One of the sad prospects about Learning Media closing down was the idea that we may never work on a School Journal again. Not just the School Journal but it's other colourful companions – the School Journal Story Library, Junior Journal and it's little siblings the Ready to Read series.
We were also a bit worried about who may end up looking after these national treasures. Would they know what teachers need and what students love?
We were extremely overjoyed to hear that Lift Education had won the instructional series contract until 2015, and ever happier when they asked Bolster Design to be the designers (along with our lovely ex-colleague Adam Pryor). They also hired ex LML editors (Alex Collins, Susan Paris, David Chadwick) and a project manager (Caroline Wade), which we were over the moon about.
Last week Lift welcomed their new full time staff and Bolster Design to their company. It was so emotional and beautifully planned. They had students from Kahurangi School perform for us in Māori, Pasifika and English languages. Kahurangi School had recently formed from two schools that had merged together, so it was fitting for them to speak to us about how to do this successfully. A year 8 student named Kaira Sheck spoke to us about two teams coming together as one. She was an amazing speaker, and wise beyond her years. She also spoke of her love for the resources we produce. That was a wonderful reminder of why we all enjoy working on the instructional series. It is more than just a job, it is something we are passionate about and take very seriously.
It felt great to celebrate a new beginning for the instructional series, the new team and Lift and also our new venture. Bring on the next designs!!
One of our last School Journals arrived from the printers. I can't wait for the next one to say it was designed by Bolster Design