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At Arakura School in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, lunchtime isn’t just about food – it’s about community, connection and learning. Instead of outsourcing school lunches, staff and tamariki grow, prepare and serve nutritious kai together. The entire school gathers each day to share a meal, turning lunchtime into a rich learning experience.
In schools and centres across Aotearoa, a growing number of kaiako and support staff are sharing with colleagues that they have a neurodivergent diagnosis. In doing so, they’re helping to break down prejudices and promote inclusion. AKO spoke with three members of NZEI Te Riu Roa about their experiences as educators with ADHD.
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.
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.
Making art helps us slow down, process our feelings, and gives us permission to care for ourselves. Ako talks to schools who use art practice to support hauora and bring in joy, colour and wonder.
Ako talks to early childhood educators about how they use attachment theory to create secure relationships with tamariki, and the barriers they have to overcome.
High workloads and insufficient resourcing in a rapidly changing society leads to staff burnout. But these education leaders have found authentic ways to support and value staff hauora.
Global Citizenship education (GCED) is UNESCO’s response to the impact of poverty, global warming, inequality and human rights violations which threaten peace and sustainability worldwide.
Sam Hayden of Northcross Intermediate writes about “Add Value”, the programme he created to support student hauora.
Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. Try this mindfulness practice!
It is great to be able to share this issue of Ako with you. Hauora seems to be the catch phrase of the last couple of years.
Mark Jensen, the drama teacher at Northcross Intermediate School in Auckland, talks about how performing arts activities have been used by staff across the school as a positive way to reconnect with their thousand-plus students in the first days of reopening at Level 2.
The disruption caused by Covid-19 has been particularly felt by hundreds of beginning teachers. Barely settled into their classrooms, they have suddenly found themselves having to work in a different way. Ako spoke with three new teachers about meeting the challenge.
AKO chats with Liam Rutherford, NZEI Te Riu Roa president, about what it’s been like for him working from home, how he’s looked after his own wellbeing and what he sees the future holding for our members.
Recently, AKO spoke with two school principals about their efforts to bridge the digital divide in the lockdown. We caught up with them again to find out how their schools are managing the transition to Level 3 and beyond. They reminded us that behind the digital divide is a greater inequity.
AKO chats with Linda Jordan, a teacher aide and team leader at James Cook High School in Manurewa, about the challenges of lockdown and technology and the profound importance of being supportive and understanding.
Dr Mark Cross, an Australian psychiatrist specialising in anxiety disorders, shares his experience and advice for New Zealand teachers as the new Term 2 looms. His new book is “Anxiety: Expert Advice from a Neurotic Shrink Who’s Lived with Anxiety All His Life”.
Renu Sikka, a primary school teacher and member of NZEI Te Riu Roa, reflects on what the lockdown can mean for her colleagues around the country and how mindfulness can play a role in getting through.