ABOUT
Aspirations for the Bay of Plenty and How You Can Help
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About: Bay Science
Where Bay of Plenty science educators meet
Bay Science is organised by a dedicated team of volunteers, many of whom are full time science teachers at local Bay of Plenty schools. As a new organisation, it is currently not funded and relies on the donated time of volunteers.
Our objectives are to:
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Connect emerging and experienced science educators with local organisations to create opportunities and find events for ākonga and whanau to engage and connect with science.
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Engage with major education organisations such as the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, education research organisations and other education organisations such as subject associations to organise professional learning that empowers kaiako to support the aspirations of ākonga building their science identity.
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Identify and communicate the challenges and systemic barriers faced by ākonga who engage with science education to major stakeholder groups such as the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority and other relevant organisations.
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Identify and disseminate ideas from distinguished education research texts, webinars and podcasts to communicate these to kaiako in the context of the Review of Achievement Standards and the Aotearoa New Zealand Science Curriculum Refresh (Te Mātaiaho).
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Form relationships with subject associations and other organisations to organise and contribute to science education professional learning through “cluster meetings” for kaiako in the Bay of Plenty.
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Recognise the commitments and achievements of ākonga and kaiako by providing a platform to report, showcase and share their contributions and successes in the science education sector.
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Connect primary, intermediate, secondary and tertiary educators who share aspirations to empower rangatahi with the science knowledge and competencies to engage in science-related contexts.
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Engage and build partnerships with key funders to ensure the aspirations of current and future rangatahi in the Bay of Plenty are supported.
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Continuously “move with the times” by recognising that the needs of rangatahi and society are continuously evolving alongside the wider context of the climate change polycrises. This means that Bay Science will regularly revisit and amend it’s objectives, and the Bay Science website, as necessary.
How you can help
Bay Science relies on the voice of science educators to meet it's goals.
You can contribute by:
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Contacting Bay Science to receive the latest updates via newsletter!
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Engaging with education research, webinars or podcasts etc from distinguished education researchers and submitting your thoughts and reflections to the Spotlight. As this space largely pertains to international science education priorities and the learning sciences, submissions from beyond the Bay of Plenty will also be considered.
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Informing Bay Science of any upcoming science-related events to add to the calendar.
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Sharing your teacher inquiry (professional growth cycle) to the Spotlight. Submissions from outside of the Bay of Plenty region will also be considered to encourage peer-to-peer teaching.
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Sharing stories of local student successes (e.g. Science Fair entries, Olympiad entries, Scholarships) or teacher successes/experiences (e.g. Science Teacher Leadership Programme, full immersion Te Reo courses) to the Spotlight.
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Volunteering to run a workshop with resources at a Bay of Plenty regional cluster. From 2025, all kaiako who are accepted to run a workshop will receive a koha to recognise their contributions to the region.