Week7: Transitioning Akonga

Loving taking the time to transition Tre (and others) by sharing my excitement.  Tre is a student I have worked with my 2 & 3/4 years at Aranui and who  is verbalising that he doesn't want to come "Too scared". He is initiating this conversation because he  associates me now with Haeata. But by being with him, showing photos he turns his conversation around to what he will take and what colours the buildings are. Anxiety is huge for our community and its a privilege to be part of a positive influence. 

Week 7: Warriors/ Mt Smart Stadium

Loved the programme that the Warriors have for their developing players. How an individual plan at Haeata could cater for the learner.

This statement made me reflective and appreciative of the time we have now to prepare for 2017 and the need to have the 'will to prepare' and in my thinking the will to not over-prepare. I am quite comfortable with the fact nothing is set in place and planning for ākonga is not happening. We are preparing our minds and unlearning our restrictive default settings.

Week 7: Ronotuna

Observation notes

Loved the approach by the Principal in his approach of letting the ākonga inform/show us how the school works. Our guides Ella and Cooper were very passionate about their school and proud of their learning. I appreciated the fact that the DP shared the changes they made with respect to the timetable. 

I was surprised/gutted  to see that one teacher (with 2 other teachers immersed amongst) and a large group of 50/60 kids learning. I saw this in 2 spaces. I liked the design modules when the teacher was difficult to spot and groups/ individuals were working and explaining their learning. The teacher spaces were also used for storage.

I took the opportunity to check out the lunchtime space. It was a fundraising day and a water slide, cake stall were raising money. An idea to take away for our first day- music playing, dancing space.
Liked the scooter space and that scooter ramps had been made/designed by learners.

Week 7: Hobsonville

Observation notes 

Multi-disciplinary learning - 2 subjects taught by teachers whose strengths were these. The modules were designed by staff. 

To support ākonga with their self-directed learning their were clocks everywhere. Interesting that these were  all analogue clocks. Does this affect some who have struggled to tell time?

Space was  light and airy. Learning process (hexagons) were on walls and transparent to all. Staff voice/plans were transparent and not made pretty. Documentation was not redone to be neat and flash.

Concerns were the teacher space and Learning hubs had their fixed space. Really wary of this happening organically.  Surprised to see the tables/desks all facing the TV with a traditional class number of desks. I hope we don't work in this way- like to see groups and that video is accessed through different platform.

chewing gum- great to see that Maurie (the Principal) did not comment to students their use of chewing gum in the learning spaces.

Week 6: School Engagement Reflection

Personally I really enjoyed all 3 of the sessions engaging with the learners. I was initially nervous pre-AHS visit but this anxiety quickly dissipated when I recognised a third of the faces and engaged right from the start. Both sessions at AHS I engaged with learners sho I had not worked with before and was excited by their excitement about the building and their passions leading their learning.
I was really disappointed with the turn-out at Aranui Primary School. A lot of the ākonga are struggling with change and anxious about the new. It was a low-key visit made worse by some late arrivals and a small number.

Week 5: contributing to mai time

At the beginning of week 4, Rebecca Wilson asked Julie and I to run some Samoan   language sessions for kaiako. I reflected on how I learnt to speak Samoan and I organised some akonga from Aranui Primary School to tutor the kaiako. I shared a google slide for the girls to work from. The girls provided pronounciation feedback for the kaiako. It was a pleasing outcome. However we just had one session due to kaiako choosing to not attending. I hope that I also modelled through the mai time enabling akonga to be kaiako.

Week 5's reflection

Week 4's reflection

This is where I was at, at the beginning of the week. My head was full of words I was trying to remember, my shoulders were full of knots from sitting, yet my heart was loving what I was hearing. I finished the week in Fiji- knot free-thanks to a Fijian massage and the time away to make sense, take a break and breath. 

For me I began week 5 with a sense of clarity, confidence and knot free.