2026 teacher calendar

Plan activities, find craft-spiration, grab resources. Year sorted. Let’s go!

Busy teachers assemble! Welcome to the ultimate inspiration station, a handy events calendar to give you the heads-up on all the dates that you need this year (apart from when you’ve booked a massage or when the next big thing drops on Netflix). We’ve included national and global celebrations, themed events and of course, school term dates. We’ve linked key dates to MTA’s famous craft activities, resources and inspiration. From Easter to Earth Day, planning lessons and classroom fun has never looked so easy. Bookmark this tab, stat!

Summer fun, term one prep & break out the bricks for LEGO® Day.

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It’s a time of love (hey, Library Lovers) & lots more.

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Busy March! International Women’s Day, Holi & World Maths Day!

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You’re no April fool. It’s all hopping towards Easter this month.

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Celebrate Mother’s Day, New Zealand Sign Language Week & more.

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World Environment Day, Oceans Day, Dinosaur Day & more.

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Matariki, National Tree Day & International Day of Friendship.

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Celebrate Tonga Language Week, Cook Islands Māori Language Week and more.

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It’s spring! Father’s Day, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, International Literacy Day and more.

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World Space Week, Habitat Day, Teachers' Day & spooky Halloween.

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National Recycling Week, Kindness Day & Remembrance Day.

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Summer, end of year celebrations & time for Christmas.

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January

Date	Day	View Event Resources
1	New Year's Day
4	World Braille Day	Braille alphabets, numbers and signal kits
19	Wellington Anniversary Day
24	International Day of Education	Over 24,000 resources to support you
26	Term 1 begins	Explore our back to school hub
26	Northland Anniversary Day
26	Auckland Anniversary Day
28	National Lego Day	Explore LEGO® education

February

Date	Day	View Event Resources
2	World Wetlands Day
2	Nelson Anniversary Day
6	Waitangi Day
9	Healthy Lunch Box Week	Encourage hands-on learning with our play food and kitchen sets
10	Safer Internet Day
11	International Day of Women and Girls in Science	Experiment, explore, and celebrate STEAM
14	Valentines Day
14	Library Lovers Day	Take a peek at our wide range of children's books
17	Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year
22	World Thinking Day
28	Seaweek	Dive into ocean-themed resources

March

Date	Day	View Event Resources
	Autumn begins	Teach about the change of seasons with autumn inspired resources
3	World Wildlife Day	Explore our animals and lifecycles resources
4	Holi
8	UN International Womens Day
9	Taranaki Anniversary Day
14	International Day of Mathematics	Explore maths with fun games and challenges
17	St Patricks Day
17	Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday)
20	World Storytelling Day	Encourage tamariki to express their imagination with our storytelling sets
21	World Poetry Day	Read and teach about poetry with our poems and rhymes
21	World Down Syndrome Day
22	World Water Day
23	Purple Day for Epilepsy Awareness
23	Otago Anniversary Day
28	Earth Hour	Encourage discussions about our planet with hands-on Earth Science activities

April

Date	Day	View Event Resources
1	April Fool’s Day
1	International Children's Book Day	Celebrate with our favourite children's books
2	World Autism Awareness Day
3	Good Friday
3	Term 1 Ends
5	Easter Sunday	Hop into Easter crafts
6	Easter Monday
7	World Health Day	Explore resources to learn about the health and hygiene
7	Southland Anniversary Day
19	Term 2 Begins
20	Conversation Week
21	World Creativity & Innovation Day
22	Earth Day	Encourage tamariki to care for the environment with hands on activities
22	World Book Day	Explore our cross-curricula book range
23	international Girls in ICT Day	From robotics to visual and augmented reality, explore our wide range of digital technology resources
25	ANZAC Day	Encourage tamariki to reflect on the significance of ANZAC Day through a shared reading lesson

May

Date	Day	View Event Resources
3	International Compost Awareness Week
3	NZ Road Safety Week
4	Teacher Appreciation Week
4	New Zealand Sign Language Week
5	World Hand Hygiene Day	Stock up on hand-hygiene essentials
7	World Athletics Day	Get moving with sports, games, and active learning
9	World Fair Trade Day
10	Rotuman Language Week
10	Mothers Day	Celebrate mum's and mother figures with crafts, cards, and special activities
11	National Families Week	Celebrate all kinds of families with our range of families and identity children's books
15	Pink Shirt Day
15	Endangered Species Day
20	World Bee Day
23	World Turtle Day
31	Samoan Language Week	Explore Pasifika resources

June

Date	Day	View Event Resources
	Winter Begins
Date TBC	Support Staff Week
1	Dinosaur Day	Explore our dino-mite resources tamariki are sure to love!
2	Kings Birthday
5	World Environment Day	Encourage discussion with our environment themed picture books
8	World Oceans Day
15	Refugee Week
15	World Music Day	Make some noise with our music resources
21	International Day of Yoga
22	World Rainforest Day
23	International Olympics Day	Encourage your students to channel their inner olympian with our PE range

July

Date	Day	View Event Resources
1	International Joke Day
3	Term 2 ends
5	Kiribati Language Week
5	Teddy Bear Picnic Day	Invite your tamariki to a teddy bear picnic with our play food range
10	Matariki	Learn about Matariki with a fun and hands-on game
20	Term 3 begins
25	Schools Tree Day	Dig in to our range of gardening resources
26	Vanuatu Language Week
30	International Day of Friendship	Talk about what makes a good friend with your tamariki

August

Date	Day	View Event Resources
2	Cook Islands Māori Language Week
2	Tonga Language Week	Explore our Pasifika resources
9	World Indigenous People's Day	Explore our diversity and inclusion books
19	World Humanitarian Day
21	Daffodil Day

September

Date	Day	View Event Resources
	Spring Begins
6	Fathers Day	Celebrate dads and father figures with crafts and hands-on activities
6	Papa New Guinea Pidgin Language Week
8	International Literacy Day	Boost early literacy with stories, books, and reading activities
12	Mindfulness Day	Explore feelings, mindset and mindfulness
14	Māori Language Week / Te Wiki o te Reo Māori	Explore our range of Te Ao Māori resources
17	Clean up New Zealand week	Teach about sustainability and caring for the planet with our range of sustainability books
19	International Talk Like a Pirate Day
21	World Gratitude Day
22	New Zealand Chinese Language Week
23	Mental Health Awareness Week	Encourage discussions about mental health with our belonging and wellbeing resources
25	Last Day of Term 3
25	Mid-Autumn Festival
27	Tuvalu Language Week
28	Southland Canterbury Anniversary Day
29	World Heart Day

October

Date	Day	View Event Resources
	ADHD Awareness Month
2	World Smile Day
2	World Animal Day	From land to sea, explore our wide range of animal resources
4	World Space Week
4	Fijian Language Week	Explore our range of Pasifika resources
4	Grandparents Day
5	World Teachers' Day	Save time, with our instant, curriculum aligned lesson planner
10	World Mental Health Day
11	Earth Science Week	Explore Earth and Space science resources
12	First Day of Term 4
15	Global Handwashing Day	Stock up on handwashing essentials
16	World Food Day
18	Niue Language Week
23	Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day
25	Tokelau Language Week
26	Labour Day
31	Halloween	Explore spook-tacular arts and crafts

November

Date	Day	View Event Resources
	Movember (Men's Health Month)
TBC	Recycling Week	Discuss the importance of recycling with this big book perfect for little learners
2	Marlborough Anniversary Day
5	Remembering Parihaka
5	Guy Fawkes Night
8	Diwali
9	World Nursery Rhyme Week	Explore our crowd-favourite nursery book range
13	Canterbury Anniversary Day
13	World Kindness Day	Explore feeling and emotions with your tamariki
17	International Students' Day
19	International Men's Day
20	Universal Childrens' Day
21	World Hello Day
22	Solomon Islands Pidgin Language Week
28	Gumboot Friday
28	Chatham Islands and Westland Anniversary Day

December

Date	Day	View Event Resources
	Summer Begins	Get outside with sand & water resources
5	International Volunteer Day
10	Human Rights Day
19	Term 4 Ends
25	Christmas Day	Unwrap seasonal resources & festive gifts
31	New Years Eve

Plan lessons, feel inspired, stay organised. We’ve got you.

The MTA 2025 digital school calendar has been tailor-made for you and your fellow teachers across New Zealand. Explore what's on each month and find supporting resources you can use in your centre or classroom.

Note: Term dates may vary, check with your school for specifics.