The Story Behind The Stories
This is how we got to be where we are ...
Once upon a time there as a PLD facilitator (that's our founder Del Costello) who noticed that heaps of tamariki just were not engaging in literacy. When she did a closer investigation, she discovered two things- that most tamariki didn't know how to 'tell stories' and they were being exposed to literacy opportunities that didn't always reflect who they were.
She talked to teachers and they told her that they didn't think they were good story tellers, they didn't know the stories that were connected to the school and they were a little bit whakama (embarrassed) to say Te Reo Māori kupu (words) because they didn't want to make mistakes.
Del scratched her head for a while, she did a whole lot of research, reviewed literature, talked to dozens of academics, teachers and experts and then said
'Ah ha! So, to kill two birds with one stone, Del decided to test this out. She worked with a school to write their story, a story of their place. That story was so wildly popular that they worked together to build a whole lot of resources and to teach the teachers to integrate this story across the curriculum.
So many schools wanted to do this that the Ministry of Education came on board to support the project so Del could scale it up and the rest is history!
Kōrero Paki
1. (verb) to tell a story
Telling Your Stories is
Powered by Coactive Education
At Coactive Education we think differently, we’re independent, and we combine our creativity with deep, practical skills to create world-class EdTech for a better tomorrow.
Aotearoa New Zealand has a rich legacy of world-changing solutions born of challenging the status quo that Coactive Education is proud to be part of. We call it the pōtiki spirit.
Pōtiki is the name for the youngest child in a Māori family, the curious one, the mischievous one, the one who holds no fear or inhibition to look beyond. Coactive Education’s pōtiki spirit comes through in our core values of Auhuatanga, Whanaungatanga and Manaakitanga.
This is the motivation behind Coactive Education’s evidence based bespoke educational design that strengthens educational outcomes for all. With this spirit we are creating brave, innovative solutions and delivering them at the speed of today’s connected world from Aotearoa to the world.
Our Project Team
Del Costello
Education Consultant & Director
Del is the director of Coactive Education who is passionate about solving educational challenges and partnering with educators to really get things moving. This whole project was Del's BIG idea and it has really flown!
Jaime Davies
Business Development and Project Lead
Jaime is our organisational powerhouse! She makes sure that if a school is ready to tell their story, their connected with the right people - and keeps us all singing to the same songsheet!
Dr Lisa Watson
Project Lead
Lisa Watson is an incredible educator based in Te Tai Tokerau, with over 25 years in education and a doctorate in the field, we are so privileged to have her on the TYS project lead team.
Kate Costello
Design Lead
Kate is in charge of asset creation and management. It's Kate's job to manage our team of artists and creatives and help them dream up and execute just what our schools need. Kate also creates and sources our awesome extras. Your wish is her command!
Steve Saville
Writer
Steve is our remarkable writer! With a lifetime of experience in the education sector, he brings his expertise in how children learn and his creative writing and research prowess to every story he helps a school put into words
Our Creatives
Kate Costello
In-house Illustrator - Horowhenua
Kate is a fully qualified illustrator and designer as well as a working artist. With a number of projects under her belt - Kate has a diverse range of styles she can execute for your project. Kate is a superstar with digital illustrations!
Preehya Patel
Wellington
Preehya is a working artist and illustrator who lives and works in Whanganui-a Tara. She has a real knack for natural landscapes and can nail our native flora and fauna like the pro she is!
Kenzie Darby
Christchurch
Kenzie is a working primary school teacher with a talent for illustration and creation. Kenzie is a digital artist whose work tells incredible stories in an accessible and pedagogically informed way.
Aurora Agustin
In-house - Auckland
Aurora is a talented graphic designer with a secret skill for animation - if you're looking to level up your digital storytelling she'll get you moving in the right direction!
Our Translators
Okupu.com
Te Reo Māori
Founded by Aroha Turner and Paraone Gloyne, they were the first online Māori translation service connecting users with real humans, certified translators and dialectic accuracy. These guys are superstars!
Pollyanna Ferguson
Pollyanna is a teacher and native NZSL communicator. She doesn't translate for us, she interprets so that the content being shared is rich, exciting and truly captures the essence of the story. She is very creative and clever!
Rahere (Rachel) Turner
From time to time we need to harness the superpowers of Rahere. Te Reo Māori is a beautiful language in its own right and when a translation just won't do, Rahere sorts it out for us. She is so connected to Te Ao Māori and we just love and admire her mahi!
Our Voice Actors
Bev Aerenga
English
Bev's voice sounds like a warm hug. A trained actress as well as a teacher and school leader - her voice overs are loved by many schools
Liv Costello
English
A practicing Speech & Drama Teacher and working actor - Liv has a youthful and bright voice, and specialises in accents.
