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Author Chat – Suzi de Gouveia

Essential Resources author Suzi de Gouveia stopped to chat to Gail Jefferies about her latest books before heading off for the summer holidays.

Suzi de Gouveia’s lively verve fizzes up the phone-line. It’s less than an hour until the end-of-year school break-up, but this Christchurch principal’s passion for education is unwearied.   

A hands-on principal at St Teresa’s primary school, Suzi is also a successful author and one of the dynamic writing team that includes Jackie Andrews and Jude Callaghan. Together, they wrote the highly successful No Nonsense Number and the Number Counts series. Today, though, the topic of conversation is their new series, At Home with Maths.

This series comprising write-on, take-home books for students would seem to be a departure from their usual photocopiable teacher resources. “No,” says Suzi, “no really – it supports what we normally write.”

Based on the New Zealand curriculum, At Home with Maths is designed to reinforce maths concepts; following through the stages taught at school and providing practice at the correct levels. “It aligns with everything they do in class,” says Suzi.

“And children want to do them.”

Really?

“Yes children often ask for things to do at home. They say, ‘oh these are fun’ and I say, ‘yes I know who wrote them,’” she says laughing.

Suzi believes fun is the extra magic that makes the team’s books so successful. The authors have fun writing them and this flows through to teachers, and most importantly, to the children. But this At Home with Maths series also supports parents.

“Parents will say ‘how do we support our children at home?’ This gives them the tools to help their children, appropriately,” says Suzi.

Well-meaning parents can inadvertently cause complications by self-teaching maths to their children, the way they were taught – long division, algorithms and such like. “Today it’s about developing thought processes, says Suzi. “We do teach those other things,” but not until much later; and in stages.”

But parents can be reassured – there are some things that haven’t changed. “Instant recall of times tables and basic facts is still important,” says Suzi.

These books are great practice for students during the holidays to prepare them for the coming school year.

This is our first update for 2012 – happy new year! It lists scheduled conferences, events and/or competitions for the coming months, which may be of interest to teachers in and around Australasia. For events further out and beyond our shores, a comprehensive listing is available here. In the meantime, if you have any events, conferences, seminars or such-like that you'd like mentioned now or in the future, please get in touch.

January
Vietnam Education Conference
This conference aims to give teachers hands on and practical strategies 
in Spelling, Grammar, Reading and Maths, using exciting dice, colour and songs.
Sunday 8 – Wednesday 11 January 

Ho ain, Vietnam

Social Educators' Association of Australia Conference 2012
Social Education at the Crossroads. Capturing the challenges faced at local, national and global levels, to develop and implement curriculum and pedagogy that engages and prepares young people as C21st learners in times of change.
Wednesday 18 – Friday 20 January 
Melbourne, Australia

Chinese New Year 2012
The year of the Dragon – the most auspicious animal as per the Chinese zodiac.
Monday 23 January

7th TeachersMatter Conference 2012
A mix of both personal and professional development with speakers addressing both the practical teaching perspective, and the self care and attitude perspective.
Thursday 26 – Friday 27 January 

Rotorua, New Zealand

Learning@School

Organised by CORE Education – education, ideas and strategies to equip educators with a focus on leading, learning and technology trends. There are lots of workshops, including a presentation by Essential Resources commissioning editor, author and teacher, Jo Issa. She will be demonstrating iUgo – a new innovative, online, interactive curriculum planning tool. Register to ensure your place. There’s also another not-to-be-missed presentation by one of our high profile authors, Pam Hook who will be launching her second book in the SOLO Taxonomy series.
Thursday 26 – Friday 27 January 

Hamilton, New Zealand

New Zealand Early Childhood Research Conference

Educators, Policy Advisers, Child Advocates, ECE Service Personnel - this is your chance to pick up key information and findings from research on various early childhood topics and surprise others who don't get to attend the Conference with what you know.

Thursday 26 – Saturday 28 January
Wellington, New Zealand

Primary English Teachers' Association Australia
A Web 2.0 toolbox for literacy. Exploring a range of Web 2.0 technologies to use across the English Curriculum; organising online resources using ‘cloud’ computing; and planning how to integrate Web 2.0 tools into literacy lessons. 
Friday 27 January 

Mt Riverview Public School, NSW, Australia

Summer Sizzlers - Summer Holiday Competition 2011-2012
Students all over Australia are invited to enter their short stories OR poems, and battle it out for the cash prizes. No theme – any topic, any style; kindergarten to Grade 12. Free entry.
Closing date: Friday 27 January  

Australia

February
Waitangi Day

Every year on 6 February, New Zealand marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Monday 6 February

New Zealand

HKTDC Education & Careers Expo
This expo has two main sections: Education – bringing together all types of institutions, including universities and colleges, vocational training and language schools (sub-divided into ‘Hong Kong’ and ‘Outside Hong Kong’; and Careers – for school-leavers, graduates and job-seekers, offering careers advice and providing exhibitors, including commercial enterprises, government departments and semi-government organisations, professional associations and recruitment media.
Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 February

Hong Kong, China

Library Lovers Day

A new era has begun with Library Lovers everywhere claiming Valentines Day for the objects of their special affection - Australia's libraries.

Tuesday 14 February 

Australia

CORE Breakfasts

Wellington - Friday 24 February

What taking a future focus means – the challenges of researching future practice.

Christchurch - Tuesday 28 February

Leadership post the quakes… fostering emergence and self organisation.

While we have endeavoured to provide accurate information in this post, Essential Resources cannot accept responsibility for any oversights or omissions; nor are the events listed here necessarily endorsed by Essential Resources.