Solar panels installed on the roof of Clifton Terrace Model School against the backdrop of a beautiful Wellington day.

On Thursday 2 April, Clifton Terrace Model School in Wellington was host to the Minister for the Environment, Hon Dr. Nick Smith, who came to see Schoolgen in action. Clifton Terrace is one of the nine schools in the Greater Wellington region to have recently been selected for Schoolgen.

The Minister was accompanied by Genesis Energy's Chairman, Brian Corban and Chief Executive Albert Brantley. Students enjoyed performing their special Schoolgen assembly for the guests of honour, with children from all year levels on stage singing and dancing.

Hon. Dr Nick Smith being interviewed at Clifton Terrace Model School.

Students had the opportunity to think of some questions they would like to ask the Minister about the environment, and Nick Smith answered the questions in an interview with two of the students after the performance.

'It was very exciting to host the Minister at Clifton Terrace,' says Co-Principal Jenny Austin. 'It emphasised the importance of Schoolgen to the children and the wider school community.'

The launch at Clifton Terrace followed an exciting day for all the Wellington Schoolgen schools that all got to know each other at Muritai School on Tuesday 17 February.

	The audience were excited participants at the Muritai Schoolgen assembly.

Student and staff representatives from all the schools met at Muritai School to watch a Schoolgen assembly, meet some of the Schoolgen team and learn what Schoolgen is all about.

We are very pleased to welcome three schools from the Hawke's Bay to Schoolgen: Pukehou School, Hastings Intermediate and Napier Intermediate. These schools can look forward to having their free solar panels installed during Term 2, as well as the special Schoolgen launch that will take place in each school. Visit schoolgen.co.nz for a full list of the schools participating in Schoolgen to date.

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	Rob Duff

My name is Rob Duff and I am a 2009 Teacher Fellow. I am currently on leave from my position as a science and physics teacher at Green Bay High School and am now working alongside Genesis Energy's Schoolgen team.

So what is a teacher fellow? The Teacher Fellowship is a scheme funded by the New Zealand Government and run by the Royal Society of New Zealand. It is open to primary, intermediate and secondary school teachers with a passion that they would like to explore outside of school which relates to science, technology or social science.

My chosen project is 'the science of renewable energy and energy efficient buildings'. This is a personal interest of mine as well as being highly relevant to the subjects that I teach, and the future in which my students will live and work. I came up with a proposal for my project at the beginning of 2008, contacted potential hosts, two of whom agreed to host me, and was then fortunate enough to be selected as a Teacher Fellow in 2009.

Already I have found Genesis Energy to have been very helpful in setting up meetings and experiences for me that enhance my research into renewable energy. I have travelled to Rakino Island to visit a community that generates much of its own energy from renewable sources, and to Wellington to see how the photovoltaic panels are installed in schools. I have toured the impressive Tongariro hydroelectric power scheme near Taupo, and visited Huntly to see how a large thermal power station works. I have also been able to visit leading-edge Schoolgen schools and see how they are planning to integrate solar energy into their curriculum.

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	Secondary teachers discussing how to bring Schoolgen to life in their classrooms

A workshop for teachers from Auckland and Greater Waikato Schoolgen secondary schools was held on Monday 16 March at Huntly Power Station. The purpose of the workshop was to increase teachers' knowledge about the teaching resources available through schoolgen.co.nz and provide an opportunity for professional development in the area of energy and photovoltaics.

The 20 teachers attending the workshop came from Auckland, Hamilton, area schools in the Greater Waikato and Taupo nui-a-tia College. As well as learning about Schoolgen and how to incorporate aspects of the programme into everyday classroom life, the teachers shared ideas with each other about how they are getting the most out of Schoolgen in their schools. Following the workshop, an engineer from Huntly Power Station gave the teachers a presentation about thermal electricity generation before they were taken on a tour of Huntly Power Station to see it in action.

We are planning on hosting another workshop for teachers from Wellington and Hawke's Bay Schoolgen schools later this year. Keep an eye on schoolgen.co.nz for more details.

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	Forest Lake School's student Power Board

Forest Lake School in Hamilton has created a student 'Power Board' team. This team is in charge of raising awareness with their peers and teachers of ways to save energy at school. The Power Board act as advocates of Schoolgen and tell peers about how much electricity their solar panels are generating compared with other schools. All this information is available on the website, and the Power Board members are happy to show classmates how to find learning resources and information about energy efficiency and renewable energy at schoolgen.co.nz.

Members of the Power Board are issued with an official ID badge that features a list of energy efficiency tips, so they are always ready to give advice and answer questions about how to make Forest Lake School a more responsible energy user.


Teaching idea profile - Fairfield College's Year 9 Energy Curriculum

Fairfield College is incorporating Schoolgen into its Year 9 Energy Curriculum. A student activity / homework booklet has been created, which includes an activity on the solar panels. This enables the class teaching activities to be followed up with the requirement that students complete the activity in the booklet in class or as homework.

The student activity / homework book has been created by utilising the free Schoolgen teaching resources that are available on the Schoolgen website.

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