Staff Meeting - PYP/Exhibition - 18/10

Staff Meeting - PYP/Exhibition - 3:30 - 4:30

           

Berkley Exhibition 2016 Logistics

Date and Times	Thursday 20 October 2:00pm to 2:30pm  School viewing (ref. notes below) 5:30 to 6:30pm Community viewing
Locations	Aranui + Art Exhibition = Rec Centre (Teaming to be outside or in the CC that day). Mahi Tahi = ELC + Learning Centre (Please check with Penny and Judy regarding access to these spaces on the day). Te Aroha = Room 7, 8, 9 + 8A
Questions/Prompts	Prompts for teachers Tell me about the problem you chose. Tell me about your lines of inquiry. What was the process that you went through? What is the most important idea that you have learnt from your inquiry? How do you know that? Has your thinking changed? If so, how? Is there more than one viewpoint about your issue? What did you learn from other students in your team? What do you think might happen with your issue in the future? What would you like to see changed? How have you recorded or sorted your information? How does this learning connect with other subjects, topics or issues? Can you suggest a solution? Prompts for the community Tell me about the problem you chose. What have you enjoyed the most about the exhibition process? What have you found the most challenging? What skills have you had to demonstrate to be successful? What type of ‘action’ has come from your inquiry? What would you like us to do/know?
Tokens	What would be the purpose of this? What are the benefits?  What are the possible constraints?   Do we want to go ahead with this idea? Decision was no.
Year 7 hosts + Pamphlet	Year 7 hosts = Sarah A Exhibition Pamphlet = Beth
After school Facilities activities (Alli Fairey/Jamie)	Afterschool Music – Music room/media/Cultural Centre Rec Centre - Taekwondo moved to the Cultural Centre
BBQ/Sausage Sizzle	Edwin + Caro + Alison C $2 per sausage (funds going towards Year 9 trip to Wellington)
Afternoon Buses	Students to meet outside on front of office. Pete has made a plan b for if wet.
Timetable                       Teaming (O	Thursday 20 October Day 2 Tech Arts      Block 1         Tainui                                  Block 2         Rangahau                          Block 3         Kia Kaha                             Block 4         Exhibition Support (No Academies or ELC programme)   Teaming Block 1         Mahi Tahi                                  Block 2         Aranui                          Block 3         Te Aroha                          Block 4         Exhibition Support (No Academies)
School Viewing	Classes are welcome to view the presentations between 2:00pm - 2:30pm on Thursday. Teachers - please prepare your students visiting the exhibition to be informed, active and supportive visitors to the teams and their exhibits. Classes are expected to move through the exhibition spaces as a group supervised by their teacher. Possible prompts for the learners to be shared with classroom teachers. Teachers consider what you need to find out during this time.
Thank you drinks	7:00pm Everyone who supported exhibition welcome. Location TBC

Have been doing my utmost to arrange a donation of sausages (at least 200), from Pak N Save, Clarence Street. Before, after school, and during break times I have phoned and emailed Geanna from Management. As of 4:20pm on the 18/10 I am yet to receive confirmation/or not.
I will be supporting Ed on the BBQ sausage sizzle, helping to make year seven's are in the correct place, and supporting student's as the community learn about their Exhibition journey/understanding.

Room 9 Class Blog

I am really proud of the class blog I have created for Room 9. It can be found here

From the beginning of term three I have worked studiously to set up and maintain a class blog for Room 9. This blog allows learners, parents/caregivers, and the wider community to view the learning that Room 9 undertakes in and outside the classroom.
The blog also enables me to maintain a connection with the learners, parents/caregivers, and the wider community through a digital source.
As a parent myself I see many positives in having a classroom blog. Enabling parents/caregiversWhanau to peruse a wide range of learning engagements that they otherwise wouldn't see.

Staff Meeting - Staff Personal Review BNMS 2016 - 13/10/2016

Reflection
As this meeting was about BNMS in 2017 I found it was not applicable to me. However, I did my best to complete the Review questions in a positive manner. Support from, and verbal reflections with, colleagues was very helpful.

Room 9 Literacy - Quick Write

Image of Room 9 students participating in a Quick Write session

The sentence prompt above, contains a slight variation of words: catch could be changed to caught so students could write in the past tense; and corner could be used to change the image built in the reader's mind. Both of these were changes students' suggestions, which I was happy to take on board because I believe the students would have a greater sense of ownership by having a say.
Six students decided to share their Quick Writes with the whole class, after everyone had shared their writing with the person on their left/right, (students who sat at the end of tables were encouraged to share with someone in front or behind). 

Quick Writes are incredibly valuable in a busy classroom where writing often occurs in inquiry learning, reading group tasks, and in digital form.

"This a great tool to get students writing." - Gail Loane, September, 2016

Spanish Commands

During Spanish lessons, in Teaming, I tend to find myself responding or thinking in Te Reo Maaori. On reflection I realise that I need to become familiar with the expressions/commands I would like to use during these sessions, such as: stand up; sit down...

I all ready use, because I have prior knowledge of:
- Listen - Escucha
- Please - Por favor
- Repeat - Repetid
- Silence - Silencio

I have found these translations here 

stand up

: 

levantarse, ponerse de pie 

Stand up please: por favor de pie

Sit down please: Siéntate por favor

sit down: 

sentarse

And these translations here

sit down: siéntate
Sit: sentar
Stand up: Levántate
Stand up please: ponerse de pie por favor

I will be checking with a Spanish-speaking friend from Venezuela about these translations!!

Literacy Observation: Mrs Allen

Today I had the privilege of observing Room 28 teacher Mrs Allen.

I observed as Mrs Allen co-constructed with the learners, of Room 28, how they can edit/re-craft their biographies. Prior to this session they had reviewed a Tiger Woods biography, researched their chosen person, located 10 facts, and began planning/drafting. Mrs Allen provided two examples of introductions, from the learners themselves, to work on collaboratively.
Mrs Allen asked specific questions to direct learners and provided succinct feedback/feed-forward: Mrs Allen's KQs are in blue...

- Today we are going to look at two sample introductions and think about how we can edit/recraft to hook in the reader.
Learners were on the mat and were chosen at random to read aloud, reading an introduction about Richie McCaw

- What would you do now?
- What do we notice?
- How many sentences are in a paragraph (at least 4-6, written on board)

- What do we need to do in the very first sentence?
Learners put forward a range of ideas: Hook them in; make it interesting...
- How?
Short, sharp, powerful sentences; start with a quote; direct speech...

Learners came up with:
"What a try form Richie McCaw as he wins the game once again for the All Blacks."

- Lets re-craft our crafting!
- What other ways can we introduce?
Set a scene; relate to the reader; imagine they were there; use a rhetorical question: have you ever wondered...

Richie Hugh McCaw is often known as a legend as the greatest loose forward. Although he retired he is still one of the greatest rugby players in the world and would dominate in rugby if he still played.

This was then crafted with learner input:
To be more specific about his position: One of the world's greatest Open Side Flankers
Take out "often" because it is not very powerful.
Change "in the world" for "of all time" because he is one of the best players the world has ever seen. 

Mrs Allen moved on to 'ending' an introduction
- How do we end the introduction?
- What's something we could do?
Learners responded with:
- State a personal opinion: I believe he is the greatest
- Use a fact
- Use humour
Mrs Allen stated: Not one person is right, not one person is wrong; independent writers continually recraft throughout writing.

Together the learners co-constructed the success criteria
- Hook (Quote; Rhetorical Q; setting the scene; relating to the reader/make it personal; state a fact)
- Introduce the person
Effective language/descriptive
- Economical language: short/sharp
- 4-6 Sentences

Mrs Allen then gave the learners explicit instructions, reminders about staying on task, and answered learners questions.

- 20 minutes of silent work, one minute to get settled; read, recraft, edit; 40 seconds, 10 seconds...

Learners asked:
- Can we restart our intro?
Mrs Allen directed her response to the whole class:
- Those who would like to restart their introduction or begin again with a new person can if they want. 

Reflection/Implications for my teaching:
- Be really precise with KQs
- Provide opportunities for learners to think/pair/share
- Use examples of learners work to recraft, they relate to it and have more of a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Keep the teacher time to a minimum to get the learners writing/re-crafting using the knowledge they have just acquired.
- I teach somewhat differently, but that isn't a bad thing, because I believe I work with a whole different classroom environment and do my best to meet the direct needs of my learners.
- Small group teaching could reach target learners to enable them to be successful, confident writers.

Literacy Observation: Mrs Allen

Today I had the privilege of observing Room 28 teacher Mrs Allen.

I observed as Mrs Allen co-constructed with the learners, of Room 28, how they can edited/re-craft their biographies. Prior to this session they had reviewed a Tiger Woods biography, researched their chosen person, located 10 facts, and began planning/drafting. Mrs Allen provided two examples of introductions, from the learners themselves, to work on collaboratively.
Mrs Allen asked specific questions to direct learners and provided succinct feedback/feed-forward: Mrs Allen's KQs are in blue...

- Today we are going to look at two sample introductions and think about how we can edit/recraft to hook in the reader.
Learners were on the mat and were chosen at random to read aloud, reading an introduction about Richie McCaw

- What would you do now?
- What do we notice?
- How many sentences are in a paragraph (at least 4-6, written on board)

- What do we need to do in the very first sentence?
Learners put forward a range of ideas: Hook them in; make it interesting...
- How?
Short, sharp, powerful sentences; start with a quote; direct speech...

Learners came up with:
"What a try form Richie McCaw as he wins the game once again for the All Blacks."

- Lets re-craft our crafting!
- What other ways can we introduce?
Set a scene; relate to the reader; imagine they were there; use a rhetorical question: have you ever wondered...

Richie Hugh McCaw is often known as a legend as the greatest loose forward. Although he retired he is still one of the greatest rugby players in the world and would dominate in rugby if he still played.

This was then crafted with learner input:
To be more specific about his position: One of the world's greatest Open Side Flankers
Take out "often" because it is not very powerful.
Change "in the world" for "of all time" because he is one of the best players the world has ever seen. 

Mrs Allen moved on to 'ending' an introduction
- How do we end the introduction?
- What's something we could do?
Learners responded with:
- State a personal opinion: I believe he is the greatest
- Use a fact
- Use humour
Mrs Allen stated: Not one person is right, not one person is wrong; independent writers continually recraft throughout writing.

Together the learners co-constructed the success criteria
- Hook (Quote; Rhetorical Q; setting the scene; relating to the reader/make it personal; state a fact)
- Introduce the person
Effective language/descriptive
- Economical language: short/sharp
- 4-6 Sentences

Mrs Allen then gave the learners explicit instructions, reminders about staying on task, and answered learners questions.

- 20 minutes of silent work, one minute to get settled; read, recraft, edit; 40 seconds, 10 seconds...

Learners asked:
- Can we restart our intro?
Mrs Allen directed her response to the whole class:
- Those who would like to restart their introduction or begin again with a new person can if they want. 

Reflection/Implications for my teaching:
- Be really precise with KQs
- Provide opportunities for learners to think/pair/share
- Use examples of learners work to recraft, they relate to it and have more of a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Keep the teacher time to a minimum to get the learners writing/re-crafting using the knowledge they have just acquired.
- I teach somewhat differently, but that isn't a bad thing because I believe I ma meeting the direct needs of my learners.
- Small group teaching could reach target learners to enable them to be successful and develop confidence about their abilities as writers.

Staff Meeting - The Inquiry Cycle

Staff Meeting - The Inquiry Cycle - Tuesday 13th September 2016

What does this cycle need to do?
- Guide the teacher in planning
- Shared language for new members of staff/students
- Can be used across all areas of the curriculum
- Supports towards a genuine purpose
- Something that inspires the students
- Student agency (choice and control)
- Student ownership
- Contextualisation - Why is this important to me?
- Making connections - Something to hang new learning on

Reading: 10 things You Didn't Know about the Spanish Alphabet

10 things you didn’t know about the Spanish Alphabet:

http://www.peppyburro.com/blog/spanish-alphabet/

A really interesting read, as it states that the Spanish alphabet was changed in 2010 by the Royal Spanish Academy “the governing body that dictates how Spanish ought to be spoken and written.”

This has also provided me with a table of the alphabet: letter; name; pronunciation; examples; notes., which has deepened my understanding of the Spanish Alphabet.
The ‘names’ and notes have given me a better insight into the alphabet, more so then the resources I have been using at school (Si, An Introduction to Spanish).
Building my background knowledge is enabling me to deliver Espanol with more confidence

Staff Meeting - Report Writing Workshop

Staff Meeting - Report Writing Workshop - Thursday 8th September 2016

- Complete the reports in Pages - templates for each class will be sent out - Calendar has details of when to save where.

- Have 6 reports to team leader by the end of this term.
- Be specific about what students can do.
- Don't be afraid to mention areas that they can improve in.
- Ensure that levels are equivalent through the report.
- The general comment is your opportunity to show how well you know the student. This is also where you can mention any notable achievements.
- Languages and Media are not given a section/level on the report - if you want to mention these areas do so in the general comments section.
- Student voice is given on the back page in the 'Take up the challenge' section. Get the students to carry out this task in Room 13 time on a doc and then send to you.
- Teachers must enter Tech Arts/Science levels when they receive these from the Specialist teachers.

Staff Meeting - PYP

Staff Meeting - PYP - Tuesday 6th September 2016

- Is the inquiry cycle the same as, connected to or different to inquiry?
- Which of the standards in C3 support the idea of having an inquiry cycle?
- How do we use the inquiry cycle at Berkley?
Books, Connections, Displays, Planning (SUP, Bubble), Guiding research, Used in Numeracy and Literacy (not explicitly)
Needs to be explicit in all Units of Inquiry
- Ask students "Where are you now? Where might you go next?"
- New Kath Murdoch Inquiry Cycle?

7 Misconceptions about the Inquiry Cycle

Expert Group and Home Group Activity

Looking at various Inquiry Cycles

The Power of Inquiry - Kath Murdoch

Cycle vs. Process???

Always reflecting

UOI Book Monitoring

UOI Book Monitoring - Thursday 1st September 2016

Today we met as a team with Beth (the PYP co-ordinator at Berkley) to look over our UOI books and discuss how we could improve our practice. 

- Collaboration with team members & wider school colleagues.

- Provide frequent written feedback and feedforward to students (be specific and ask questions).

- Our interpretation of the inquiry cycle and how it affects our planning. Is the inquiry cycle linear?

- What are our responsibilities to the learners?

- How can we involve the wider community?

- How can we allow for more student input?

• Decision making about the connections to the inquiry cycle. (student agency)
• What other paths can this inquiry take us on?

UOI Books - The Learning Process - Beth Germaine

To get the students to come up with their own title for each entry of work. They will then be able to make better connections in their learning logs.

I am encouraging the students to make their own learning links whether this be to the lines of inquiry, the inquiry cycle, key concepts etc. This is good. To keep doing this.

The top of the page should include the date, their title and the area of inquiry eg Tuning In.

To put more effort into entering all learning into the learning log even if the work is in the writing book or even a powhiri etc.

The learning log can be an acknowledgment of the learning journey it doesn’t have to a comprehensive reflection with this.

Need to have evidence of student reflection in the books. Whether this is a record of discussion or a deliberate entry. Guided reflection is an area in which I am going to focus.

Ask - What do I get them to reflect on/about?

What makes me a good learner? This isn’t always skills but this might include behaviours and values.

How can I get them to record their reflections in a creative way. This could even be a entry into the learning log. Date - Reflection on the or learning conversation about …. Connections. Etc

1 recorder for group discussion and photocopy/copy of notes into everyone’s books/e-portfolios.

Beth suggested the use of stamps as prompts and to take the ownership away from the teacher and to put it more on the students. They can pass the stamp about the group to make this process quick and easy as well as ensuring consistency in terms of form etc.

Targeting the feedback to ensure that my feedback has the greatest impact. For example, with our concept maps I was tuning in on those who were struggling to get ideas down as these were most likely to benefit from the prompts etc when they tried to complete another concept map.

Make sure we are consistently having the children complete an in-depth summative reflection or a statement linking to a rubric.

UOI Book Monitoring

UOI Book Monitoring - Thursday 1st September 2016

Today we met as a team with Beth (the PYP co-ordinator at Berkley) to look over our UOI books and discuss how we could improve our practice. 

- Collaboration with team members & wider school colleagues.

- Provide frequent written feedback and feedforward to students (be specific and ask questions).

- Our interpretation of the inquiry cycle and how it affects our planning. Is the inquiry cycle linear?

- What are our responsibilities to the learners?

- How can we involve the wider community?

- How can we allow for more student input?

• Decision making about the connections to the inquiry cycle. (student agency)
• What other paths can this inquiry take us on?

Staff Meeting - Te Reo

Staff Meeting - Te Reo - Thursday 1st September 2016

Reflection:
This professional development has reminded me of the use of Oral Choral when teaching another language. I use a range of visual and audio resources to teach Spanish and feel like I am on a good pathway, leading students to successfully develop Spanish language skills, and knowledge of the Spanish culture.
In future sessions I will introduce 'Ping-ponging', using a tennis ball.

Staff Meeting - Te Reo

Staff Meeting - Te Reo - Thursday 1st September 2016

Reflection:
This professional development has reminded me of the use of Oral Choral when teaching another language. I use a range of visual and audio resources to teach Spanish and feel like I am on a good pathway, leading students to successfully  learn and retain the Spanish language.
In future sessions I will introduce 'Ping-ponging'

Lighthouse PLC - August 2016

31 August 2016

Present: Everyone!
Location of our meetings	Move to 8A
Student Voice + Engagement Feedback Results	Not ready to share at this stage.  Will feed back to you when all data is in. What were our goals for Lighthouse 2016?  How are we doing in our work towards meeting these?  What questions do we have? What are our next steps? Student Voice Google Survey. Shared document here.	Please get this completed ASAP BG will email any Classes without 8 responses.
Year 7 lighthouse learners	Podding Year 7s in 2017 Year 7s still want to be fed the information.  The Year 8 are that far advanced in that they are ready to go for it alone.  Might accidently not give the year 7 accelerate group the scaffolding they need. Year 8 accelerate are confident. We need to think really hard about the way we would collect the data to identify the students at year 6.  Not confident that the systems we have would be successful at identifying the learners. Can we go back to our community to ask what they want? Transition at year 7 is in general very tough.  Some learners find this transition enough to manage and flounder for a period of time.  It might be more important to place based on the teacher-student match rather than to identify accelerate. Want to value data about the ‘whole’ learner when considering placement.
Rose bowl festival	Will ask for Lighthouse student interest to participate alongside.
Science Speaker Opportunity	John Sharp (Hayley Sharp's Dad) is coming into speak to Mahi Tahi on Tuesday next week. Block 2.	Email Beth to indicate interest - including numbers
Next meeting	Venue: 8A Date: Term 4 Week 3 Wednesday October 26 8am Focus: Acceleration in the PYP