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The Briefing | Issue No. 22 - Bay Science Newsletter

  • 2 days ago
  • 10 min read

The home of science education news.

Rātapu, te 16 o Ākuhata 2026


Green poster for Afterschool Special Substack Live on NZC Science curriculum, Thursday 27 August 4.30pm, aecnz.substack.com
Bay Science is joining the Aotearoa Educator's collective on Thursday 27th of August at 4:30 pm. Register your interest here.

Kia ora koutou


Finalised versions of the Years 1-10 science and social sciences curriculum were made available on August 12th. Ngā mihi nui to John Marsh and Prof. Chris Eames for their RNZ interview last week.


On Thursday August 27th, a programme of online events happen to coincide:


  • 3:30 PM: Unpacking the Final Yr 1 - 10 Science & Social Sciences Curriculum NZAEE National Learning Manager Becky McCormack will lead a session with an overview of the content, practices and cross-curricular links between the science and social science learning areas. Implications and opportunities for environmental education will be addressed, and time will be included for discussion with webinar participants. Rēhita mai: https://share-ap1.hsforms.com/1UzAE2hdWSVKubY-miIPJ2Ad3lfj

  • 4:30 PM: Analysis of the Science Phase 1-4 Curriculum Bay Science is joining Claire Coleman from the Aotearoa Educators Collective for another 30-minute afterschool special. Mark your calendars: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/315554

  • 7:00 PM: AEC Happy Hour For those who are interested in wider discussions surrounding education system reform, Aotearoa Educators Collective are hosting a casual online zoom. Ako anō: https://aecnz.substack.com/p/event-join-us-for-aec-happy-hour

In other news, applications are now open for New Zealand's most prestigious science teaching award, the Prime Minister's Science Teacher Prize.


Kia kaha,

Lian and Vicki


Bay Science Newsletter


  • Coffee & Crafts with Scientific Ocean Art Join Nikki in The Mount Saturday 22nd and 29th for a two part workshop where you'll construct and papier mache your favourite ocean creature. Each day includes light tea and refreshments as well as fun conversations with your local art teacher and a marine biologist! https://thefeelgoodartclub.com/products/coffee-crafts

  • Become a Marine Mammal Medic Registrations for the Marine Mammal Medic course with Project Jonah New Zealand are now open. This one day, hands-on course is designed to give you the knowledge and practical skills to safely assist stranded whales and dolphins. No previous experience required; open to anyone aged 15 and over. https://www.projectjonah.org.nz/medic/

  • Happening on Thursday: 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

  • New Level 2, Level 3 and Scholarship Biology Workbooks New editions of the 2026 AME Biology Workbooks are now available. These books include revision notes, worked examples, full answers with explanations and Achieved, Merit and Excellence guidance. Multi-buy pricing available. https://learnwell.co.nz/


  • Space for Nature Space for Nature (Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty) is soon to reach 1100 participants. Space for Nature is a free program for residents; sign up now and receive a free native plant, rat trap and trap box. https://www.spacefornature.nz/

  • 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

  • Revised Edition: Rongoā Māori: An introduction to Traditional Māori Medicine - Rob McGowan (Pā Ropata) This 140-page title is now available for a special launch price of $30 on the Tiwaiwaka Aotearoa website.

    https://tiwaiwaka.nz/store/p/rongo-mori-a-practical-guide-to-traditional-mori-medicine-pa-ropata-rob-mcgowan-78sbm


REMINDERS

  • 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/

  • 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

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

August 17


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August 28


August 29



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.


  • Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital Tauranga Moana Biosecurity has a range of pest-identification cards which can be easily downloaded, laminated and bound together for use in the field. https://www.tmbiosecurity.co.nz/site_files/50595/upload_files/MPI_TMBC_PestCards_A5_WEB_%C6%92.pdf?dl=1

  • Interactive Earthquake Browser The Interactive Earthquake Browser (IEB) is an interactive map for displaying selections of up to 25,000 seismic event epicenters (normally earthquakes) on a map of the world. There are millions of events to choose from. These event selections can also be viewed in profile and freely rotated with the 3D Viewer tool. https://www.earthscope.org/app/ieb/index.html

  • Earthscope Consortium A range of activities, animantions, interactives, lessons, videos and experiments for learning about seismology.

    https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/#language[]=1

  • Javalab This website has a collection of interactive simulations and games for all science areas. https://javalab.org/en/

  • Severe Weather Information Centre The World Meteorological Organization has a centralised platform where you can see extreme and/or potentially high impact weather, water and climate events happening or forecasted around the world.

    https://severeweather.wmo.int/

  • Fire Emissions Watch Copernicus EU Atmosphere Monitoring Service has released a new app which shows where wildfires are burning worldwide, how much carbon they release into the atmosphere and where the smoke plumes travel. https://apps.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/fire-emissions-watch/

  • Become a Marine Mammal Medic Registrations for the Marine Mammal Medic course with Project Jonah New Zealand are now open. This one day, hands-on course is designed to give you the knowledge and practical skills to safely assist stranded whales and dolphins. No previous experience required; open to anyone aged 15 and over. https://www.projectjonah.org.nz/medic/



REMINDERS

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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/




REMINDERS:


  • Earth and Space Science Educators NZ

    • Derived Grade Exams for Level 1, 2 and 3 on the Exams for Members drive and are ready now. Please remember that these are embargoed until Term 4, so please don’t share marking schedules with your students until then

    • The ESSENZ conference and AGM is coming up in the Term 3 holidays. Tuesday 6th-Friday 9th 2026. The cost of attending ESSENZ three-day conference will be $350, which includes access to activities and workshops, accommodation in Christ's College on the 6th October (including breakfast and dinner) as well as transport to and from Tekapo. Click here to register for this awesome conference

      Click here for a more detailed itinerary of the conference



  • 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.

  • NZ Association of Primary Science Educators

    • In case you missed it, Carol Briesman's activities for Maths week 2026 can be found here.

  • Secondary Chemistry Educators NZ

    • Reminder: 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.

    • The 2026 DGEs fir L1, 2, 3 and Scholarship are now on the members section of the SCENZ website. https://nzic.org.nz/teachers-only.php

      Reminder: results can be provided but papers and schedules should not be released until after Week 1 Term 4 (Fri 16 October) for authenticity. Minor errors to Sam at nzic.office@gmail.com

    • ChemEd-Biolive is now full.

    • Updated CB1.2 tasks will be available for download next week; these updates take into account NZQA moderation feedback.

  • Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers Association


  • 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




  • In case you missed it in your inbox: the finalised science curriculum for Years 1-10 (Phases 1-4) is now available. A Beehive press-release is also available.

Whakaaro which may be relevant to us.


  • Big Ideas, Local Contexts and Global Priorities in Aotearoa New Zealand Science Education (NZ Journal of Educational Studies) This commentary shares our experiences as three secondary science teachers from the Bay of Plenty region in Aotearoa New Zealand, who collaboratively designed and trialled localised units of learning in a biodiversity context for students in Years 9–10. https://rdcu.be/fzWXL



  • Don’t Put Science in a Box (Engaging Learning Voices)

    I have taught for long enough to know when a curriculum document makes me excited about teaching and when it makes me reach for a highlighter and start wondering which boxes I am supposed to tick. On first reading, the new Science Curriculum did the latter. https://www.engaginglearningvoices.com/post/don-t-put-science-in-a-box

Bay Science is joining Claire Coleman on August 27th webinar "Analysis of the Science Curriculum" https://open.substack.com/live-stream/315554 Our association is also interested in what you think of the science curriculum. Our Google Form will help inform PLD event(s) and resources for the remainder of the year.


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

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

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