Ngā Whetū o Manaiakalani

 I am absolutly honoured to have been awarded a Ngā Whetū o Manaiakalani award this year. 

"Ngā Whetū," or "The Stars," symbolises these teachers as guides and sources of inspiration, much like stars in a navigational sense.

Each year, selected teachers, through an application process, are acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to teaching and learning. These educators, known as Ngā Whetū o Manaiakalani, embody the principles and practices that drive our kaupapa.

Thank you Manaiakalani for this acknowledgment, and for the ongoing support in my teaching practice.

Māpura - study concluding

 This year I have been participating in the Māpura study of providing a more rounded and holistic experience for gifted and talented students in our kura, specifically through a lens of our Māori and Pasifika students.

I was working closly with Dr Lisa Watson on writing policy and program for our school to include many things we already do, and to plan moving forward from where we are as a school as well as within my own practice.

Unfortunately the funding for this study has been cut through the Ministry of Education, and although I am sad and somewhat dissapointewd not be able to continue and complete this experience, I am taking with me many resources and further developed understandings in my own practice and within my own kete of tools. 

I intend to complete the school plan, albeit with less external support, so that the learning I have experienced may be formalised within the school to continue to improve our own definition of gifted and talented students, and ensuring their personal understanding and experiences are as positive as can be moving forward in their own learning and self discovery journeys.

Rotary dinner - Kiwi Can Waka Ama

 I was priviledged to be able to speak to the monthly Rotary club dinner reflecting on the experience of attending their Waka Ama Regatta with 12 senior students recently. I was able to talk about my experiences as a teacher and as a parent in this space, and also to coach two of my own children in speaking too. It was wonderful to make and build connections with another community group while extoling th virtues I have been fortunate enough to experience within a variety of roles.

On the road to Oruaiti

 Now that our school production is complete I have time to reflect upon the process, from writing the script through to performance night. It was a fantastic learning experience for me working with all 8 classes in the school, along with support staff and outside agencies to bring the vision to fruition. 

It helped me to have an overall plan in place, including a timeline, to ensure each class had what they needed in terms of support and structure so that both teachers and students felt prepared and comfortable getting to performance level.

I enjoyed being able to work with each class individually and teasing out the classes ideas in a way that brung it to life on stage in an achievable and meaningful way.

It was at times challenging to ensure different personalities and experiences were able to work well alongside each other, particularly when bringing past experiences to the table in preconcieved roles. It helped remembering the overall vision and intent when creating a student centered and focused experience for all.

I am pleased with the overall outcome, and whilst there are a number of things I would do differently if given the opportunity to do this again in the future, I believe the purakau focused learning experienced by students during this process was significant and positive. It has been lovely to recieve so much positive feedback from students, whanau and community, and I truly feel like I have managed to achieve something special.

Read/Write for Google Advanced Session

 I was able to attend and complete the read/write for google advanced session. I found many of these tools very logical and plan on implimenting them at a whole class level, before encouraging specific students to use them more exclusivly and frequently in class.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fCE4hfXFUwPUMbwKAH4qgo69f2jvSsoJ/view?usp=sharing