Kāhui Ako ki Orewa

Friday 20 September 2019

Rāmere, te 20 o Mahuru, 2019

In this week’s update:

1. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: Tū Māia Festival

2. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Moderation Results Term 3

3. Ngaio Pukapuka Kōrero: uLearn19

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: Success Story

5. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths: Progress update

6. Podcast number 11: The art of procrastination

A challenge for you!

1. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

Tū Māia Kapa Haka 2019

Last Rāmere/ Friday, te 13 o Mahuru/September, all of the Orewa Kāhui Ako kura took part in the Tū Māia Festival for the first time in years. We have included a video of the pōwhiri and photos of Orewa Primary School back at the Tū Māia festival this year, performing in their new uniforms with their kaiako Simon Koziarski.

Pōwhiri video (Watch from 1.08secs)

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2. Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Group

At our after school leaders’ meeting last Thursday we held our final moderation meeting for this year. Our results are encouraging and if we look back at our earlier moderation results from 2018, we can see a positive shift in our alignment with our assessment results. More schools are using our moderation process for staff professional learning and building teachers’ capacity in writing.

Discussion on challenges and questions encountered with our moderation process reminded us of the purpose of moderation across the Kāhui Ako.

• To use a common reference tool (L.P.F.) to develop a shared understanding of NZC Levels 1-5 in writing.
• To build trust in the evidence and data we collect to make robust decisions about next steps for our students.
• The moderation process is for the teacher as a ‘check in ‘ in their alignment and understanding of the progressions.

A question was raised about needing more background information, not just the task given on the writing samples shared. For external moderation, assessment is based on only the finished sample and what the evidence (writing) shows. This allows teachers to assess with no bias which “can result, unconsciously, from prior dealings with students based on attitude, behaviour, gender, race or disability.” (Adie, 2008)

Assessment of students work should be based on both internal (classroom teacher) and external (across teams,school wide and across schools) moderation to see all perspectives of the learner. Classroom teachers offer a ‘holistic’ understanding of the learner which is important for them to make sound O.T.Js. Across school moderation supports teachers to compare their judgements and either confirm or adjust them.

A link to the full writing results for term 3 can be found here

3. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group

4. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

This is a continuum of the progress made by the maths focus group. We are currently working at stage 3 which is looking more closely at the digital curriculum. As a Kāhui Ako we would like to develop a snapshot of where teachers feel they are at with regards to the implementation of the digital curriculum. To do this we ask that you please complete a short survey. The goal of this survey would be to be able to offer targeted PD and next steps. The purpose of the digital curriculum is about teaching pupils to be creative with technology, rather than simply consuming technology. This should prepare them for the modern workforce. How ready are we to implement this? Survey link here

5. Professional Development/ Ngaio pukapuka kōrero:

The across school leaders are working on a workshop which they are presenting at uLearn19. If you have any ideas, or activities that you think would be worthwhile including, please email us. (l.rubens@orewacollege.nz)

6. Podcast/ Video number 11:

Tim Urban knows that procrastination doesn’t make sense, but he’s never been able to shake his habit of waiting until the last minute to get things done. In this hilarious and insightful talk, Urban takes us on a journey through YouTube binges, Wikipedia rabbit holes and bouts of staring out the window — and encourages us to think harder about what we’re really procrastinating on, before we run out of time.

To keep up to date, follow us on our Kāhui Ako website: https://orewakahuiako.com/

UPCOMING: