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Former Fraser High School principal Martin Elliot has been sentenced to 40 hours of community work.

A once high-profile Hamilton secondary school principal has been sentenced to 40 hours community service after he pleaded guilty to using school funds to pay for building work on his personal property.Martin Elliott, who resigned...

Authorities are planning a blitz on rowdy student street parties in Dunedin.The city council yesterday agreed to a liquor ban that would permanently include the North Dunedin student area, and allow police to end events such as...

Businesspeople as much as anybody should be pressing the Government for more effective action on the twin issues of child poverty and the fat tail of failure in the school system.If only for the sake of their future labour supply.Right...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 08, 2012 is:

prescind • \prih-SIND\  • verb
: to withdraw one's attention

Examples:
If we prescind from the main issue for a moment, there is much to be gained by studying some corollary questions.

"For my purposes, we may happily prescind from the metaphysics." -- From John Collins' 2011 book The Unity of Linguistic Meaning

Did you know?
"Prescind" derives from the Latin verb "praescindere," which means "to cut off in front." "Praescindere," in turn, was formed by combining "prae-" ("before") and "scindere" ("to cut" or "to split"). So it should come as no surprise that when "prescind" began being used during the 17th century, it referred to "cutting off" one’s attention from a subject. An earlier (now archaic) sense was even clearer about the etymological origins of the word, with the meaning "to cut short, off, or away" or "to sever." Other descendants of "scindere" include "rescind" and the rare "scissile" ("capable of being cut").

A controversial new report that claims daycare could be harmful to children has revealed a deep divide among parents on how best to raise their kids.The report, from conservative lobby group Family First, found separating children...

The country's first university degree for teachers in Maori immersion schools will address a "critical shortage" in the number of Maori teachers, says the course's designer.

Lone MP John Banks says the future of the ACT Party depends on the success of a charter schools trial.

The country's first university degree for teachers in Maori immersion schools will address a "critical shortage" in the number of Maori teachers, says the course's designer.

A controversial psychologist has been criticised for a new report that says New Zealand mothers could be harming their children by sending them to daycare.The report Who Cares? Mothers, Daycare and Child Wellbeing in New Zealand...

When Prime Minister John Key announced his new Cabinet line-up late last year, one of the most significant changes went largely unnoticed in the public arena.Much was made of Steven Joyce's rise in the rankings, but there was less...

Conservative lobby group Family First is using a report from a controversial academic to claim day care is detrimental to children.

Student success in the latest NCEA exams is being touted by the Government as a result of its hard work over the last three years.Education Minister Hekia Parata told Parliament today that NCEA results from 2011 showed improvements...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 07, 2012 is:

cacography • \ka-KAH-gruh-fee\  • noun
1 : bad spelling 2 : bad handwriting

Examples:
The letter was marred by cacography and poor punctuation, among other flaws.

"I sprang out of the car, sensing that I was different, and that I had only begun to comprehend the enigmas underlying mankind and cacography." -- From Jeff Deck's 2011 book The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time

Did you know?
In its earliest use in the 16th century, "cacography" meant not "incorrect spelling" but "a bad system of spelling." Today people worry about misspelling words, but back then there was little need for such concern. English spelling was far from standardized; people spelled words any way that made sense to them. Not every one was happy with such laxity, however, and over the coming centuries spelling reformers pressed for regularization. Some reformers thought spelling should reflect the etymological background of words; others thought words should be spelled the way they sound. And of course, everyone believed his or her own way of spelling was the best. Our present inconsistent system was arrived at over time. Today "cacography" usually suggests deviation from the established standards.

Students will head back to Massey University today as education students start semester one, three weeks before their counterparts in other courses.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 06, 2012 is:

propinquity • \pruh-PING-kwuh-tee\  • noun
1 : nearness of blood : kinship 2 : nearness in place or time : proximity

Examples:
Many of the retirement community's residents cite the propinquity of the area's various cultural offerings as a significant reason for their choice of the facility.

"Canada was faced with the overwhelming propinquity of the United States; it was just next door -- for almost nine thousand kilometres." -- From Derek Lundy's 2011 book Borderlands: Riding the Edge of America

Did you know?
"Propinquity" and its cousin "proximity" are related through the Latin root "prope," which means "near." That root gave rise to "proximus" (the parent of "proximity") and "propinquus" (an ancestor of "propinquity"). "Proximus" is the superlative of "prope" and thus means "nearest," whereas "propinquus" simply means "near" or "akin," but in English "propinquity" conveys a stronger sense of closeness than "proximity." (The latter usually suggests a sense of being in the vicinity of something.) The distinctions between the two words are subtle, however, and they are often used interchangeably. "Propinquity" is believed to be the older of the two words, first appearing in English in the 14th century; "proximity" followed a century later.

Taranaki principals have given the Government's latest education cost-cutting proposal a resounding thumbs down.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 05, 2012 is:

circumvent • \ser-kum-VENT\  • verb
1 : to hem in 2 : to make a circuit around 3 : to manage to get around especially by ingenuity or stratagem

Examples:
Even though a clear detour route has been marked for all to use, some motorists have sought their own creative ways to circumvent the road construction.

"But [non-disclosure agreements] are increasingly rare. Many states do not enforce them; there are easy ways for those with malicious intent to circumvent them; and pursuing legal action is more expensive than most startup companies can afford." -- From an article by Yasine Armstrong in the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Journal, December 19, 2011

Did you know?
If you’ve ever felt as if someone were circling around the rules, you have an idea of the origins of "circumvent" -- it derives from the Latin "circum," meaning "circle," and "ventus," the past participle of the Latin verb "venire," meaning "to come." The earliest uses of "circumvent" referred to a tactic of hunting or warfare in which the quarry or enemy was encircled and captured. Today, however, "circumvent" more often suggests avoidance than entrapment; it typically means to "get around" someone or something, as in our example sentences.

So, Treasury has recommended that interest on student loans be reintroduced and tertiary funding be targeted at younger students and higher-level qualifications. Amen to that.The number of young people being sold false promises...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 04, 2012 is:

lymphatic • \lim-FAT-ik\  • adjective
1 a : of, relating to, or produced by lymph, lymphoid tissue, or lymphocytes b : conveying lymph 2 : lacking physical or mental energy : sluggish

Examples:
Because of the snowstorm, the day was a lazy one and the whole family felt lymphatic.

"Tonsils are collections of lymphatic tissue on both sides of the back of the mouth." -- From an article by Dr. Rhonda Patt in the Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), January 3, 2012

Did you know?
Lymph is a pale liquid in the body that helps maintain fluid balance and removes bacteria from tissues. Today, we understand that lymph plays an important role in the body's immune system. In the past, however, it was commonly believed that an excess of lymph caused sluggishness -- hence the "sluggish" meaning of "lymphatic." The word "lymph" comes from Latin "lympha" ("water" or "water goddess"), which itself may be a modification of the Greek word "nymphē," meaning "nymph." Both "lymph" and its related adjective "lymphatic" have been used in English since the mid-17th century.