Changing the colour of a flower

Close up image of flower petals.

A transformation using transpiration!

Blowing up balloons with air pressure

Stretching balloon over bottle.

No need to huff and puff to blow balloons up; let an empty bottle do it for you!

Bending water with static electricity

Two girls placing blown up balloon under tap of running water.

Did you know you can bend water without touching it? Strange, but true!

Making a lava lamp

Two girls making a lava lamp.

You have to agree … lava lamps are pretty groovy!

Slime

Young girls making slime.

Looking for something gloopy and slimy? Look no further!

Moving on from primary

Children all seated in classroom listening to teacher.

Depending on the particular setup of their school, most Kiwi kids leave primary school at the end of Year 6, although some leave at Year 8, if the school includes Year 7 & 8. It’s a transition that parents, children and teachers are mindful of as the end of the year draws nearer.

It can be an emotional time for a child, moving onto something new and leaving the familiar. The process needs to be supported by parents, teachers, schools and the wider educational community to ensure it is a positive experience.

The NZ Ministry of Education has set up Communities of Learning, to help ease this transition.  When schools children move on from and move into, collaborate and share expertise, children and young peoples’ learning pathways are supported and their transition through the education system improved.

The home/school partnership

Two women sit at table discussing home school education.

Two really important aspects to your child doing well at school are the school itself and, crucially, the support your child receives at home. When home and school work together in partnership, amazing things happen!

 

The arts

Children dressed up together performing play.

When we talk about ‘the arts’, we’re referring to visual art (drawing, painting etc.), music, drama and dance. These aren’t just ‘nice to have’ subjects. There’s a heap of reasons why it’s vital these subjects are included in the New Zealand school curriculum.

Digital learning

Children in classroom seated around table with ipads.

The world is changing rapidly and part of this change is the prevalence of digital learning in classrooms up and down the country. Digital devices are now commonplace in many schools and early learning centres. In this story, we look at how Point England School in Auckland is using digital learning to improve students’ learning outcomes.

Numeracy and literacy in early primary

Child learns to write.

We go inside the classroom to discover how numeracy and literacy are taught in the early primary years.