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The Briefing | Issue No. 20

  • 24 minutes ago
  • 11 min read

Rātapu, te 2 o Ākuhata 2026


Children’s hands shape sand in a classroom tray, making hills and tunnels; playful, collaborative scene.
STEAM-ED Tauranga are offering free STEAM workshops to help students explore flood resilience. Image supplied. © STEAM-ED.

Kia ora koutou


A smaller newsletter this week, but do be aware of the 'reminders' in the sections below. We'll use 'light grey' font to code for news items which have previously featured but whose closing dates are still relevant.

Also, our friends at STEAM-ED Tauranga are currently offering a fully funded (i.e. free for schools) flood resilience workshop for students in Years 5-8 in Term 3, with additional workshops also available next year. See it here, or reach out to the STEAM-ED team directly: 022 377 3209 or via their website: https://steamed.nz/contact-us/ as soon as possible.


Kia kaha,

Bay Science



  • BLAKE Awards Nominations Now Open Environmental leadership is more critical than ever before, and the BLAKE Awards seeks to recognise those with visionary efforts to create a more sustainable future. Seven BLAKE Award categories are available, including education, young leader, community and schools. blakenz.org/programmes/blake-awards/

  • Te Akapūmao Education Summit 2026 This year the theme is Re-Righting Education for the Future of Aotearoa. Registrations will open next week once the programme is refined. Current details are Friday, September 4 at the Dominion Museum Building (Wellington).

  • PISA 2025 Report Last year's PISA testing was the largest ever, spanning 91 education systems, more than 760 000 students and including new metrics on computational problem solving and student use of AI. Results are due to be released on September 8, 2026 with a launch event.

  • Kiwi Conservation Club

    Join (or renew) your KCC membership to go in the draw to win a Tautuku or Xanthochromic gecko. Sign up here.

  • He Toi Whakairo | The Art of Māori Carving A new exhibition at Te Papa Museum tracing the evolution of Māori carving over 700 years. Experience 147 whakairo (Māori carvings) including pieces which have never been exhibited before. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/exhibitions/he-toi-whakairo


REMINDERS

Our full calendar is available here. Let us know how we can help promote your event.

August 03


August 04


August 05


August 06

  • No listings. Do you have an event? Bay Science can promote it.


August 07

  • No listings. Do you have an event? Bay Science can promote it.


August 08


August 09


August 10

  • No listings. Do you have an event? Bay Science can promote it.


August 11


August 12


August 13


August 14

  • No listings. Do you have an event? Bay Science can promote it.


August 15


August 16

  • No listings. Do you have an event? Bay Science can promote it.




CONFERENCE WATCHLIST (CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)



The following have been added to our Experiences page and Resources directory. While we may share resources here, directory only saves items which are free and which do not require a login.


  • Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026 Solve for Tomorrow is a nationwide competition challenging New Zealand’s next generation of innovators to unleash their creativity and use STEAM to help improve their communities. Final submissions are due 18 September 2026. www.samsung.com/nz/solvefortomorrow/

  • NZ Bird of the Year This year, the NZ Bird of the Year competition is embracing the youth vote by making it easy with a complete resource pack for schools. Get your school or classroom onboard by registering here.

  • Fully Funded STEAM for Flood Resilience Workshop for Schools | STEAM-ED Tauranga STEAM-ED is excited to offer “Te Hīkoi o te Wai – Flood Resilience through STEAM-based Kaitiakitanga”, a fully funded, hands-on STEAM workshop suitable for students from Years 5 - 8 . The workshop blends practical engineering design, science-based decision-making , and Te Ao Māori perspectives, empowering students to see themselves as guardians and future problem-solvers in their communities.



REMINDERS

  • Kura Conference 2026 National curriculum changes are here. Is your school up to speed? A two day conference where you'll hear from teachers, principals, educationalists and ministry consultants. November 10-11 2026.

    https://brightstar.co.nz/events/the-kura-conference/

  • Kiwi Conservation Club Focus Group

    Do you use KCC resources in your classroom? KCC are looking for 8 teachers and educators to join their focus group to share what's working, what isn't, and what you'd like more of. The focus group session runs for 45-60 minutes on Wednesday August 12. Sign up here. Participants will be gifted a class set of the latest Wild Things as well as a year's subscription to KCC (2 magazines per quarter) as well as access to the archive of past magazines.

  • Share your experiences and win a $500 Prezzy Card Netsafe are undertaking a nationwide project to better understand what schools need to help young people thrive in a digital world. Complete their survey to go into the draw to win a $500 Prezzy Card! gazette.education.govt.nz/notices/1HAt9n-share-your-experiences-digital-safety-and-student-wellbeing/

  • Closing Soon: Sow the Seed BoP Regional Hub 2026 Workshop

    Sow the Seed and the Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers Association (HATA) have one more regional meeting, soon-approaching on August 5th 2026 with a focus on NCEA moderation, update on curriculum and information from the Food and Fibre Industry Skills Board.


REMINDERS:

  • BLAKE Inspire for Teachers Primary and intermediate kaiako from across Aotearoa can now apply for the BLAKE Inspire for Teachers 2026 programme, a week-long environmental education programme funded by the Ministry of Education.


  • ESSENZ

    • This year's Level 1, 2 and 3 ESS exams are now available in the ESSENZ shared drive. This includes PESS 1.3 - Note, these are members-only resources; however, membership to ESSENZ is free.

  • NZAEE

    • Reminder to register to Tātaiao, the NZAEE National Conference on 5-7 October.

    • A webinar to unpack the final science and social sciences curriculum is taking place on August 27th, 2026.

    • Future-Ready Capabilities is a free webinar discussing the capabilities that really matter for young people in Aotearoa.

  • NZIPES

    • NZIPES have published their derived grade exam for L1 PESS 1.4 (AS92047) Demonstrate understanding of a physical system using energy concepts.


REMINDERS:


  • Final Years 0 to 10 New Zealand Science Curriculum Release Dates Announced

    Final versions of the Science curriculum for Phases 1-4 are timelined for release on August 12. Pūtaiao to be available on August 26th. These dates have been added to our 'super timeline' which tracks all announcements.

Closing Soon: Chief Advisor Assessment - Mātauranga Māori NZQA are seeking an experienced and influential assessment leader to join their Assessment Division as Chief Advisor Assessment - Mātauranga Māori. This is an opportunity to shape how mātauranga Māori and Te Ao Māori perspectives are reflected across assessment design, moderation, marking, qualifications development and quality assurance. Working alongside the Assessment Division Strategic Leadership Team, you will help ensure assessment systems remain credible, equitable and responsive to the aspirations of Māori learners and communities.

REMINDERS:

  • Chemistry NZQA The third round of free online for Making Assessor Judgements, Transforming Assessment Praxis, and Assessment Approaches workshops are now open at https://lms.nzqa.govt.nz/ You will need an Education Sector Login. These self-paced workshops repeat every eight weeks.


Readings and talks which may be relevant to us; commentaries and research relevant to science education and curriculum reform.


  • Do our ideas stack up? Towards a bicultural curriculum Part 2 (NZ Association of Research in Education)

    Part 1 introduced the idea of waystations to be explored in a professional learning journey. We drew from a paper published in The New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies to outline why we thought the waystation concept might be productively applied to the challenge of bringing different knowledge systems together. This was the context for collaborative work undertaken with our partners Pauline Waiti and Sara Tolbert over multiple years, but our arguments could equally apply to any other complex change in professional practice. Part 2 extends this discussion by considering ways of making coherent sense of multiple aspects of practice, when these are explored at different times, and in potentially different sequences, and in different contexts.

  • Learning Progressions: A Novel Tool for Planning, Teaching and Assessing in Science Education (NZ Journal of Educational Studies) Change is a constant factor in education. Curricula are refreshed to reflect the educational outcomes required in a rapidly changing society and pedagogies evolve in response to new insights into how children learn. In this constantly changing environment, teachers embark upon a career-long cycle of professional learning and development. Most primary school teachers in New Zealand are generalist teachers and therefore face the task of remaining up to date with the latest changes across a range of subjects. Read more (open access).

  • Teachers as data navigators—Using data to improve teaching and learning (NZCER) Teachers as data navigators is a study that aims to provide a national snapshot of primary and intermediate teachers’ data capabilities, and to understand how schools use data when making decisions aimed at improving teaching, learning, and equity. The research question that guided our study was: How do primary and intermediate teachers perceive their data capabilities and their use of data when making decisions about improving teaching and learning? Read more (open access)

  • What the heck even is a "knowledge-rich" curriculum? (NZCER) This article unpacks what a knowledge-rich curriculum means and how this concept has shaped the refreshed Aotearoa New Zealand curriculum. It looks at the whakapapa of the idea and how it connects with the science of learning. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of fact-based curricula and considers the essential place of mātauranga Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand curricula. Finally, it offers a series of prompts for educators to consider as they implement the new curricula. Read more (open access)

  • The elements of a successful chemistry curriculum (Royal Society of Chemistry UK) The RSC has released a framework and technical document ahead of a consultation period expected in September. The reports refer to Big Questions based on the Big Ideas of science education. Read more.

  • Are exams still the fairest way of assessing students? (OECD)

    In this episode of Top Class, the OECD’s Chris Moore is joined by Ruth Johnson, Director of Assessment at Cambridge OCR, one of the United Kingdom’s leading exam boards. She discusses how to keep exams inclusive, why she believes they remain the fairest way of testing students’ abilities - and the challenges facing assessors in the age of artificial intelligence. YouTube Podcast (open access).

  • Why choose chemistry as a career path? (Chemistry New Zealand) Why did you choose to study chemistry? Was it a great teacher, a positive experience with chemistry, or did chemistry just seem like the right “fit” for you? Was it down to a single experience or a series of experiences that led you to study and perhaps follow a career in chemistry? Read more (open access).

The monthly education association updates section has been discontinued. Instead, we'll share association updates in our weekly newsletter.

A webinar is being planned to provide updates/takeaway messages on the final science curriculum draft.


The Briefing is Bay Science’s weekly email newsletter for anyone interested in the latest developments in science education. Subscribe below to receive each edition.

Bay Science is a science teacher association with national reach. Our website serves as a noticeboard for science education news and events across Aotearoa New Zealand, connecting educators and community members across the country. If your organisation has a kaupapa, event, or opportunity to share with the science education community, we’d love to post it here.


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© 2025-2026 Lian Soh and Vicki Alderson-Wallace

info@bayscience.nz

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