11 Jul 2024
Learning from Te Taiao
Bush school, cold dips, and local conservation projects with rats traps, Half Moon Bay School on Rakiura/Stewart Island make sure all the opportunities are possible for their tamariki.
Features
20 Jun 2024
Nurture, emotional regulation and neuroscience: laying the foundation for tamariki to learn
Some tamariki come to school carrying invisible backpacks. Glenview School and Papanui High share the invaluable role learning assistants and support staff play in ensuring all children can feel safe to learn.
21 May 2024
Digital pioneers: the world of Esports
Through digital literacy skills, collaboration and teamwork, two intermediate schools in Ōtautahi Christchurch are equipping tamariki exciting new ways to dream of the future.
Winter/Spring 202313 Dec 2023
A family devoted to education: the Huntleys’ remarkable teaching legacy
It’s not unusual to have two educators in the family, but have you ever heard of six? Ako meets the Huntleys, a family from Marlborough who have dedicated their lives to teaching and their community.
Winter/Spring 202315 Nov 2023
It’s time to end streaming in Aotearoa
All students deserve opportunities to achieve. The move to end streaming is a way of challenging socio-economic inequalities and the institutionalised racism that continues to persist in our teaching practices.
Winter/Spring 20231 Nov 2023
Mana taurite: the mahi behind the scenes
NZEI Te Riu Roa has launched its biggest pay equity claim so far – for all teachers. We talk to members who have been through the process and some involved in the new claim, to find out what out what’s involved – and why it’s worth it.
Winter/Spring 202311 Aug 2023
“We were refugees” Displaced by the cyclone
While many schools and centres were damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle, a few were forced into long-term closure with staff and children having to re-establish elsewhere. Ako talked to kaiako from three different institutions that found new premises, or were taken in by a neighbouring school or centre.
Winter/Spring 202321 Jul 2023
The power of collective action
During the recent weather events schools have emerged as first responders to crisis in many close-knit communities. Where local authorities failed, groups of educators joined together as hubs of help. Ako spoke with one group of schools in Tāmaki Makaurau about their joint efforts in the face of crisis.
Winter/Spring 202321 Jul 2023
Surviving Gabrielle
In times of tragedy and crisis, schools are often the glue that holds communities together. At the close of term one 2023, Ako visited one small school in Hawke’s Bay to learn how it became a regional hub after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Winter/Spring 202330 Jun 2023
Mānawatia a Matariki
As the Matariki and Puanga stars rise again in our winter skies, Ako asked members what Matariki means to them, how they celebrate it and how it supports their wairuatanga. Here’s what they told us.
Summer 20239 Jun 2023
Q&A with teacher and author Norah Wilson
Norah Wilson is a teacher at Bayswater School in Tāmaki Makaurau and author of the recently published picture book series E Oma, Rāpeti. She spoke to Ako about influences on her writing and her passion for sharing books in the classroom.
Summer 202323 Feb 2023
Building relationships with iwi – a regional and a national initiative
While eight tangata whenua iwi in the top of the South Island came together recently to improve outcomes for tamariki in education; another initiative has provided support for a growing number of principals and schools throughout several regions to connect with hapū and iwi since 2013.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023
Whiria te tāngata
Staff and students at two Te Tai Tokerau kura have been learning the challenging skill of tāniko and other weaving techniques. Ako finds out how this akoranga is supporting hauora and weaving the school community together.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023
Capturing communication
An innovative language project involving 19 kindergarten teachers has shown the value of collaboration and using data to enhance intentional teaching in early childhood education.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023
Te whakatipu toa reo
Puta noa i te motu e ngana ana te hunga tangata ki te ako i te reo Māori me Te Reo Turi/New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), koia nei ngā reo taketake o Aotearoa. I kōrero ake a Ako ki ētahi o ngā ākonga e ngana nei ki te whai i tēnei kaupapa, ko te whāinga hoki ko te whakamana i ngā reanga e kake ake ana, e mōhio ai rātou ko wai rātou, nō hea rātou.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023
Growing language champions
Across the country people are making it their mission to learn te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), both official languages in Aotearoa New Zealand. Ako spoke to educators who have taken up the language learning challenge, with the aim of empowering the next generation to be confident in who they are and where they come from.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023
Learning for life
Professional learning and development (PLD) is a critical part of practice for all educators. But how do they ensure their ongoing learning has the best impact for ākonga? These personal stories showcase some outstanding PLD experiences that benefit students, educators and whole communities.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023
Looking through the lens of a child: Reimagining the role of PE
For many of us adults, memories of physical education at school are embarrassing and isolating. Ako profiled teachers being supported to change that through Healthy Active Learning, a joint government initiative enhancing tamariki wellbeing through quality physical activity and healthy food and drink.
7 Dec 2022
Whānau day shows the power of a connected community
It’s not every day a Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopter lands on your school field, and then you get to shoot hoops alongside the local policeman, your teacher, and your mum. That’s exactly what happened for students at Richmond Primary, a small school in the heart of Maraenui, Napier, when a desire for teachers to connect with whānau following the COVID lockdowns, turned into a community-wide celebration.
Spring 202214 Sep 2022
Teachers of the future
Initial teacher education plays a crucial role in our education system. But is it up to scratch? Ako talks to education professionals who are reimagining how we grow new teachers.