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!