Rāmere, te 22 o Oketopa 2021
Nau mai hoki mai ki te kaupeka tuawhā e te whānau.
Kia ora, and a warm welcome back to Term 4, 2021 COVID Level 3. I can’t quite believe we are still here, but I am waiting right now in anticipation for the Prime Minister to launch the ‘traffic light system’ to get us out of this lock down!!! Like all the schools, (especially primary) we are now juggling bubbles of 10, trying to keep children at home engaged in online learning sessions, keeping ourselves as teachers and leaders resilient and positive in these difficult and frustrating times. I wish Orewa College well, in navigating some of the students back to school next week and setting up support for the road to the end of the year. I believe our Kāhui Ako goals are spot on for where we are at and where we will go. I look forward to getting together and not being on ZOOM or a MEET. I also look forward to a time when we can return to that space of sharing, improving and growing as a community in person. SEE you all soon, Gillian Bray.
21st Century Learning/Ako Ināianei Tonu
Question Based Learning
Question-based learning is a type of inquiry where the learner is guided by forming and refining a guiding question (or questions). In this model of inquiry, students are focused on questions rather than answers–which means it’s the quality, refinement, and effect of the questions themselves that are emphasized.
All about question based learning
How to ask the right questions inquiry based learning
What do good questions do?
- A good question causes thinking–more questions.
- A good question clarifies and reveals.
- A good question causes thinking, reflection and reconsidering.
Hauora/Learner Support
I have been reading student reflections this week based on their experiences and feelings of the last few weeks of term, the holidays in lockdown and returning to online learning rather than physically at school. Other teachers have had the same sorts of reflections from their students. The common and key points they expressed were:
Te Ao Māori – Kemu hou/New Games
We have found a few online games in the holidays that we thought could be useful for engaging students learning at home in te ao Māori. They’re all from the HeiHei site but we have made quick links and included a brief run down for you to easily access and use.
Mūtōrere – Play this traditional Māori strategy game online. Originally it was played in the dirt with stones.
Tahi Two – This is an online memory game that helps players to learn new kupu Māori/Māori words.
Postcards from Aotearoa– This is a fun game where students get to dress up an avatar and explore places around Aotearoa. The game has te reo Māori woven through it in a natural way.
These games are self directed and easy for students to navigate and play. Just set the task and away they go.
Future Ready/Digital Curriculum/Anga Whakamua
Teaching Snapshots – Technology Online
Top Schollar DDOO: A monitoring system for the Orokonui Ecosantuary
Julie McMahon, Y13 student William’s digital technologies teacher, brought this project to his attention.
Orokonui Ecosanctuary on the Otago Peninsula includes a creche for Haast tokoeka kiwi chicks. These are the rarest of kiwi chicks and only a very small percentage make it to adulthood in the wild. The chicks are hatched in the wild and then brought to the creche until they have reached 1.2kg and can protect themselves against stoats in the wild.
The area that the chicks are housed in is fenced and has gates which visitors use to enter the 14 hectare creche. The chicks need to be kept separate from the adults as the adults will pick on the younger kiwi. There are four gates in the sanctuary. Visitors leaving gates open can be catastrophic for these precious birds.
Developing a monitoring system to alert volunteers that a gate had been left open was a need identified by Tony Stewart – one of the volunteers. Tony could also see that long-term monitoring of multiple aspects of the sanctuary environment could also be possible.
This real need turned into a very successful scholarship project for William Satterthwaite – top scholar in technology.
Code.org – AI for Oceans
Computer science is about so much more than coding! Learn about artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, training data, and bias, while exploring ethical issues and how AI can be used to address world problems. Enjoy Code.org’s first step in a new journey to teach more about AI. When you use the AI for Oceans activity you are training real machine learning models. Learn more.
Teaching notes included for Y2-4 and Y6-8
Kāhui Ako ki Orewa 
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