Week 5 - Term 4 - 2017 - ODD

Ko te ahurei o te tamaiti arahia o tatou mahiLet the uniqueness of the child guide our work.

Week 5 13 Noema - 17 Noema NCEA Scholarship Examinations continue - All Week Last Day NCEA Internal Assessments - Tues 14 Exceat Day - Thursday 16 Canterbury Show Day - Friday 17	Week 6 20 Noema - 24 Noema NCEA Scholarship Examinations continue - All Week Junior Chirnside Competition - Mon 21 - Fri 24 Junior Reports to be completed by 1.20 - Tues 21 Duke of Edinburgh Trip - Wed 22 - Fri 24 Summer Sports Ends - Wed 22 Whanau Celebration - Wed 22 at 6pm Year 9 DIT trip - 9 - 10.50am - Thurs 23 Year 9 Chalk Drawing - period 3 - Thurs 23 All Staff Training for Junior Curriculum Weeks - Sign up for a slot during the day - Thurs 23 - MWL will send out the details. Water Polo - Junior South Island - Fri 24 - Sun 26 Junior reports printed - Fri 24 Staff Long Service Function - 3.20 in PAC - Fri 24
Assembly NIL	Assembly Nil
Meeting  Tues 14 - Student Support	Meeting  Tues 21: Junior Reporting

Information for Staff


1. 2018 Assessment Specifications
These will be published on the NZQA website by 8 December 2017. For NCEA they will be available from the NCEA subject resources pages and for New Zealand Scholarship they will be available on the Scholarship subject pages.

2. New features in G Suite for Education
A number of features have been rolled out in G Suite for Education across Classroom, Forms, and Slides. You can now import Forms quiz grades directly into Classroom, explore new diagrams and stock images for Slides, and copy and paste poll results right into Slides.

3. Examinations at Champion st have started well. Everyone who has needed to has found the site OK. I have been asked about the extra examination papers which are made available after the end of the exam. The plan is to try and send them back the next day, but feel to pop in to Champion st on the day and collect them if you want to see them straight away - either after 12.30 or 5pm depending on the exam slot.

4. Critical Thinking through research and Project-Based Learning (PBL): As we head towards our junior programme change for the end of the year I thought it timely to go back to the curriculum document, which reminds us that in education we want our students to be life long learners, active seekers on information and users and creators of knowledge.

Both research and project-based learning are tools that are used in the classroom to promote critical thinking. There are 2 main differences between these tools. The first is around the formality for each process, alongside the length of time for each task, with PBL often occurring over a shorter time frame.
Secondly, there is a difference in the product that is created or produced. Research usually has an end product such as an assignment/ poster/ or similar, containing answers to specific questions. PBL requires students to produce and actual product that is a physical demonstration of their learning. Both types of critical thinking tools take place in an authentic context and can be effective in enhancing academic skills. They also link nicely with the key competencies.
The clip below is from year 9 students at St Hilda's school, where every year 9 is mentored by someone in the community throughout the year on a passion project. It will be great to see what our girls come up with! 

More information can be found at: http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Future-focused-learning/Project-based-learning