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The Briefing | Issue No. 21 - Bay Science Newsletter

  • 2 hours ago
  • 12 min read

The home of science education news.

Rātapu, te 9 o Ākuhata 2026


Infographic from New Zealand Ministry of Education showing curriculum content rollout years for subjects and phases, 2025–2030.
On August 12, Science and Social Sciences will be published. Pūtaiao and Pūmanawa Tangata will follow on August 26. See the Tāhūrangi announcement here.

Kia ora koutou


Ngā mihi nui to all those who send through updates and share our newsletter with colleagues. There's heaps of events and opportunities to report this week.


Kaiako are anticipating the final version of the science curriculum for Years 0-10 to land on August 12. This release date has been further confirmed by the Thursday August 6 Tāhūrangi announcement - which also has a very clear implementation timeline that aligns with our own efforts towards documenting all Tāhūrangi announcements over the past year in our science curriculum timeline -Yes, this means that all of Years 0-10 will need to be implemented from the start of 2027.


For our secondary kaiako who are looking for ways to help students prepare for NCEA exams, it may be worthwhile finding out if your association's derived grade exams are NEX funded (and therefore free even if your school is not a paying member). See Educator Association Updates for SCENZ.

Kia kaha,

Lian and Vicki


Bay Science Newsletter


  • Bird flu update: what to do if you find a dead seabird Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital has published a new blog with information on what to do if you find a dead seabird. https://www.tmbiosecurity.co.nz/blog/post/168106/bird-flu-update-what-to-do-if-you-find-a-dead-seabird/

  • Rongoa Workshops | Kawhia, Tauranga, Tāmaki Makaurau, Northland Titoki Education has organised a range of Rongoa Workshops with Pā Ropata (Rob McGowarn) and Donna Kerridge from August - November. https://titokieducation.co.nz/workshops/

  • Applications for the Teach NZ Scholarship are now open! TeachNZ scholarships can cover the cost of your course fees and pay you an allowance while you study. If you plan to enrol, or are already enrolled, on an approved initial teacher education course, you may be eligible for 1 of our 5 scholarships. workforce.education.govt.nz/becoming-teacher-new-zealand/become-teacher-scholarships/teachnz-scholarships

  • Volcano Open Day at Whakatāne Library A free event for the community at Whaktāne Library Friday August 14th to learn about Whakaari and Tūhoa while exploring activities, books and resources. www.bayscience.nz/post/volcano-open-day-at-whakat%C4%81ne-library

  • Tauranga Green Drinks Isn’t it time we banned bottom trawling? Does it affect us in the Bay of Plenty or is it just happening elsewhere? We have a special (and Tauranga local!) guest speaker for the August Green Drinks, Kate Graeme, President of Forest & Bird national board to share with us the impact of bottom trawling for our moana - across Aotearoa’s deep sea, coastlines and in our own blue backyard. events.humanitix.com/green-drinks-rzeexa2y

  • Our Ocean of Islands NZ Maritime Museum Our Ocean of Islands is a landmark exhibition bringing together the Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practices of 24 Moana Oceania island nations, including Tangata Whenua and all 17 island nations with diaspora communities in Aotearoa. Opening August 15th! www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/exhibitions/our-ocean-of-islands

  • Our Sky Tonight - Te Whatu Stardome Connect with the cosmos like never before in Te Whatu Stardome's flagship live planetarium experience, Our Sky Tonight. Join one of their expert astronomers as they take you on a guided tour of the stars, constellations and stories that play out each night above.

    www.stardome.org.nz/movie/our-night-sky

  • MakerFest 2026 tickets now available! It's Free! STEM Wana is proud to announce the inaugural MakerFest, a two-day sustainable technology festival taking place on 12–13 September 2026. Discover the secrets to big savings and a cleaner future. Early bird tickets are now sold out, but general tickets are still free! events.humanitix.com/makerfest-2026-innovate-and-electrify

  • Nerdfest 2026 Nerdfest is back in 2026! The School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Waikato is excited to bring you our third annual Nerdfest event. Entry is FREE and all ages are welcome! Whether you're a tech newbie, a curious kid, a family looking for a fun afternoon out, or a seasoned ‘techspert’, Nerdfest has something for you. www.waikato.ac.nz/news-events/events/find-event/nerdfest/

  • New Manu by Bricks by Mike Forest and Bird and Bricks by Mike have developed a beautiful set of new manu on sale! Every bird sold suppots Forest and Bird. Stocks limited. https://bricksbymike.com/

  • Scigest (Bioeconomy Institute) What does a lifetime studying fungi look like? Renonwned mycologist Peter Buchanan reflects on a career spent uncovering the fascinating world of fungi in the latest Scigest podcast! https://www.plantandfood.com/en-nz/article/peter-buchanan-a-life-of-fungi


REMINDERS

  • 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/

  • Climate Canvas - Precious Resources

    Submissions for the Climate Canvas competition are now open, and will close on August 31. Envirohub BoP and Creative BoP are looking for visual artworks that align with this years' theme Precious Resources: material life cycles; water, soil and air; the economy of enough; Indegenous and traditional knowledge.

  • Maker Festival Tauranga 2026 Applications Open for Local Innovators Are you a backyard inventor, a robotics builder, or a sustainable tech creator? STEM Wana Trust is inviting all local makers, creators, and tinkerers to bring their projects out of the garage and into the public eye for Maker Fest 2026.

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

August 10


August 11


August 12


August 13


August 14


August 15


August 16


August 17


August 18


August 19


August 20


August 21


August 22


August 23




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.


  • POW Coloring For the parents who have tamaraki who just absolutely love colouring, this website has thousands of colouring pages for free. https://powcoloring.com/

  • Amoeba Sisters Dropbox Folder FREE Recap Handouts Millenial and GenX biology teachers might be familiar with the Amoeba Sisters, and now their free recap handouts have been refreshed with new improvements to art and layout. Note, answer keys still require payment. https://www.amoebasisters.com/handouts.html

  • Toy Theatre Free educational games and visualisers for primary aged students; including math, reading, art and music. https://toytheater.com/

  • On Unstable Ground: Exploring Landslide Risks and Management Aotearoa is a land of incredible scenery. The tectonic forces that have created our beautiful landscapes also make them prone to natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and landslides. On this virtual field trip, we’ll take you from urban Tahuna ❘ Queenstown to the rural Cromwell Gorge ❘ Tīrau and its famous Clyde Dam on the Mata-Au River. Expert geoscientists will guide you on this journey to explore different types of landslides, their causes, how to prepare for them, and what engineers do to manage their impacts. www.learnz.org.nz/whatstheplanstan164/bg-standard-f/landslides

  • Blocky Games Blocky Games has a variety of games to teach programming (algorithmic and instructional thinking) to rangatahi. https://blockly.games/?lang=en

  • [CLOSING TOMORROW] Registration for the NZIBO 2026/2027 Programme Registrations for the NZ International Biology Olymmpiad Programme closes tomorrow, August 10 (11:55 pm) with the online entrance exam taking place on the 19th of August. https://nzibo.org/registration/

  • [CLOSING SOON] ANZCART Essay Competition ANZCCART's secondary student essay competition is now open. Students who are sitting NCEA Level 1 to 3 exploring biological ideas in a socio-scientific issue could be very well well placed to enter. Entries close August 14 2026.

  • INSPIRE Festival 2026 INSPIRE Festival 2026 offers two days of student selected challenging discussions and hands-on workshops all focused around STEAMS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths, and Society). This year the festival is being hosted at Nayland College! www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/inspire-festival-tickets-1981551629265

  • BLAKE New Zealand Southern Dotterel Ambassador This summer BLAKE have one position for a young kiwi rangatahi aged 18 - 25 years old to work alongside the field team at Department of Conservation on Rakiura Stewart Island on the NZ Southern Dotterel Recovery Programme. For more information on BLAKE Ambassadorship Opportunities, visit our website here: https://blakenz.org/programmes/blake-ambassadors/

  • 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.

  • Turn Your School Yellow Schools across Aotearoa New Zealand are going yellow for Daffodil Day 2026! Sign up today and score FREE fundraising resources! https://www.daffodilday.org.nz/fundraiseatschool



REMINDERS



REMINDERS:

  • Aotearoa Educator's Collective

  • NZ Association of Environmental Education

    • 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.

  • Secondary Chemistry Educators NZ

    • Since NEX funding is used produce the NZIC derived grade exams, this means that these are free for all schools including non-member schools. Any non-member school can ask for the previous year's paper and, from Labour weekend 2026, any non-member school can also request this year's paper. SCENZ will work towards making this clearer on their website.

  • Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers Association

    • There is now a Sustainability 1.4 exam on the HATA website.

    • Any school that has not yet requested the Grow Game can fill out this form.


  • Agribusiness Conference information is now available. See attached flyers below. Both conferences are free to attend. While schools are expected to cover travel and accommodation costs, PPTA members can apply for a grant of up to $850 to assist with travel, accommodation, childcare, and other expenses via: https://www.ppta.org.nz/forms/subject-association-grants-pre-approval-form




I mōhio koe? (Did you know?)



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




  • Engagement of Communities in Aotearoa New Zealand schools (Ipu Kererū)

    In a recent review of community engagement we examined whether community engagement in ANZ schools lives up to its promise, exploring the scope of community engagement in policy, research and evidence in practice between the years of 2009-2024. We share in this blog some of the findings and implications for schools, researchers, and policy workers from the review. https://nzareblog.wordpress.com/2026/08/05/engagement-of-communities-in-aotearoa-new-zealand-schools/

  • Chemistry Curriculum: What's Next for England? (Royal Society of Chemistry) Why should chemistry feel relevant to young people? Chemistry is everywhere – from the food we eat and the medicines we take to the technologies helping tackle global challenges. However, more than a quarter of educators told us the curriculum can feel out of date or irrelevant. Using relevant, real-world contexts can help students understand why chemistry matters and how it connects to their lives and future opportunities. Topics like health, energy, food and sustainability can help bring chemistry to life. https://www.rsc.org/policy-and-campaigning/sustainability/sustainability-in-the-chemistry-curriculum

A webinar is being planned, in conjunction with another educator association, to deliver updates/takeaway messages on the final science curriculum draft. Bay Science supports leadership of Te Akatea and NZEI, including their recommendations to welcome the recent findings of the Waitangi Tribunal (see Eduction Association Updates).


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 an unincorporated national science teachers association. Our website serves as the most comprehensive noticeboard of science education news and events across Aotearoa New Zealand. If your organisation has a kaupapa, event, or opportunity to share with the science education community, we’ll happily share it here.


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© 2025-2026 Lian Soh and Vicki Alderson-Wallace

info@bayscience.nz

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