Hereora Newsletter – May 2015

Hereora LCC Newsletter
Hereora Collaboration
Kia Ora Katoa, welcome to the latest
Hereora Cluster Newsletter. I hope you
enjoy learning more about clustering and
the benefits that clustering across schools
and learning centres brings.
I hope that by now you are starting to
appreciate the extra opportunities
clustering delivers for the staff at your
learning centre. We now have strong
networked groups which include
Cultural, Special Needs, ICT, Leadership
and the Youth leadership. Networking in
such groups is clever and makes sense,
especially powerful is the opportunities
to collaborate in events like the recent
Professional Learning Day. Professional
learning is valuable and being able to
discuss with like-minded people helps to
break down the isolation that teachers
often struggle with. ‘If it makes the
teachers lives easier and helps them be a
better teacher then our children can only
benefit’.
One of the biggest developments
with our cluster is that we have been
announced by the Minister of Education
as a community of schools. This is the
Investing in Educational Success (IES)
initiative which Hekia Parata frequently
mentions. When I met with her during the
School Holidays she made it clear that
‘Communities of schools’ is her number
one priority. Exactly what this means to
the Hereora Cluster has yet to be
developed. The Principals are meeting to
form our proposal to take to the Ministry.
One thing is for sure, we want to keep
the vision, values and identity of our
Hereora Cluster.
Collaboration across schools is
exciting. IES could very well provide the
resourcing to make our vision more of a
reality.
Issue 4
May 2015
As leaders we continue to work
closely with Rebbecca Sweeney who
challenges us and provides facilitation to
evolve the Future Focus Inquiry process
needed to progress so that true or
deeper collaboration across learning
centres can happen.
Thanks for your support and trust of
your educational leaders as we move
into a new and better era of education in
Aoteroa.
Brian Price
Leader Representative
Hereora Cluster
Content:
Hereora Collaboration
1
Keeping Safe in a Digital World
2
Youth Leadership Hui
2
Cultural Responsiveness Hui
3
SENCO Long Lunch
4
ECE Perspective 4
Hereora Professional Learning Day 5
Hereora PLD Workshops 5
Up and Coming Events
7
Keeping Safe in a Digital World
A digital citizenship information
evening for parents & educators
presented by Tessa Gray - Learning
with Digital Technologies Facilitator,
CORE Education.
On Thursday 6 February, the
Hereora Cluster held a Digital
Citizenship evening hosted by Tessa
Gray from CORE Education. Tessa's
brief was was to expose parents and
teachers to a digital citizenship
information evening, focusing on
KEEPING SAFE IN A DIGITAL
WORLD ......... and boy did she
deliver.
So what can we do to keep safe in
a digital world? Tessa shared three
main ideas for developing a
responsible Digital Citizen.
1. Protect and respect yourself. Don't
share your personal details, plans
for the weekend, when you will be
away from home, phone numbers,
email addresses.
2. Protect and respect others. Why do
you think bullying is worse online?
Because it's not face to face, you
can't see the person's reactions.
Anonymity rules online....the person
is not always identified.
3. Protect and respect property.
Above all, keep having
conversations with your child. Talk to
them about how to be a responsible
Digital Citizen. Use the tag line, "If
you wouldn't do it face to face, why
do it online?
Other useful tips included:
Educate your children to be good/
responsible people online.
Have access to your child's Social
Media accounts and passwords
and monitor them to know what is
happening.
Be a digital parent. Practise what
you preach. Think about what you
are posting online yourself. Online
is permanent!
Define the browsing time at home.
Should those devices be in the
bedroom overnight? Children (and
adults) need sleep. Do they really
need to answer txts, snapchat,
Facebook posts after bedtime.
Look for the restriction settings on
each device. Set up age
appropriate restrictions for your
children.
As a parent of two pre-teen
daughters myself, I will be using the
simple bylines,
"Think before you post!"
Your online life is not a fantasy,
it is REAL LIFE!
Ask yourself how are you
behaving online when no one is
watching? Is that the person you want
everyone to see?
YouTube footage, extremely relevant
for children, parents and teachers
alike. You can check these out at
http://bit.ly/1JPiOeN or http://
www.vln.school.nz/discussion/view/
844143
Thank you Tessa for a wonderful
evening. I feel so much more in tune
with what I can do to help at school
and at home. Thanks also to the
parents, teachers and staff who
supported the evening.
Andrew Lange
Deputy Principal
Isleworth School
Thankfully, Tessa's accumulated
knowledge and wisdom is available to
us online. She shared some wonderful
Youth Leadership Hui - Building Extraordinary Citizens
On Thursday the 26th of February, schools in the Hereora Learning Community
Cluster met at Isleworth school for a day of activities based around leadership and
digital citizenship. Each Burnside student was assigned as the leader to a group of
younger leaders from the various other schools. In the morning the focus was
around leadership and the qualities of a good leader. We started off with some
games and then went on to look at the qualities of an extraordinary person and
things that make us extraordinary. Then, we looked at the leadership roles that we
each had in our respective schools, the things that we think we do well, and
the things we think we could work on for the future. Afterwards we set
goals that would help us strengthen our weaknesses. Overall, it was a
very fun and interesting day, that I believe helped everyone that
attended to become better leaders.
By Arna Woods
Burnside High School
Youth Leadership Hui - Building Digital Citizens
On February 26th a group of leaders from the Hereora Learning Community
Cluster attended a Youth Leadership Hui at Isleworth School. After a morning
filled with leadership based activities, Tessa Gray came in to give a presentation
about digital citizenship.
In this Digital Citizenship workshop we started off by looking into situations
like posting too much information and unsecure online chatting. Then we looked
into what steps we could take to prevent the consequences of these events. Next
we looked at copyright issue and taking images and words from other people.
Tessa introduced us to a website called ‘Creative Commons’ a place where you
can find images and videos that you have permission to use. Finally we
explored a website Tessa had created that had more information on digital
citizenship and a fun password activity.
Tessa’s digital citizenship
workshop was very informative
and offered tips for everybody to
take away and use to help
improve our digital environment.
By Bayley Anderson
Burnside High School
Cultural Responsiveness Hui
Tēnā koutou katoa
Ko Karioi tōku maunga, Ko
Waikato tōku awa, Ko Tainui te waka
me te iwi, No Whaingaroa ahau, Ko
Nathan Riki tōku ingoa.
Over the past two terms, a group
of teachers and other staff from the
representing schools in the Hereora
Cluster have come together for
special hui to korero about Culturally
Responsive Practice. The main aims of
our group are to firstly establish a
common idea of what this means for
our Kura. Secondly, we want to
establish and then implement a
strategy across the cluster to ensure
that we are providing rich and
meaningful practise that is responsive
to all children and whanau across the
Cluster, regardless of their culture.
In a recent hui, we came up with
the first draft of the vision for this
group:
“The essence of culturally
responsive practice is establishing
great relationships with kids and their
whānau. We need to ‘see’ our kids in
a holistic way; celebrating their
unique and special gifts and most
importantly, responding to
all of their needs academic, social,
emotional and cultural.”
Janelle Riki, 2015.
‘Work together to grow culturally
responsive practices within our school
communities'
We believe that this vision will
help to guide our aims, goals and
ideas to a place where we can be
considered as a Cluster that
understands the importance of
Cultural Responsiveness and knows
what this looks like within our Kura.
I know I can speak on behalf of
everyone involved in these hui when I
say that we look forward to achieving
success in this area.
‘Whaia te iti kahurangi; ki te
tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei’ 'Pursue the highest aspirations; if you
must bow, let it be to a lofty
mountain.'
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou mō ō
koutou manaakitanga, mātauranga
me te aroha.
Nā Nathan Riki
Breens Intermediate
Hereora SENCO Long Lunch
Recently the Cluster SENCOs met for
the first time in 2015. We welcomed
everyone back for the school year and
welcomed some new SENCOs Emily
Keenan and Lara Hyland from Roydvale
School and Sandra Wong from Breens
Intermediate.
Our focus for the meeting was around
collaborative practices, systems and the
role of teacher aides within a collaborative
environment.
During our session we also met with
Sharyn Gousmett, Psychologist with the
Ministry of Education, who helped us
prepare for the Hereora Cluster
Professional Learning Day around
managing challenging behaviours. Sharyn
led a workshop for teachers and teacher
aides on this day.
There was a lot of worthwhile
discussion around the changing roles of
teacher aides/assistants, particularly
within the varied collaborative
environments that are being implemented
across the cluster. Many of our teacher
We are all, so well aware of the
valuable roles that teacher aides/assistants
have within our schools and it was
heartwarming to hear of the many and
varied ways teacher aides are now being
included in the classroom settings, in a
move towards ensuring our schools have
more inclusive learning environments.
Many schools have received positive
feedback from learners, community, and
teacher aides regarding these changes.
The majority of this feedback has indicated
that learners enjoy working within the
same environment as their peers and TAs
enjoy feeling more included as part of the
teaching team.
Emily Keenan, Lara Hyland
SENCO
Roydvale School
she is so fantastic at challenging our
thinking and getting us into that
uncomfortable learning space, where
you are exploring the how and why of
your beliefs and pedagogy”.
ECE Perspective
Collaborate – To begin this year a
small group of children from Bishopdale
Community preschool (BCP) and Kidsfirst
Kindergartens Isleworth Road joined in
the Hereora Youth Leaders Hui. The
kaupapa/content of the hui was about
‘What it means to be extraordinary’.
After listening to the older leaders read
a pukapuka/ book about a sheep called
Beau, who demonstrated extraordinary
characteristics, we then brainstormed
and documented our own extraordinary
leader characteristics. “I’m a good
listener and I have a good memory”
said Emma 4yrs old. Emma and the
other children have enjoyed revisiting
this learning experience and sharing it
with others including their whanau/
families.
aides are now supporting learners, where
appropriate, within the collaborative
learning environment rather than through
withdrawal isolation programmes.
Inquire – Early in March the
bicultural responsive professional
learning group got together to continue
their work on building our vision to
respond to the unique place of Maori in
ways that benefit all learners. “I think
it’s really fantastic to be able to
collaborate with teachers from the
primary and secondary sectors of
education and build a learning pathway
for the children in this cluster. It will be
good for all children as they can then
progress their learning at each stage”
said Emiko a teacher at BCP.
Aspire – Both Kathryn and Sarah
collaborated at the Leaders hui on the
25th March with Rebecca Sweeney from
Core Education. Sarah commented “I
just love the work we do with Rebecca,
Sarah Straver
Senior Education Manager
Bishopdale Community
Preschool
Hereora Professional Learning Day - Getting HookED
At the end of the first term, the
Hereora Cluster was fortunate enough to
have Pam Hook speak for the morning at
our Professional Learning Day (PLD).
Pam presented HookED, her
classroom based approach to SOLO
Taxonomy. As well as being both
entertaining and informative, there were
plenty of practical suggestions.
SOLO Taxonomy was proposed by
Biggs and Collis in 1982. It describes
surface, deep and conceptual levels of
student understanding through five
stages; pre-structural, unistructural,
multistructural, relational, and extended
abstract.
While SOLO Taxonomy is not the
only model of learning, through her
research and studies, Pam has found it to
be a simple and powerful one that
doesn’t label the student themselves, a
key factor influencing student
achievement. With the endorsement of
Biggs, she developed the model for
students from primary to tertiary level,
centered around them learning to learn. She sees her approach as “changing the
way they [students] think about their own
learning outcomes. With SOLO, students
understand that declarative and
functioning learning outcomes are the
result of effort and the use of effective
strategies rather than luck or fixed
abilities”. The flexibility of the model
allows it to be used, in Pam’s words,
‘anywhere, anyway’ in the context of
teaching and learning.
HookED has been introduced to
schools in New Zealand, Australia and
the UK, with New Zealand being the first
place to share the model with students. This has provided a common language of
learning for teachers and students. Pam
is a proponent of Carol Dweck’s Growth
Mindset, believing that children that
understand the model and have a growth
mindset are empowered in their learning.
I came away from the morning with
a thorough overview of the HookED
model and how it fits with what we are
doing at Wairakei School. The ideas
around how it might be embedded in our
school were really useful ones and the
HookED website (http://pamhook.com/)
provides free downloadable resources to
get started using the HookED functioning
and declarative knowledge rubrics,
hexagons and HOT maps. There are
also a number of HookED SOLO apps,
including generators for learning
intentions and assessments. All very
welcome to those for whom time is such a
precious commodity!
Shelly Jackson
Warakei School
Hereora PLD - HookED SOLO Taxonomy Workshop
SOLO is an acronym for the Structure
of the Observed Learning Outcome.
It is one model or taxonomy for
learning. The SOLO model integrates the
three levels of understanding (surface,
deep and conceptual) into learning
intentions and success criteria. It helps
students learn to learn. It is a relatively
simple model.
The afternoon workshops explored in
more detail strategies and online
resources introduced by Pam Hook
earlier in the day. I was so impressed
with the variety of content, suitability for
all levels and the accessibility of free
support materials. Pam is very happy to
be contacted at [email protected]
with questions and can put us in touch
with real educators in New Zealand
teaching at our level.
As a Year One teacher, here are the
points relevant for me at the moment:
Remember to praise effort more, “you
did well, you must be working hard”
Begin using the SOLO hand signs
Check out SOLO with young learners
- Bridget Casset (loved her!)
Play with the learning intention
generator (you get too many initially)
Investigate the visual rubric models
(lego/flickr I think).
Jenny Pringle
Wairakei School
Hereora PLD Workshops
At our recent professional learning
day I attended two workshops during
the afternoon session were both
practical and interesting.
Digital Learning
The first workshop was something
that is very relevant as we move
towards changing the way we teach,
and the way students learn. Arnika
Mcphail from Cyclone presented her
experiences with learning design for the
21st Century. As a classroom teacher,
Arnika embraced digital tools for
planning, using a range of Google apps
to streamline the delivery of work set
and to engage learners. During this
workshop, Arnika shared her ideas for
using Google slides to prepare material
for such things as maths hotspots and
planning. Once prepared, resources
needed are all linked in one easy to
find and use location. From this
workshop, it became obvious that Slides
was more than just a presentation tool
but also a vehicle to add links to the
materials for students to use These could
be websites , doc templates or more.
Arinka then shared this planning with
students through Hapara Dashboard or
Google Classroom.
Here are some links to planning
examples shared by Arnika. Teacher
planning online - can view and make
your own copies.
Maths Planning: https://
docs.google.com/presentation/d/
149eAyz6Fq49K0PNNwLA6iAyqXi
bxeu0I_2n_3-7m_T0/edit?
usp=sharing
Whole Class Hot Spot: https://
docs.google.com/presentation/d/
1BvaGi0-2A7d_Fmlv_RRa_GgUOYu
v3gk68upn6c6Hy8/edit?
usp=sharing
Teacher Tools: http://
www.teachertools.co.nz/lessonsand-more/more-freelessons/
By using digital tools to assist with
teaching and learning Arnika found that
students were sharing work with each
other, enabling easier and more
effective collaborative projects. The
students received meaningful and
timely feedback from their peers and
their teacher. The teacher was able to
model great feedback.
Anika's final message to teachers
was that by getting to know how to use
the range of tools available to us from
both the Google for Education and on
the internet, we can work smarter and
achieve more with our students.
Working Together in Teams
The second workshop I attended
was of a different vein, but just as
relevant as we move towards working in
teams. Rema Leitch presented a
workshop around relational trust and
courageous conversations. With Rema,
we compared how teams were different
to groups. we were able to see that
teams don’t just happen and that the
relationships within teams needs work.
“Relational trust is the glue that holds
these groups together” (Bryk and
Schneider). When working well, it is
quietly in the background, but when the
teams are not working well together,
the absence is noticed.
Rema share with us the importance
of relational trust and the four criterion
this is built on (Bryk and Schneider):
Respect involves the recognition of
the role each person plays in a
child’s education
Competence - the ability to achieve
the desired outcome
Personal Regard for others is the
perception of how one goes beyond
what is required of their role in their
caring for another person
Integrity between what people say
and do.
When there is a high level of
relational trust among members of a
school community there is strong
evidence to show this makes an
important difference in the way people
work together and the academic
progress of students (Viviane Robinson,
Student Centred Learning).
After exploring the importance of
establishing relational trust within our
teams, Rema went on to how to manage
challenging conversations with
colleagues. We were provided with a
script and had an opportunity to role
play different situations that involve
tricky conservations. These ‘open to
learning’ conversations are a useful
process that solves problems in a nonjudgemental but supportive way. It sticks
to the issues and is based on evidence.
From this experience we could see how
important it is to choose your language
carefully and not get drawn in to side
issues. Challenging conversations can
be difficult to have, but the longer they
are avoided, the harder they will be to
solve. These conversations need to be
positive and deliberate and end in a
plan that both people are willing to
commit to.
Managed in an environment of
trust, people should feel supported and
safe to challenge and discuss tough
issues together. Open, authentic, truthful
dialogue in an atmosphere of trust and
respect, is the key ingredient that makes
meaningful change happen. If all these
elements come together, them teams
should be able to work together in a
positive and collaborative manner.
Rema presented some thought
provoking ideas with practical strategies
to help us get through those difficult
moments that we all have when working
with other people. using these
techniques, problems should be
resolved before they escalate into
something bigger. These will be useful
skills to have as we spend more time
working together in teams.
Joanna Woods
Harewood School
Up & Coming Event Hereora Cluster Unconference - CORE
Education is facilitating our Hereora
Unconference at Burnside High
School on Tuesday 12th May. Please
join us in the staffroom, 4:00pm 7:30pm.
Cultural Responsiveness Hui: This rōpū
is gathering on Wednesday 27th May
at Breens Intermediate, 1:00pm to
3:00pm.
Future Focus Inquiry with Rebbecca
Sweeney on 3 June at 8:30am 12:30pm.
BOT training is on Wednesday 3 June
at Burnside High, 7:00pm.
Icebergs and Fluffy Bunnies
What causes behavioural challenges and
what can we do about them?
Topics covered in this informative
and very interesting workshop by Sharyn
Gousmett, a Psychologist with the
Ministry of Education, included :
Icebergs - What is lying under the
surface of the behaviours we see?
The Brain - Information about the
brain, its make-up and its different
functions.
Fluffy Bunnies - What magic tricks to
use to prevent or respond to
challenging behaviours we meet as
teachers?
Sharyn outlined activities on what
might be causing some behavioural
problems with a brief presentation of
information on brain development and
the role of the brain in the development
of behavioural difficulties. Information
and activities focusing on ‘magic tricks’
for us to use in the classroom, to help
prevent and manage such behavioural
issues when they arise, were also given.
These ‘magic trick’ aids involved:
Relationships - forming solid
relationships with these children to
build up trust.
Praise - use as much as possible (5:1)
ratio to build self esteem and
encourage positive relationships.
Effective instructions - being specific
and concise when outlining what has
to be done, giving a choice option
and limiting explanations (no
discussions) in such situations.
Sharyn also explored with the group
de-escalation techniques. She outlined
what to do in such circumstances and
also how to help these students transition
back into normal activities (the recovery
phase).
This was a very practical and helpful
workshop.
Thank you Sharyn!
Cathy Dean
Wairakei School
SENCO Long Lunch is on Thursday 4th
June at 1:00pm with the key focus on
literacy.
Hereora Paying it Forward Action Day
is on Friday 12th June. Each school
will be holding fundraising events to
raise money for the Canterbury
Charity Hospital Trust.
Hereora Cultural Celebration: The
Hereora Maori & Pasifika Cultural
Performances are on Thursday 18th
and Monday 22nd June in The
Aurora Centre at Burnside High
School. Details and ticket information
will be available soon.
Hereora PLD - Working Together in Teams
Breens Intermediate
85 Breens Road,
Christchurch 8053
64 3 359 8108
[email protected]
Wairakei School
250 Wairakei Rd, Bryndwr
Christchurch 8053
03-351 8033
[email protected]
Roydvale School
117 Roydvale Ave, Burnside
Christchurch 8053
03-358 5785
[email protected]
Bishopdale Community Preschool
85 Breens Road,
Christchurch 8053
64 3 359 7606
[email protected]
Burnside High School
151 Greers Rd, Burnside
Christchurch 8053
03-358 8383
[email protected]
Isleworth School
59 Farrington Ave, Bishopdale,
Christchurch 8053
03-359 8553
[email protected]
Kidsfirst Kindergarten Kendal
53 Kendal Ave, Burnside
Christchurch 8053
03-358 8632
[email protected]
Kidsfirst Kindergarten Isleworth
6 Isleworth Rd, Bishopdale,
Christchurch 8053
03-359 9621
[email protected]
Harewood School
721 Harewood Rd, Harewood
Christchurch 8051
03-359 8382
[email protected]
I chose to go to this workshop, so I could develop a better
understanding of how to have a courageous conversation, I left with a
better understanding of relational trust and some great advice/plan of
attack on how to have a courageous conversation. Rema Leitch is an
inspiring facilitator who is passionate about school communities working
together effectively.
These are the main points that I came away with:
Teams don’t just happen, they are made through building, fostering
and nurturing.
Relational trust is the core foundation within a school community.
Relational trust is built on Respect, Competence, Personal regard
and Integrity.
Relational trust is the glue that holds relationships together.
Open authentic truthful dialogue in an atmosphere of trust and
respect is the key ingredient to; preserving trust, enabling positive
team collaboration, and making meaningful change possible.
Courageous conversations = OTLs (open to learning conversations).
Additionally I was struck by this quote; “Students in high trust schools
make more academic and social progress than students in otherwise
similar low trust schools (Robinson: Student Centred Leadership)”.
This intrigued me because it makes sense, but it isn’t necessarily
something that we as teachers think about. How we interact with other
teachers and staff affect the children that we teach. Are we modelling
Integrity? Respect? Personal regard? Competence? with our words and
actions.
I believe that this is so important right now because we are moving into
collaborative teaching and we are spending more and more time
teaching, planning and working together. Do we work well together?
Do we trust our colleagues enough to have courageous conversations
with them? As professionals who care about our children and about our
work environments there are plenty of times and opportunities where
we should be having these
conversations. But are we? And if
we are not, who is at risk? It is not
just us, but also our students and
their academic and social progress
that could be at risk.
Beki O'Dey
Wairekei School
Hereora is our cluster name. We believe in the importance of healthy environments benefi8ng all. Hereora is the Maori Princess who is known as the guardian of the springs of the North-­‐West area of Christchurch. She cares for the welfare of the springs and the water. Healthy water equates to healthy environment and people. Furthermore, we believe that it is vital to recognise ourselves as a learning community made up of a diverse demographic working toward a common goal of learning together.