Educator Association Updates | January and February 2026
- Jan 7
- 5 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
This article contains updates from various educator associations. News is curated via your friendly regional representative, announcements or newsletters by other affiliated members and the organisational website.
This is a live article so please continue to check-in as the month progresses.
New update for this month No Updates this month |
ACEC, Aotearoa Climate Education Coalition
An ACEC Working Group recently met to draft a set of climate education guidelines. If this is mahi which you might be interested in participating in, please reach out to ACEC.
Ngā manaakitanga
AEC, Aotearoa Educator's Collective
A recording and transcript for the webinar Sifting Through the Draft Science Curriculum is now available.
Join Shamubeel Eaqub and Stephen Lethbridge as they unpack the economic story of education in Aotearoa (March 18, 7pm)
Membership to AEC is free.
Contact
BEANZ, Biology Educators of Aotearoa New Zealand
BioLive ChemEd event information is now live.
Vocabulary lists for Level 2 and Level 3 are now available under 'resources' on the BEANZ website. You will need a login/membership to access these.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Wallace, BEANZ Regional Representative
ESSENZ, Earth and Space Science Educators New Zealand
A highlights reel of the 2025 ESSENZ & Astrobiology conference is now available here.
ESSENZ also has a YouTube channel here.
Ngā manaakitanga
Jim Critchley, ESSENZ Regional Representative
jimc@mmc.school.nz
Erin Nolan, ESSENZ Representative erin.nolan@whs.co.nz Official website www.earthspacescience.org.nz www.youtube.com/@esswebinars
Membership to ESSENZ is free and gives kaiako access to all ESSENZ resources on their Google shared area, as well as access to all the exams that the association has produced. You can join here.
HATA, Horticultural and Agricultural Teachers Associations
On February 11, HATA sent a communication to it's members regarding the draft science curriculum.
Aquaculture New Zealand has a new careers page. You'll also notice that their website has links to Instagram videos which they are hoping can be shared with students who are interested in marine science, sustainability and the blue economy. Any questions or queries should go to Kirsten Norfield at Aquaculture New Zealand (kirsten.norfield@aquaculture.org.nz),
Pāmu has a range of apprenticeship schemes on offer.
Contact
Kerry Allen. Secretary k.allen@stpauls.school.nz
KEA, Empower Kaiako for Equity Aotearoa
No updates yet - please check back later.
Contact details
Keri Tan Garlick, President of Empower KEA
NZAEE, New Zealand Association of Environmental Education
NZAEE are running free webinars over February and March:
February 11th, 4:00 - 5:00 pm | Sustainability Education in Secondary Schools
February 24th, 4:00 - 5:00 pm | Analysing the Draft Curriculum
March 25th 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Growing Spaces of Belonging
Have you started planning for Seaweek yet? The NZAEE resource collection has been updated.
We're planning our national conference for the Sept-Oct holidays in 2026 and it will be held in person rather than online - for the first time in eight years! If you're interested in attending we would love your feedback as we start planning. Please complete the quick survey here and share with others who might be keen to join us.
Full details will be shared in early 2026, including dates, location and call for presentations. Check out the NZAEE webinar on sustainable education in secondary schools for valuable insights and resources!
NZAEE Webinar and Support:
With dedicated MoE funding this year, NZAEE's experienced facilitators Lyn Rogers and Becky McCormack are available to support secondary teachers with 1:1 support (online or in person depending on location), webinars, PLD workshops, resources etc.
You can let us know more about what you're currently doing and how we can support you this year by completing this short survey: Secondary Teachers Survey
We'd also love you to join our first webinar on February 11th from 4 - 5pm. You can also get in touch with Lyn directly if you have any questions: lyn@nzaee.org.nz
Nga manaakitanga
The DePetris, NZAEE Regional Representative
NZAPSE, New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators
No updates yet.
Contact details
John Marsh, NZAPSE Regional Representative
NZASE, New Zealand Association of Science Educators
Jay Vijayakumar and Catherine Hunter have swapped roles. This means that Jay moves from Junior Vice-President to President.
I have emailed Jay and put forward the suggestion that NZASE join He Rau Ringa, the joint subject associations of New Zealand.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh, NZASE Regional Representative
NZIP, New Zealand Institute of Physics (Education)
Online Workshop – Solar System (around Year 9 Science and Maths)
If you’re teaching around the 14-year-old level and want to explore a new resource on patterns in the Solar System, this online workshop might be worth a look.
Perimeter Institute is running a virtual session on Thursday, March 5 at 7pm ET, where participants will work through two inquiry-based student activities from their resource Patterns in the Solar System.
The first activity explores four key properties of Earth — its shape, rotation, orbit around the Sun, and axial tilt — along with the evidence behind each. The second looks at the observations that led scientists to move from an Earth-centred model of the Solar System to a Sun-centred one.
All activities are designed for students around 14 years old.
Register here.
Inspiring Future Women in Science Conference
Perimeter Institute also hosts an annual half-day conference designed to inspire young women with a strong interest in science. The aim is to connect students with the real rewards and challenges of scientific careers.
High school students of all genders are welcome to attend. If you’re not close enough to join in person, the event will be webcast live at 9:00am ET on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
Registration is now open.
Register here
From Equation to Economy
History shows that breakthroughs in fundamental science often lead to technologies that reshape society. From smartphones to medical imaging, many of today’s tools began as curiosity-driven research into how the universe works.
This article introduces researchers — past and present — whose pursuit of fundamental understanding led to transformational technologies.
Read here.
Contact
Mat Synge, NZIP Regional Representative
SCENZ, Secondary Chemistry Educators New Zealand
BioLive ChemEd details are now live.
The SCENZ exam team has found it increasingly difficult to find writers for the NZIC Scholarship exam. Your responses to this questionnaire will help evaluate the current offering and its usefulness.
Minutes from the 2025 SCENZ AGM are available below.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh, SCENZ Regional Representative
Te Kikini o te Rehutai, Tauranga Moana Māori Teacher's Association
Note the new email address: tjackson@otc.school.nz
Ngā manaakitanga
Whaea Tania Jackson, Treasurer. Tauranga Moana Māori Teacher's Association
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