Kāhui Ako ki Orewa

Weekly News Update #03

22 February 2019

Our new website:

Here is a link to our website. On it you will find a tab to all new and archived newsletters. Our conference resources are available for you on the website too. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Pānui Ngaio / Professional Development:

Created by: EVS

Professional Learning Video: Ako Journal Click on this link for the full video

A standout line from the professional reading/ video below is:

“It’s not seen as a disability as much as a different sort of approach to things,” Chris Johnston: Classroom Teacher.

Who wasn’t inspired by Marcus?

What an amazing, inspirational speaker we had at our conference.

Here are some reminders of Marcus’ key messages.

Marcus spoke of BEING CONNECTED. This is what our Kahui Ako is all about – being a connected community of schools. But more than that, connected people who share a passion for learning and for our students.

Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Focus Group

At last week’s leaders meeting the writing group looked at our focus goals for 2019 in writing, as set by our Kāhui Ako Principals at the end of 2018.

• Our Kāhui Ako schools are using the Learning Progression Framework effectively
• Accuracy and consistency of assessment in writing
• Within and across schools – embedding a robust moderation programme.
• Models of effective practice for all learners.

We are compiling our thoughts and ideas on ways we can develop these further and the next steps for focus in writing. Questions arising included:

• Are we all familiar with the LPF and our Kāhui Ako writing matrix?
• How can we ensure all of our kura have a good understanding of this?
• Where does PaCT fit in across our community?
• What does a ‘robust moderation practice’ look like?
• How do we share models of effective practice?

If you would like to have input into this korero please email Sandy Blackburn with your thoughts and comments. sblackburn@wainui.school.nz

The Learning Progressions Framework has been updated from this week to include the NZ curriculum levels of expectation. This is a great initiative and welcomed by teachers wanting to see student alignment to the curriculum. Our LPF matrix, as worked on by the in school leaders last year, has curriculum levels added, but will need to be revisited to check accuracy. We will be referring to our own matrix in our termly moderation meeting. The first meeting scheduled for is 28 March. Follow the link to the Orewa Kāhui LPF Matrix Summary here.

Rōpū Pāngarau / Maths Focus Group

The maths group met and decided on the following as their focus points:

2. Making sure that we are all familiar with the framework, given that we have new members in the maths group

1. Looking at the LPF matrix, both the summarised version as well as the website as a primary source

3. Looking at a common understanding of mathematical language used across the community of schools

4. Looking at the updates on the LPF website

Sylvia Duckworth has written a number of books based on Sketchnoting. Sketchnoting is a form of visual note-taking to document thought processes. We are very excited to announce that, not only is she touring New Zealand in April, she will be hosting a workshop at Orewa College. If you are interested in hearing more about the benefits of sketchnoting for our students, and also learning the basic elements of sketchnoting, here is a link to book your ticket. Limited tickets are still available.

Upcoming Events: