2019 Christmas Message
2019 - What a year! A year filled with Vision, Heart, Competence and Spirit as our remarkable NZTC Team embraced our 37th year with full commitment to supporting students around New Zealand and throughout the world.
As we look back over the 2019 year, we reflect on days of guiding our largest number of early childhood education and health and wellbeing students to date, as well as launching new programs to support healthcare assistants. These program additions include the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 2) and Certificate in Dementia Care, as well as a dementia care specialisation option integrated into the college’s Level 3 and Level 4 programs.
In our commitment to support our early childhood and health and wellbeing communities in need, study scholarships have been gifted to both sectors in 2019 and we are currently offering ECE teacher education scholarships for students who apply by 28 February 2020. With the need throughout NZ for outstanding, qualified graduates, we are honoured to support students in practical ways.
Highlights this year include the 2019 NZTC Symposium focused on The Power of Play. The college hosted international ECE expert Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a leading international voice on play in early childhood, who shared her expertise with over 100 attending delegates in Auckland and Christchurch.
In June, we announced NZTC’s collaboration with New Shoots Publishing and Curiate to launch a third edition of Pat Penrose’s seminal text Take Another Look. We then travelled to Fuzhou, China to celebrate five years of successful China partnerships, recognising the fourth cohort of graduates from the college’s partnership with the Fujian Preschool Education College and the China Liberal Education Technology Development Company Limited.
A historic milestone was achieved in September, when NZTC India celebrated its tenth graduation ceremony in Mumbai. Established in 2009, NZTC India has supported nearly 300 local students to earn their early childhood qualifications throughout India via online learning.
And our continued partnering with Jagriti Foundation has seen individual children, girls, women and families in need, supported in practical ways full of love and hope for their future.
As I enter my 22nd year at NZTC in the weeks ahead, I never cease to be inspired by our dedicated college staff team who live and breathe our mission statement and values every day. I am grateful for the daily commitment of each team member to ensuring our students and our early childhood and healthcare communities who work alongside us, are supported, cared for and able to care and educate our youngest and oldest citizens.
The college will take a short break over the Christmas holiday period for all to relax and recharge. Our campuses and IT Help will close at 5pm on Friday 20 December 2019 before reopening with our usual operating hours on Monday 6 January 2020.
As the year draws to a close, lets embrace the opportunity to slow down, share time with loved ones, and choose to connect in special ways with technology left behind.
On behalf of the NZTC Team, I wish you all the blessings of Christmas and a relaxing holiday season full of memory-making moments with family, friends and loved ones.
Sharing the spirit of Christmas – peace
the miracle of Christmas – hope
and the heart of Christmas – love
Selena Fox
Chief Executive