarking on any PD in this area.
Book Creator!
Be An Author Month takes place every March, celebrating the power of storytelling and student voice. This year’s theme, “Tell Your Story,” empowers students to explore their unique narratives and share their perspectives with the world.
March is a global celebration of literacy, with events like National Reading Month, Listening Awareness Month, and March into Literacy Month. At Book Creator, we’re excited to make Be An Author Month✨ the highlight of the year by turning classrooms into hubs of creativity and storytelling.
AI in Education
Ever thought it would be great to interview a historical figure? An animal? A character from a book? Well now with AI you can! Check out this webinar from Eric Curtz who runs through how to use AI tools to engage your class in a question-and-answer interview session.
AI Student Learning Activities with Prompts! (Interviews, Debates & More)
Source: https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2025/02/ai-student-learning-activities-with.html
Awesome Event Kick Started the Year!
Last week, the HBC Youth Hauora Network hosted the first-ever Community Panel Event supporting Youth Mental Health in our local community. Five AMAZING experts agreed to be on our panel and offered helpful advice on a range of questions that our local community had some input into creating.
The Panel:
Gen – Voices of Hope Co-Founder
Marnie – Family Navigator at StepsForward
Rob – Actor & Playwright from Shot Bro
Luka – Footie Night Club Founder and Co-ordinator
Tammy – Mental Health First Aid from Te Pou
Click on the links above to find out more about these amazing organisations and people.
Q1: Is there a way to start a conversation with my child/young person? Are there words that are ok or words to avoid?
Q2: What are some things to look out for? What’s “normal” and what are early warning signs?
Q3: I tend to keep my child’s mental health quiet. I don’t know how to tell people about it. Any tips?
Q4: How do I look after my own Mental Health whilst supporting someone else?
Q5: As a young person or a person who works with youth, what is something that you wish parents knew?
Q6: It seems these days that almost everyone has anxiety or depression, is this label thrown around too much?
Q7: My teenager is aimless with no sense of purpose, please help!
At the heart of the HBC Youth Hauora Network is a commitment to working together to improve the holistic wellbeing of young people on the Coast. If there’s one thing, we hope you took away from the event, it’s that youth mental health is something we all have a role in—and no one has to navigate it alone.
Connecting, collaborating, and creating community makes this journey easier for everyone—young people, parents, caregivers, and those working to support them.
Visit the website here for more information about the HBC Youth Hauora Network, including more information about the organisations and community groups in our collective.
Collaboration Between Kāhui Ako on the Coast
Karanga Wānanga
This year, the Te Ao Māori rōpū are planning to work more closely and collaboratively with our friends over at the Kāhui Ako o Whangaparāoa to develop opportunities and connections that will benefit all of our staff and students in the area.
The first is a planned professional development day for wāhine from all of our kura to address the need for increasing the number of kaikaranga in our kura. The role of kaikaranga (Person delivering the karanga) is often seen and heard at the beginning of a pōhiri/pōwhiri when a wāhine calls people onto/into a space/marae. The karanga draws people in and sets the intentions (kaupapa) while acknowledging time, people and place in the spiritual and physical realms.
As our kura have grown in many aspects of te ao Māori and are now, quite often, running their own pōhiri, the need has arisen to develop a pool of wāhine who can take care of this mahi that is a taonga in te ao Māori.
We hope that 1-2 women from each kura will come and train under the guidance of our tohunga in this space, Marara Scheurs to train to take up the role of kaikaranga in their respective kura.
What: Karanga wānanga
Why: to empower and enable staff, to develop an understanding of tikanga Māori across the community, and to respond to the shortage of staff for this role.
When: Thursday 27 March, 9 – 3.30pm
Where: Silverdale School
Cost: only the cost of PLD release for the wānanga
Who: 1 or 2 staff members from each school who will commit to stepping into the kaikaranga role and also lead schools to a better understanding
Wāhine (female) participants will be required for the full day.
Tane (male)participants until 11.30.
An official invitation will be sent out to all Māori leads across our Kāhui early next week. If you would like to participate, have a kōrero with your within-school leader and/or head of Māori to make an expression of interest.
Hui Dates
Thrusday 6th March – ASL @ Wainui – WSL @ Orewa College
Thrusday 20th March – ASL @ Dairy Flat – WSL @ Orewa College
Thrusday 3rd April – ASL @ Orewa Beach – WSL @ Orewa College
