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PPTA News

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association. There are 11 issues published each year.  It contains articles of professional and industrial interest.

Link to PPTA webpage PPTA News archive

Approximately 18,000 copies of PPTA News are distributed free to secondary and area schools and other institutions.

Not all the opinions expressed within PPTA News reflect those of the PPTA.

Enquiries should be addressed to: The Editor, PPTA News, PO Box 2119, Wellington, New Zealand. Phone: 04 3849964; Fax: 04 3828763; Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



PPTA News December 2011 E-mail

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA).PPTA News cover December 2011

PPTA News v.32 (10) December 2011

Table of contents
President's viewpoint - Audits come before plaudits p.3;
Teachers online: where do we separate the personal from the professional p.4;
Consultation is the key to school wide PB4L p.6;
Part-time non-contact inequities need resolution p.7;
Rainbow Taskforce well-being workshops p.7;
Changes at NZQA p.8;
Letter: Ex-pat UK teachers' pension concerns in NZ p.8;
A big thank you from Canterbury p.9;
Ongoing assistance for members in Canterbury p.9;
Capna and surplus staffing specialists - Field officers' advice p.10
PPTA activist joins staff p.11;
Building cooperatives in South India p.11.

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Link to PPTA webpage PPTA News archive

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 11:44
 
PPTA News November 2011 E-mail

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA).PPTA News cover November 2011

PPTA News v.32 (9) November 2011

Table of contents

The gateless gate - President's viewpoint p.3;

Calls for collaboration and class size campaign - Annual conference p.4;

School ad puts Bill English on the back food - Annual conference p.4;

Minister upbeat but avoids tough issues - Annual conference p.5;

Strong ideas but the devil will be in the detail - Annual conference p.5;

Greens get behind secondary teacher cause - Annual conference p.6;

Government painting a deceptive narrative - Annual conference p.6;

Signing off with deep gratitude (Karen Sewell stands down as Secretary for Education) p.7;

Party policy sweep p.8;

Raising support by and for principals - Annual conference p.10;

Phillip Capper obituary p.10;

Nothing guaranteed (Youth guarantee) p.11;

Quarterly funding shaves school budgets p.11;

YANTs weaved into NETs p.12;

PPTA set to launch membership card p.12;

Press Council upholds PPTA complaint p.13;

Focus on NCEA alignment p.13;

Health and safety standards assist victims of violence - Field officers' advice p.14;

Youth'12 surveys well-being of secondary students p.14;

Letter: Wainuiomata High School "positive and safe" p.15;

pdf  icon Download the November 2011 issue of the PPTA News

Link to PPTA webpage PPTA News archive

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 November 2011 12:34
 
PPTA News October 2011 E-mail

Cover of October 2011 PPTA NewsPPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA)

PPTA News v.32 (8) October 2011

Table of contents

Prurience and ping-pong - President's viewpoint p.3;

Life in limbo-zone (Christchurch) p.4;

Lifting the cloak on bullying p.5;

Presidential team elections p.6;

The truth about registered teacher criteria p.9;

Arguing all the way to the top (salary and allowances) - Field officers' advice p.10;

Letter: Cuts unrelated to denail of PPTA member's claim - ACC p.10;

Focus on NCEA alignment p.11.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 11:05
 
PPTA News September 2011 E-mail

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA)Cover of September 2011 PPTA News

PPTA News v.32 (7) September 2011

Table of contents

Comings and goings - President's viewpoint p.3;

Preferred partner (queer youth) p.4;

Support for schools with quake-risk buildings p.6;

Downloading rough justice (Copyright law) p.7;

Grin and beard it p.9;

Long service may be longer than you think - Field officers' advice p.10;

New field officer hits the ground skating p.10;

Workers protest outside Fiji High Commission p.11;

Limping little crabs p.11.

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Last Updated on Monday, 26 September 2011 09:52
 
Performance pain E-mail

Viewpoint written by former PPTA president Ruth Chapman (1988-89) on performance pay and teaching.

Image of Ruth Chapman August 2011 PPTA NewsPerformance pay and teaching

I taught Heather Roy many years ago and recently she acknowledged me by describing me as an inspirational teacher. In the same article she outlined the advantages of performance pay – perhaps she believed that I would benefit from a performance-pay system.

It got me thinking . . .

Teachers contribute to student development in ways that may not be noticed or appreciated at the time.

I had to drag at least two clever but reluctant boys through my English class for them to gain their university entrance – I had the feeling that “old dragon” would have been their description of me. For other students my contribution may have been a boost to their self-esteem or a gift of respect, and maybe something I and the school did not notice at the time.

Teachers are in a powerful position and this requires careful reflection on the effect of our practice

I thought about the students who only remembered something from a teacher years after the event; in the same way I remember “gems” from my former teachers. On the other hand I thought about the power to do ill, to knowingly damage a student’s self-esteem and confidence in themselves and their learning. This is the scary thing about teaching and why we should give teachers time to think carefully about their daily practice.

There are many interrelated facets to teaching, and teachers have different strengths

I reminisced about the fact that I loved the classroom but probably wouldn’t have enjoyed today’s more structured regime; and the fact that there were other teachers who were better than me at classroom management, assessment, administration and curriculum development. Would they have been beneficiaries of the performance element of their pay?

Teachers who stand up for their beliefs are not always popular with management

I was involved in the union from early on in my teaching career, at a branch, regional and national level. That didn’t always make me popular in my school. Would the very teaching that inspired Heather Roy have been cancelled out by the demerits earned by standing up in unpopular situations? I feel proud to have been part of the campaign to abolish university entrance while working in a school where the principal strongly opposed the campaign.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 August 2011 16:17
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PPTA News August 2011 E-mail

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA)

Cover of August 2011 PPTA News

PPTA News v.32 (6) August 2011

Table of contents:

Performance pain - Viewpoiint written by Ruth Chapman (PPTA president 1988-89) p.3;

The human cost of ACC cuts p.4-5;

Ministry “perks” justify Tomorrow’s Schools review p.6;

Practices and values at the heart of education (Maori Teachers' Conference) p.7;

Australian union tackles Aboriginal issues in education (Maori Teachers' Conference) p.8;

Divine inspiration (Maori Teachers' Conference) p.8;

Libraries belong at the hub of schools p.9;

Cathedral College gets back on track p.10;

Still some uncertainty about jobs and schools p.11;

PPTA general secretary elected to international teachers’ body p.12;

Helping parents get to grips with the system (book review Understanding NCEA) p.12;

Minister invites RTLB teachers to leap into precarious employment p.13;

Petition a rallying call for Pasifika peoples p.13;

Sickness at home leave and EBS benefits - Field officers' advice p.14;

Extending national standards to year 9 and 10 would've hastened a teacher meltdown p.14;

 

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Last Updated on Friday, 16 September 2011 16:06
 
PPTA News July 2011 E-mail

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA).Cover of July 2011 PPTA News

PPTA News v.32 (5) Jul 2011

Table of contents:

President's viewpoint - A latte and a lie down p.3;

Addressing the exuberance of troubled youth p.4;

On stage, standing up, speaking out p.5;

Getting to grips with PB4L p.5

Christchurch schools need certainty p.6;

Canterbury quake tales p.6;

Infamous comments just palin wrong p.7;

Two teacher only days for NCEA announced p.8;

Secondary won't face burden of national standards p.11;

Public education in focus - what parents had to say p.9;

New group to report on class size in October p.9;

Ministry still giving RTLBs the run-around p.9;

Valuing the role of short term relievers - Field officers' advice p.10;

Nationwide tour against bullying p.14.

 

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PPTA News June 2011 E-mail

PPTA News is the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA).Cover of June 2011 PPTA News

PPTA News v.32 (4) June 2011

Table of contents
President's viewpoint - It's not called a zero budget for nothing p.3;
Double bunking (Canterbury quake) p.4;
Thinking ahead (Quake support) p.6;
Member assistance fund goes to recipients in need (Quake support) p.6
Mercy Dash (Canterbury quake) p.7;
Debt and why the government is different p.8;
Government moves ahead on PPP schools p.10;
"Needs analyses" gives RTLB transformation a dark edge p.11;
Teachers need time to look before they leap (PB4L) p.11;
Letter - "Pressure cooker" scheme meets urgent need (Graeme Aitken) p.12;
Area school teachers ratify a new agreement p.12;
Guy Allan Award p.13;
Complainants' anonymity not a given right - Field officers' advice p.14.
Nationwide tour against bullying p.14.

pdf  iconDownload the June 2011 issue of the PPTA News

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 June 2011 16:55
 
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