Professional Learning - Teacher's Only Day

 Began at 7:04 with RCR's email - A form for us to fill in about NCEA Level One. We now have to choose a total of 10 credits to offer or two assessment standards. I'm not the biggest fan of this change as I feel that this is not really preparing the students for level two and three. But, I guess that's where my classroom programme comes into it - I will have to come up with a range of tasks that prepare them to complete the assessment standards as independently as possible.

Staff Briefing: RCR                           8:30am

Reminder about COL meeting -4pm at Rototuna High
Reminder last period Friday – plan for it to be finished around 2:45. CATCUS could potentially be pulling a fire truck from Bankwood Primary to FFC and staff and students go out to support.
An unveiling of the grove of trees and a memorial rock at the Marae – foundation students will be present.
NCEA Level 1, planning for 2018 – HOFs will report back to RCR using the word doc he sent this morning. Two standards or no more than ten credits will be provided
High Wire Trust: National Certificate in Services will be offering different credits.
End of term morning tea in the staff room lunch 2 alongside foundation students.

SAT                          

Pin board in the staffroom is intended to be interactive

$1000 Budget for Learning Advisory – we need to come up with something iconic to have an impact on the school.

Proposal to have Learning Advisory Budget’ for individual teachers.

Song: An orchestra flash mob – some of the audience (a choir) joined in with the lyrics. The point of showing us this is to inspire!

Based on last PL ideas: Lifelong learners – connected contributors to community.

Leadership for an Age of Wisdom – Branson

We still need to define the meaning of the flower symbols on our logo.

In search of Alignment – todays focus.

RCR – purpose and focus – Learning Advisory Groups 2018   8:55 – 9:30

We will have a clear understanding of what Learning Advisory will look like in 2018. They will remain vertical!

Cyclic Model – Noticing (attendance); investigating; collaborative sense making; prioritising to take action; monitoring impact…

Purpose of Learning Advisory:

-     To provide a caring environment for academic and pastoral mentoring and guidance

-     Each student following a purposeful and meaningful pathway.

-     Changing the framework to make this more achievable.

Difference from current whaanau structure

-     This is included in our teaching time.

-     1200 minutes is the most a non -unit holding teacher can teach.

-     Current whaanau teachers do 4 20min slots that are not counted as teaching.

-     Class sizes of 14-18 (24 is the current average)

-     A focus on coaching, guiding, and mentoring (Thematic curriculum of learning)

-     Requirements to follow as issues arose

-     Further promote the mountain spirit of FFC

-     A formal acknowledgement of your role as a teacher.

“The idea is to make the present situation as Whaanau teacher more achievable and realistic.”

The vertical structure is important to the school culture

Each table group was asked to fill in the ideas for the third column - How Could this Improve our capacity to engage our core – business – performance indicators?

-     including teacher time 90-120 mins

-     class sizes of 14-18

-     focus on coaching and guiding etc

-     thematic curriculum

-     Further promote the mountain spirit.

JHE Connections

Began with a baby photo activity – collaborated with BTU and Bei. 9/10

Mountains are a big part of the inter-connectedness of FFC.

Moving into our Mountain groups – maintain and fostering the mountain spirit

-     Could possible combine 2 learning advisory groups to cater for inter-mountain competitions.

-     Different activities bring in a diverse range of students.

-     Put your own flavour on your programme.

Maungatautari – completing a worksheet/questionnaire about mountain affiliation, learning advisory groups…

SAT                                                  10:00 – 10:45

Themes and tasks organised into groups – collaboration with BTU; SRA; AMC; AHOU; BWA; JHE; MTR. Saved on an excel spreadsheet to be collated by SSC

Sub calendar of the main school calendar with focus themes for Learning Advisory.

Senior Progress Reports

Senior progress reports are due next week. Thank goodness I only have one senior class!! It's another story for my Junior classes though :-/

AKU has sent out out some helpful pointers to complete these reports.

Inter-mountain Netball Week 8

Inter-mountain netball!!! I've been looking forward to this week since I heard they run this, and I haven't been disappointed. Competition between mountains is fierce and so far Maungatautari have done well - beating Pirongia by 1 point and drawing against Karioi 14 all.

I've helped to umpire - and taken it way too easy on them! As the games have progressed (I've tried my hardest to be at every game during breaks), the student umpires have definitely been tougher than Vikki and I.
JHE (main organiser) had to head away to a family emergency and asked me to help support the running of the game in lunch 2. There wasn't that much I had to do as the organisation is great. Sport's coordinators and students are fantastic at getting teams sorted and getting on the court in time. I had the privilege of time keeping.

Looking forward to today's game against Kakepuku. 

Mountain leaders - SMA and CWI - have asked me to step in today because they are away. The students are fantastic at organising themselves, so it won't be a problem.

Relief Cover for JMC

Having to cover another teacher's class pops up on a weekly basis - as I am 1 hour under. This morning I received a msg from a colleague. She was going through a crisis and asked if I could set her relief for period 5. This was not an issue at all because it was her Year 9 Food Tech class and we have been collaborating on planning. I will be talking her FNU100 class period three today. This is a class with some interesting characters. I'm not quite sure what they are working on, but I will be able to discuss this with them and support them with the tasks as best I can.

Quick Writes - 9G English

I introduced the students of 9G to the idea of Quick Writes (this was something I used in previous classes at BNMS). A quick write is designed to get students writing. They are provided with a picture/word/sentence prompt and given 5-8 minutes time to write. The prompt is unpacked/discussed at the very beginning.

9G took to this form of writing quite quickly. They mostly enjoy humorous/adventurous picture prompts. The time limit set is usually from 5-8 minutes. I judge whether they are in the right 'head space' as to whether or not they get a longer period of time to write. 

Before 9G had speeches, I brought in the new expectation that they had to read their work aloud to one person in the room. At times they are resistant to this! With VMA or JFE in the room to assist, they eventually follow through. Sometimes, a student is willing to read aloud to the whole class (this option is always presented, but hardly ever taken up), and this is usually the same student time after time. As in the first picture below, he likes to read his story's to me outside of the classroom - I am always happy to oblige students who want to read aloud to me outside the class room. 

This has become a regular task completed in Thursday's period 5 class

Next term, my goal is to introduce them to sentence/word prompts. 

Professional Learning - Subject Choices

Professional Learning Subject Choices

JRA

SSEP (Secondary Schools Employment Programme) programme: 10 different employers that FFC is linked with – Year 9s get to see math in the workplace.  They also have links also with Smart Waikato who links with a wide range of employers across the Waikato.

Defence Force bus will visit school for Y9 and 10 students to check out.

STAR – Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource - Supporting students to explore their options for further education.

-      Funding is allocated based on student no.s (Year 11 and up)

-      Checking out Wintec courses for a day

-      Hands on practical skills

Gateway – Christine Cosgrove runs

-      Funding from the tertiary commission

-      Designed to strengthen pathways

-      Very few level three credits offered

-      Certain criteria needs to be met in order to be placed in the workplace

-      Gateway work placements are available to any Y12 and up student.

-      Students have to gain 20 credits on a work placement.

Wintec Trades Academy started about 6-7 Years ago. It has grown from 3 students (from FFC) to hundreds of students. Students end up being in a separate programme to the regular

Taratahi students are out one day a week

South Pacific Institute offers a beauty therapy and sports programme.

Vocational Pathways

-      Operates from Level 2

-      Awards are given for achieving a certain amount of credits

Senior Subject Choices Booklet for 2018

Students will be given this booklet tomorrow and given a fortnight to make their choices. Some selections are made for students, in terms of core subjects.

If students are thinking about going to university they need to think about whether their chosen subjects are university approved.

Friday 15^th Subject Choice Day – I will be available in the Library during Period 2 to discuss the senior TET course requirements and content

Year 12s and 13s do not have to take English unless they want to go to University!!!

University entrance does not require anything above level 1 maths!

Any questions – discuss with JRA

 

Professional Learning - 6th September

Professional Learning 6^th September

Intro by RCR, handed over to SAT: “Learning Advisory – apparently this name will not stick as the acronym is not …. “ Could potentially be LCT

DSU then took over and played Sam Cooke – What a Wonderful World as he handed out a task.

The point of this task was to think of something from the past that then gets recreated by personal perspective/experiences.

A song to do with autonomy:  was played whilst we continued with the second part of the task.

One task: un-jumble these two words sreplano mfllefltnui; which became personal growth.

“Setting up something we become comfortable with – when you have your last day of term: I need a holiday because I’m so frazzled to I’m looking forward to a holiday to spend time with my family etc. and recharge.” DSU, as quoted by SAT

LJA: Focusing in on “Our Artefacts” The iconography we use to display our values and school culture. Our task is to design a letterhead that expresses the values of FFC. Incorporate any or all of these phrases: I taku puranga hau; taku tuumanako (while I breathe, I hope); Dum Spiro, Spero.

What were some of the underlining assumptions you would put in a school letterhead: did you incorporate any of the languages? do you have an underlying value that places any of these languages above the other? Did you focus on a letterhead that displays what FFC is – images that represent maunga etc. How did you place these designs? what was the dominant item?

Reflection: I wanted to incorporate both Maaori and Latin quotes as well icons to do with the school – mountains/colours

An interesting Q was asked, if you won power ball tomorrow, what would you do? This relates to personal fulfilment and self-actualisation.

ARO: Focusing on Threads of Culture – consider our students; our classroom; and our school.

Values based system or pattern; relational existing within social interactions; culture is not static, but shaped by interactions and processes of the organisation

WRO: Values and principles or standards of behaviour, one’s judgement of what is important in life. They have major influence on a person’s behaviour and attitude and serves as broad guidelines in all situations.

I enjoyed the collaborative aspects of this professional learning session. I learnt a fair bit about some colleagues, both personal and  professional. Still non the wiser as to the the actual structure of 'Learning Advisory' 2018. 

Cyber Bullying Workshop

Constable Pete came to discuss cyber bullying with year 10's a couple weeks ago. The school felt it was incredibly worthwhile and arranged to have Constable Pete return to do the same workshop with the Year 9's. This occurred during period two when I have 9G for English.

Actual paedophilia case here.This case was used as an example of accepting random requests.

Ways to check out random friend requests:

- Google search their name

- Google image search their pics

- Check how many posts/images they have on their profile (limited and they are probably fake).

- Check if they have other social media accounts.

Examples of Cyberbullying

- calling people names online

- posting pics/information without your consent.

- Making mean comments on other's posts/pics.

- Threats or harrassment.

- Rumours spread online

- Catfishing

- Telling someone to harm themselves online

The definition: Online bullying (also known as cyber bullying) uses technology to transfer,

Students were shown a video of an English teenager experiencing bullying at school, in and out of class time. He was made fun of by his peers and then they started to harass him through text. He didn't talk to his parents about it and the bullying continued. He received verbal threats through phone calls and texts, as well as bullying on social media chat groups. A page was then set up by his peers to bully him through nasty messages and pictures. Had 'loser' chanted at him on the school bus. He was clearly distressed and made a video about his experiences - his mum saw this video and action was taken. Police visited the school, he received counselling. 

Questions they were then asked:

- Why do you think Joe was bullied to begin with?

- Should Joe have deleted the texts he received? 

- After Joe blocked *** what should he have done? 

- Who can you go to to talk about bullying issues?

- What effects did the bullying have on Joe?

- What is a bystander? Can they make things better?

- What could Rob have done to stop the bullying once it begun?

- What eventually stops the bullying?

- Why did the police turn up at the school?

Generated some really good discussion about the reasons why people are bullied, why you should keep evidence of bullying, feelings of suicide, 

Everything you do online leaves a digital footprint - police can get a 'production order' to retrieve any evidence they may need. 

Constable Pete discussed the times he has attended suicides - the reality of bullying.

"Your next message that you send someone could tip them over the edge."

A bystander is someone who is witness to bullying and does nothing about it. 

Harmful Digital Communications Act - It is illegal to send messages to post material on line that deliberately or intentionally cause harm or serious emotional distress to any person. The penalty can be up to 2 years jail.

netsafe.org.nz is a place you can go to if you are concerned about cyber bullying.

"Think twice before you post because it can affect your future."

If you notice nasty comments on someone's posts/pics ask one question - "Are you O.K?"

Facebook sharing settings:

- The world symbol means it is accessible by the world - i.e. public

- friend settings - which friends can see the post/pics

Observation - Y9 Food Tech

Feedback received from SCH has been very good. Organisation, relationships with students, check points, seating plans, responses during lesson etc. were all positive. Discussed challenging students and how I 'pick my battles' - reacting in a calm manner to avoid confrontation/anxiety for both the students and myself.
Sarah has been a wealth of knowledge and a fantastic support throughout my first three terms at FFC. I always look forward to her observations and feedback feed forward.

Assessment Week - Term 3, WK6

Having to wrap my head around the logistics of the Assessment Week Timetable has been a struggle! Faculty meetings, chats with colleagues, chats with students (senior textiles), instructions and blank timetables (SLTs) has made a huge difference to my understanding. I've been able to support my Whaanau students in organising their timetables. Looking forward to two hour periods with my textiles students! Food tech is all organised with two practicals and the focus on healthy eating. My English class is moving onto a weaving/Hangi themed topic where they will be researching/building their knowledge about flax collecting protocol, weaving techniques and hangi prep. I will also be seeing my senior Textiles student's on Friday for a two hour period , unless they are in an exam.

Professional Learning - NCEA

Article: How Many Triangles can You See?

An interesting article sent to all staff from A Kumar 27/6/2017. I came to the conclusion there were 18 Triangles! Almost wishing I taught a math class to give them this as a first up task. What I really appreciated about this article was that they provided an insight (through diagrams) of how they figured out there were 25-26. Here's the link to the article.

9G Co-Construction

Supporting in School Practices

My colleagues and I supported the Hospitality/Food and Beverage students by attending their morning tea's and rating the experience based on their service and the quality of the food. We were served sponge drops and a selection of beverages; tea, coffee and juice. The students' did very well with their level of professionalism and certainly worked hard to make the experience as authentic as possible. There was a small cost involved to help with the cost of the ingredients.
I enjoyed being able to support the students in their learning and hope to attend more of these throughout the year.
Here are JWR, JMC and I enjoying the students hospitality!

Supporting HOS200

The HOS200 class put on a small cafe-like experience where they served beverages and some light snacks in order to be observed and graded by diners - staff!
JWR, JMC and I went a couple of times to support the various HOS200 students. Overall, the experience was quite pleasant. We were served sponge drops (dairy free options available!), tea/coffee/juice. The student's service was quite good and we gave a gold coin donation to contribute towards the cost of ingredients. 
Looking forward to the next one and being able to also support the Food and Beverage students. 

Mid Year Reports - Juniors

Junior subject report comments are due on the 6/6 and Junior Whaanau report comments are due on the 12/6. I have made a start on tick boxes and thought about the types of comments I can use to describe/sum up the practical and theoretical knowledge that Y9 students in both Textiles and Food Tech have developed/gained. Faculty meeting last Wednesday helped to clarify some grey areas around comments for students that struggle/of a lower ability - the goal is to have something positive to say about every student! I'm confident I can get the comments completed in the time frame we have. I need to make sure I double check with Jen/Aimee in regards to the FT assessments and Aimee in regards to the Textiles assessments - making sure that I am following correct procedures when commenting and editing.
Ashok has provided some very helpful hints:

Professional Learning - Motivating the Unmotivated

Textiles Blog

My FFC Textiles blog is an incredibly helpful teaching resource to assist both junior and senior students through a range of topics. This is also a place where I am collecting resources to use for current and future classes. The picture below shows a range of useful sites (on the left) that enable the students to explore fashion on many levels and at their own pace. Thank goodness we have access to chrome books during class time! The Dio Textiles teacher, Amy, has been an amazing wealth of knowledge and support over the last few months. She is very inspiring and has allowed me to make links to her work on Pinterest.

Textile's Blog

The Textile's blog is proving to be a great platform for engaging the senior students. Currently, both the Year 11s and 12s are working on an assessment that requires them to analyse and then sketch their own dress/winter garment design ideas. I use the blog to engage the students in quick and simple tasks that require them to analyse garments with reference to the elements of design. The views on the left hand side indicate how many visitors there have been to the blog.

Quick Writes - Gail Loane

I have been introduced to Quick Writes. Looking forward to using the class blog as the platform to deliver this to Room 29.

http://www.gailloane.co.nz/book.php