Friday 8 November 2019

Rāmere, 8 o Whiringa-ā-rangi 2019

In this week’s update:

1. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group: Tuakana- teina programme
2. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: Student-created Kahoots
3. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Digital Resource Links for Literacy
4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: More Transition Activities
5. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: 5 Powerful Ways to Save Time 
6. Ted Talk: What Makes a Good Life?

1. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

The maths group are in the process of designing a pilot tuakana-teina/ mentoring programme, run along the same lines as the AFL coaching that is currently offered in the primary schools. Two major differences are that it will be run by the Orewa College year 10 students, and will be based along academic lines. As a starting point, the students were asked to volunteer their services. Next they were asked to come up with lesson ideas. We asked Orewa North if we could pay them a visit and trial our student-run lesson with their classes. It is a pilot programme in its infancy, and we know we will make a number of adjustments along the way. We will record our progress to share with our community. But we were pleased to get a double thumbs up from the primary school students at the end of lesson one.

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Have you completed our Digital Curriculum survey? If yes, Thank you! If no, please find the link here.

Thanks to Jackie Boyd from Silverdale for sharing this link which has the digital curriculum progressions in kids speak.

2. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

Top tip for teaching/normalising te reo Māori

Student-created Kahoots as a fun way to consolidate language

We all know the power of engagement in being able to increase positive learning outcomes. Kahoots have always been a great tool for teachers trying to draw students in. How about getting akonga/students to create Kahoots when learning te reo Māori?

For example, a lesson on the structure, “He aha tēnei? What is this?” could easily be consolidated with students creating their own quiz. This is a fun, repetitive activity that consolidates the language structure and explores new language/ kupu. This is also a fantastic opportunity for students to use another online platform that can be useful across all curriculum areas. Students can work in pairs or small groups and take turns testing the class. This ongoing exposure is a surefire way to lock in language that is so often forgotten.

Students and teachers can log in easily with their google accounts at https://kahoot.com/

3. Tuhituhi/ Writing – Digital Resource links for literacy

Take a look at this fabulous website to really engage and hook our young writers.

Storyathon is an exciting free online event for Y4 -9 New Zealand and Australian students. Students are challenged to write a story that is EXACTLY 100 words. STORYATHON has been inspired by the work of the highly acclaimed high school English teacher and university lecturer, Paul Grover.

Storyjumper – for those familiar with this site, or new to this website, follow the link here. You can now design your own characters in your StoryJumper books! Dress up your characters and change their outfits and expressions as your story unfolds. For each character, you can pick:

• Skin tone
• Hair style and colour
• Facial features
• Clothing style and colours

Our writing focus group are continuing to work on their two areas of development of LPF matrix review and design of anchor charts from curriculum levels 1 to 5. We have worked through the genre of information report and developed a simple outline for teachers to use across levels. A graphic to support this will also be designed. Our next genre of focus will be persuasive writing. If you would like to join our discussion you are most welcome to attend our after school meetings at Orewa College, dates below.

Encouraging a growth mindset – give it a go!

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group:

To make the idea of transition to college or high school an exciting adventure, rather than a nerve wracking experience, try some of these activities with your students.

1. Make a poster, iPad sketch, graphic, video or other visual to show all the things to look forward to, or the things they like doing at school.

2. Cut out puzzle pieces for your students to write something they are looking forward to, are excited about, or liked during their visit to college. Stick all the puzzle pieces together on the wall. All students can see the many positive things to look forward to.

3. A simple chart for students to express their feelings about moving up to college.

4. You could adapt this idea using more Kiwi school relevant words. Students can also suggest words. E.g. form teacher, house system, English, Maths, subjects, lunchtime, assembly, Deans.

5. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading:

“Lack of time is a huge problem for teachers everywhere. There’s just never enough time for teachers to do their work well AND have a healthy, balanced life outside the classroom. For as long as I have been working to serve teachers and help you do your work better, time was always the one problem I couldn’t solve. I could share powerful teaching strategies, classroom management tips, game-changing tech tools, but when it came to really nailing the time shortage, I came up empty-handed.

Until now.”

Link to full blog post here

6. Ted Talk: What makes a good life?

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it’s fame and money, you’re not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you’re mistaken. As the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life.

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

UPCOMING:

Friday 1 November 2019

Rāmere, 1 o Whiringa-ā-rangi 2019

In this week’s update:

1. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group: Digital Technologies in NZC: Top 10 Tips
2. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: Learning Kapa o Pango – All Blacks Haka
3. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Digital Resource links for literacy
4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: Help Me With Transition Please
5. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: Appreciative Inquiry
6. Ted Talk: Looks aren’t Everything

1. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

Are you a teacher of students in years 1 to 10? Then you will no doubt be well aware by now of the need to deliver the two new Digital Technologies areas of the curriculum to your students by 2020. These are Computational Thinking for Digital Technologies and Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes. You may be well prepared and already delivering the necessary skills and competencies across the curriculum, or have no idea where to start, or be at any point in-between. Regardless of your current situation, here are ten tips that you may find helpful. Link to full article here

Have you completed our Digital Curriculum survey? If yes, Thank you! If no, please find the link here.

2. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

After wiping our tears after last weekend’s loss to England it became apparent that our men in black may need our support as they rebuild.

To help encourage them as a Kāhui, why not learn the All Blacks haka, “Kapa o Pango”, film it, and send it to our heroes. If a group of Japanese school kids can do it, then so can our kiwi kids.

The challenge: Learn it with your class; film it; send it to Mark Ralston so we can stitch together a video that includes our whole Kāhui.

3. Tuhituhi/ Writing – Digital Resource links for literacy

Do you use visual prompts to motivate your writers?

Once Upon A Picture is a site full of illustrations, digital art and animation to support writing and use as writing prompts. All of the work shared here is done so with the permission of the artist. Using pictures in the classroom can help stimulate the imagination and promote creativity in our students. The images and questions can be used to stimulate discussion and develop vocabulary, as a prompt for creative writing, a reading comprehension activity (with a mix of literal, inference, deduction and prediction questions), or as a starting point for a wider curriculum lesson. Some teachers have set an image and questions for homework, while others have organised whole-school writing competitions based on a picture.

www.shaunsgameacademy.co.uk is an awesome free resource developed by Aardman Animations, makers of the ‘Shaun the Sheep’ animated movie. The Game Academy teaches children how to code games using Scratch software. Use this as a base for developing creative story writing with your students.

National Geo for Kids is big on education, and the site is full of information about the world around us, like an online magazine for kids, full of articles, and competitions, and educational videos.

www.youngoceanexplorers.com is an amazing website made by a Father and Daughter team from New Zealand. If your kids are into the deep blue sea, rather than the skies above, this is your new go-to website.

How Stuff Works for older kids, probably 12 and up, but perfect for kids working on school projects / inquiries, explaining how things work, or looking for ‘stuff’ to do during the holidays.

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group:

5. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading:

Appreciative inquiry is a transformative force that supports individuals, teams and organisations to always be positively future focused. It is underpinned by five principles:

• Our words create our worlds. Our conversations create the reality we desire.
• Questions create change. The questions we ask direct the way we move forward.
• What we choose to study/ learn is the world we are creating.
• Our image of the future drives us towards that destiny.
• Positive questions create positive change.

Interested in reading more? Find the full blog link here.

6. Ted Talk: Looks aren’t everything

If you teach teenagers, or have teenagers in your whanau, this Ted Talk might be of interest.

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

UPCOMING:

Friday 25 October 2019

Rāmere, te 25 o Whiringa-ā-nuku 2019

In this week’s update:

1. uLearn19 Rōpū – Auahatanga/ Innovation
2. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group: Digital Curriculum 2020 update
3. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: FUSH – Anton Matthews
4. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Resources / UDL article
5. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: Famous people with Dyslexia
6. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: Top Tech Tips
7. Podcast: Classroom Communities

1. uLearn19 Rōpū – Auahatanga/ Innovation

Our final keynote speaker for uLearn19 was Sally-Ann Williams, CEO of Cicada Innovations in Australia, who spoke on the Auahatanga / Innovation theme.

Linking creativity to authentic world problems Sally-Ann stated that ‘good ideas come from anywhere.’ Tales of fail were just as important as success and that we don’t wait for perfection – just get started! Sally-Ann concluded by offering three suggestions for how we, as educators, could do this in our schools, kura and centres to work with our learners:

• Find a problem to solve – this is what causes people to become passionate about learning, when the things they are addressing are authentic and meaningful to them. Reference to the SDGs (refer to illustration) for those looking for inspiration.
• Co-create an investigation – draw on the minds and talents of many, including those in other classes and in the community. Crowd – source the ideas and generate enthusiasm as problem solvers.
• Create space to give something a go – acknowledge that real innovation takes time, it requires risk taking and will involve failure.

Closing the conference with such an inspirational view of what’s possible provided the best possible way of sending delegates off to ‘make a difference’ in their own context. As teachers we need to ask ourselves: how are we shaping our future?

We can make a difference – link here to Young Person’s Guide Changing the World.

2. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

We would like to develop a snapshot across our kāhui schools of where teachers feel they are at with regards to the implementation of the digital curriculum. The goal 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?

Here is a link to a short survey to help us to provide targeted professional development.

3. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

Top tips for normalising te reo Māori: FUSH – Anton Matthews

Anton Matthews co-owns ‘Fush’, a bi-lingual restaurant in Ōtautahi/Christchurch. He has also created a channel on YouTube where he teaches everyday te reo in simple bites. You can take most of this reo and apply it in the classroom or at home.

(Beware, the first three are toilet humour, so watch them first.)

FUSH Youtube channel

If you want to read more about his mahi, there’s a great article on stuff.co.nz

4. Tuhituhi/ Writing – Resource links

For our teachers of younger students here is a link to a writing task that will really ignite our creative writers.

Universal Design in Learning – Enables equity in Education and able to be applied in all learners, areas of the curriculum and classroom practices.

Follow the link here to CORE BLOG – He kōrerorero, he whakaaro on UDL

“Providing high quality education is a matter of social justice” (Ministry of Education, 2019). As teachers and leaders our bottom line is that no-one will be left out or discriminated against. As everyone learns differently, finding ways to create flexible, barrier-free learning environments is of critical importance if all students are to thrive.

UDL can help us in this work. It gives us a framework to design learning environments that are “flexible, and where barriers to learning can be identified and removed at the outset (Ministry of Education, 2019). It can help us towards equitable access and participation in education. Follow the link here to guides from TKI to universal learning.

Supporting visual literacy – using images in our classroom

Students’ classwork is becoming increasingly digital. Whether creating a slideshow, blog post, presentation, or document, images are always needed. Teachers also regularly need images for class blog posts, assignments, presentations, course work, videos etc. But where do we find these images free of copyright? Kathleena Morris http://www.kathleenamorris.com has put together a resource for free images, copyright, and creative commons that you can subscribe to on this website.

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5. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group

Famous People with Dyslexia – raising confidence

There are many famous people throughout history with dyslexia, who have made a great difference to the world. It is important to recognise these people and celebrate them. This could really lift the confidence of our students. Let’s inspire the minds of our students with dyslexia to be confident, forward thinking, innovative and original. Print this picture and hang it in your classroom. Challenge your students to find more.

6. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: Top Tech Tips

7. Podcast: The Classroom Community

This week, we’re looking at our theme of community through our third lens, that of classroom practice. As in what would the classroom look like if the community itself was the curriculum?

That’s a question that this week’s guest Dave Cormier has been grappling with for over a decade. His work around “rhizomatic learning” has generated a ton of new thinking about what classrooms might be in the modern world. In this model, curriculum is not driven by predefined inputs from experts; it is constructed and negotiated in real time by the contributions of those engaged in the learning process.

That idea fits pretty neatly into the self-determined learning world of the Internet where we can choose our teachers, our information sources, and our experiences in profound new ways. But it’s not as neat of a fit into traditional classroom systems, structures and, of course, curriculum.

Link to podcast here

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

Upcoming:

Friday 18 October 2019

Rāmere, te 18 o Whiringa-ā-nuku 2019

In this week’s update:

1. uLearn19 Rōpū
2. Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: Study te reo Māori in 2020
3. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Writing prompt video and apps
4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: ADHD- A child’s perspective
5. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: Hands-on Learning
6. Podcast: Power in the classroom

1.uLearn19

• Kirirarautanga | Citizenship
• Whakatōhenehene | Disruption
• Auahatanga | Innovation

CORE Education’s uLearn19 Conference was held in Rotorua this year. What an awesome privilege to take 19 teachers from our six kura to the conference. As with previous years, the conference spans three days and is jam packed with keynote speakers, workshops and taster sessions. The Orewa Kāhui Ako team was well represented with Linda, Sandy and Leanne presenting a session called “Lessons from the Learning Pit.” Richard Wells from Orewa College also presented a session entitled “Integrating Subject Silos at Orewa College.”

A synopsis of our session would be that we looked back over the two years since the inception of our kāhui and we reflected on lessons learnt. We spoke about the pitfalls as well as the small triumphs along the way. Then we broke the session into the four focus areas and looked at the direction taken by each area. To shake it up we played a game and a Kahoot. We felt that it was a fantastic opportunity to discuss ideas and strategies with teachers from Whangarei to Wellington, each with a different story to tell.

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If you’d like to have a look through the slides, we have a short video here:

Richard Wells looked at the two-year messy journey of excitement and fear, success and error, that integrating silo subjects has taken. His presentation included big picture ideas as well as examples of success and failure at the college. His message, which was a common theme across the conference, was that we learn from reflecting on experiences.

Summary of Richard’s session

A valuable taster session ‘Why Universal Design for Learning is Important’ was presented by Chrissie Butler from Core Education. A fresh perspective on what the UDL process looks like which really focuses on the student being at the start of the process. This can be seen in the images below.

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Leanne was able to pick up some fantastic ‘quick reference’ resources from The Ministry of Education about specific areas of student need. A set has been ordered for each of our kura.

Karen Tui Boyes – Team Teaching

Sandy Blackburn and Linda Rubens attended a workshop on team teaching looking at practical ways to structure and organise it.

Team teaching can be both an incredible privilege and challenge all at the same time. However, with some simple structures and strategies team teaching can be the best teaching years of your career. Follow the link to Karen’s blogs on more detailed information here.

Genius Hour – Karen Tui Boyes

Linking to the uLearn theme of Auahatanga | Innovation Karen looked at the movement of ‘genius hour.’ Genius Hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. It provides students with a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.

And finally, this link will take you to the presentation on research skills for the Google generation which was very worthwhile, presented by Juliet Revell.

2. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

Studying te reo Māori in 2020

If you are up for the challenge and want to improve your te reo Māori, now is the time to begin thinking about further study in 2020. There is a wide range of options available for teachers to join, including online/distance learning.

Feeling a little under qualified or apprehensive? As all kaiako know, this is a natural part of learning. Courses start at a very low level and will scaffold you from where you are currently at. Go on, dive in and give it a go!

You will come away with not only a better grasp of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori but build relationships with a great bunch of people. You will also be armed with new and relevant learning stories to share with your class about how you have had to push through and develop your growth mindset.

We have listed some popular courses below:

Online course options:

• Toro mai – Massey University (Online, no costs involved, no assignments and no exams)

A guided journey of learning to deepen your understanding and awareness of Māori knowledge. Toro Mai offers two introductory online courses in Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori.

• Te Wānanga o Raukawa has a 20-week online course that is free for citizens and residents. You’ll learn through audio lessons and activities.
• Mahi Kāinga is an 8 week course for beginners that costs $45.
• Education Perfect will generally offer free courses for teachers if you contact them. Many teachers at Orewa College have joined.

Night class options:

• Te Herenga Waka o Orewa Marae.

Our local marae offers both 6-week termly courses and a full year certificate course. The courses are in full-immersion Māori which helps to advance your progress.

Contact: teherengawaka@xtra.co.nz

• Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

TWOA have a campus in west Auckland but they will also come out to you if you can find 25 people willing to commit to studying.

Online option: TWOA also offer great courses on Māori tikanga that you can do online.

• AUT

AUT offers night courses for all levels. Held at the North Shore campus.

• Unitec

Kura pō/ Night classes 6-9pm in Mt Albert. A range of levels provided from beginner to advanced.

3. Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Group

Looking for a quick writing prompt? What about using this 1 minute video?

Stuart Hale from his uLearn presentation suggests the following 8 apps to support and motivate students in literacy:

Pic Collage, Lifecards, Strip Designer, Puppet Pals, Stop Motion, iMovie, Book Creator, Explain Everything – version 5 is excellent.

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group

There is so much we can learn by listening to the voices of our students, especially those with learning and/or behavioural difficulties. Have a look at the box below. It portrays a student’s honest view of how they work.

5. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading

When is hands-on learning not really learning? In this article John Spencer looks at when hands-on learning has not really engaged the student’s mind.

6. Podcast

“There’s an inherent tension when it comes to learning and power, namely how much power do you as a learner have in any learning interaction to choose not just what you learn but how and where and when. And one of the things that casts such a long shadow over this conversation is the fact that going to school is compulsory. Learners have no or very little choice but to attend a school which then decides almost everything about the what, where and when of learning. So right from the start, we take agency away from kids, and we rarely seem to think about the implications of that.”

Podcast link here

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

UPCOMING:

Friday 27 September 2019

Rāmere, te 27 o Mahuru, 2019

In this week’s update:

1.Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: The 3Ps of Te Tiriti o Waitangi

2. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Resource Links

3. Ngaio Pukapuka Kōrero:

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: Mental Health Awareness in our Tamariki

5. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths: Digital Curriculum Survey

6. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: Wellbeing

1. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

The 3p’s of Te Tiriti o Waitangi:

We were asked the question at a conference earlier in the year, “What are the 3Ps of Te Tiriti o Waitangi?” We looked around the room and saw a myriad of blank faces, education professionals looking to the floor hoping not to catch the eye of the presenter.

It made us realise that many of us may have forgotten. So here it is, “What are the 3Ps of the Tiriti o Waitangi?” Don’t feel bad if you have no idea, you are not alone.

Partnership, participation and protection are 3p’s of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. These principles are already seen throughout kura across our Orewa Kāhui Ako. You only had to attend the recent Tū Māia Festival to see all three in action.

          Te kura o Wainui at the Tū Māia Festival 2019

What do they mean for classroom teachers? The 3Ps are beneficial to all our students no matter who they are. You may have heard of the saying: What is good for Māori students is good for all of our students.

Partnership may simply be:

• Talking with the parents, finding out what their aspirations are for their tamariki.

Protection may simply be:

• Using te reo Māori in your classroom. What do people hear throughout the day in your room? (Normalisation)
• Following tikanga Māori in your classroom e.g. karakia, not sitting on tables, tuakana/teina relationships

Participation may simply be:

• Ensuring your classroom visibly reflects the bi-cultural nature of Aotearoa. What do people see when they enter your room?

So there you have it. If someone asks you in the future: “What are the 3Ps of Te Tiriti o Waitangi?” You can confidently answer with “Partnership, protection and participation.”

2. Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Group

Writing for impact: Teaching students how to write with a plan and spell well. Tom Nicholson and Sue Dymock analysed research on teaching writing to identify the skills students need to write for impact. Their approach is based on a simple view of writing: it is ideas presented well. The two volumes of this book work together to explain and show teachers how to teach students these essential writing skills. Nicholson and Dymock offer simple and effective strategies to improve both teaching and learning. The books include templates, plans, and links to videos that support these strategies.

Follow the link here to download a free guide on the 5 Habits of Effective Writing Teachers.

3. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group

This week is Mental Health Awareness week. Our tamariki are experiencing increasing mental health issues in Aotearoa.

From NZ Health First

Our Youth suicide rates are also increasing. The promotion of positive mental health recognition and the removal of the stigma surrounding mental illness has been encouraging in the New Zealand media. Advocates such as John Kerwan and Mike King are encouraging Kiwis to speak up and seek help.

For our tamariki however, they rely on the adults around them to build a positive, encouraging, nurturing and strengthening environment to thrive in. When a child is struggling, the adults are the ones who can notice and seek help.

A fantastic New Zealand written children’s book which can help children in times of fear, anxiety and apprehension is Aroha’s Way.

4. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

We are currently 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. Ngaio pukapuka kōrero/ Professional Development:

Meetups – Term 4

Fueling your fire as you take your next steps in Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko (Pou Hihiko) – North Auckland Link here

6. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading

‘Shaping a Stronger Education System with New Zealanders’ is a blueprint for change based on the rich conversations we have had with almost 50,000 New Zealanders. The discussion document released on the 17th September outlines the long-term vision, objectives and actions resulting from the Education Conversation | Kōrero Mātauranga. Follow the link Here to find out more and how you can have your say on this document. Consultation on the draft NELP closes on 25 November 2019. Consultation on the draft TES concludes on 25 October 2019.

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:

Friday 13 September 2019

Rāmere, te 13 o Mahuru, 2019

In this week’s update:

1. Combined BOT meeting
2. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2019
3. Tuhituhi/ Writing: Moderation
4. Ngaio Pukapuka Kōrero: Digital Readiness and Mindlab
5. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support: Success Story
6. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths: Digital Curriculum Survey
7. Podcast number 10: The Learning Challenge

1. Combined BOT meeting

This week Kate and the four across school leaders met with the combined boards of the six schools to have a korero about our plans and progress. Kate gave an overview, and then each leader presented the progress made by the four focus areas. We also looked at shared PD opportunities, as well as improved communication across our communities.

2. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

TE WIKI O TE REO MĀORI 2019/Māori Language Week 2019

Kia ora e te whānau

It has been wonderful to see posters and fresh initiatives popping up all over our kura this week in celebration of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2019.

A question worth considering as we come to the close of the week:

“What can you take out of the week and normalise into our professional practice?”

Don’t Forget Your Roots, Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō was released this week on an album called, Waiata/cAnthems. You can find a version with lyrics if you would like to have a sing along with your class.

Tomorrow our kura celebrate the week with our annual Tū Māia kapa haka festival for the first time in recent history. All of our kura are participating which is a great result for our Kāhui this year.

Photos: We would love to publish photos of your kura celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2019. Please send them to markralston@silverdaleprimary.school.nz

3. Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Group

We held our termly moderation meeting at this weeks after school leaders hui. Our writing focus goal of embedding the termly practice of across school moderation is a key opportunity for teachers to participate in powerful professional conversations.

The practice gives our teachers processes to look closely at evidence (student work samples) to establish:

• what is to be learned?
• how is learning progressing?
• what will be learned next?
• a technique that strengthens our assessment practices.
• teachers learning from each other so curriculum and pedagogical content knowledge improves (L.P.F.)
• classroom teaching and learning programmes can be adjusted to meet student learning needs
• evidence of learning can be confidently shared and heard
• dependable information can be discussed with parents, families and whānau
• reliability, validity and fairness within the process are enhanced, so achievement decisions are defensible and trusted

Pre- and post results will be shared in next weeks update.

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group

Another success story (name changed)

5. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

This week we looked at a common survey to gauge the implementation of the 2020 digital curriculum. In a sense it feels like this has taken ages to develop. But it’s actually such a positive because the time has been constructively spent looking at the individual maths programmes. This has made the time of sharing and discussion both worthwhile and authentic. A link to the survey will be available in next week’s newsletter.

6. Professional Development/ Ngaio pukapuka kōrero

Mindlab have changed the format of their Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Learning and Collaboration, making it much easier for teachers to do: More information here

7. Podcast/ Video number 10:

The Learning Challenge is one way to explain why more challenge leads to enhanced learning. It helps teachers structure lessons, and students challenge themselves. Created by James Nottingham (@JamesNottinghm), the Learning Challenge uses the idea of a “pit,” first used by Butler & Edwards. More background information, a full description, & lesson resources can be found in Challenging Learning (2010).

The Learning Challenge with James Nottingham from Challenging Learning on Vimeo.

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

UPCOMING: