School honoured at national awards

An Invercargill school has wowed the prime minister and gained national recognition for its project helping students communicate.

Invercargill Middle School took out the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award as a joint award winner at the Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards ceremony on Tuesday night in Auckland.

Deputy principal and teacher Katie Pennicott said the school identified some students learning and participation in school was being impacted because of their lack of oral language.

To combat the issue, the idea of ‘‘talk moves’’ was created, which allowed students to hold power in a conversation.

Talk moves allowed students to communicate through gestures including to show they were listening or to pass their idea onto another student to develop further.

Principal Stan Tiatia said he was ‘‘blown away’’ and was brought to tears at the awards. ‘‘I couldn’t believe it,’’ he said. There was a buzz all around the school, he said.

Invercargill National MP Sarah Dowie said the win was a testament to the school’s hard work and commitment to education innovation. ‘‘Invercargill Middle School is a pioneer in innovative and effective teaching practices.’’

Other schools and kindergartens in the area had been visiting the school to learn about the new technique, Tiatia said.

It was an achievement the school wanted to share with the wider community and country, he said.

The school received $20,000 as part of their prize for the win, as well as a professional development opportunity.

The money would go towards a new playground at the school, which the schools board of trustees had planned for about 18 months.