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!