Week 8 - Term 2 - 2020

He iti te mokoroa, nāna i kati te kahikatea 

The mokoroa (grub) may be small, but it cuts through the Kahikatea 

This whakatauki reflects that small things can have a great impact. It encourages us to think big. Although numbers or resources may be small, like the mokoroa, it is possible to achieve great tasks/achievements.

Week 8 1 Pipiri - 5 Pipiri Queens Birthday - Mon 1	Week 9 8 Pipiri - 12 Pipiri StEADA meetings - Tues 9 - Wed 10 LEF Reports due this week
Assembly/Ako Year 9 Assembly - PAC Year 11 Assembly - Gym	Assembly/Ako Year 10 Assembly - PAC
Meeting  Staff Meeting - Ed Brief Discussion Groups	Meeting  L & T Meeting

Information for Staff

1. Online Hui Opportunities

There continue to be a number of online hui with educators from around New Zealand, you may be interested in these 2 which are available to register for next week.

a. Tuesday June 2 at  7:30pm  Lessons from lockdown: Rethinking business as usual at secondary school

  

b. Thursday June 4  3:30 - 4:30 pm Leaders Connect https://leadershiplab.co.nz/events/leading-for-equity-whats-our-next-step/

2. Useful Articles + Staff Meeting summary

The following articles may also be useful to continue conversations with colleagues as we begin to explore ideas for teaching and learning moving forward.

The recent staff meeting was a chance to reflect on our experience of teaching and learning in the online environment. Distance learning came quicker that we expected, it's a chance to be open and receptive to what we can learn from the experience and think about what we could do more of as well as expose the inequities in our current school system.

Possible further reflective questions to consider:

• What have you discovered about yourself and your students because of the online teaching environment?
• How can these discoveries lead to future positive outcomes?
• What will you keep doing?
• What will you start doing?
• What will you stop doing?
• How can we remain relevant and responsive to the needs of our students as the world continues to change?

There was some feedback re the idea that this becomes a set direction for the school. You can rest assured this is not the case, it is a tool that can help with facilitating discussions moving forward.

The summary reflection document from our staff meeting can be found HERE.

a. An article by Aigagalefili Fepulea'i Tapua'i, head girl of Aorere College.  From the NZ Herald and is very powerful and a chance to think about equity.

b. From the latest Latitude Magazine The COVID experience: Will in change schooling forever?

This article was written by Chris Jansen and Cheryl Doig. It is the fourth in a series on secondary schooling and is particularly written with parents/community as the audience. Chris will be coming in to work with staff on June 23 as we continue to explore change that aligns with our school vision. This is a great thought provoking read.

c. A blogpost by Cheryl Doig focused on Digital Equity, set in 2025.

d. From the latest Teacher Magazine: Student Wellbeing - Understanding different student COVID-19 experiences

Week 7 - term 2 - 2020

Kāhore taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini

We cannot succeed without the support of those around us

Week 7 25 Haratua - 29 Haratua Easter Charities Mufti Day - Fri 29 Estimated Credits due - Wed 27 @9.30	Week 8 1 Pipiri - 5 Pipiri Queens Birthday - Mon 1
Assembly/Ako Ako Class - Wed 27 Year 13 Academic Assembly	Assembly/Ako Ako Class - Wed 27
Meeting  Staff Meeting	Meeting  Staff Meeting

Information for Staff

1. Just for planning purposes as we are moving forward, we will not be having the TOD on 8 June as Marg Thorsborne is not able to travel over from Australia. We will look at a possible postponement date for Term 3. Also currently removed from the Term 2 calendar due to gathering restrictions are Lip Sync - we are looking at alternatives ways of making sure this happens so watch this space, and the Year 12's have been told that their formal will not be on this term (it was scheduled for June). We currently have a new date set for September 26 if the size of gatherings increases. We will continue to make adjustments where and if possible.

2. Restore - https://restoreourschools.wordpress.com/
The link provides access to a resource called RESTORE (Recognition, Empathy, Safety, Trauma, Opportunity, Relationships, Engagement). The document is a collaborative summary of work compiled by a professional group to help schools implement and embed a restorative approach. The document is divided into themes, with the first four terms (R, E, S and T) linked to our current teaching and learning situation and the last three letters (O, R and E) linked to going forward.

3. How China is using Artificial Intelligence in the classroom - this is an interesting take on classroom engagement. I was particularly interested in the comment that students are being 'forced to concentrate' and this is seen as an advantage of wearing an AI headband in order to check that you are off task? 

 

Week 6 - Term 2 - 2020

He iti te mokoroa nāna te kahikatea i kakati  

Even the small can make a big impact on the big

Week 6 18 Haratua - 22 Haratua Teaching and Learning at CGHS resumes - Mon 18 Staff briefing at 8.30 in PAC - followed by extended Ako at 8.40 - Mon 18 Pink Shirt Day - Fri 22	Week 7 25 Haratua - 29 Haratua
Assembly/Ako Meet with Ako Class - Wed 20    Year 12 Academic Assembly	Assembly/Ako Ako Class - Wed 27 Year 13 Academic Assembly
Meeting  No meeting	Meeting  Staff Meeting

Information for Staff

1. Welcome back on site from Friday 15th May, it will be interesting adjusting back to our familiar spaces but with a new perspective. I had an email come in today regarding assessment in the junior program, with her daughter now anxious that she had a number of assessments that were going ahead next week. With that in mind I was reminded of the following quote "Just because you think you've taught something, doesn't mean that the learner has actually learned it". Perhaps something to discuss and reflect upon in your learning areas as you get together to plan the next few weeks. Find out where the students are at, where are the gaps in their learning and are they all ready for the assessment task.

2. The thing from the future - by Stuart Candy at Situation Lab

There may be learning areas that could find this 'Futures thinking Game' of use, where you are asked to use your imagination to create a 'thing' that exists in the future world and identify opportunities that you would not normally see. They provide a set of downloadable printable cards - lots of great prompts with many iterations

Week 5 - Term 2 - 2020

He iti hau marangai, e tū te pāhokahoka

After the storm, the rainbow appears

Week 5 11 Haratua - 15 Haratua Emergency Remote Teaching Continues	Week 6 18 Haratua - 22 Haratua Emergency Remote Teaching or onsite teaching resumes - watch this space!
Assembly/Ako Meet with Ako Class Virtually (TBC) - Wed 13	Assembly/Ako Meet with Ako Class - Wed 20
Meeting  Teaching and Learning - Tues 12 @ 3.30pm Department - Fri 15 @11am (TBC)	Meeting  No meeting

Information for Staff

1. This week we had a meeting with the whole prefect team and they were asked to share what aspects they were finding that they enjoyed out of the current situation, where they were learning from home. Two key themes emerged - family, and how they were enjoying spending more time together and the ability to structure their own day around when they work, when the exercise and eat.
So as we near the possibility of returning on site, as Teachers we also need to reflect on what are our positive takeaways re our own learning and what aspects we would like to keep as we move forward.
My challenge to you all is to have a brainstorm of where your own thinking has been at and reflect on the following questions as we begin to start thinking about returning to teaching and learning onsite.
-What did we do?-What worked? Why did it work?
-What didn't work? Why didn't it work?
- What are the student perspectives of what learning has been like in your classroom?
and share those with your department/colleagues - here is my own thinking.....



2. Research Ed Webinar - Paul Kirschner

Sticking with the reflective theme as we continue with our online learning, Paul Kirschner goes through 10 key points that teachers need to consider when delivering their emergency remote teaching. He likens what we are doing to an emergency department in a hospital, where as teachers we are doing our best to save learning.



The 10 key areas we need to reflect on, and consider including in our practice are:
a. Maintain subject matter that students have already learned, so they do not forget what was done in class when they were back at school.
b. Spread the learning practice - don't give all the work at once.
c. Communicate goals and success criteria
d. Frame new materials in a bigger picture
e. Use relevant prior knowledge
f. Give examples before exercises
g. Offer support and guidance
h. Support/stimulate active processing of material
i. Check for mastery of the concepts covered
j. Provide adequate feedback

He refers to this diagram, which could be a good starting point for some of your lessons.

You may be interested in looking at at the following document Policy and Procedure considerations for remote teaching and learning complied by GCSN member Gabrielle Wall. Many of the suggestions we have already put in place, but it does include some good advice.

3. You will have no doubt received the email from the Teaching Council re the new registration process and policy - if you didn't you can check it our HERE

4. As we are working predominantly in the digital space, you may be interested to read a couple of articles on Netsafe.
a. The best online safety tips for lockdown
b. Digital Self-harm Report which looks at digital self-harm among teenagers. It explains how deep the issues are, the motivations and next steps.To read the full report go to https://www.netsafe.org.nz/digital-self-harm-19/