29Jun – 6 Jul | Matariki |
1 Jul | STEM educators expo at MOTAT in Ak, 4:30-7pm |
2 Jul | ESS Scholarship tutorials begin 7 pm. To join Students need to contact Jenny |
2 Jul | SLH National Summit – Science education: Fit for purpose. Novotel, Ak Airport. |
3-5 Jul | Mātauranga Māori Science & Design Fair Sudima Hotel, Wgtn |
10-12 Jul | UoA Women in Engineering 3 free days of activities. More info here. Questions here. |
11Jul | World Population Day www.stats.govt.nz , go to Schools Corner |
12 July | Deadline to apply for Science Teaching Leadership Program. Info here. |
Moon | NM Jul 6 1Q Jul 14 FM Jul 21 3Q Jul 28 |
Talks that may be relevant for us
-
- Dr Kaitlyn Martin on Antarctic wildlife & climate change, July 12th Wgtn, 16th PN, 18th Nelson
- Resources for Matariki
- A panel discussion on The place of Matariki and its traditions in today’s culture
- Tewaiehu Savage unpacks several layers of understanding for Kōtui Ako VLN educators. Here.
- Planetarium North, 500 State Highway 14, Maunu just west of Whangarei has a Matariki show every Saturday til the end of July. $15. planetariumnorth.co.nz
- Classroom resources https://spacewardbound.nz/matariki/
- Science Learning Hub’s winter school holiday event listings across the country. Tell your students.
- NZ Geothermal Week 1-6 Jul is held in Taupo & around the Taupo Volcanic zone to showcase and celebrates this thriving industry. https://www.taupo.biz/nzgeothermalweek
Info
- Mātauranga Māori:
- This webpage uses text and video to explain some key concepts (kaitiakitanga and whakapapa) in drawing on mātauranga Māori when caring for the environment.
- 6 new geothermal kupu have just been published by the Māori Language Commission
- Pedagogy:
- Carly Fiorina discusses her leadership framework: goals & strategy, process & structure
- Professional reading/watching/listening:
- Resource to use with teachers exploring cognitive load in the classroom.
- Student opportunities:
- Young Rutherfords’ holiday courses (Auckland)
- Chocolate Matters: Tues 9 Jul. $90. Book here.
- Science Escape Room: Mon 8 Jul $30. Book here.
- Young Rutherfords’ holiday courses (Auckland)
- Digital:
- David Madden’s video guide to using ChatGPT to create a quiz, then formatting it into Canvas
- Literacy:
- The Jam sandwich code for answering longer questions
- The latest NZASE newsletter has a articles on Science Learning Spaces for anyone and Māori dyes and Aurora for members only as well as a profile of scientist Jan Eldridge. Sign up for the newsletter or find resources or join NZASE here https://nzase.org.nz/.
Resources
- Biology:
- Agricultural and Horticultural Science:
- Earth & Space Science:
- A stargazing guide: The July Night Sky
- A lesson from Neil deGrasse Tyson about how scientists find exo-planets (PocketLab is free to join). https://app.thepocketlab.com/lab-report/3ZsE6Df70008UzW701LPlj
- Chemistry:
- Physics:
- An article on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation – why we still see light from the big bang. https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/big-bang-fade-away/
- Lisa Janek found a simple online graphing tool for line graphs. The same website has 1 for bar graphs and one for teachers making blank graphs too.
- Primary & intermediate:
- 3 seasons of Magic School Bus https://www.youtube.com/@VictorNelvanaShows/playlists
- A science book you might like to read
- The Violinist’s Thumb by Sam Kean explores the wonders of DNA in stories. Very readable
- What science book would you recommend for teachers or students?
MoE/NZQA
- Info about the common assessment activities https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/NCEA/Subject-pages/2-Universal-documents/L1-Submitted-External-Assessment-Guidelines-V1.0.pdf
Can you help?
- Mandy Gunderson is completing MEd research into how teacher integrate sustainability into the science curriculum. If you could spare 10-15 mins for a chat about your junior sci or senior bio teaching that incorporates sustainability, please contact her at ag360@students.waikato.ac.nz
- Lisa Hooker is looking for a pdf copy of Living things by V. Slaughter. This book has lots of simple biological diagrams. If you can help please contact hookerlisa@gmail.com
Professional Learning & Development (PLD) Opportunities
- Science Learning Hub webinar, Exploring mātauranga in the classroom, Th 1 Aug, 4:00–4:45 pm. Chloe Stantiall and Greta Dromgool share their experiences exploring mātauranga as pākehā educators in English medium classrooms. Useful for teachers of years 1-10.
- Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts are holding a hui 9-10 Jul at Microsoft House, Level 5/22 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Ak CBD. Info here. Register here
- Resources from NZASE’s term 2 PLD are available to all here. There are some real gems in the discussion summary, which also lists all the places you can go to get help with the new standards. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gypbqQsezk-P3fkN07J4YnMS2yYLOoF6?usp=sharing
- Maungatautari is running a native plant identification workshop 17 Jul. Complete this form to be sent details when finalised
Technician
- Flowers for dissection – check the school grounds. Agapanthus, fuchsia, Gladioli nanus, camelia, rhododendron, daffodil, hibiscus. Ask local florist to donate not so fresh flowers.
Although I will continue to produce Mike’s News for a few more years, the time has come to retire from PLD facilitation – it is now almost 20 years since I was in the classroom. I got my gold card in March and thought I would need to see the year out, but now I have the opportunity to hand the responsibility on to someone eminently qualified. Linda Haycock was in the classroom last year, has facilitation and pilot school experience and is much more patient than I have been recently. As you will be in very capable hands I do not feel I am leaving you in the lurch. Many thanks for all the encouragement and support over the years. From 22 Jul Linda will be NZASE’s new PLD facilitator, available at lindahaycock@gmail.com.
Cheers, Mike
Mike’s News is brought to you with the generous support of NZASE and Warp Computers