The recent school brawls involving secondary school students in Suva, Fiji are a reflection of the deep rooted bad effects of human rights or children’s rights on the family structure. In his written submissions to the Constitution Commission, Aisea Vunibaka, a retired revenue collector, said human rights were stopping teachers from punishing students. “Their parents, Read more
Poverty-stricken children in Africa have inspired a young Auckland woman to do all she can to give them a greater chance in life. Mary Duncan, 20, has been working hard to help youngsters in Arusha, Tanzania, after spending time with them as a volunteer two years ago. Miss Duncan, who grew up in Howick, decided Read more
An English woman, Pat McEvoy, the wife of a former missionary in the Solomom Islands, and her four daughters have set up scholarships to assist girls from Malaita Solomon Islands to attend secondary school. Pat is going to the Solomon Islands to put into place the John McEvoy Scholarship for Girls with money she and her daughters have raised in England. It Read more
St Bede’s Old Boy and Bishop of Christchurch, Rev Barry Jones, on Friday 21st of this month led a ceremony to deconsecrate the St Bede’s College Chapel. Its deconsecration and eventual removal is a huge disappointment to the College community and is a result of the Christchurch earthquakes. The chapel has been closed since May 6, Read more
St Teresa’s school in Karori has called off a money raiser involving delivering flyers advertising a new bar and restaurant, during school hours, after complaints from three families. Children in years six, seven and eight were to spend an hour delivering leaflets in return for a $500 donation towards school sports jackets. The bar and Read more
It’s a fairly grim picture for the U.S. Catholic Church these days. Church attendance among all but immigrants in the U.S. is dwindling. Dioceses are being bankrupted by the priest pedophilia scandal. As a result, the church is shuttering many Catholic hospitals, but there’s one possible growth market for the American church: Catholic schools. Since Read more
A recently published report on pupil exclusions shows Maori and Pasifika boys in lower decile schools are the group worst affected. The Ministry of Education report on expulsion shows there was a clear link between the socio-economic mixes of schools and the removal rates. “Students from the lowest quintile schools are five times more likely Read more
Sir Lloyd Geering believes there are good reasons for teaching religion in schools. He thinks parents’ confusion about the word “religion”, can make them more likely to remove their children from religion classes. “I think ‘religion’ is probably a word that is confusing the whole situation. What we really should be talking about is culture. Read more
35 Hato Paora College students, aged 15 to 18, are going to Los Angeles next week for a cultural and faith exchange. They are going to San Juan Capistrano where they will meet the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, belonging to the Acjachemen Nation. Hato Paora head boy Campbell Te Paa, says “Getting to know Read more
Parents are at a crossroads over whether religion lessons should be allowed in the classroom. Hundreds of primary schools “close” during class time so religious teachers can come in and teach Bible-based values, and parents must opt out if they do not want their children to attend. A group of rationalists has launched a campaign Read more