Jenny Kempster

Ngā mihi maioha to the Media Design School for another wonderful opportunity for our current and alumna learners! 🌟✨

On September 17, 2024, the Media Design School hosted the Junior Girls in Games Dev. Day, an immersive full-day event covering the basics of Game Art and Game Programming for aspiring game developers. This experience perfectly aligns with the 5 key actions from Microsoft’s 'Action Guide to Help Close the Gender Gap in STEM':

Provide Role Models: Our learners were inspired by keynote speaker Nimah Fitzgerald, an incredible game designer paving her way in the industry.

Generate Excitement: The hands-on nature of the course ignited enthusiasm, showing how fun and impactful gaming can be.

Provide Hands-On Experience: From creating pixel art to programming a 2D game, our learners engaged in practical activities that brought STEM to life.

Provide Encouragement: The supportive environment fostered by the Media Design School allowed our learners to explore their creativity and skills.

Encourage a Growth Mindset: Navigating the challenges of game design helped our girls embrace discovery and resilience as they learned.

A big shoutout to my colleague and friend, Shontelle Helg, our Learning Coach, for her ongoing support in empowering our learners!

These experiences are vital in showcasing the exciting possibilities in the world of gaming and technology!

There are SO many incredible opportunities for our learners! 🙌💡

Since launching the Leadership and STEM Programme in 2022, we’ve built our Kaupapa around the 5 key actions from Microsoft’s 'Action Guide to Help Close the Gender Gap in STEM'—and we’re thrilled to share that some of our latest cohort had ALL five categories met on the amazing “Exploring Opportunity” trip! 🚀🌍
With OJC Learning Designer Subash Chandar K & Learning Coach Zubaida Jawadi leading the way!

🚀 Provide Role Models: Meeting inspiring women like NASA’s space roboticist, Vandi Verma, showed them what’s possible.
💡 Generate Excitement: They got hands-on with engineering workshops and explored real-world STEM careers.
🔧 Provide Hands-On Experience: Experiencing the full-scale Opportunity rover model brought STEM learning to life.
💪 Provide Encouragement: Support from whānau, learning coaches, and mentors ensured they felt empowered.
🌱 Growth Mindset: The environment was all about curiosity, discovery, and the power of persistence.

Our Learners are thriving in STEM, and the possibilities are endless! 💫 For more info, check out microsoft.com/girls-in-stem

Last week, Cilla Godinet and I attended the STEAM Education Summit 2024 in Tāmaki Makaurau. While we were there just to participate, we were incredibly grateful to be gifted an impromptu 10-minute speaking slot! 🎤✨

It was an amazing opportunity to share our Leadership and STEM kaupapa, encouraging fellow educators to open the door wide and create space for more inclusive STEAM/STEM learning. 💡🔧

A big shoutout to my colleagues Viv Mallabar and Subash Chander K, who presented at the summit, and it was great to reconnect with A STEAM Summit Icon and former OJC Learning Designer, Nick Pattison!

We are even more inspired to continue and grow our Leadership & STEM kaupapa at Ormiston Junior College after attending The "Connecting Curious Minds: STEM Educators Expo" held tonight in the new Te Puawānanga Science and Technology Centre.
Ngā mihi nui STEM Alliance Aotearoa & Te Hononga Akoranga COMET 🙏🙌.

We promised an interactive workshop! And interaction we got 🙏👏👏👏 Ngā mihi nui to all the participants who came to our Leadership & STEM workshop this afternoon.
We may have opened the door widely (with the incentive of stickers) but our participants stepped into the space with a willingness to 🩷
TENZ - Technology Education New Zealand

We are off-the-chart proud of our Awesome rangitahi who are now their own role-models! They made a lasting impression at our workshop today, sharing their stories and leading a series of learning reflections and activations.

They won't be happy with me for sharing this pic - but I love it!

TENZ - Technology Education New Zealand

We are and our rangitahi are on their way to Christchurch for this afternoon's leadership & STEM interactive workshop at the

Representation matters! Emojis, icons, and clip art often carry gender bias, so I've created a unique set of imagery that can be printed for journalling, zines, stickers, badges, pins, magnets etc✂️
We'll be sharing this printable resource (and more) at our Leadership & STEM: Fostering Inclusive STEM Interactive Workshop at the TENZ Conference on Tuesday.

Representation matters! Emojis, icons, and clip art often carry gender bias, so I've created a unique set of imagery that can be printed for journalling, zines, stickers, badges, pins, magnets etc✂️

Comment or DM me if you want copy?