Otago Literacy Symposium

Reading for Pleasure: More Important Than Ever

Jackie McMillan one of our AMAZING Otago Literacy Association committee members has asked us to share this with you. Jackie is a librarian at the Dunedin City Library. They have so many fantastic events happening weekly across our libraries in Dunedin and surrounds - https://www.dunedinlibraries.govt.nz/news-and-events/events-calendar

Join Te Awhi Rito NZ Reading Ambassador, Kate De Goldi, for a thought-provoking and inspiring public talk celebrating New Zealand Children's Book Week.

Research tells us that reading for enjoyment is one of the strongest predictors of children's educational success, yet reading for pleasure is declining among young people in Aotearoa. What can we do to help build a nation of readers?

📅 Sunday 16 August
🕑 2.00–3.00 pm
📍 Fourth Floor, Dunedin City Library
💚 FREE

Whether you're an educator, librarian, parent, whānau member, or simply passionate about books, this is a wonderful opportunity to hear from one of Aotearoa's leading voices in children's literature.

We'd love to see you there!

The Otago Literacy Association's 2026 Poetry Competition is now open!

This year's theme is ✨ Taonga | Taoka ✨ – inviting children and young people to celebrate the people, places, memories and treasures that are special to them through poetry.

Open to:
📖 ECE (Shared or Visual Poem)
📖 Years 1–3
📖 Years 4–6
📖 Years 7–8

Prizes will be awarded in every category!

Entries close Thursday 24 September 2026.

We can't wait to read the amazing creativity from young writers across Otago. Please share this opportunity with your students, colleagues, and school community!

Calling all young writers!

The Otago Literacy Association is thrilled to welcome award-winning children's author Swapna Haddow for a special Word Weaving poetry and writing workshop for Year 5–8 students!

Whether your students already love writing or are just discovering the joy of words, this interactive workshop will inspire them to explore language, imagery and poetry in fun and creative ways. There'll also be practical ideas for accompanying teachers to take back to the classroom.

When: Thursday 13 August
Time: 1.30–2.30 pm
Venue: University of Otago College of Education

Schools can register 3–4 students plus one accompanying teacher, with additional teacher places also available. Spaces are limited, so be quick!

👉 Register here: https://forms.gle/9wYvxpwvzVPVMtz27

We can't wait to welcome young writers from across Otago for an inspiring afternoon with one of today's most celebrated children's authors!

What a fantastic day!

Thank you to the 145 students, teachers, and schools who took part in our inaugural Ōtepoti Literacy Challenge. It was wonderful to celebrate a love of reading and writing while seeing so much enthusiasm, teamwork, and creativity on display.

A huge thank you to our quiz masters Swapna Haddow, Callum, and P from The Hits; our judges Jackie McMillan and Hera Bird; Tahuna Normal Intermediate for hosting; our amazing student leaders; and the dedicated Otago Literacy Association Committee who made the day possible.

We're already looking forward to doing it all again in Term 2, 2027!

In the meantime, keep an eye out for our upcoming Term 3 events:
- our annual Poetry Competition
- a Years 5–8 Writing Workshop with Swapna Haddow (flyer and registrations coming next week)
- Louise Dempsey's workshop on Whole-Class Reading Instruction – register here: https://forms.gle/6dTQhpEb1LLr51tN9

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: Whole-Class Reading Instruction

Join literacy consultant and educator Louise Dempsey for an inspiring and highly practical workshop exploring explicit reading instruction within the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum.

Louise will share a clear weekly structure for teaching reading and practical strategies to help students:
✅ Build vocabulary
✅ Develop reading fluency
✅ Practise decoding and self-monitoring
✅ Strengthen comprehension
✅ Engage in rich discussions about texts

Participants will receive sample weekly plans and classroom-ready resources to take away and use immediately.

Date: Monday 7 September
Time: 4.00–8.00pm
Venue:Tahuna Normal Intermediate, Dunedin
Cost: $50 OLA members | $65 non-members | $20 ITE students

Finger foods provided

Perfect for teachers working with Years 3–8 (Phases 2 and 3).

Register now:
https://forms.gle/2GMxdUDiCGivMRo19

Places are limited, so don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of New Zealand's leading literacy educators.

Ōtepoti Literacy Challenge Full event details and timeframes will be sent to schools mid-term. Date: Thursday 25 June Time: 9.30 - 10.45 (year 3-4) 11.00 -12.15 (year 5-6) 1.15 - 2.30 (year 7-8) Venue: Tahuna Normal Intermediate Cost: $30 per team (this includes a copy of the novel) The Challenge Includes Book Challenge Teams...

Have you registered yet?

We would love to see you at our upcoming workshop - Drama for Learning Across the Curriculum.

This session is suitable for kaiako in ECE and primary settings. Sarah and Alice will introduce you to a variety of drama conventions and approaches from short ‘drama moments’ to longer, integrated units of work. You will come away brimming with ideas and ready to add a bit of drama spice into your teaching practice!

Thursday 30th April
3.30 - 5.30
Afternoon tea provided
Register here: https://forms.gle/Hh9CKG16fGQ9Nog46

We hope the holidays are going well!

Registrations for the Ōtepoti Literacy Challenge are rolling in and we'd love to get books sent out to all schools in the first two weeks of term. If you haven't signed up yet it's not to late. Gather a team of four students and come along for a fun, fast-paced event celebrating reading, writing and teamwork.

When: Thursday 25th June
Where: Tahuna Normal Intermediate
Rounds for:
• Year 3–4
• Year 5–6
• Year 7–8

Cost: $30 per team - includes a copy of the novel being used in the book challenge section

Start selecting your teams now and get them registered by the start of term 2 as places are limited!

Register here: https://forms.gle/1pRhgzoPYK9hCGM98
Can't wait to see you soon!

Otago Literacy Association PLD - From Talk to Text

We’re excited to kick off the year with From Talk to Text: Preparing Students for Writing through Literacy Foundations and Morphology, led by the fantastic Joy Allcock and Lauren Latimer.

These practical, engaging workshops are designed to support kaiako and teachers as we begin unpacking the writing component of the refreshed English Curriculum. From building strong oral language and early literacy foundations in ECE, to explicit morphology teaching across Phase 1–3, this PLD is all about hitting the ground running in 2026.

When: Thursday 26 February
Where: College of Education staffroom, 145 Union Street East, Dunedin
Time: Two workshops available – 3.30 and/or 5.45

We’re especially excited to welcome ECE kaiako alongside school teachers for rich cross-sector learning and shared conversations about writing development.

Register here: https://forms.gle/RYLXPsSyATsTKHPp9
Full details in the flier below.

Please share with your colleagues — we’d love to see you there!

NZLA conference 2027 - Ōtepoti/Dunedin

Thank you to those who have shared their feedback already. We’re beginning early planning for the NZLA Conference 2027, which we are proudly hosting here in Ōtepoti. We’d love to gather ideas, suggestions, and big-picture thinking from the people who know literacy best ...you! As a thank you for completing the survey, all people who include their email address will go into a draw for a $30 NW voucher. We will add you to our conference mail-out and keep you up to date with further conference information during 2026 and 2027. The draw will be done on Monday 15th December, 2025.

If you have thoughts on themes, keynote speakers, workshops, partnerships, or anything you’d love to see showcased, please take a moment to share them with us. Your insights will help shape a conference that genuinely reflects our region and serves educators across Aotearoa.

Please fill in the survey here - https://forms.gle/LVtyhLZ9JuWLS6ZBA

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Ngā mihi nui,
Otago Literacy Association Team

NZLA conference 2027 - Ōtepoti/Dunedin Kia ora and thank you for taking the time to support our planning for the 2027 NZLA Annual Literacy Conference in beautiful Ōtepoti/Dunedin! This will be at the start of the term 3 holidays. We're in the early stages of crafting a conference that will celebrate literacy, spark new thinking, honour ...