Success stories

Spirit of Attitude winner – Ese Aumalesulu

December 6, 2016

Just wanted to share the awesome news with you that our very own Ese received the “Spirit of Attitude” award last night at the Attitude Awards. Everyone who has worked… Read more

Emil – A success story

July 21, 2015

BLENNZ Nelson farewells Emil as he moves to Auckland to participate in the Kickstart Programme in 2015. Emil came onto the Nelson roll as a pre-schooler and has been a… Read more

Jayke Hopa heads to US Space Camp for 25th Anniversary of SCIVIS!

August 27, 2014

Last week we were able to share the first of two stories of BLENNZ students who are off to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Today Jayke Hopa shares his thoughts… Read more

BLENNZ students off to US Space Camp

August 10, 2014

This year for the first time two New Zealand BLENNZ students have won scholarships to SCIVIS Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Renee Patete has featured in the DomPost describing how… Read more

BLENNZ

3 months ago

LEGO® Braille BricksBLENNZ is excited to be an official partner of the LEGO Foundation and the LEGO® Braille Bricks toolkit. The LEGO® Braille Bricks concept is a play-based methodology that teaches braille to children who are blind or have a visual impairment aged 4-21. The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which means “Play Well”. Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. However, its products are now sold in more than 140 countries worldwide. They have collaborated with educators to develop the concept of the LEGO® Braille Brick.Each brick in the LEGO® Braille Bricks toolkit retains its iconic form, but unlike a regular LEGO brick, the studs are arranged to correspond to numbers and letters in the Braille alphabet. Each brick shows the printed version of the symbol or letter, allowing sighted and blind children to play and learn together on equal terms. This ingenious combination of features opens up a whole new world of playful learning that teaches children Braille in an enjoyable and tactile environment.BLENNZ is delighted to announce the launch of this programme across New Zealand with students who are focusing on the development of early braille literacy. Resource Teachers: Vision will under go training provided by the LEGO foundation and undertake direct teaching to this cohort of BLENNZ ākonga. This programme will be rolled out to identified ākonga from mid-June. LEGO® Braille Bricks are a teaching program/resource for early braille literacy. They will be used by the RTV with specific BLENNZ ākonga. Image Description: A child is sitting in front of a grey LEGO base plate which has four rows of LEGO attached. The top two rows are coloured LEGO, the two lower rows are LEGO® Braille Bricks. One LEGO® Braille Bricks row is red and has one top left dot on the brick that represents the letter A and number 1. The second LEGO® Braille Bricks row is yellow and has the top and middle left dots on the brick which represents the letter B and number 2. ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook