Teacher Association Updates | May
- Lian Soh
- May 17
- 3 min read
Updated: May 21
This article contains updates from our teacher association representatives. While you may have received information via other channels, the updates below are indicative of trending topics in the Bay of Plenty.
This is a live article so please continue to check-in as our key contacts may provide new information as the month progresses.
Biology Educators of Aotearoa New Zealand
BEANZ recommends that teachers do not use the supporting assessment resource Coast to Coast, which was released alongside the revised Achievement Standard 91604: Demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.
The BEANZ executive have raised concerns about the inconsistencies between the standard's requirements at all achievement levels and the corresponding achievement criteria outlined in the Coast to Coast marking schedule. The Ministry of Education has been informed of these issues.
BEANZ is currently working with the Ministry of Education to address the situation, hoping to provide a suitable assessment task.
In other news, a new Quality Assured Assessment Materials (QAAMs) task, 'SLICK Cows' for Biology 3.7 AS91607 Demonstrate understanding of human manipulations of genetic transfer and its biological implications is available to BEANZ members under "member resources".
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Wallace
BEANZ Regional Representative
Earth and Space Science Educators New Zealand
Earth and Space Science Educators New Zealand is delighted to announce the launch of their first national conference, Astrobiology 2025.
This conference is set to take place at Mount Maunganui College, within the Bay of Plenty, during the school holidays from Tuesday September 23 to Wednesday September 24. The cost of this event is also only $110, and also features celebration events on Thursday September 25th which are available to the public.
Ngā mihi nui
Jim Critchley and Erin Nolan
ESSENZ Regional Representatives
New Zealand Association of Science Educators
Linda Haycock has authored and published a resource on Drones which is now available for free. This unit was featured during our second cluster at Whatatāne High School - thank you for being such great hosts, and thank you to LearnWell for kai and freebies.
For PLD events, NZASE can also provide funding (e.g. petrol costs) to help members access professional learning. Members who are interested should contact Donna nzase@xtra.co.nz
If you are interested in Science Badges, a subscription to Double Helix as well as grants to attend SCICON please get in touch; SCICON grants will prioritise kaiako from rural communities as well as only kaiako per region.
NZASE is currently working on a Code of Ethical Conduct as part of Animal Ethics.
I am also currently waiting for a set of updated minutes from our last NZASE regional representatives meeting, and hope to share more information with you soon.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh
NZASE Regional Representative
Empower Kaiako for Equity Aotearoa
A recorded webinar PLD series is now available for free for kaiako.
Pilot Episode: Introduction
Episode 1: How are Exams Marked
Episode 2: Critical Practice of Retrieval (CPR)
Over the school holidays, a friend approached me for advice on managing a student she was tutoring that had severe anxiety. This inspired her to make a webinar series on Test Anxiety and Memory.
This is an important topic to share with the Empower KEA network as many ākonga at high equity index schools struggle with test taking. This is in part due to negative academic experiences and/or limited personal time to do reversion.
Ngā mihi nui
Keri Tan Garlick
President of Empower KEA
Secondary Chemistry Educators New Zealand
If you have been teaching C2.2 for some time and have refined a teaching resource, SCENZ could be interested in compensating you so that others can benefit from your work. This opportunity also applies to teaching and/or assessment resources for any of the Level 1 to level 3 standards, as well as any chemistry teaching resource in general.
If you have downloaded CB1.2 resources prior to May 8, SCENZ has also updated typos into their "Task 3 - Cooking with Gas" for CB1.2.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh
SCENZ Regional Representative
New Zealand Institute of Physics (Education)
The deadline for the early bird registration to attend PHYSIKOS 2025 has been extended until Friday 30 May 2025. PHYSIKOS will take place from 1-3 July at the University of Auckland.
You may be eligible for a funded registration (excluding dinner), courtesy of NEX funding from the Ministry of Education. This funding is applied and redeemed when registering.
Teachers can check out the PPTA Subject Association Grant. Members of PPTA can apply for a Grant up to $750 to attend a subject association conference or workshop. Subject Association Grants require pre-approval. This is so that you can have certainty that funding is available before you attend the conference.
Ngā manaakitanga
Mat Synge
NZIP Regional Representative
