School Projects
The schools Touch Aotearoa New Zealand project aims to bring sustainability and wellbeing to New Zealand children and their families in a way that inspires our communities to take action.
Actions can be large or small because every action makes a difference.
The artistic aim of this project is to share the powerful way art can contribute to individuals, organisations and community’s wellbeing.
School resource
Please scroll through the below resource - it explains the project background and outcomes.
In 2023, we are looking to partner with teachers who would like to pilot the Touch Aotearoa New Zealand project in their class.
Project details and requirements:
Pedagogical decision: you will choose one topic from the 5 Sustainable Development Goals explored in the resource:
Goal 14: Life below water
Goal 1: No poverty
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Goal 13: Climate action
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Project resources: if selected, you will receive one book for each pupil in your class.
Time commitment: Teachers decide how many lessons they need to explore the chosen topic
Time frame: teachers select a term to work on their chosen topic, to finish by the end of 2024, Term 2
Teacher involvement outcomes: you will share your feedback on your class activity, including photo examples of pupil activities in their books and a list of actions that pupils chose to take - with some examples.
Please contact us with your Expressions of Interest and tell us why you would like to pilot the project!!
We will know by 2023 Term 3 if we receive funding approval, and will inform teachers selected.
student outcomes and Key Competencies
Pupils' outcomes were two fold:
Actions: Following individual and group inquiries, students were encouraged to undertake an action that will make a positive difference either locally or globally.
Key competencies: The educators who collaborated on the Sustainable Journals designed the program with the following key competencies in mind:
Thinking
Success Criteria: I know I will be successful if I…
· Share my thoughts about the ideas that the artworks bring up
· Share my comments and questions about the connection between the artworks and the actions they can inspire
· Contribute new ideas to discussions as they happen
Participating and contributing
Success Criteria: I know I will be successful if I…
· Take advantage of all the time I have to work on my project
· Listen as others speak for students to group their ideas into different categories
· Take a risk and share my questions or confusions to help my understanding
Using language, symbols and texts
Success Criteria: I know I will be successful if I…
· Respond with words, drawings or music when sharing my ideas
· Connect some of the words already written with my words and thoughts to create new ideas
· Listen and ask questions if I do not understand some of the teacher explanations
Relating to others
Success Criteria: I know I will be successful if I…
· Listen as others speak for each student to share time and take turns when sharing ideas
· Recognise that other students may have different ideas to mine
· Respect other students space and time as we work together
Managing self
Success Criteria: I know I will be successful if I…
· Use my gentle voice when working with other students so that other groups may concentrate on their projects
· Have a ‘can-do’ attitude to answer the questions we ask ourselves in class
· Use class time to think and connect my ideas to the artwork
Review below the school pilots carried out in past years
school journals pilot
The "Sustainable Schools Journals" are a re-imagination of Yaniv Janson's exhibit "Please Do Touch" and were developed in collaboration with Te Uku School and the Learning and Innovation Specialist from Te Papa Museum, Donald James.
Learning journals provided students with a place to learn about the SDGs and host their thoughts, ideas and learnings all in one place, so that they can see the progress in their understanding. The free-style of the journals allows teachers and students to use the journals in whatever way they are inspired to.
The pilot aimed to add value to the school program and to support pupils' learning objectives.
It made a connection between what the students learn in their subjects and the global context, raising the awareness that they are active actors in it.
The Te Uku pilot
Te Uku is a school of approximately 110 students, located in an idyllic country setting, 10 minutes east of Raglan, in the mighty Waikato. Their vision is to “expand the hearts and minds — Whakawhanake I te ngakau I te hinengaro” of their students to become confident, connected, actively involved and life-long learners. Both teachers and students were eager to trial this resource.
This report summarizes the activities done in school and the actions that the children chose to carry out at the conclusion of the Sustainable Goals project.
This project was carried out with funding from the Lee Reynolds Trust [Ed0282019]. Their contribution is gratefully acknowledged.
"This collaboration project has enhanced the understanding of all at Te Uku School about the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, and significantly, the part we as individuals and communities play in making a difference— now and in the future. This has been a relevant and highly valuable learning experience for all involved.”
-Pip Mears, Principal of Te Uku School
Students
The students were manifestly curious and very enthusiastic about this project. They were very inquisitive and eager to understand the whole context, while excited to have the flexibility to explore whatever they were drawn to, raising more questions along the way. The learning involved a variety of different skills, ranging from literacy and numeracy to research skills, keeping students engaged.
Students showed to be very excited and empowered to understand their role in making progress towards the goals— evidenced by their direct actions such as riparian plantings, donation drives and beach clean-ups. In turn, they also recognised that top-down change is also essential, evidenced by their research of their local council’s plan and letters written to their councillors.
The exhibition at the end of term also provided them with an excellent opportunity to showcase their learning to parents and other classes as well as serving as a leadership opportunity and public speaking.
Teachers
The teachers also thoroughly enjoyed the project. They report that it enraptured the imaginations of both students and teachers and that they saw great alignments and connections happening between the project and their school— especially the fact that it was supporting a local artist.
Teachers also reported personal benefits from the project as they found it valuable to broaden to a more global perspective as well as their role and relevance in the bigger picture. This program also posed an exciting challenge on a personal and professional level. “It was the fist time that I needed to create something from scratch. It was new and daunting, but exciting and different” says Semmone. Seeing the excitement of the students and the ultimate success of their projects gave the teachers more confidence that they can deviate from the ‘norm’ and achieve great outcomes. Teachers also enjoyed seeing the fruits of their labour on display for everyone to see made it even more inspiring.
community
The impact of the project was also felt outside the walls of Te Uku, permeating into the wider community in the form of beach clean-ups, connections with local organisations (such as Extreme Zero Waste, Food Bank, Salvation Army, Church, Raglan Community House) and conversations that were prompted at home— catalysed by curious students. They even wrote to their local councillors telling them about the importance of taking care of their riparian zones— resulting in a donation of plants from Environment Waikato.
Community relationships were also strengthened by further involving parents in the classroom. For example, 2 parents who are scientists came into the school to talk about water quality, while another explained what poverty can look like in New Zealand and their role in the local community. Lastly, they also reported numerous home conversations featuring their child learning and that many connections were made by the students on their own— expressing deep gratitude for their lives and how lucky they are to have the things they do, especially their education; a massive life lesson.
All participants enjoyed the explicit connection between learning outcomes and the art on exhibition.
School visit
We were able to catch some of the children and teachers in action during some of our visits.
Because this was a 'learning by doing' projects, the best learning moments were not necessarily the ones captured on camera... these are all summarised in our written report above!
After this pilot, the school journals were updated through feedback from educators and pupils to the resource at the top of this page.