Balance in the Week - Great Professional Learning

Balance in the Week - Great Professional Learning

I've heard it said that Lockdown can be a bit of a rollercoaster.  The weeks are up and down with juggling - work, family commitments and the inevitable tedium of being in the same space 24/7.  This week has been great!  Why...

I've had two amazing days of professional learning and I'm feeling very inspired and full of new ideas that I'd love to implement at New Windsor.  

Wednesday was a Corporate Health and Wellbeing Summit.  

Insights...

• What does wellbeing mean at NWS for staff and students?
• I'm sure nobody would argue that focusing on the health & wellbeing of our staff can have a ripple effect in boosting productivity, engagement and a positive impact on the wider school community.
• One of the presenters talked about the morning routine and I'm going to make some tweaks to how I start the day.  I usually wake up fairly early and tackle some of the emails that come in during the evening/night.  I've decided this needs addressing and I am going to put a boundary on starting work before 7am and leaving the morning 'ritual' free of email.  I am anticipating this will be a more mindful and gentle start to the day.  I'm going to have to monitor this one really closely, as I found myself reaching for my phone this morning and slipping back into 'bad habits'. I might have to hide the phone in the kitchen :-)
• How do I turn up as a Leader - how my relational energy can impact on the people around me. Relational energy refers to the positive feeling and sense of increased resourcefulness experienced as a direct result of an interaction with someone else. Some people seem to increase our energy, positivity and sense of resourcefulness whilst others either have no impact or drain our energy.

Although my preference is for Face-to-Face learning I thought the presenters did an amazing job of delivering their content in a really engaging way.  

Of course the conversation and connection hasn't ended on the day, and I have signed up for the social media comms channels to keep myself connected with this mahi:  

Check out:  Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages if you'd like to find out more. 

I heard this one the other day and I loved it... I've drunk the Ako Hiko Cool Aid. I'm a total convert and our relationship with Ako Hiko and the Manaiakalani Trust continues to be a source of amazing collaboration and powerful professional learning.

Today's professional learning opportunity was a Wananga with approximately 140 other educators from across New Zealand. From the opening address I was captivated and completely engaged in the messaging around: High Leverage Teaching Practices, Data Analysis, Device selection for Chromebooks for 2022, feedback on Teacher Inquiries - I loved it all.

I caught up with Maria at lunchtime today and we were bubbling with enthusiasm for New Windsor Schools next steps.

I close the week - feeling grateful!

How did that happen.... it's Term 4

 How did that happen.... it's Term 4

Week One of Term 4 is done and dusted - how did that happen?  

As I write, Tamaki Makaurau is still in Lockdown - Alert Level 3 and I'm not convinced we will be returning to school this term.   Chris Hipkins (Minister of Education) provided the nation with an update on schooling on Tuesday and I have to confess to being a little underwhelmed... it felt like the Primary Schools had been forgotten.   We wait another week for further certainty on what the road ahead looks like, but realistically, maybe they can't provide this as 'Delta' seems to be a beast that is hard to contain and predict.  Yesterday, we hit triple digits in the new cases of infection so it seems entirely possible that they won't lift the alert level anytime soon.  I've decided to look at this cautionary approach as a glass half full situation, as I am also concerned about student and staff welfare and so I am happy to admit my reluctance to return to face-to-face teaching until the vaccination rates are higher!  I guess we are in a wait and see situation.  

The wins of the week in review

Kahui Ako Leader:  This week I started as the Co-Leader of the Lynfield Kahui Ako and Michael Malins (Blockhouse Bay Intermediate) and I have hit the ground running.  I am very thankful for the outgoing Leaders continued support (Neil Robinson) as he continues to transition/support us with systems and processes.  I can see that this mahi will be everything I was hoping it would be... challenging, building relationships, supporting the ongoing development of the New Windsor School strategic plan.  It's exciting and I am looking forward to working with the team.  

Distance Learning Review Tool development:  At our weekly Team Leader and Senior Leader Team Meeting we discussed the development of bespoke review tool to track and measure our progress with our Distance Learning programmes.  Maria has made a cracking start with this tool, combining our school pedagogy with support materials from the Ministry of Education.  I looked at this rubric last night and was delighted with how much progress we have made in this space over the past twelve months and the support we have received from Ako Hiko.  

On the home front:  I am really grateful that with the slower pace of life we have been able to take the time to engage in activities together as a family that we would ordinarily not do/have time for.  These are included Sean (my partner) teaching the girls how to play the guitar, a crazy family fitness event each night - press ups, sit ups, lunges.  Challenging but I am pleased to report progress.  Sunshine (our puppy) is also loving the time we have for two walks a day!

A great first week back at school, and whatever the term brings - we have this!  

Week 8 - Wins of the Week

 Week 8 - Wins of the Week

I've just finished off my contributions to the Principal's Report in anticipation of our next meeting on Monday 20/9 and upon reflection I am really delighted with how much we have achieved in Lockdown.  We haven't missed a beat!  

I participated in an International Forum last night on Coaching and Wellbeing and one of the topics was what are we grateful for in Lockdown.  I love crossing off outstanding tasks from my 'To Do Lists' and I've been fortunate to be able to attend to a number of tasks - Professional Growth Cycle Review, Induction/Onboarding, Local Curriculum Development (to name just a few).  Super important tasks, that in the business of a normal working week often get pushed aside attending to the here and now!  

On a personal front this family time is amazing and it's a considerably slower pace for my busy household.  We've changed around our routines over the past two weeks and have incorporated a family fitness challenge (squats, press ups, sit ups etc...).  I could barely get off the couch for a week! In addition I am stoked that Sean has taken the time to start guitar lessons for my girls (Jaime and Lily).  Lily initially didn't engage with much enthusiasm but we had a conversation about the process of learning and what it means to be teachable!  As is often the way Lily is coming around to the idea and is enjoying the one on one time with her dad.  

My wins of the week 

1#  The Disconnect-Ed Day we have implemented to support staff and student wellbeing is going down a treat with everyone.  Me included! It gives me an opportunity in the week to slow down the pace of all the Google Meets and to have some catch up time - for things like blog posts :-)

2#  I really enjoyed the Six60 Pepeha Singing we did yesterday with Paulette.  I always love Te Wiki o te Reo Māori week and any opportunity to improve my Reo. I really enjoy that this time of year brings about a whole lot of new video, music, apps and games in te reo. Yesterday Ms Paulette Corbett supported our staff with learning Six60’s newest single, Pepeha, which has taken off this week! It’s attracted major radio play and is now sitting at 17th in the top 40 singles chart. The bi-lingual track is a great way to learn both about pepeha, (the connections Māori use to introduce themselves) and it also repeats the chorus in both English and Māori – so is easy to follow.Check out Jeira, who created and shared this video of her engaged in the whakarongo Wero.

3# Stay Interviews. For the last 6 or 7 years I have engaged annually in Stay Interviews with staff at each of the schools I have been Principal at. These are a fairly time intensive process as I meet with the staff in a one on one situation. I use a really simple framework that I read about in a Harvard article one day. It's called the SKS model - suggestions for things we should STOP (S) at NWS, things we should KEEP (K), and ideas/projects/initiatives we could consider STARTING (S). It's always a super rewarding and fascinating process as you get insights into individual teachers perspectives and the schools next steps.

Roll on Week 9 and hopefully our last week of Lockdown!

Day... whatever of Lockdown - Father's Day/Te Whare Tapa Wha

 Day... whatever of Lockdown

I'm not sure what day of Alert Level 4 that is for Tamaki Makaurau but I'm confident we are well into our second week now.  Yesterday was Father's Day and it was a change of pace and also approach as ordinarily we would have had a big family celebration, some kind of event out and then a lunch or dinner at a restaurant.  With the realisation that this couldn't happen, I committed to cooking a dinner.  Now this doesn't sound like an incredible event (or maybe it shouldn't be), but I am a terrible cook so this declaration of love and commitment to our Dad was going to be quite the extravaganza.  We settled on Lasagna for the main course and some Lemon Friands for the dessert with Haagen Daas Blueberry Ice-cream.  Everyone in the house agreed that this was an acceptable approach given that we also have the world's worst oven (while we wait for the kitchen renovation to happen).  

Now you might be wondering why our Father's Day dinner is appearing on my professional blog.  Here comes the connection... I have been looking at the wellbeing model te whare tapa wha.  I think the dinner with my family was a good example of something I did over the weekend that supported both my own and my whanau's wellbeing.  

Here is the overview below of the model....

The Maori holistic model of health, te whare tapa wha, reminds us all to take care of all of the different aspects of our lives to support our wellbeing. 

What is te whare tapa whā?

Te whare tapa whā is a model of the 4 dimensions of wellbeing developed by Sir Mason Durie in 1984 to provide a Māori perspective on health. The 4 dimensions are:

• taha tinana (physical wellbeing)
• taha hinengaro (mental wellbeing)
• taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing)
• taha whānau (family wellbeing).

With 4 walls, the wharenui (meeting house) is a symbol of these 4 dimensions. The wharenui’s connection with the whenua (land) forms the foundation for the other 4 dimensions.

Image credit: Mental Health Foundation, NZ

By nurturing and strengthening all 5 dimensions, you support your health and wellbeing, as well as the health and wellbeing of your whānau.

How I see the Father's Day dinner...

As I was cooking the dinner, my eldest daughter Jaime joked that she'd never seen me cook a Lasagna before.  Given that she's 14 years old the joke was that I cook as often as we seen Haley's Comet.  So I felt quite proud that I was giving this a go, and also that I was doing this with Jaime.  We joked a lot in the kitchen about the mess (I should really have taken photos), how long it took - over 3 hours, and also the fact it would have been loadsssss easier to buy a lasagna from Countdown.  Oh well... it was the gift of giving and love that's also important in this experience.  

Amazingly, the lasagna was delicious and everyone enjoyed the jokes at my expense.  Maybe... (just maybe) we give something new a go next week on the kitchen front.  

I think my wellbeing focus today needs to be less food.  

I ate through the pain last night.   

Time and Place - Maori Achievement Collaborative

 Time and Place

I love that feeling of finishing up a meeting and walking away thinking... that was such a good use of time!  In a word - buoyant!  

Earlier in the year three of our Board were fortunate enough to attend the New Zealand Schools Trustees Association Conference in Rotorua.  In the last session of the day I meet the Principal from Mangere East and we started chatting about our Bilingual classes and different suggestions for:  professional development, networking,  support agencies.  Stephanie suggested I reach out to "MAC - The Maori Achievement Collaborative.  This is a non-profit organisation, a professional learning and development pathway by principals for principals focussed on changing education outcomes for Maori students.   In all:  "Leaders helping leaders to become better leaders!".  Tini, Maria and I meet with Phil Gordon for our initial 'getting started' meeting and I felt really inspired.  

Phil, Maria, Tini and I shared our hopes and aspirations for Te Whanau Puawaitanga, and Maori (all the students) at NWS.  We had some really positive korero across a range of topics and I reflected on Tini's comment as we finished up the Google Meet:  NWS is in the right space, right time for the next part of the journey. I had a real sense of it all coming together!  

Thank you Maria and Tini for your passion and commitment... the following feels appropriate. 

 Celebrating - Innovation and Learn, Create, Share

Day 6 of Alert Level 4 Lockdown and I'm finding a rhythm in my day.  My little bubble has settled in a routine - exercise, work/learning, lots of eating, and games in the evening.  Tonight my people are playing Connect Sports and I feel a little lack lustre after getting my first vaccination.  I've headed off to my bedroom to scroll through our class sites, blogs, and to check out what everyone has been up to in Distance Learning land.  

I am delighted and incredibly proud of all the amazing - Class Sites,Blogging, Learn/Create/Share, Innovation, and great learning that's been implemented.  

A shout out to:  

• Helen and the Room 7 class site.  The graphics are fabulous and it's really easy to navigate the site.   
• Flo is literally the Google guru, and I've just joked to Maria that it won't be long until Manaiakalani is offering our Flo a job!  Very cool to see what you have done with Padlet and also Google Data Studio Flo.  In fact, I can't wait to see what you come up with tomorrow!  
  
  
  
• Robin so clever to use Fale points to celebrate, reward and create a sense of fun and competition in your programme.  Let's hope Kowhai step up their Blogging game!  
  
  
  
• Our wonderful Learning Assistants are all underway with commenting on the students blogs (Room 11, 12, 13, 21 and 22)  and they are enjoying the opportunity to connect with our students via this platform.  

So much to celebrate today.  Well done to an amazing team.  

 Learn, Create, Share

I missed yesterday's Lockdown post, but in my defence I've been feeling a bit poorly as I've had a head cold.  I spent most of yesterday working my way through a Neon (TV) series I've had my eye on.  But here I am today... back into it!  

I've just been in commenting on our Senior/Matamua class blogs, and I'm super impressed with Room 21's - Learn, Create, Share.  I was also really inspired by Chloe and her bravery to give the Toolkit on Minecraft a go (Learn) and to share it on her blog.  So here I am sharing the story on what, I've been giving a go! 

Second confession.  I'm a terrible cook. I also have a woeful oven (does that sound like an excuse) at the moment while we are waiting to move and renovate our cottage... but that's another story, for another blog post.  I digress...  What I was going to say was that I have been inspired to try and learn a new skill a day over Lockdown.  Now I decided baking isn't my 'thang' and in fact, my family would thank me for not trying out any new recipes (mean aren't they).  I did however decide that I wanted to learn how to 'braid'.  As in hair braiding.  I love watching Youtube videos of amazing hairstyles... and I often think, I'd love to do that on my girls.  

I'm quite late on arriving at hair braiding (and fancy stylz), as my girls are 11 and 14 and I'm not sure the 14 year old will actually agree to me doing it any longer.  But hey, as the saying goes... never too late!  

So for the last two days, I've committed time each day to find some new YouTube clips and to practise new hair braiding techniques.  Rewindable learning is the best.  The ability to stop and watch something over and again is super helpful - I LOVE it.  

So I'm going to be as brave as Chloe is and I've posted a pic of my 'Dutch Braid' - first night attempt, on my model (Lily).  

Thanks Chloe.  Learn, Create, Share!  

Here is a link to Chloe's Minecraft post

Feedback welcome on techniques to make the braid tighter?  Or any Youtubers that you think I have to check out!

* I also think that if I do this everyday for the entire Lockdown that I'm bound to get better :-)