Census NZ: Matapu School one of 27 across the country to receive $100 voucher

Matapu School received a $100 stationery voucher thanks to Census NZ. Photo/ Supplied

Matapu School has received a $100 stationery voucher thanks to Census New Zealand.

The school was part of a programme aimed at building awareness of the 2023 Census. Each of the 1260 schools involved received a 2023 Census Teacher’s Toolkit, including a lesson plan and an activity pack.

Matapu was one of 27 schools across the country to receive a $100 stationery voucher.

Simon Mason, deputy government statistician and deputy chief executive Census and collection operations, says there was a ‘fantastic response’ to the initiative.

“Thank you to all the schools who registered to take part. I am pleased to announce we have provided $100 stationery vouchers to 46 classrooms from 27 schools across Aotearoa New Zealand. There were some fantastic entries to win a voucher, and it looked like students had a great time learning about the census. Some schools went to a lot of effort to produce their census results and there were some very creative entries.”

Adding a slice of fun and entertainment, the 2023 Census Teacher’s Toolkit included a video introducing the census from Elvis Lopeti.

Elvis is a former Celebrity Treasure Island finalist, and Parris Goebel’s The Royal Family dancer and choreographer, recently part of Rihanna’s halftime Super Bowl show. The video was filmed at Waiau Pa School in Pukekohe.

“By supporting teachers to talk about the census, in a fun way, we hope students will understand why we do a census and how it will help their community in the future. We have received some great feedback from teachers – including stories about students being able to support their family to take part in the 2023 Census.”

He says Stats NZ has also donated stationery vouchers to 200 schools in Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay that signed up for the schools’ education programme but were unable to participate to win a voucher due to Cyclone Gabrielle and recent flooding events.

“While using the 2023 Census Teacher’s Toolkit resources can be factored into classroom activity at any time, we want to acknowledge the schools who couldn’t take part due to Cyclone Gabrielle. We hope this small token helps support their return to normal school activities.”