NZEI Te Riu Roa honours scholarship and award recipients

30 September 2019

NZEI Te Riu Roa has honoured scholarship and award recipients as part of its annual conference in Rotorua.

Announcing the recipient of the $20,000 the David Stewart Memorial Scholarship.

The David Stewart Memorial Scholarship is a joint initiative of the NZ Principals Federation and NZEI Te Riu Roa. It has the full support of the Te Ariki Trust, which Dr Steward founded.

The purpose of the scholarship is to honour and continue the work of Dr Stewart by providing educational leaders with the opportunity for research study.

The David Stewart Memorial Scholarship for 2019/2020 academic year has been awarded to Kelly Turner Resource Teacher; Learning and Behaviour Practice leader in Whanganui.

Kelly’s inquiry question is, “How can the Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour home-school partnership outcome be determined and quantified, in a more valid and equitable way?”

She will investigate the notion of home-school partnership in relation to her RTLB practice to find a way this could be determined and quantified with more fidelity for the voices involved.

The award of Fellow – Union Activism was conferred upon Te Aroha Hiko, a Special Education Advisor from Hawkes Bay; Janice Shramka, a principal from Wellington; and Ian Leckie, a retired Waikato principal.

Te Aroha Hiko has encompassed all aspects of member representation, but she has been particularly passionate and active in giving support to the voices of women and in representing the voice of Māori. Her reach is vast, from the Ruataniwha Marae where she was a trustee, the Taihoa Māori Women’s Welfare League, supporting workers during the lockout of the Wairoa AFCO Meat Workers to Mātauranga a Rōpu representing educational leaders in her region. She has held positions at Branch, Area Council and National Executive level and is currently a Te Reo Areare representative for Miro Maori.

Education stalwart Janice Shramka has been a leading light on the Wellington Education scene for over 40 years.

She has been an active leader in the Kua Tae Te Wā campaign, a key speaker at rallies, actively supports the Mana Taurite Pay Equity campaign, is a vocal advocate for the rights of all support staff. She has a long history of campaigning right back to street marches for pay equity in the 90s. For many years she was the NZEI Te Riu Roa Wellington Area Councils representative on the Principals Council and is currently the chairperson of the Wellington Area Council.

Ian Leckie has been an active member of NZEI for over 30 years. He returned from retirement to relieve as Principal at Hautapu School and was soon back campaigning supporting the Kua Tae Te Wā campaign with his extensive knowledge of the sector. He has held many positions within the Institute, including National President.

Pat Newman, principal of Hora Hora School in Whangarei, received the award of Honorary Fellow - Union Activism.

Pat has had roles at branch, district council and national leadership levels which have spanned four decades. He has been a branch secretary, annual conference delegate, Principal Council representative and a negotiator for the Primary Principals. He joined NZEI Te Riu Roa as a student in 1973 and has been active ever since. He is outspoken, passionate and innovative.

He has always been committed to kaupapa Māori and has been a Te Akatea Māori Principals Association member since 1996. He has also been involved in MAC – Māori Achievement Collaborative since its inception in 2014.

Pat has been a National Executive member of the NZ Principals Federation for 12 years, two them as National President. His work over a period of years on the Teachers Council and on their Complaints Assessment Committee have demonstrated his endeavours to work tirelessly for a teaching profession we could all be proud of. His recent re-election to the NZ Teachers Council shows how much he is respected within education circles.

This year the award Associate Union Activism was conferred upon Robyn Tobeck of Ellesmere, and Krystyna Wishnowski of Heretaunga for their work at a regional and national level.

Up to 10 scholarships of $6000 may be awarded annually; six for support staff members in schools and four for members employed in an early childhood education service.

Early Childhood Education Scholarships were awarded to:

Jared Lambert, Berhampore Kindergarten: Certificate in Arts (Psychology).

Nelly Kendall-Carpenter, Carterton Kindergarten: An investigation into how waste materials can be resources for ECE centres.

Robyn Mockett, Paparangi Kindergarten: How can UNESCO’s Education Sustainability development goals be interpreted in an Early Childhood Education setting to support child development of social and emotional competency through curricula development.

Hui Zhou, Merrilands Kindergarten: How do early childhood teachers perceive their role in building emotion regulation skills in young children and what strategies do they use?

Support Staff Scholarships were awarded to:

Fiona Sorensen, Fitzroy Primary School: Te Kete Aronui (Aspire, Inquire, Inspire).

Erica Lasham, Waimauku School: Improving and providing better learning outcomes for the Blind/Visually impaired and other Learners with related special needs.

Cheryl Baldwin, Tauranga Intermediate School: Supporting Neurodiverse Literacy Learners.

Donna Le Marquand, Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School: Supporting Priority Learners in a Library Environment.

Anne Stephenson, Hutt Valley High School: PhD in Education (3rd year): Information Literacy in compulsory education in New Zealand: data collection and analysis.

Lucy Charlesworth, Nelson College for Girls: Using additive bilingual practices to support emergent bilinguals in secondary education.

Photos of some award recipients can be found here.

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