#14 Newsletter 2025

Have something to share? Get in contact with one of our Across School Leaders – we would love to hear from you!

[email protected] 21st Century Learning

[email protected] Structured Literacy

Pathways with Bee-Bots and LEGO – Year 1 Success

Our Year 1 students recently explored pathways and coding through a hands-on lesson using Bee-Bots and LEGO. The session was a huge success, with high engagement and plenty of collaborative learning.

We began by acting out movement instructions as “human Bee-Bots.” The children practised following and giving directions, using forward, back, left, and right while moving around the room. This warm-up set them up beautifully for the programming task.

In small groups, students then programmed their Bee-Bots to travel to different locations. They quickly learned not only how to input commands but also how to cancel and reprogram when their Bee-Bot took an unexpected path. It was fantastic to see their problem-solving skills in action!

While waiting for their turn, students used LEGO to build landmarks for the Bee-Bots to navigate to. This gave them a creative outlet and encouraged collaboration, sharing, and respect for equipment. The LEGO creations added excitement and ownership to the task, making the pathways come alive.

The atmosphere was buzzing (pun intended!)—students were focused, joyful, and supportive of each other’s learning. It was a wonderful example of how coding, movement, and creative play can be integrated meaningfully in the early years.

Use Little Alchemy in Your Classroom!

If you’re looking for a new, free, fun way to get students thinking, check out Little Alchemy. It’s a simple game—available online and as a mobile app.

Players start with just four items: air, earth, fire, and water. Their job is to drag and combine these elements to make new things, with over 580 possibilities! For instance, mixing ‘water’ and ‘earth’ makes ‘mud.’

This game is more than just play; it’s a great teaching tool because it makes students:

Think Creatively: They have to guess and test combinations, like real scientists!
Solve Problems: When a combination fails, they go back and try a new idea. This builds important trial-and-error skills.
Work Together: It’s perfect for pair work, encouraging students to talk through their ideas and share their “recipes.”

While the game isn’t a science textbook, it effectively teaches the fundamental concept that new things are created by combining existing parts. Use it as an engaging warm-up, a brain break, or a structured activity to introduce concepts in any subject.

Te Reo Māori Courses for 2026 – Now’s the time

If you want to learn te reo Māori, it’s not too late to sign up for courses in 2026, but you will need to register shortly or you may miss out.

We have some great options below that have varying commitment and modes of learning that could suit your life.

Te Herenga Waka o Ōrewa Marae

This is a locally run course held at our community marae here in Silverdale. You will not only gain te reo, you will gain a whānau and marae. The courses are full immersion and face-to-face with a weekly night class and noho marae (Marae stays) throughout the year.

If you are interested, please fill in the information form by clicking on the URL link below. Feel free to forward this email to any other interested parties:

https://forms.office.com/r/mDFD hq56N9

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

This is our biggest te reo Māori learning institution so they are well-resourced and have the most options with dedicated online courses at most levels or face-to-face if that’s what you prefer. For the later, the closest location is on Lincoln Road, West Auckland. Courses are fees free, which is a bonus.

Te Wānaga o Awanuiārangi

They have no face to face courses locally but the online options are great. Courses are fees free which is a bonus. Choose the online course when enrolling.

Mumu Reo – Online and Self-directed

This is well-resourced and great for learners who want to go through content at their own pace. For an extra cost, tutorials are provided. The downside is that it’s not fees free. 2026 options aren’t out yet but this gives you an idea of cost and course.

NZ Mathematics and Statistics Curriculum

There are substantial changes to the latest Mathematics and Statistics curriculum release that occurred last week (the latest curriculum is on Tāhurangi). I certainly have mixed views on it. Some things have been simplified, but others simply look unrealistic and I think we are all in a bit of shock at the moment, especially with all the PD we have recently done.

Probability now begins at Year 5, and financial literacy is back, starting at Year 1. The PPDAC cycle for Statistics is gone for Years 0-10. And good luck in getting our Year 3 students to know their 8x tables by Year 3!!!

Theresa Harvey from Orewa College has shared the resources below with us.

Statistics and Probability

The world of Statistics and Probability is ever-changing. Statistics is probably the most changeable area in Mathematics. Therefore, we need to keep in touch with what’s changing, how it’s changing and be provided with new resources and PD. A couple of resources that are out now:

A guide for teaching probability (ages 5–18).
The first chapters of Probability | Tūponotanga – A guide for teaching probability (ages 5–18) are now live! This new free guide, created by the NZ Statistical Association Education Committee, is designed to support kaiako across all year levels with practical, research-informed ideas for teaching probability.
Access the free guide
The guide is being released in three stages:

Now available:
- Chapter 3: Building the language of probability
- Chapter 4: Modelling uncertainty
- Plus teaching and learning examples you can use right away in your classroom.
Coming December 2025: Māori perspectives, history of probability, games of chance, digital tools and more.
Coming June 2026: Risk, probability literacy, everyday decision-making, and theory.

Take part in CensusAtSchool!
This is a fantastic tool for students to take part in a real life survey. CensusAtSchool can be used as a dataset to assess in NCEA Level 1 so if students have prior experience of using it in previous year, they can bring a lot of personal background knowledge to their assessment.

Take part
Register
Find your code
Teacher resources:

Statistical Investigations
By Pip Arnold with Tony Trinick and Maxine Pfannkuch

“This book provides a comprehensive overview of the Statistical Investigations | Te Tūhuratanga Tauanga thread in Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) and The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). It collates research and best practice in the area from Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, and shows the development of statistical concepts that form the foundational building blocks of statistical thinking and reasoning up to Year 11. This book has been written to support teachers to understand the progressions from Years 1 through 11. The progressions presented are connected to the phases of learning (taumata ako) of the updated curriculum framework. The structure of the book follows the statistical enquiry cycle rather than phases of learning. Foundational concepts for each stage of the statistical enquiry cycle are addressed and progressions for key concepts are given across the phases of learning. This is supported by teaching and learning examples. To support the development of the language of tauanga, the indicators and progressions of learning are also in te reo Māori. The book is grounded in New Zealand research in statistics education, but international research and literature was sourced to ensure gaps in our research base were filled and the future direction of statistics and data science education was captured.

Focus on Handwriting

Handwriting became the poor cousin to the other literacy skills in recent years, but it is making a comeback! Its importance cannot be underestimated, so make sure that you timetable, plan, and implement it effectively.

Handwriting is important because it enhances cognitive abilities like memory and learning, improves motor skills, and is a necessary life skill for tasks like signing documents, note-taking, and creative expression. It helps children develop foundational skills in reading and spelling, and allows adults to more effectively process and retain information during learning activities like note-taking.

Read this quick blog from Sunshine for more information:

Handwriting Blog

If you haven’t already, be sure to have a look at the updated Teaching Handwriting guide from the ministry which replaces the one from 1985. Some interesting additions like a section on cursive style.

You will have to click Download resources.

Ministry Handwriting Supplement

For a quick 2 minute watch from an occupational therapist’s viewpoint which is also relevant for parents check this video out:

The Handwriting effect

End of Year Strategies for Teachers

To make a happier, healthier Teacher

How Teachers Can End the School Year Strong | Gratitude, Reflection, Self-Care & More!

End the Year on a high! The big “in the moment challenges” are always there, but remember the tough times pass. It’s what you do for yourself that makes it better.