The Briefing | Issue No. 1
- Lian Soh
- 17 hours ago
- 5 min read
Rāpare 5 o Hui-tanguru 2026
Kia ora koutou
Over the break we have continued to collate science education related news. There's quite a bit so we've adjusted our layout and will continue to refine it. If you've been checking our website regularly, then feel free to skip this post as it is a big summary of everything since our last email newsletter back in 2025!
We have updated our Resources and Experiences page. The former is designed to help you find level-appropriate and relevant teaching materials, while the latter is a catalogue of guest speakers, field trips, STEM kits, competitions etc. Both pages use the same filters so kaiako can weave a teaching sequence that is connected to place and community.
Have an amazing Waitangi Day weekend!
Ngā manaakitanga,
Bay Science
GENERAL NEWS
Sign up to Kiwi Conservation Club this February and be in to win a native parrot prize pack! (Facebook)
Radio Waatea Feature: Education and Culture in the Spotlight, 2025 (Radio Waatea)
UNESCO brings together education ministers to shape the skills of tomorrow (UNESCO)
EVENT FORECAST
Our full calendar is available here.
Feb 6 - Waitangi Day Festival 2026, Tauranga Moana
Feb 9 - EOIs for trialling the draft curriculum close.
Feb 7 - Sharing Our Spaces: Gardening to Welcome Wildlife (Kai Rotorua)
Feb 11 - Bush, Biodiversity and Telemetry Private Tour with Whakatane Kiwi Trust
Feb 11 - NZAEE Webinar: Sustainability Education in Secondary Schools
Feb 13 - UoW Climate Ambassador Programme entries close.
Feb 14 - Upcycled Scarecrow Workshop (Grow On Katikati)
Feb 14 - Seedling Propogation Workshop (Kai Rotorua)
Feb 14, 15 - Rongoa Maori 1 (Option 1, Tauranga) by Titoki Education
Feb 28 - Wilde Weeds Workshop (Giggles Te Puke Early Learning Centre)
Feb 28, Mar 1 - Rongoa Maori 1 (Option 2, Tauranga) by Titoki Education
CONFERENCES
2026 NZ Bird Conference (May 30 - Jun 1)
Science Communicators of Aotearoa NZ Conference (Jun 24-26)
UpliftEd by Aotearoa Educators Collective (July 8-9)
NZ Plant Conservation Network conference (Oct 12-15)
New Zealand Association of Environmental Education Conference (Sept-Oct holidays; planning in progress).
Chem-Ed Biolive by SCENZ and BEANZ (Nov 18-20)
RESOURCES
We have added 13 more resources to the directory.
Science Alive has a range of practicals that are easy to carry out at home.
Aceify is a YouTube channel for Level Three physics
CEEE has a collection of lesson plans and activities for climate change, environmental education and various earth science contexts.
Recloaking the Bay, a short documentary about some of our local farmers doing their bit for sustainability, can now be watched online.
He Aha te Rāhui? Understanding the Meaning and Purpose of Rāhui; an article from Waatea news
Pictures for Talk in Primary Science, a collection of images to prompt questioning.
RŪNĀ Kōkōkaha has a range of yachting related resources, including some easy-to-setup practicals related to boats.
Earth Sciences New Zealand has added Critical Minerals for Kids.
HPSS has created a bilingual Google site for Level 1 sciences.
The New Zealand Transport Agency has physics activities related to road safety.
TawakiCam shows a livestream of New Zealand's crested penguins.
Kākāpō Cam; a livestream showing the nesting journey of Rakiura the kākāpo.
A printable Lizards of Otago poster.
RANGATAHI OPPORTUNITIES
Lincoln University has free courses in Global Food Systems; Land, People and Economies; New Zealand Ecology and Conservation
Receive up to $10,000 for your school projects via the School Sustainability and Resilience Fund.
Study Level 3 AgHort online for free with Otago Polytechnic.
Applications are closing soon for University of Waikato's Climate Ambassador Programme.
Reminder: Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā, the Mātauranga Māori and Science Design Fair.
Last year, we put together a one page quick-start guide. The date of 2026's event is currently pencilled in for around the first half of August. Event location coming soon. You can also follow their Facebook page for the latest updates, including when dates/venue are announced.
KAIAKO OPPORTUNITIES
EDUCATION ASSOCIATION UPDATES
Detailed updates available here. Summary below.
AEC has uploaded two more Uplifted 2025 talks by Ann Milne and Julia Atkin.
ACEC is working on a set of climate change education guidelines. Get in touch, or join their mailing list, if this is something which interests you.
BEANZ and SCENZ have organised this year's ChemEd-Biolive conference. BEANZ has also released vocabulary lists as a resource on their website, and SCENZ is collecting feedback about their scholarship mock exams.
ESSENZ has published a highlight reel of last year's conference; ESSENZ also have a YouTube channel.
NZAEE are planning their national-level conference this year; a survey is available to gauge interest. They have also organised a webinar for Februray 11.
NZASE: Jay Vijayakumar and Catherine Hunter have swapped roles. This means that Jay moves from Junior Vice-President to President.
Did you know?
Music Education of New Zealand Aotearoa (MENZA), the national association for music educators, have made membership free for Term 1 to support all music educators with the draft curriculum.
SCIENCE CURRICULUM
"The Government has confirmed House of Science as the supplier for the nationwide rollout of science and pūtaiao kits" (House of Science Newsletter)
Pūtaiao, alongside the remaining learners areas of TMoA, has now been released.
Reminder: Feedback on the draft science curriculum Y0-10 is due on April 24th.
Bay Science has an open survey which we will close on February 13th, 5pm. Following this, Bay Science will be providing members with the opportunity to contribute more specific feedback -- both of these will assist in providing an organised response. More details to come.
Due February 9th: Kura may now submit EOIs for trialling the draft curriculum.
We're keeping our curriculum implementation timeline up to date based on the relevant Tāhurangi announcements to date. We're expecting Phase 5 to be available sometime this term.
Video recordings, transcripts and slide decks from last year's key webinars are now available:
Sifting through the Draft Science Curriculum (Aotearoa Educators Collective).
Unpacking the Draft Science Learning Area Years 1-8 (MoE)
Unpacking the Draft Science Learning Area Years 9-10 (MoE); you might have noticed that the Year 1-8 deck has an extra slide.
NCEA
In case you missed it last: last year, the Government delayed a final decision on abolishing NCEA, with Education Minister Erica Stanford indicating the proposal will go to Cabinet in February this year (1News).
Reviewed Achievement Standards and assessment materials published for 2026. Subscribed readers would have received this in their inbox in January.
PIVOTAL PERSPECTIVES
Commentaries and research relevant to science education and curriculum reform
Going Beyond a Singular ‘Science of Learning’ Framework (Spinger Nature Link)
1840 Reasons to Speak: A Tutorial for Erica Stanford (Engaging Learning Voices)
Digital skills are now fundamental to modern chemistry, yet UK education pathways are failing to keep pace with the evolving demands of the workforce. (Royal Society of Chemistry, UK)
On Epistemic Injustices: A Call to Overcome the Dominance of English in International Science Education Research (Wiley Online Library).
How a Treaty-honouring school starts the year (Rebecca Thomas)
If Education Isn’t Critical, It Isn’t Education (Trevor Bills)
The building of trust in science and the realization of its public value (International Science Council)
Responsible chemistry in a time of mistrust (International Science Council)
Trust depends on public openness about how science is practised (International Science Council)
The PISA 2029 Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy framework (OECD)
Are you trialling or implementing the draft science curriculum this term?
Yes
No
Our previous informal poll showed that 89% of respondents would like General Science to be a subject in Year 12 and Year 13.
Bay Science is currently planning a Term 1 cluster. Information and Expressions of Interest will be shared via email.