2018 has been another successful year for the VLN Primary and online learning in NZ schools. We wish all our school communities, whānau, students, teachers, partners and supporters a very Meri Kirihimete and a safe and enjoyable summer break.

Annyeonghaseyo! Learn about the culture of Korea and the basics of speaking Korean, an East Asian language spoken by more than 77 million people.

Students will investigate financial literacy through a variety of authentic tasks that prepare them for the future but inspire them now!

Kapa haka plays a large role in the revitalisation of the Māori language and Māori cultural values. It enhances positive well-being by encouraging a sense of belonging, providing a safe place in which to practice te reo me ōna tikanga.

We LOVE that through our schools sharing their expertise, we are able to offer New Zealand Sign Language classes online.

Students feedback is important for us to improve our online teaching practice, and schools to target their support. Here is what these children have to say:

Creative partnerships between online teachers and classroom teachers brings language learning opportunities to students and their teachers.

This week is Korean Festival week and we were proud to have one of our students participating in the Korean Education Centre speech competition and also to hear that the Korean Education Centre and CAPE will be continuing to support our Korean classes in 2019! We still have opportunities for free Korean classes in Term 4 - we would love to see some of our younger children participate with their teachers!

At the end of semester one we asked students, teachers and principals how are we doing? Students and schools were mostly positive about their learning with the VLN Primary. They talked about what was going well, what wasn't, their teachers, their online environments, and the opportunities they had in learning especially for te reo Māori, second languages and programming.

This programme has been developed to empower our Year 8 students with improved literacy skills and confidence as they prepare to move onto high school.

On 13th September the government tabled the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) 2018 which seeks to repeal CoOL (Communities of Online Learning) legislation. What does this mean for the future of online learning in NZ schools?

"How do we take the opportunity to uphold the values and principles of our world-leading curricula, in the best interests of our children and our society? Curricula experts share their expertise in working with all the New Zealand curricula in Taking the Lead - Celebrating our Curricula"

There are many challenges in being a principal in a small rural school in New Zealand, but when principals work collaboratively across schools they can relieve some of those challenges and provide benefits for their students and themselves.

In May we held our AGM welcoming new governance team members and reporting on our 2017 year.

Happy Chinese New Year! Make the Year of the Dog the year you and your children learn Mandarin. Visit our website to find out more & to register your interest.