The Briefing | Issue No. 8 - Bay Science

Rātapu 29 o Poutū-te-rangi 2026

A small snapshot of the 500+ annotations contributed by educators to draft science curriculum materials during a recent Bay Science cluster, supporting consultation from across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kia ora koutou

We've updated our big curriculum timeline with key dates from the recent Beehive media release about NCEA.

Attendees at last week's cluster also wrote over 500 annotations to the draft Science Learning Area documents and supporting literature. These will be collated and published as part of our final feedback (more details soon). If you missed this cluster and would like to digitally contribute your commentary on any specific parts of the drafts, please reach out to us.

Details for UpliftEd and NZAEE's national conferences are also up.

Finally, if you're looking for something to keep the little ones entertained in the break there are a couple of holiday programmes in the Rangatahi Opportunities section.

PS: Don't forget to register for Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā!

Ngā manaakitanga,

Bay Science

info@bayscience.nz

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      GENERAL NEWS

• A PhD student from the University of Canterbury is looking for more participants for her research
  

• A Fungi Hunt competition is coming to the Bay of Plenty in April 2026. The initiative is a collaboration between Envirohub Bay of Plenty, Space for Nature, and Fungi Fest NZ, with prizes supported by New Zealand Geographic.
  

• Waihī Estuary has original name Te Heriheri restored as part of wetland project (RNZ)
  

• Auckland principal Claire Amos weighs in on the recent announcements regarding NCEA on The Panel. Listen to Part 1 and Part 2.
  

• Whiti Ora: Māori Health in Aotearoa by Tā Mason Durie, is now available for pre-order (Huia Publishers)
  

• A recording of this year's Seaweek joint webinar exploring how the ocean supports and connects life on Earth is now available to watch online.
  

• Climate Fresk workshops are happening in major cities around Aotearoa., aiming to build climate literacy through concept cards.
  

• In case you missed the livestream last night, a recording of Rocket Lab's Daughter Of The Stars
  

• He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers by Philip Garnock-Jones is a featured book shortlisted for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
  

      EVENT FORECAST

Our full calendar is available here. More than half of our readers are from beyond the Bay of Plenty. Let us know how we can help promote your event.

Mar 30

• Earth and Science Educators Webinar: Level 2 Internal Assessments  (register here)

• 2026 NZ Antarctic Film Festival - several locations and dates.

Mar 31

• OECD's AI in Work, Innovation, Productivity, and Skills (AI-WIPS) international conference takes place over five days; featuring 10 live sessions.

• Sustainable Backyards Bay of Plenty photo competition closes.

• Otago Science Teacher's Association (OSTA) have organised for Professor KC Huang from Stanford University to speak about his latest research on how bacteria function as physical organisms - not just genetic ones. RSVP to Mel Christian at: mchristian@taieri.school.nz by 24th March.

Apr 1

• Education Outdoors NZ | Planning Safe Water-Based Experiences (online PLD for primary and secondary educators).

• [OECD Webinar] How much education does a teacher need? Register here.

Apr 2

• [Ōtanewainuku Forest] Identifying NZ Birds training unit with Bay Conservation Alliance.
  

Apr 3

• School holidays begin. For holiday programmes, see the Rangatahi Opportunities section.

Apr 8

• [Otago] Otago Science Teacher's Association PLD week. All events hosted by Otago University. Get in touch with Mel Christian, the OSTA representative: mchristian@taieri.school.nz

Apr 9

• [Kaharoa Forest] Introduction to Pest Animal Control with Bay Conservation Alliance.

Apr 10

• [Dunedin] New Zealand Festival of Nature begins (Wild Dunedin).

Apr 11

• [Ōhiwa Headlands] Foundations in Conservation training with Bay Conservation Alliance (two day course).

Apr 13

• [Tauranga] Easter STEM @ TINKD begins.

• [Wellington] AI Workshops for Science Educators

• [Bay of Plenty] Western Bay weedbusters - moth plant drop off day!

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CONFERENCE WATCHLIST

• 2026 NZ Bird Conference (May 30 - Jun 1)

  
  

• Science Communicators of Aotearoa NZ Conference (Jun 24-26)
  

• ASERA 2026 (Australasian Science Education Research Association) takes place in Brisbane (30 June - 3 July).

  
  

• UpliftEd by Aotearoa Educators Collective (July 8-9)
  

• NZ International Science Festival (15-19 July)

  
  

• NZ Plant Conservation Network conference (Oct 12-15)

  
  

• New Zealand Association of Environmental Education Conference (5 - 7 October Tāmaki Makaurau).

  
  

• Chem-Ed Biolive by SCENZ and BEANZ (Nov 18-20)

      RESOURCES & EXPERIENCES

The following have been added to our Experiences page and Resources directory. Our Resources directory only saves items which are free and which do not require a login.

• A variety of outdoor camps, teamwork, adventure and hands-on environmental experiences are available through the Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre
  

• An educational video about North Island Dama Wallabies (BOP Regional Council YouTube)
  

• A 10 minute documentary about the Bennett's wallaby in South Island (Environment Canterbury and Otago Regional Council YouTube).
  

• Satellite Map shows all of the satellites currently in orbit!
  

      RANGATAHI OPPORTUNITIES

• Applications are open for the BOPRC He Toka Tū Moana Scholarship. The scholarship aims to support tertiary students who are undertaking study, research or training that aligns with the enhancement and protection of our Taiao.
  

• Live Ocean is inviting schools across Aotearoa to add student voices to the growing call for stronger ocean protection as Jono Ridler enters the final 120km of his Swim4TheOcean journey to Parliament. As he nears Wellington next week, schools are encouraged to send students’ moana-related work or messages for Jono to hello@liveocean.org for the chance to be part of this national moment and potentially win a school visit (source: Live Ocean Facebook).

Holiday Programmes:

• Tauranga City Libraries have has published their school holiday programme.
  

• STEAM-ED Tauranga has published their April 2026 holiday programme
  

• Bricks 4 Kidz Tauranga have released their April 2026 holiday programme.
  

• Easter STEM @ TINKD; Tauranga.

  
  
  
  

Reminders:

• The first Tauranga Student Space Innovation Hub (TSSIH) session has now been confirmed, with students invited to kick off their journey into space innovation this April. Ngā mihi Jim Critchley.
  

      KAIAKO OPPORTUNITIES

• Dates and locations for the Maurice Wilkins Centre Biology Teacher Professional Development Day 2026 have been announced. More details to come.
  

Reminders

• Nominations for the new Royal Society Te Apārangi Teaching Excellence Award (STEM) are now open. Closes March 31st.

      EDUCATION ASSOCIATION UPDATES

This month's updates are available here. New changes for the week are below.

• AEC

  • More details are now available for UpliftED 2026.
    

  • Recording: Funding our Future; Unpacking the Economic Story of NZ Education (YouTube).

  • New article: Let's prepare teenagers for their future, not our past

  • New article: Proposal to replace NCEA confirmed; And yet another reform we didn’t ask for and don’t need.

  • New article: AEC joins the curriculum pushback
    

  • Reminder: Aotearoa Educator's Collective have published a webinar recording, and created a consultation portal, for the draft science curriculum.
    

• BEANZ

  • Dates and locations for this year's MWC Biology Teacher PLD days have been announced.

• ESSENZ

  • Upcoming webinar: L2 Internal Assessments (Tuesday March 30th). Register here.

  • Last week's Year 12 & 13 Classes Combined webinar recording now available.

    
    

• NZAEE

  • NZAEE has published guidance to support consultation on the Te Mātaiaho Draft 2026.

    
    

• NZASE

  • ICYMI: March 25 newsletter. This includes two members-only articles: Agribusiness and a teacher's journey supporting the normalisation of mātauranga Māori in science

• NZPF

  • Education sector unites against Government’s wholesale curriculum changes (New Zealand Principals Federation)
    

• PPTA

  • Lack of detail in qualifications 'announcement' deeply worrying (Post Primary Teacher's Association)

I mōhio rānei koe? | Did you know?

• "Educators representing 34 organisations have slammed the direction, pace, and lack of genuine consultation in the Government’s rushed, wholesale curriculum changes" - Joint media statement from New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) and education union NZEI Te Riu Roa

  
  

      SCIENCE CURRICULUM

• Based on the latest Beehive media release, Year 11 Science might become a compulsory subject - "Also, during the consultation process, it was suggested it be made compulsory for schools and kura to require Year 11 students to take Science | Pūtaiao. I will be seeking further advice on this."

Reminders:

• Phase 5 of the science curriculum will be released in May-June; this has been included in our science curriculum timeline. Bay Science will be regularly updating this timeline as new information becomes available.

  
  

• Feedback on the draft science curriculum Y0-10 is due on April 24th.
  

• Science Learning Kits from MoE are also available with the opportunity for feedback.
  

• A public change.org poll is live to extend the consultation period on the draft curriculum.
  

      NCEA & ASSESSMENT

• NZQA have released finalised NCEA and University Entrance attainment data for 2025.
  

• NCEA scrapped. Government confirms next steps for new senior secondary qualification. See the Beehive media release. We've included this information into our curriculum timeline.

Reminders:

• NZQA has published National Moderator's reports for 2026. The reports give feedback to assist assessors with general issues and trends that have been identified during external moderation of the internally assessed standards in 2025. For convenience, Bay Science has collated all the science reports here.
  

• A range of career opportunities are currently available at NZQA

  
  

      PIVOTAL PERSPECTIVES

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

• In light of recent news regarding secondary assessment, readers may be interested in this year's OECD publications:
  

  • The Theory and Practice of Upper Secondary Certification.

  • Are high stakes exams and assessments still relevant?

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Should the science curriculum teach students how science works, including how scientists and the wider science system operate?

• 0%Yes
• 0%No
• 0%Not sure

Findings from previous informal polls

• 56% of readers are not trialling or implementing the draft science curriculum, in Term 1 2026
  

• 88% of readers would like General Science to be a subject in Year 12 and 13
  

• 84% of readers have major concerns about the draft science learning area
  

• 69% of readers think that the pace of the science curriculum changes feels too fast 
  

• 94% of readers think that the Nature of Science should be explicitly taught in the science curriculum 
  

• 83% of readers do not think that draft science curriculum adequately prepares students for a world shaped by AI, climate change and global uncertainty.
  

• 67% of readers believe the science curriculum refresh process is not working well.
  

• 80% of readers believe the draft science curriculum provides very little opportunity for student agency and action.
  

• 80% of readers feel there is far too much content in the draft science curriculum. 13% say there is slightly too much.

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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 noticeboard for science education news and events across Aotearoa New Zealand, helping 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 share it.