Elly Warnock

It has been so refreshing to come back to participating in JK with colleagues from RSS!  It is so much part of our culture where everyone feels valued and an integral part of the process.  What a great opportunity to bring together our shared knowledge and nut out possible solutions to problems.  I really feel as though this has been one of the best JK rounds I've been a part of. We started by sharing knowledge of P4C (Robin, Suzanne and Rosie) and Inquiry Maps (Fiona).  I really wondered how we were going to merge the two, but merge we sure did.  And how powerful! We used Inquiry Maps to help our students improve their abilities in P4C. There is HUGE potential for this to infiltrate throughout the school.  This is exciting and we feel as though this could be the next stage to our SLC's.  Rosie, Fiona and Robin will be trialling this at this term's SLC. I'm looking forward to using Learning Maps in Room 4 next term.

When you are asking questions, you might feel less certain about whether you are being useful, the conversation can feel slower and you might feel like you have lost control of the conversation....(and indeed you have - that's called empowering). It is easy to 'help' but in doing so, we don't empower!  We move to a position where we want to help people help themselves. This redefines 'work' - others are 'doing' the hard work! This relates to teaching - we are redefining our role as teachers. What does it mean to empower? to give power or authority to, to enable or permit warrant, commission, license, qualify, entrust, privilege the process of becoming stronger and more confident  mana empowerment vs empower To empower? The process of entrusting and enabling someone so that they become stronger and more confident to take control of their own life. Why? to foster independence to motivate creates an opportunity for

A great little clip from Stephen Heppell talking about education polarisation and the importance of an inquisitive curriculum.

As part of our COL, our Maths team are working alongside Jodie Hunter from Massey University.  This presentation outlines the important features of a successful maths programme.  I love that everything here links up with the work we have done with Dinah over the past 2.5 years.  A powerful presentation with key messages included.

Last week, James and I (as well as AJ, Darryn and Leanne) attended a BOT Financial Management Seminar as part of our BOT Training.  I learnt a lot about how to read our financial statements and realised that I still have a lot to learn!  Steve is coming to our BOT meeting in July to specifically talk about our statements at RSS.  I feel as though I am now in a good position to ask specific questions.

We are fortunate enough to have an MST @ RSS this year. This programme is specifically designed to support the development of students well below, below, and 'at risk' of the National Standards.  Mel, our MST, is doing a fabulous job implementing this programme and it has been a pleasure to spend time with her and relieving for her in this role on one occasion. There is certainly a huge change in the attitude of these students to their maths development - what a great start! In reading Mel's assignment for her Massey Post-Grad Paper, my reflections are as follows: For students who are struggling in maths, the following elements are key: Engagement - of students and teachers Understanding of a learners maths identity, which is so often impacted by misunderstandings creativity problem solving collaboration anxiety It is crucial for students to see how maths applies in the real world Teachers have the biggest impact on student learning. Task choice is in

We had a really interesting staff meeting today where James outlined the place of the new Professional Standards being designed currently by the Teachers Council. It is their intention to simplify these - changing from 12 PTC's to 6. We now have 4 Code Principles. These set out the principles of the Code grouped under the four commitment statements: Commitment to the Teaching Profession; Commitment to Learners; Commitment to Parents/Caregivers and Families/ Whānau; and Commitment to Society. The standards are National Context, Professional Learning, Professional Relationships & Behaviours, Learning Focused Environments, Design for Learning and Teaching. I am most excited by an indicator in the Teaching section where it states: "Enable learners to collaborate and self-regulate their learning and develop agency." See the following slideshow for further information: