Tune in to Maori television at 7:30pm tonight for Te Kaea where CensusAtSchool will be featuring!
Thanks to everyone at Ranui Primary for their part in the filming today.
Who do Kiwi children admire? What do they do in their spare time? What do they eat and drink? How much are they spending on their cell phones? What do they want for Christmas? These questions and more are posed in the popular CensusAtSchool, and the results promise a unique insight into what New Zealand’s 10 to 15 year olds are thinking, feeling and doing.
Starting 15 August, tens of thousands of children from all around New Zealand will stand up and be counted in CensusAtSchool – their own on-line children’s census sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Statistics of the University of Auckland.
“CensusAtSchool is about children for children,” says Malcolm Hyland of the Ministry of Education. “It is a launching pad for emerging educational efforts aimed at turning generations of students into data detectives – equipped with the tools and inclinations that will enable them to continue to make exciting and useful discoveries about their world throughout their lives and careers.”
Project spokesperson and co-director Rachel Cunliffe of the University of Auckland says: “This will be the most comprehensive snapshot to date of how New Zealand students are living their lives. The CensusAtSchool database will enable children to learn about data collection, information technology and how to make sense of data in a playground where they will continually make exciting discoveries about themselves.” Adds Lesley Hooper , Education Manager of Statistics New Zealand: “Students are often given data that is not really relevant to them which makes it hard for them to engage in learning. Having data that is embedded in their own lives will get them enthused and wanting to learn.”
The experience, says Mrs Hooper, will help prepare the children and their families for the 2006 New Zealand Census.
CensusAtSchool is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is also conducted in the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa. CensusAtSchool starts in Maths Week and runs from 15 August until 16 September. Two weeks before the launch, more than 800 New Zealand schools have already registered to take part and more schools are signing up daily, says Ms Cunliffe.
Source: Scoop Independent News
- CensusAtSchool is coming our way again this year!
- Online survey 15th Aug – 9th Sept 2005 (Maths Week launch)
- Teaching resources available from September
In 2003, 18,000 students from 388 schools completed the online questionnaire. This year we hope to at least double this.
Megan Jowsey, Deputy Head, Auckland Girls Grammar School
“By taking part in the survey and then ‘playing detective’ with the data, students will discover interesting patterns and comparisons, that will bring their maths lessons alive.”
NZAMT President Alan Parris
“What is great about CensusAtSchool is that it generates a fantastic resource of data which is of interest to children to motivate and enrich their learning in statistics and can create a real buzz about statistics. But the reality is that is that teachers are heavily overworked and have many competing demands on their time. No matter how good the resource data is, most of us simply do not have the time to generate lots of new teaching and assessment resources ourselves for any one part of the curriculum. I am very pleased that the Ministry, Statistics New Zealand and everyone else involved in CensusAtSchool is taking this on board and that delivery of off-the-shelf resources will be a very high priority of this project.
This is all great news for teachers but what really matters right now is that we all get our classes and schools involved so that the CensusAtSchool database is as rich and inclusive as it possibly can be. Then the project can move on and start delivering exciting resources for us to use. But if we do not all get in behind this project for the survey stage we really limit its ability to deliver its potential benefits to us and to our students.”
Vince Wright, National Numeracy Coordinator, NZ Maths Curriculum Project Coordinator
“CensusAtSchool will usefully complement the numeracy project and provide a vehicle for innovations in the curriculum. The data will form part of an international multivariate data base and provide opportunities for children to compare themselves with other children not only in New Zealand but also in the UK, South Africa, Australia and Canada.”
Please register today
www.censusatschool.org.nz
Students throughout the country are taking part in the first census of primary and secondary schools.
More than 400 schools have signed on for the voluntary project, Census at School, which started on Monday as part of Maths Week and will run until September 12.
The on-line census is part of an international effort to boost statistical awareness among young people and has already been done in South Africa, Queensland, South Australia and Canada.
The New Zealand project is being conducted by Megan Jowsey, head of maths at Birkenhead College, with help from Auckland University and Statistics New Zealand.
Questionnaires have been designed for each class from years five to 10.
They ask for details ranging from age and hair colour to the length of the student’s right foot, what the students had for breakfast and their physical activities.
Data collected from the census will be compiled over the next three months and will be included in the international database.
Source: NZ Herald
By SUE ALLEN and MICHELLE QUIRKE
Have you ever wondered what the average New Zealand child might be like? Well, wonder no more.
According to a census of 18,000 eight to 15-year-olds, Wellington Girls College pupil Sara Connor, fits the bill almost exactly.
Sara, like most respondents to the survey, is 13 years old, travels to school by car, lives with three other family members — her mum and two sisters — and eats toast or cereals for breakfast. But her favourite breakfast is French toast.
She owns a mobile phone, has access to a computer, likes using the Internet — for listening to music and messaging her friends — and one of her favourite school subjects is art. The only box Sara does not tick — she lives in Wellington, not Auckland, where most respondents came from.
CensusAtSchool coordinator Megan Jowsey said the survey had asked 23 questions ranging from eye colour and height to whether boys skip faster than girls and how long it took to travel to school.
The results, on the New Zealand CensusatSchool website, can be accessed by teachers and will provide a rich and relevant database for students to explore.
One of the most interesting results was how many children were born outside New Zealand. The results show that 20 per cent of children who answered the on-line survey were born overseas in countries ranging from Australia, Korea, England, South Africa, China and India. Almost one-third could hold a conversation in more than one language.
Though most respondents liked art best, physical education was almost as popular. Younger boys rated maths as their second favourite subject, but younger girls liked drama and dance.
Census at School was developed at Nottingham Trent University three years ago, and 60,000 children from Britain, 3.5 million from South Africa and thousands from Australia have taken part.
New Zealand is the fourth country to take up the project, while Italy, Norway, Canada and United States have expressed interest.
So, what does the average New Zealand kid like doing in her spare time? “Hanging with her friends” and “listening to music”. And Sara said she felt far from average.
Source: The Dominion Post
Pupils jump into action for census article in Dominion Post today.
CensusAtSchool will feature tonight on the Paul Holmes current affairs show.
