But we are forgetting something that goes beyond talking and demands action - the rangatahi at the heart of our education system.

Our young people have, for the last few years, experienced the unprecedented nature of a pandemic - lockdowns with education being dished out to varying standards via Zoom and Teams.

As adults, we need to acknowledge that we're failing the next generation.

We need to act and reverse the message that being at school just isn't important.

We know there is a strong correlation between attendance and achievement.

We are now in our fourth year of accepting and sending regular messages that days spent at school are not important. A habit that started with Covid, continuing today as the new norm.

Auckland schools once again started the school year with a "please close for a week notice" from the Wellington-based head office.

When it rains, we see schools rapidly put on alert to shut schools and send students home.

And now they're faced with more disruption from strike action and work-to-rule restrictions, as teachers demonstrate frustration with their ministry.

This industrial action, compounded with schools not having the resources to operate sees whole year groups rostered home, and curriculum-based activities and events cancelled.

No wonder rangatahi are not turning up.

No-one is turning up for them.

But more importantly, what are we doing to future-proof education, our workforce, and the productivity base of Aotearoa?

For most of this century, the literacy and numeracy achievement of our young people has been declining.

We continue to have an appalling truancy problem, despite headlines suggesting otherwise.

There has been a lot of commentary around NCEA level of literacy and numeracy among our young people.

NCEA literacy and numeracy test results in a 2021 pilot highlighted a troubling disparity between decile one schools and higher-decile schools in New Zealand.

Decile-one schools had pass rates of just 2% in writing 1 and 30% in numeracy, while higher-decile schools achieved much higher pass rates.

In reading the difference between decile 1 and 10 was 24% to 85%, and in numeracy 10% compared to 78%.

Recent data from the PIRLS study on reading assessments revealed we had dropped from 13th in 2001 to 27th in 2021. Shouldn't we be leading the way not falling backwards?

This is a damning insight into our success to end poverty for generations of today's children.

Education inequalities are embedded in our system.

The root causes have been manifesting for some time: social inequity, poverty, resources, wealth, and power.

We must ensure equal access to quality education for all students regardless of their socio-economic background. Education can lift people out of poverty, but based on all the indicators, things don't look great for New Zealand's future. Continue reading

• John O'Connell is chief executive of Life Education Trust.

That is the view of Hawke's Bay District Health Board.
It will now oppose applications for alcohol sales at school functions where children are present.

The board is concerned at the presence and promotion of alcohol at school fundraising events.

Read more

In a meeting with the Education and Training Ireland, concerned Church representatives said some community colleges were not spending enough time teaching religion.

This was despite agreements and deeds of trust which stipulate that these schools should spend up to two hours teaching pupils religion each week. Read more

The decision to publish and distribute the "Don't Mess with Marriage" booklet in Catholic schools across Australia has angered Fr Terry Fitzpatrick.

"I feel angry and disappointed, but not surprised, that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church would chose such a desperate measure to influence the debate on marriage equality," he told the LGBTI publication the Star Observer.

"It is definitely a sign that they are becoming increasingly despairing and worried that they are on the losing side."

Fr Fitzpatrick incurred a suspension in Brisbane archdiocese in 2009, after his involvement with a breakaway parish.

This month, he condemned those in the Church responsible for the marriage letter for imposing their religious belief upon others and using children to disseminate their political message.

"They see the last vestiges of their power and influence rapidly disappearing into the sand," he said.

"They refuse to believe that we live in a secular state and not a religious one where one religion's laws apply to everyone regardless of their beliefs.

"They cling to the role of being the moral guardian of the nation when this serves neither society nor the Church."

Marriage equality advocates have described the letter as harmful to children, and have asked Catholic educators to let children hear both sides of the debate if they have already received the letter.

Through his work with a Brisbane charity to support the homeless, Fr Fitzpatrick has witnessed the harm suffered by the LGBTI community through discrimination.

Fr Fitzpatrick said organisations and bodies within the Christian faith have contributed significantly to sexual persecution and should respond to the issue of same-sex marriage with compassion, not further discrimination.

The priest said marriage has been an evolving as a civil and religious institution throughout history.

"It will continue to evolve and soon we will see in this country marriage laws that will include everyone."

Sources

• Star Observer
• Brisbane Times
• Image: Brisbane Times

But critics say such compulsion is contrary to moral advice given by a pontifical academy.

The Church has moral difficulties with certain vaccines, the cell lines for which were originally derived from the cells of aborted foetuses several decades ago.

The moral situation of use of such vaccines was covered by the Pontifical Academy for Life in a 2005 response.

The response stated that parents could be justified in allowing use of such vaccines if there was no other way to protect their children from serious disease.

However, the Vatican document said that parents who chose vaccination would have a moral duty "to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems".

Continue reading

The ad in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 16 stated Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has "fostered an atmosphere of division and intolerance".

More than 100 signatories to an open letter in the ad referred to themselves as "committed Catholics inspired by Vatican II".

They include philanthropists, members of school and university boards, the former director of Catholic Charities CYO, high-profile attorneys and physicians, major figures in the business and corporate world, and officials of trusts, foundations and charitable organisations.

The open letter comes after fierce debate over so-called morality clauses inserted in contracts for teachers in archdiocesan schools.

A 2000-word statement by the archbishop for a faculty handbook had been criticised for its incendiary language and an overemphasis on sexual topics.

The signatories accused the archbishop of pursuing "a single-issue agenda" and coercing teachers with a "morality code which violates individual consciences as well as California labour laws".

Concerns were also expressed about a local pastor who had discontinued the use of altar girls.

The letter also said Archbishop Cordileone isolated "himself from our community" as he "relies . . . on a tiny group of advisors recruited from outside of our diocese and estranged from their own religious orders".

The archdiocese issued a statement calling the open letter "a misrepresentation of Catholic teaching, a misrepresentation of the nature of the teacher contract, and a misrepresentation of the spirit of the archbishop".

"The greatest misrepresentation of all is that the signers presume to speak for 'the Catholic Community of San Francisco.' They do not," the release stated.

"The archdiocese has met with a broad range of stakeholders.

"Together, we have engaged in a constructive dialogue on all of the issues raised in this ad. We welcome the chance to continue that discussion."

Those behind the ad had previously appealed to the apostolic nuncio in Washington about their concerns.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• CBS San Francisco
• Image: Our Sunday Visitor

The young people, identified by their colleges and peers as leaders, came together to find out more about Caritas and the upcoming Caritas Challenge, 4-6 April. The days focused on Caritas's work in Solomon Islands, and how our Catholic faith calls us to work for justice both in New Zealand and across the world.

In Auckland and Rotorua, Caritas partners from Solomon Islands, Fr Stephen Te'e and Bernadette Kairoronga, shared with the groups their experience of life in the islands. In Gizo diocese, Fr Stephen is one of only three priests for the whole diocese, and only one in three people have access to clean water.

Monique and Olivia from Verdon College, Invercargill, said ‘We realised that it's about appreciating everything that we have; it's not what we don't have, but what we do with the things we have that matters'.

The motto of Solomon Islands is "To lead is to serve". Reflecting on this, and Jesus' example of servant leadership, Shanay and Sophie, also from Verdon College, said ‘leadership isn't always about taking control; it's also about being aware of others, supporting them, and helping them flourish'.

Gabriel added, ‘It was a great way to find out about the realities of the world, whilst making new friends and having a lot of fun at the same time. We can't wait to take on the Caritas Challenge at college and have big plans for both Y12 and Y7 to get involved.'

Led by Caritas, the days were supported by The Logos Project, Challenge 2000, Vinnies (Auckland and Christchurch), as well as diocesan youth teams.

For more on the Caritas Challenge, including resources on how to make the plastic bottle light and paper bags, visit caritaschallenge.org.nz

Source:

• Caritas
• Image: Caritas

Ms Parata has revealed that she is looking to fund schools according to the progress their pupils made.

Continue reading

The results come from a study by the Bible Society that says stories such as 'Noah's Ark', 'Adam and Eve', and even the story of 'Christmas' is at risk of being lost to future generations.

The study showed 46% of children are exposed to the bible at home or school at least once a year, compared with almost 90% in their parents' generation.

The study also found that large numbers of children did not know that many of the most famous Christian stories came from the Bible.

England's Bible Society chief executive, James Catford is concerned that unless action is taken the Bible's engaging story could be lost to future generations.

"The Bible's contribution to our culture - language, literature, the visual arts and music - is immense. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from.

"The Bible enriches life, and every child should have the opportunity to experience it", said Catford.

Calling Bible stories essential to teaching literacy and history, Sir Andrew Motion, the former Poet Laureate, said regardless of religious beliefs it will be difficult for academics to teach without an understanding of Bible stories.

The findings came only months after Ofsted found students left school with on a 'very limited understanding' of christianity because of a dip in standards of religious education.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Image: The Guardian

As the property manager for the proprietors of 77 schools in the two dioceses, CSBL is managing the seismic assessment and strengthening programme. Continue reading

This means the five Christian schools on the strip, two Catholic and three Protestant, may have to close — even though they serve a largely Muslim population.

National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen points out that the distorting effect of politics makes it difficult to tell the full story of anti-Christian persecution, especially in the Holy Land.

Continue reading

The bishops in the 23 areas have been given six months to provide detailed proposals on how they plan to divest a school of their patronage.

"I would hope and expect during that period a suitable school will be identified by them within the various towns and arrangements will be made for the orderly transfer of the patronage of that school back to the Department of Education," said the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn.

The change follows a Department of Education survey in 38 areas of nearly 11,000 parents of children aged up to 12 years, as part of a drive to provide plurality and choice in the types of primary schools in Ireland.

Of those, 23 areas signalled a demand for change towards a more diverse choice of schools. Twenty-two of the areas will see the establishment of an English language multi-denominational school and one area will see an Irish language school established.

One likely scenario is the joining of two existing schools, possibly two single-sex boys' and girls' schools, so a school building would be freed up to house a new multidenominational school.

The chairman of the bishops' Council for Education, Father Michael Drumm, welcomed the report but said attention must be given to the "large majority" of parents who expressed no interest in change.

In the 23 areas, between 2.2 per cent and 8 per cent of parents favoured change, he said. The problem on the ground was that numbers displaced could be greater than numbers catered for.

In Celbridge, county Kildare, some 100 parents desired a different type of school but the smallest Catholic school that could be divested had a roll of 300 children, he said.

About 86 per cent of primary schools in Ireland are run by the Catholic Church and about 10 per cent by other religious denominations.

Sources:

Irish Times

RTE

Irish Department of Education and Skills

Image: Irish Catholic

The Archbishop of Wellington, John Dew, is the nominal owner of more than 170 parish buildings and more than 220 school buildings with an insured value of $350 million.

Up to 50 church buildings have been labelled earthquake risks. Further detailed assessment is now being carried out on each of these buildings, with all results published online.

Each parish will then decide whether they continue using buildings, with some preferring to make alternative arrangements until strengthening work was done, Mullin said.

The assessment of the earthquake risk for school buildings is assessed through a separate programme run by the Catholic Schools Board.

Catholic Schools Board executive chairman Gary Quirk said five schools in the Wellington archdiocese and the Palmerston North diocese require some work. The cost will be about $10m.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image Sumner Red stickered group

And earlier in the year the Prime Minster of Samoa also threatened to reintroduce corporal punishment in response to school brawls at sporting events.

There is no evidence however that the abandonment of corporal punishment has made the situation significantly worse, or that its reintroduction would improve the situation.

Tongan Police think the level of school violence is coming down, with only 24 school children arrested and charged so far this year.

Tonga's assistant deputy Police Commissioner, Soakai Motu'apuaka, says they're trying an integrated approach to the problem involving the community, and it seems to be working.

And in Fiji the Ministry of Education has ruled out any possibility of reintroducing corporal punishment. Instead Education Ministry permanent secretary Dr Brij Lal has urged students involved to focus on their studies instead of retaliating.

"Let's come to some form of reconciliation, put aside all differences, forgive one another and treat each other as friends," he said .

Lal also urged teachers to impart virtues and values to students and teach them integrity, morality and responsibility.

Source

• Radio Australia International
• The Fiji Times
• Image:

Since at least the middle of the last century, many Catholic schools have offered excellent and rigorous academic regimens, with heavy doses of history, math and the sciences. They also have been, historically at least, significantly cheaper than other private schools.

According to USA Today, Catholic school enrollment hit its zenith in the 1960s when 5.2 million American students attended 13,000 schools. Last year, 2 million children attended 6,800 schools that cost significantly more to run.

What is the main difference between now and then? Real estate and labor costs are substantially higher, of course, but we all know the church does not lack for real estate. However, its labor costs have gone up at a significantly greater clip than have those of other school administrators. That's because the laity have replaced many of the members of religious orders — primarily nuns — who staffed Catholic schools.

Lay administrators, teachers and staff accounted for 97 percent of Catholic school positions in the 2011-12 academic year, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Clergy and other religious professionals represented only 3 percent.

Today, the United States has 60,000-plus nuns. Most hold paid positions to support themselves outside the church. Few wear habits. Continue reading

The survey conducted in Britain also shows more than half of the adults questioned believe Religious Education lessons in schools are worthwhile with many favour making Religious Education (RE) compulsory.

The poll comes as increasing numbers of teenagers are being forced to drop Religious Education because of the introduction of new-style league tables that prioritise other subjects.

The YouGov poll commissioned by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales found 53% of 1,800 adults questioned in England and Wales thought RE should be compulsory in all state schools, while 58% of adults said they thought RE was beneficial.

Only 9% said they thought it was harmful.

In releasing the poll results, the Religious Education Council of England and Wales said they feared that an expansion of independent academies, state schools run free of local authority, is leading to rising numbers of schools dropping locally-agreed syllabuses in the subject, reports the Telegraph.

The survey results come at a time when British MP's and peers prepare to attend the first meeting of the newly-formed all-party parliamentary group for RE, established to raise awareness of the importance of RE in schools.

John Keast, chairman of the RE Council, said the group was necessary to counter concerns that the subject was becoming increasingly marginalised by Coalition reforms to education, reports the Telegraph.

This includes a Government decision to exclude RE from the English Baccalaureate - a new school leaving certificate that rewards pupils gaining good GCSE grades in the five core academic disciplines of maths, English, science, foreign languages and either history or geography.

It is feared that this is leading to a decline in the number of schools offering the subject at GCSE level.

Mr Keast said: "There have been a number of unintended consequences for RE as a result of changes made by the Government."

According to last summer's GCSE results, a total of 221,974 youngsters entered for the subject compared to 188,704 the year before.

At the same time, history and geography saw a decline in entries.

Sources

• The Tablet
• The Telegraph
• Huffington Post
• Image: The Telegraph

Waikato Principals' Association chair and Marian Catholic School principal John Coulam said primary school students were not immune from being stood down for serious offences.

"Some five-year-old children come to school with deep-set problems that could be a result of being affected by drugs, alcohol," he said.

"They come to school and they haven't quite been socialised, they don't know boundaries and they can be extremely disruptive."

He knew of rare cases when primary students had been stood down for sexual misconduct.

Continue reading

The teacher, Emily Herx, filed the suit because she was discriminated against after the school's priest found out she had begun the IVF treatements.

IVF treatments are against Catholic Church teaching.

According to CNN, the school's priest called Herx a "grave, immoral sinner". He told her she should have kept quiet about such things because "some things are better left between the individual and God," she said.

"I don't think I was doing anything wrong."

"I have never had any complaints about me as a teacher," Herx said.

Responding, the diocese said it "views the core issue raised in this lawsuit as a challenge to the diocese's right, as a religious employer, to make religious based decisions consistent with its religious standards on an impartial basis."

In its statement, Fort Wayne-South Bend Indiana diocesan officials said that "the church promotes treatment of infertility through means that respect the right to life, the unity of marriage, and procreation brought about as the fruit of the conjugal act. There are other infertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, which are not morally licit according to Catholic teaching."

The statement adds that teachers working in the diocese are required to "have a knowledge and respect for the Catholic faith, and abide by the tenets of the Catholic Church."

Herx said she underwent her first in vitro fertilization treatment in March 2010, and immediately told her supervisor, the school's principal.

"The first time she was made aware that my husband and I had to go through fertility treatments, she said, 'You are in my prayers,' " Herx said.

"To me, that was support."

Source

• CNN
• Image: CNN

Kavanagh College principal Tracy O'Brien says it is common for schools to have a rebate scheme where suppliers provide a percentage of sales income to schools which buy their uniforms.

He was aware of a large Canterbury school which recently received about $8000 under such a scheme.

Keep reading in the OtagoDaily Times

A statement from the Australian High Commission said the Suva-based secondary school was the only one in Fiji that specialised in teaching vocational and mainstream curriculum to children with disabilities.

"The Marist Champagnat Institute is different from other special education schools because it is a secondary school where disabled students learn side by side with non-disabled students," said principal Frances Varea.