A book by the educator and anthropologist Dame Joan Metge was launched at the University of Auckland last week. Tauira – a word that in te reo (the Maori language) illuminatingly means both student and teacher introduces readers to Māori methods of teaching and learning. Tauira is based on extensive interviews with 25 Maori people in Read more
Ursula Rakova, who was born in the Carteret Islands, is visiting New Zealand. The Carteret atoll is only 1.2 meters above sea level. Originally there were six islands, but Huene was split in half by the sea and so now there are seven. In 1995 a wave ate away most of the shorelines of Piul and Read more
The legacy of Gabby Devine lives on. The 13-year-old died in May from bone cancer and now Francis Douglas Memorial College is holding a major fundraiser to further her wish to help people in Taranaki Base Hospital’s children ward. Last year Gabby started Starlit HOPE, a charity designed to give cheer to children in hospital Read more
Senior academics at the University of Otago have called for a free contraceptive programme to be made available to teens before they become sexually active. In an article in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Dr Neil Pickering and Dr Lynley Anderson from the university’s Bioethics Centre and Dr Helen Paterson from its Department Read more
St Patrick’s Basilica parish priest Fr Gerard Aynsley examines repairs being done at the South Dunedin building. The $2.6million redevelopment of the basilica complex in Macandrew Rd began at the start of May and was due to be completed by Easter next year, Fr Aynsley said. Contninue reading
The diversity of Wellington city and mid-winter were celebrated by St Mary of the Angels parish in Wellington on Saturday. Well over a thousand people attended the event called “Festival of the Stars – Ave Maris Stella,” held at St Patrick’s College, Wellington. Sponsored by St Mary of the Angels, the singing, music, dance and food Read more
Father Craig Larkin, a well known Marist priest and writer, died on Saturday, in Wellington, after a long illness. After teaching at St Patrick’s College Silverstream for a number of years Craig went on to be involved in a wide range of ministries. For some years he was the director of third order of the Read more
“As a Catholic economist, reading this papal drivel masquerading as an encyclical is both embarrassing and infuriating,” says Oliver Hartwich, the executive director of the New Zealand Initiative, a libertarian think tank. He was referring to the the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’. “Thank God Catholics are free to disagree with this personal position of the Pope.” Read more
One day, Stephen and Margaret Tindall realised they simply had more money than they needed. It was 1994, and The Warehouse – the company created by Sir Stephen – went public. Their family was comfortable, so what was the best way to spend the money? The couple, always interested in philanthropy, put Mrs Tindall’s shares Read more
A religious studies professor says lessons provided by the country’s largest Bible in Schools organisation are not suitable for state schools. Victoria University professor of religious studies Paul Morris said the syllabuses used by the Churches Education Commission, which runs religious classes in about 600 state schools, taught religion, rather than taught about religion. Morris Read more