Education Gazette 101.3

21 MARCH 2022 | VOL. 101 | NO. 3

Modelling good practice How can we inspire and uplift learners?

Planning and pragmatism help manage Omicron

Structured literacy provides solid foundations

Te Ao Māori grounding for wellbeing mahi

NCEA Education website survey Help us improve our website by taking part in our survey. https://ncea.education.govt.nz

Scan this QR code to go to the survey

How does the NCEA Education website compare to other sources of NCEA information you have used?

How often do you use the website?

How easy is it to find the information How easy is it to you need on the findNCEA the information Education you need on the NCEA website?

Education website?

What additional features would you like to see on the NCEA Education website?

ISSU E 1 01 .3

Contents

Spotlight on: relationships and role-models

4

Planning and pragmatism help to manage Omicron

10

Guiding principles for early learning to primary transition

16

World-class teaching spaces unveiled in rebuilt refugee resettlement centre

20

4

10

Structured literacy provides solid foundations

26

Inaugural year as a reading role-model

28

Te Ao Māori grounding for wellbeing mahi

36

Empowering tamariki to guard their hauora

20

40

Repurposing classroom waste and strengthening Pacific communities

26

28

44

Authentic local learning in Roxburgh

48

Ōtautahi music teacher hits the charts – with students’ backing On the cover Page 20. Holy Family Catholic School students Melati, Gabriella and Ruby working on structured literacy activities with teacher Kathy Pittaway.

21 MARCH 2022 | VOL. 101 | NO. 3

Modelling good practice How can we inspire and uplift learners?

Planning and pragmatism help manage Omicron

Structured literacy provides solid foundations

Te Ao Māori grounding for wellbeing mahi

36

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

1

E D UCATION GA ZET TE ON LI N E

Support for students who are deaf or hard of hearing With the use of masks in schools, Hearing New Zealand’s Stick with Us Campaign is providing an easy and fun way for ākonga to visually communicate their needs to their teachers and peers.

Covid-19 information now live on Te Mahau Information about Covid-19 for the education sector has moved from the Ministry of Education’s main website and is now available on Te Mahau. A part of the Ministry, Te Mahau provides localised services and support through regional offices.

Podcast: Bringing a strategic plan to life Hear how Sylvia Park School teachers and students created the school’s strategic plan together. The plan is represented on a giant colourful visual on a wall at the centre of the school, keeping everyone accountable to their goals on a daily basis.

To view the PLD, general notice listings and vacancies at gazette.education.govt.nz

PLD

NOTICES

VACANCIES

Scan the QR codes with the camera on your device.

PUBLISHED BY Education Gazette is published for the Ministry of Education by NZME. Educational Media Ltd. PO Box 200, Wellington.

ISSN 0111 1582 All advertising is subject to advertisers agreeing to NZME. Educational Media’s terms and conditions www.advertising.nzme.co.nz/ terms-conditions-credit-criteria

2

Education Gazette

STORY IDEAS We welcome your story ideas.

Please email a brief (50-100 words) outline to: reporter@edgazette.govt.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS eleni.hilder@nzme.co.nz VIEW US ONLINE Web: gazette.education.govt.nz Instagram: @edgazettenz Youtube: youtube.com/ edgazettenewzealand

KEY CONTACTS Reporter reporter@edgazette.govt.nz Display & paid advertising Jill Parker 027 212 9277 jill.parker@nzme.co.nz Vacancies & notices listings Eleni Hilder 04 915 9796 vacancies@edgazette.govt.nz notices@edgazette.govt.nz

DEADLINES The deadline for display advertising to be printed in the 11 April 2022 edition of Education Gazette is 4pm on Friday 25 March 2022.

This publication is produced using FSC® Certified paper from Responsible Sources.

gazette.education.govt.nz

EDITOR’S NOTE

Inspired by role-models

M

ā mua ka kite a muri. Mā muri ka ora a mua.

Those who lead give sight to those who follow.

Those who follow give life to those who lead.

We all have something to learn from each other, and something to offer. As leaders, role-models, and teachers, you open the eyes of our children and young people and expand their horizons. In sharing your mōhiotanga and modelling positive behaviour, you inspire and uplift them. In turn, the achievement and wellness of ākonga, and their whānau, gives meaning to the mahi that you do, that we all do, especially in challenging times.

The strength of leadership and role-models is at the core of this issue. Role-models like Ben Brown who is nurturing a love of reading among young people, Saia Latu who has grown a thriving business that is uplifting

Pacific communities and keeping young people engaged in education, or musician and teacher Henare Kaa who is opening doors, and stages, for his music students.

We also explore how effective leadership and communication has supported a Hawke’s Bay secondary school to manage Omicron, how inter-connectedness has enabled a Canterbury kāhui ako to deliver a Te Ao Māori approach to wellbeing, and how authentic collaborations with local organisations and business is developing young innovators and problem-solvers in rural Otago.

Wherever you are in Aotearoa, I hope you are safe and well, and with a flick through these pages and a good cuppa, that you are also thoroughly inspired.

Noho ora mai rā, nā Sarah, chief editor.

Many hands, and paws, go into an issue of Education Gazette! Photographer Wayne Stronach is behind our previous two cover images, and on a trip to Imagine Childcare in Petone, he had the help of furry assistant Rosie. See the results in Guiding principles for early learning to primary transition on page 10.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

3

C OVI D RESPO NSE

Planning and pragmatism help to manage Omicron Planning, flexibility, effective communication, and professional development and support for teachers has helped a Napier high school navigate the challenges of life with Omicron.

T

aradale High School, with more than 1,000 students, was one of the first secondary schools in Hawke’s Bay to report a positive Covid case early in February.

Even though the news came late on a Friday, the school’s Covid Response Team (consisting of the senior leadership team, a timetabler, principal’s PA and administration support) immediately swung into action, says principal David Oliver.

“We managed to do a bit of work in the background using the Covid Framework Tool to establish who the close contacts might be at that time. From the initial case, we

identified 70 students. We identified potentially eight staff who were school contacts.

“For the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health team, this was one of the first cases of Omicron within the secondary school context in Hawke’s Bay. So, it was really important that we were all able to work together to establish a way forward,” says David.

Changing landscape

That Friday night, members of the response team spoke to a member of each whānau where a school contact had

Head of department visual arts Amanda LeMay, with her Year 11 Art class.

4

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

been identified. A hui was held with the Ministries of Education and Health teams on the Saturday, and work began to establish close and casual contacts.

With another positive case, the school established there were 145 close contacts, which included just two teachers. At this point, it was established that one to one communication wasn’t viable, so emails were used.

John Marshall, deputy principal with oversight of health and safety, property and IT networks, says they worked closely with staff from local Ministries of Health and Education to determine which students met the criteria for being close contacts.

“Another challenge was the fluid nature of the guidelines around the definition of close contacts. By way of example, in our initial outbreak, nine cases resulted in 189 close contacts. With the change in rules, those nine cases would now not generate any close contacts other than siblings living in the same house,” he says.

John adds that making the decision to assign one person as a point of contact for all Covid-19 cases and family close contacts had been a good one.

“It has provided clear communication lines with families and recording of attendance, isolation periods and case numbers. Parents seem appreciative of the fact that the school is keeping in touch as they navigate their respective Covid journeys.”

David explains further, saying, “One of the key things is that it’s been a continually changing landscape as we’re all aware and I suppose one of the biggest challenges that we’ve had is not just pivoting or changing to be able to cope with the cases, but also to be able to continue to evolve our structures and frameworks as the conditions and phases have moved as well. So, you’re not just moving once, you’re moving multiple times – that in itself is an extra layer of complexity.”

“Even a couple of weeks before we went into our alternative programme, we basically stripped our PLD programme and replaced it with online prep. Supporting staff to be comfortable in the delivery of it has been really important.”

Helen Fouhy

Circuit breaker

In the next week, with more than 10 positive cases, it was decided to have a three-day circuit breaker to allow for further contact tracing and to give teachers time to plan and work on a hybrid model of teaching and learning.

While all teachers and some students were onsite at school, the majority of students did remote learning during this time.

The school’s community was told that on the following Monday, any student who was not established as a close contact was welcome back at school.

The three-day circuit breaker allowed staff to plan for a range of scenarios so they could respond quickly to what was in front of them. It was decided to trial a separated model of pastoral house groups operating within separate spaces.

“We started off the Monday by isolating groups from the kura as house groups – so they would all be in a separate building and be together in vertical form groups.

21 March 2022

Digital technologies head of department Craig Briggs walks with maths and digital technologies teacher Cherize Enslin.

Tukutuku Kōrero

5

We had no idea of how many kids we would have back, so we really wanted to build some flexibility there.

“We ended up with about 60 percent of the kids back on the Monday. So, that initial plan of having all the kids in form groups became problematic – there’s a tipping point with a structure like that of about 40 percent. The plan was to have that operating all day, but after period one, we’d established that the best thing to be doing was to have them back in subject classes and for the teachers to evaluate at that point what was the best step to support learning,” explains David.

Alternative timetable

The school day now starts at 9.15am with a form time so teachers can check in with how students are faring, and lessons finish at 2.15pm.

Toni Dunstan, a deputy principal with oversight for timetabling, HR and operational planning, says that some thought was put into timetable planning last year using the experiences from previous lockdowns.

“That worked well in that setting because each family situation was different and everyone was in lockdown. We knew that wouldn’t work this time, so, instead of having five periods a day, we came up with a three period a day model.

“We wanted a structure that would be able to flex with whatever was in front of us. So when the call was made to go to the three days of online learning, we dropped in that

timetable,” she explains.

With 25–35 percent of learning at home, the three period a day model has been continued so that staff can prepare online resources.

“I think they’re really rising to it – they’re doing a lot of work around that, but appreciative of the time that we’ve built in,” says Toni.

David hopes this will be a short term model of weeks, rather than months, but he says it provides a more flexible structure to be able to respond to changing student and staff numbers.

“We start with that model and at the end of that third period, the kids have the opportunity to stay at school and carry on with their on-site work, or to do that at home.

But it allows us to maintain a consistent structure moving forward that as staff numbers drop, we’re able to carry on.

“We don’t want to be in a position to have to contemplate not being able to run the school because we don’t have enough staff to run it and this gives us the flexibility to be able to run with fewer staff,” he says.

Professional learning and teacher support

Deputy principal Helen Fouhy has oversight for teaching and learning and says that before the 2020 lockdown, a huge effort was put into professional learning development (PLD) for online learning.

“It wasn’t an if, it was a when!” she says.

“With the staff requirement to use online learning, it

Taradale High School’s senior leadership team: Al Bain, John Marshall, David Oliver (principal), Toni Dunstan, and Helen Fouhy.

6

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

certainly stepped up enormously. But we knew things were going to be different this year, particularly once we had looked at an alternative timetable.

“We had 16 new staff at the beginning of this year, including some first year teachers. We had people who had never done online learning, and we had people who had come from Google Classroom – we’re a Microsoft school and we like everyone to use Microsoft apps and Teams video sessions,” says Helen.

Teacher-only days at the start of the year focused on e-learning. Teachers worked through a checklist of ‘I need to be able to do this for hybrid learning’ and there are ‘How to’ documents for a range of requirements.

“All teachers work together in little support hubs around the school, so the expertise is all around the school. Everybody has a buddy or is in a small group, so there’s plenty of support, plus the specialist classroom teacher has run lots of sessions as well as targeting specific skills.

“Even a couple of weeks before we went into our alternative programme, we basically stripped our PLD programme and replaced it with online prep. Supporting staff to be comfortable in the delivery of it has been really important,” says Helen.

Taradale High School staff used to meet three times a week, but now meet every morning to check in and support each other.

“We are running that three period timetable so we’re

giving them enough flexibility to be able to do what they’re expected to do because it’s huge! You’re asking staff to respond to what they see in front of them which can change from day to day, from period to period.

“We support staff to be able to teach face to face if they need to, and support them to be able to work collaboratively within their departments to put resources together so they can do that online teaching should they need to,” says David.

Wellbeing checks

Deputy principal Al Bain has oversight for the pastoral system and says a lot of work is being done to reassure anxious students and parents, with form time rescheduled to the start of the school day to check in on students’ wellbeing. He says that student leaders have shown a lot of leadership and initiative, providing some resources on the school’s Instagram account such as tips for wellbeing and working online.

“We have a number of students who aren’t coming still because their parents are nervous and keeping them at home and some will be close contacts as well. Deans are in contact with some of those because we’re trying to reassure parents that it’s okay to come back to school with the measures we’ve got in place. The ones we’re not hearing from, our deans are phoning, or we’re emailing and we’re getting a lot of quite useful information from that,” he says.

Year 13 students studying in the library.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

7

It’s hoped a survey will provide useful feedback on the hybrid learning experience, and also alert staff if any students need more support.

“We’re checking in to see if they want a follow up from a member of the pastoral team because they’re not feeling that flash. We did that last year with our full lockdown – we’re just going to adapt it now because we’ve changed to a combination of online learning and our three period timetable – we just need to check that’s working for the kids,” says Al. When the first positive Covid case was announced, Taradale High School left only its top teams in the local sports competitions and instigated a voluntary intraschool competition, which is run by the sports department daily between 8am and 9.15am and 2.15pm and 4.35pm to encourage engagement, wellbeing and students staying active.

“At the beginning a lot of our teams were decimated, but there are tonnes of opportunities each day. Some mornings it’s targeted at year levels and some mornings it’s targeted activities where kids can turn up with a group of friends, or be put in a team to try some activities,” explains Helen.

Do what you can

David believes that each school’s context and approach will be different and it’s a challenge ensuring that everybody’s needs are met.

“We made the decision that because of our numbers

and what we had done already, it was going to create more problems than it was going to solve by trying to isolate and put staff and students in bubbles. We’re also conscious that once they leave the kura, they are all mixing on their way out the door. It’s a balance – you’re trying to ensure that staff are connected with each other and that tautoko is there for them.

“You have to be sensible and pragmatic, taking recommended hygiene steps – masks, hand washing, distancing as much as possible – and at the same time we’re a school community, a big whānau, and you have to ensure that you maintain the culture and the connection,” says David.

He says it’s important to keep a sense of perspective around timeframes and navigate the ever changing situation with consistency and care for the school community.

“The key message we’re trying to give is ‘do what you can, when you can, if you can’. Let’s not get too bent out of shape around trying to ensure we’re doing five periods face to face every day for the next short period of time. We can support learning using face to face and online.

“If we look at where we’re going here, the likelihood is that it won’t be long that we will have staff numbers impacted. So rather than trying to do what we have always done, it’s trying to be flexible so that we are being proactive, rather than reactive. We can see that wave – I don’t want to be doing something when it hits the beach. I want to be doing something about it now,” he concludes.

Science teacher Sue Ross with her Year 10 Science class.

8

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

Ākonga at Taradale High School are adjusting to an Omicron environment, and a hybrid learning experience.

An amazing new STEM resource from Genesis School-gen & Nanogirl Labs

“You have to be sensible and pragmatic, taking recommended hygiene steps – masks, hand washing, distancing as much as possible – and at the same time we’re a school community, a big whānau, and you have to ensure that you maintain the culture and the connection.”

David Oliver

•

STEMSTARS brings STEM to life for Year 3 and 4 students through the power of storytelling and fun hands-on activities.

•

Tamariki will learn about eight exciting STEM topics.

•

Everything teachers need to deliver STEM lessons with confidence.

Find out more at

schoolgen.co.nz/stemstars

Confident and ready for school, Elise and Leo step out with Nichola in Petone.

TRANSITIO NS

Guiding principles for early learning to primary transition Throughout Aotearoa, various initiatives are supporting successful transitions between early learning and primary schools and kura.

I

n the small Hauraki settlement of Ngātea, two learning support coordinators (LSC) have built valuable bridges for children transitioning to school, says head teacher of Central Kids Ngātea Kindergarten, Terri Bjerring.

She says that LSC Sherie Hughes usually spends a morning a week in the kindergarten playing with, and getting to know, tamariki and talking to kaiako about extra support some of the children may need. Fellow LSC Keri Richardson, who has been visiting the kindergarten for a term, also spends time with the children, getting to know them.

“For us, the learning support coordinators created an extra piece of the puzzle, which we always thought was missing.

There’s a huge amount of anxiety for a little person who has left the centre and is now thrown in the deep end at school,” says Terri.

Supporting anxious children

The kindergarten is seeing a lot more children with extreme anxiety which needs to be carefully nurtured so positive brain pathways can be built, explains Terri.

“If they’re resorting to shut down, they’re not learning. Sherie has successfully managed to transition some very high anxiety children for us – that’s because she put the time in here, got to know the children.

“A year or so ago we had a child with extreme anxiety and I had been working very closely with her and her family, building up resilience. She was starting to blossom in this environment and then we started talking about school, you could see her starting to spiral down.

“With Sherie being here and hanging out, they created a lovely friendship. The child can even go and touch base with her at school and if she’s worried about something and she sees Sherie in the playground, she can talk to her. I don’t think her transition would have gone so well otherwise,” she says.

Sherie and Keri are able to convey information about a child to new entrant teachers at up to eight primary schools which the kindergarten and other centres in the area contribute to.

Terri (left) and learning support coordinator Sherie work together to support easy transitions to school in Ngātea. Photo/Charlotte Hood.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

11

“We’ve done a lot of work here on working with young children with anxiety to try and help them overcome that. With having Sherie and Keri here we can give them a heads up and say ‘this child has extreme anxiety, can you please make sure that this and this and this happens’.

“I know they’re in really good hands and I know that the support we have provided here for the child and their family will be continued through at school.

“These learning support coordinators are worth their weight in gold and that’s all down to the Hauraki Kāhui Ako organising it,” says Terri.

The shift to play-based learning in new entrant classes also supports transitions from early learning to school, says Terri.

“Children learn best through play. You can teach through a child’s interest in so many ways – all the mathematical and early literacy concepts can be woven through that child’s interests.

They don’t need to be sitting at a desk, they need to be physically moving, developing all those core muscles, which are actually stimulating the brain to be ready for further academic learning,” says Terri.

Research project

Titiksha plants her sunflower seeds.

A teacher-led innovation fund (TLIF) project conducted in Petone from 2015-2017 identified that during transitions to school, children experience a dramatic change in status. The Petone Basin project included six primary schools and 27 early learning services.

The inquiry team included Jacqui Pennington of Sacred Heart Petone, Georgina Frater of Korokoro School, Shelley Robinson of Petone Beach Kindergarten, Jane Cox of Alicetown Playcentre, Nichola Kirkwood of Imagine Childcare, CORE education researcher and writer Dr Sarah Te One, and project administrator Helen Kneebone.

Nichola says that kaiako and teachers from both sectors were concerned about the wide range of transition-to-school approaches being used. They wanted to change outcomes for 25–35 percent of tamariki who entered school as priority learners and remained thus throughout the rest of their schooling.

Action research and teacher inquiry models were used to examine transition-to-school practices and focused on two questions: 1. How can we ensure that each and every child has a smooth and consistent pathway between early learning and school in the Petone Basin?

2. How can current practices in early learning services and schools within the Petone Basin be developed, adapted and shared to ensure successful, coherent transition practices for all children?

Aligning competencies

Annabel and Marcus investigating Jellyear Fungus at the ngahere.

12

Education Gazette

Nichola trained as a primary school teacher and has been working in early learning for almost 20 years, with 10 years at Imagine Childcare Centre in Petone. As part of the research project, she focused on aligning Te Whāriki strands and The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) key competencies.

“As part of the project, we were tasked to come up with a different innovation. While I was already writing a farewell letter for the child, I didn’t make that visible to the primary setting, because of privacy.

“The biggest change for me has been more overtly sharing the information and changing it to be more about the key

gazette.education.govt.nz

“It’s good to have that understanding that everyone has different priorities they have to be responsible for – there’s always something going on and the sectors are quite different.”

Nichola Kirkwood competencies. While Te Whāriki is valued in our setting, it’s important to recognise that the primary sector is more familiar with NZC and, therefore I was thinking about what would be most helpful for them in terms of what their child looks like in a learning setting.

“It’s quite useful to see where that child has come from and what kind of setting has been involved,” explains Nichola.

Key findings

Key findings from the research include: » transitions are a journey and an event » relationships and communication matter » there’s a need to overcome barriers to collegial crosssector communication and developing understanding of the two curricula » ‘finding the familiar’ at school helps to develop a child’s sense of belonging and wellbeing.

Nichola says there are benefits for everybody if kaiako can support transitions to schools. She says a ‘lightbulb moment’ for her, was learning more about the struggles that each sector faces.

“The research was done during the time of National Standards, and we were saying to schools, ‘we need to come in and visit’. Meanwhile they’re grappling with trying to get across all that assessment. It’s good to have that understanding that everyone has different priorities they have to be responsible for – there’s always something going on and the sectors are quite different.

“Schools are amazing the way they welcome us when they have so many other things going on. We had a group of four children who had been together from infant to five and being

Supporting transitions A huge amount of data was collected by the project and resulted in the development of six guiding principles.

Recommendations for teachers: » Transitions are a journey and an event Take a long-term view of transitions. Start the process early, especially for priority learners.Incorporate flexible approaches to transitions as a ‘to and fro’ process. » Relationships matter Support relationships between all combinations of adult, early learning services, school, child and whānau during the extended time of transition. Include community health and social service professionals in discussions about transitions.

able to go to their schools with them enhanced their mana.

“They will go with their parent and possibly be a bit more reluctant to engage, whereas with me and their friends, the child just goes and gets engaged and has their friend alongside them and just has that extra boost of confidence,” she says.

While Covid restrictions have put a spanner in the works regarding putting many of the project’s findings into practice, it resulted in eight innovations using inquiry-based action research methods: » Te Kōhanga: A whānau-focused transition-to-school programme. » The Puriri Club: A transition-to-school programme. » The Farewell Letter: Links between Te Whāriki and the NZC. » Planning for Success: Support for priority learners. » The Korowai Project: Embedding a ritual for transition. » How Visits Help: Finding the familiar at school. » Moving to Learn: The physicality of learning to read and write. » Kia Kaha: Learning through play at school.

See the full inquiry team and read more about the Petone Basin Transitions to School project.

» Communication matters Communicate in ways that allow all involved to express a point of view about their experiences of transitioning. » Traditions of learning Means of learning and assessment. Acknowledge the different traditions and means of learning in early learning services and schools. Recognise the influence of policy on assessment shared between early learning services and schools during transitions. » Cultural context matters Respect the cultural contexts and values that the child and his or her whānau bring with them when entering school. » Structural organisation matters Recognise that early learning services and schools are structured differently, and that this affects their social organisation and impacts on transition experiences.

Ngātea Kindergarten's Kaeleigh and Briana measure themselves against the giant sunflowers.

Supporting tamariki post lockdowns Clair Edgeler, national education leader at BestStart Educare discusses ways to support children to return to onsite early learning.

Throughout the pandemic, children may have experienced changes to their daily lives such as their physical activity, increased screen time along with changes to eating and sleeping patterns. These shifts in life may influence how they return to their early learning centres. Some children may feel excited to get back and reconnect with their friends and teachers, while others may be more hesitant.

Kaiako can be proactive to understand what changes have occurred in a child’s capabilities and interests while they have been at home. Using this insight will be important when developing a responsive ‘back to centre’ plan.

Some things to consider in planning could be: » Not all children will have had extensive access to playgrounds or outside spaces. So how might you support them in building up their physical skills again? » Centres are often busy, dynamic places and this may be a change for children from their home environments

14

Education Gazette

which may be quieter with fewer people. It may be useful for kaiako to consider how they can provide spaces and place where children can have quiet times to rest and relax. » How can we offer reassurance to children by communicating what will happen next in centre rituals/ programme? This will support a child’s wellbeing through building trust with their kaiako, lessening anxiety and building learner agency. » Some children will have had limited opportunities to play with children of a similar age and may need kaiako to help them navigate shared play environments.

By reflecting on our teaching practice and talking together with whānau to make a plan, we can ensure the best interests of tamariki are held at the forefront and support our parents to feel confident in their return to work and centre.

gazette.education.govt.nz

“It’s made a huge difference to our families and our tamariki – I know they’re in really good hands and I know that all support we have here for the child and their family will be continued through at school.”

Terri Bjerring

Are schools ready for tamariki?

A two-year research project involving new entrant teachers in Christchurch asks: What if it isn’t so much a case of are tamariki ready for school – but is school ready for them?

» Sharing a school’s cultural narrative and waiata with local early learning centres means this is familiar territory for tamariki when they get to school, creating a sense of belonging from the outset.

The project was funded by Christchurch-based philanthropic funder Rātā Foundation and conducted by CORE Education, with 18 teachers from six Christchurch primary schools taking part in the research.

» The importance of putting the child at the centre of everything rather than making it all about the school.

“We went into this project wanting to find out what it takes to get all tamariki off to a good start in school, to equip their teachers with the knowledge and the confidence to make changes, and to give both whānau and tamariki a real connection to their school,” says Rātā Foundation chief executive Leighton Evans.

“It has opened our eyes to changes needed in our systems if we are to ensure all New Zealanders get the best possible start at school,” he adds.

» The importance of teachers taking more time thinking about what’s happening in the classroom, rather than moving straight into problem-solving mode.

Already, the 18 kaiako in this research have directly shared their experiences with 150 kaiako and over 125 educators via conferences and webinars.

The schools taking part were Kaiapoi Borough School, Kaiapoi North School, Ilam School, Addington School, Haeata Community Campus and Rāwhiti School.

Teachers found that new entrants got off to a much better start when they were happy and familiar with their new setting, when whānau were involved as they got to know their school, when there were familiar toys or activities, and when they had friends or siblings with them.

“Supporting hauora/wellbeing and equitable access to learning for tamariki is important at any stage, but particularly when they start school,” says Dr Hana O’Regan, chief executive of CORE Education.

Some of the learnings and new initiatives: » The importance of familiar and friendly faces – providing a buddy system where a new entrant is paired with an older tamariki who will look out for them. » The importance of play in helping new entrants to settle into school, and as a basis for play-based learning. » Understanding that if whānau don’t come to school information evenings – it’s more likely because of other things happening at home or work, than lack of interest in what’s happening at school. » Avoiding information overload in new entrant information packs. » Monthly open mornings at school give whānau an opportunity to get to know the school and also make it more likely that tamariki will attend school visits before starting school, which makes them more connected. » Whānau will become much more engaged when they have the opportunity for one-on-one chats with teachers. » Whānau are influenced by their own school experience – if their own experience wasn’t good or if the whānau are from a different culture or national background, there will be uncertainty and potentially separation anxiety – both for tamariki and whānau.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

REFUGEE SU PPORT

World-class teaching spaces unveiled in rebuilt refugee resettlement centre A unique joint project between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Ministry of Education has delivered a suite of modern classrooms and a new early learning centre to help more refugees learn about life and living in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I

n July 2020, the number of refugees arriving in New Zealand under the Refugee Quota Programme increased from 1,000 to 1,500. Most spend their first six weeks in Te Āhuru Mōwai o Aotearoa, the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre.

To support the increased numbers, MBIE initiated a multi-agency approach across housing, community, education and health sectors to provide additional facilities.

Expanded education facilities

Prior to 2017, the education facilities at the centre were tired prefabs but they have seen rapid change over recent years.

New classrooms have been added to bring the facility up to Quality Learning Environment standards and in line with New Zealand schools.

In response to the 2020 quota increase, the education facilities expansion saw the Ministry and MBIE plan and

The new early learning centre at Te Āhuru Mōwai o Aotearoa, the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre.

16

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

deliver three additional classroom spaces and a new early learning service to replace an existing facility on site.

Construction of the permanent classrooms started in March 2020 and three teaching spaces have since been installed.

The early learning centre is now complete, fully licensed and opened with a dawn blessing on 4 March.

The former early learning centre is set to become a multipurpose space elsewhere on the Māngere site.

At the entrance of the Centre is a traditional ‘waharoa’ – a welcoming gate – that informs visitors about the first people of this land and New Zealand’s multicultural history, where many cultures, languages and ways of being can sit happily and peacefully alongside one another.

Ruth Ham, an early childhood teacher at Auckland University School of Refugee Education, says, “Having the centre blessed by the people of the land made us all proud. We are all blessed to be working in this environment where we have the privilege to welcome people, and especially ngā tamariki, who have made New Zealand their new home.

“We would like to thank everyone who has been involved and supported this significant project.

Completion of the early learning centre complements the overall rebuild of Te Āhuru Mōwai o Aotearoa.”

Firsthand experience

Refugee and migrant education team leader Abdirizak Abdi has worked at the Ministry of Education for 21 years.

He came through the centre as a 25-year-old Somali refugee in 1993 and remembers his experience fondly.

“I had been living as a refugee for 11 months in Kenya before I came here and I just remember feeling really cold,” he says.

His first learning of New Zealand living came on his first night at the centre. It was a cool autumn night in May, and he slept on top of the duvet not realising it was there for warmth.

“Back home in Somalia and Africa we have really light sheets, and all of the bedding is just to make your bed comfy.”

Waking up freezing in the middle of the night he and his roommate were unsure what to do.

“There seemed to be quite a few layers of blankets underneath, so I said, ‘let’s just sneak under the blanket, nobody’s watching us’,” he says. “We thought we were doing something wrong.”

Come morning, Abdirizak told the immigration officer about their cold night and, to the officer’s surprise, apologised for going under the duvet.

“He never believed in a million years that he would need to give that information out to people.”

Abdirizak says his situation illustrates the vast amount of information – differences in culture and climate – that needs to be provided to refugees when they arrive in New Zealand.

“We can’t make an assumption that they know everything. I come from a country where we use

21 March 2022

Three new modern teaching spaces have been installed.

“Having people come into the centre face to face so refugees can experience a little bit of everything to do with New Zealand – the culture of the country, the language – that’s what the centre is about.”

Abdirizak Abdi

Abdirizak Abdi, team leader refugee and migrant education at the Ministry of Education.

Tukutuku Kōrero

17

umbrellas to protect us from the sun, not the rain. These are the little things that we often take for granted.”

He says his six weeks at the centre was an exciting time.

“We just felt comfortable. It was euphoria that came with that sense of safety and a new beginning,” he says.

Because he finally had the safety that many refugees long for years for, he soon began dreaming of what his future would look like.

“I was lucky because I could speak a general level of English. I had finished high school in Somalia and had some educational foundations that I could build on – but that’s not the case for many refugees that are coming in,” he says.

He was exposed to New Zealand culture through various people who came to the centre to talk to them.

The police, he learned, are here to keep the community safe, not to be afraid of.

“For us, police didn’t always side with the community, and we were afraid because they could arrest you without any valid reason. So having someone in uniform telling us about how the police see themselves in the community and that they won’t bother you unless you do something criminal, it slowly builds on your knowledge.”

Lasting impacts

At the centre, adults are able to attend English language and refugee education classes, while children can attend primary and early learning classes delivered by AUT. Abdirizak says the teachers he had were – and still are – incredibly supportive and understanding.

“They motivated and encouraged me to continue my education to degree level. It was really powerful.”

Abdirizak says the six weeks have a lasting impact on people.

“That’s why I do believe what we’ve got at this centre is a good model, not only here but internationally.

Having people come into the centre face to face so refugees can experience a little bit of everything to do with New Zealand – the culture of the country, the language – that’s what the centre is about,” he says.

“It’s giving them that orientation, so they have a really good feel for what they’re going to be facing when they go into the community.”

He says he is pleased to see that it has been modernised. “It’s really much better than when I was there.”

Today, Abdirizak has a Bachelor of Economics and Geography and a Masters in Management Studies, which focused on community access to education.

He started working for the Ministry as education coordinator for refugees in 2000. Today he leads a nationwide team supporting refugees and migrants as they adjust to school and through the following five years.

The team also supports schools to understand the refugee journey so they can better support the students.

“I’ve received this support and now I’m at the other end and there’s a lot of satisfaction in that,” he says.

He says most refugees find success in their New Zealand education, even if they have spent many years as a refugee with little access to education.

He says he is grateful to the Ministry for recognising the need for this role, which he says is the key to success for families.

A report on NCEA data between 2009 and 2020 found that refugees who have had five years of English language experience are achieving similar results to the national average.

“We’re really pleased with that,” says Abdirizak.

The construction of the new classrooms was done to Quality Learning Environment standards and in line with New Zealand schools.

18

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

Work on the teaching spaces started in March 2020. The completed spaces are seen on page 17.

Bullying-Free NZ Week 16-20 May, 2022

small les ripp

e t a e r c

BaIvG es

w

a hi m a g n i u He Kōt ai-ā-rau p he hua

iti,

For more information go to: www.bullyingfree.nz

PAE 0804 Bullying Free 2022 Ed Gazette Ad HP.indd 1

21 March 2022

9/03/2022 3:32:05 pm

Tukutuku Kōrero

19

20

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

LITERACY

Structured literacy provides solid foundations A structured literacy approach is plugging foundational gaps, with fewer children requiring extra support at a Wanaka school.

F

or the past four years, Holy Family Catholic School in Wanaka has been using an evidence-based approach which sees all tamariki from Years 1–8 spending 20 minutes, four days a week, working on structured literacy activities.

Principal Jo McKay explains why the school decided to take this route.

“As a school, we had really high levels of reading and writing achievement, but we had some concerns with spelling, specifically. We looked at these gaps in our foundational literacy skills and from this, deputy principal Angela Scoullar and I met with Carla McNeil from Learning Matters and started our professional learning.”

Research and science

Teacher Phillipa Wilson with her Year 1 class at Holy Family Catholic School.

21 March 2022

Jo says there’s a large amount of research about how human brains are wired in a specific way to learn to read, write and acquire literacy.

“Every child learns to read in the same way. A lot of children come to education settings and naturally have the ability to map and store letters, letter strings and words, as well as follow text and learn by self-teaching graphemes, phonemes and phonics – all of those things that we now know are so very important for teaching reading and writing,” says Jo. “But for some children, those connections, or ability to self-teach those connections, aren’t quite there.

It’s important that we equip them by implementing a teaching approach that builds teacher knowledge and practice and aligns with the science of reading and evidence. A structured literacy approach ensures we consciously teach and develop strong foundational skills.”

With the components of literacy instruction in place and explicitly and directly taught, Jo says that nothing is left to chance.

Tukutuku Kōrero

21

For Year 1 students, the structured literacy approach is now the norm.

“We start off with looking at phonological awareness and that gives us our broad skills for identifying and manipulating units of oral language. Then we work through the alphabetic principle, and that’s understanding direct letter to sound correspondence – spelling patterns and irregular spelling patterns. Then we go through to fluency and onto vocabulary and comprehension.”

Catering for all needs

Professional learning development (PLD) has led to a big shift in pedagogy at the school.

“It’s a pedagogy, not a programme, and teachers have had to do a lot of upskilling and learning, which has allowed them to focus on how to teach and having confidence that what they are doing is based on science and evidence – and they’re seeing results.”

When teachers started unpacking the data and questioning how to raise the tail of underachievement, particularly in spelling, they realised they had a ‘smorgasbord of programmes’, and there was a lack of consistency which had been embedded in long held beliefs and ideology, Jo believes.

“We knew that a one size fits all programme doesn’t fit everyone. We wanted the approach to be something that worked for our neurodiverse learners, and students who present with learning challenges in literacy, especially dyslexic learners,” says Jo. With a focus on providing core literacy foundations, Holy Family Catholic School now has fewer children in Years 1–4 needing additional support.

22

Education Gazette

In the classroom

While the fast 20-minute lessons may be considered quite traditional, they are also highly engaging and ākonga know what to expect – there’s quite a lot of movement and an expectation for the child to be responding.

“There will be a revision of a previous concept, or the previous days’ learning. So those things are all helping with their working memory, helping them to remember and learn to encode – to write it down – which reinforces that learning,” says Jo. In each lesson, there are three components – oral language, writing and verbal speaking.

“In a typical lesson, you’ll see phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, irregular words, revision of a previous concept and potentially, the introduction of a new concept. There’ll be decoding, reading of the words, and encoding, writing the words. The progression of the learning will be different in terms of the level, or the needs of each class,” explains Jo. She says the systematic and sequential progress of the lesson is training the brain as well.

“Every child in our school will know what their ‘tool hand’ is and know how to use it. We’ll get children to hold up their hand – sound out a word and put each finger up.

They’ll read the words, say the words, share the words, write the words.”

Adaptable approach

Teachers can bring their own flavour and style to the structured literacy approach.

gazette.education.govt.nz

“We have two new entrant classes and within those two classes, the teachers have very different personalities, but both are teaching the same scope and sequence in an evidence-based way.”

Jo says the results show that the learning can be transferred into other areas of reading and writing, where there might be elements of a more collaborative and relaxed approach to teaching and learning.

“Without a doubt, it’s absolutely having an impact and we can see the children using the skills they have learned within their reading and writing, which is really rewarding.”

During the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and August 2021, the school transitioned to an online learning space and continued with explicit daily spelling sessions.

“We just moved them to prepared PowerPoints and the children would have the ability to ask questions.

From March 2020, it was adapted and provided us with a new format working with Learning Matters. That was like a next step in our journey that worked well and is now part of our concept delivery.”

Structured literacy activities at the school include spelling and revision of previous learning.

Impact and results

Jo gets excited when she talks about the impact of ‘filling the gaps’.

“For the children who started as a Year 6, 7 or 8 learner, they had a whole lot of foundational literacy skill gaps which had been missed because we didn’t know what we didn’t know, and now we’ve had the ability to really unpack it.

“The most exciting thing is that we could clearly identify in those early days that we had a lot of work to do, but three to four years down the track, these students that have been exposed to this approach have hugely benefited.

“For our children who come in as new entrants, it’s different for them because this is just the norm, whereas those older children who have had this approach for four years already, they themselves can see where they’ve come from and they know what achievement they have made and are really proud of that,” she says.

Future goals

Now in its fourth year, Holy Family Catholic School has transitioned towards making the approach sustainable, with literacy leaders within the school supporting new teachers. Literacy leaders are now focused on further developing their coaching capabilities with PLD. “We’ll do more work in the literacy field to ensure we continue to keep ourselves up to speed with the current science and research,” says Jo. The school has seen great success and is looking at how the pedagogy of the approach can be transferred to teaching the mathematics curriculum.

The school is also keen to share its journey with other educators. During 2021, about 200 educators from throughout Aotearoa have visited Holy Family Catholic School to learn more.

21 March 2022

“Without a doubt, it’s absolutely having an impact and we can see the children using the skills they have learned within their reading and writing, which is really rewarding.”

Jo McKay

Tukutuku Kōrero

23

Deputy principal and SENCO Ange Scoullar, principal Jo McKay, and junior team and literacy leader Anne Fauth.

Better Start Literacy Approach “We’ve had principals who have brought their entire team through for multiple visits. They wanted to come and see it in action in our classrooms and get an idea about how it would work in their contexts,” says Jo. As early adopters, were there any doubts?

“Oh, absolutely – a lot of us were very experienced with a lot of training in different areas such as Reading Recovery. Then suddenly you have a new pedagogy and you’re saying, ‘hang on, is this right?’ We did have doubt, but I think it’s just holding strong to that belief that there is science and evidence, whereas in the past we were leaving it to chance.

“This approach does not leave reading to chance,” concludes Jo.

24

Education Gazette

The Ministry of Education is funding Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) professional support. BSLA is an integrated approach to developing vocabulary, oral, listening, spelling, writing and reading skills in the first year of learning, utilising the Ready to Read Phonics Plus texts.

It focuses on the link between spoken and written language, systematically supporting children’s phonological and phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge and oral language.

Scan the QR code for more information, or to apply.

gazette.education.govt.nz

Student and whānau kōrero It’s made me think about how to spell a word when I am writing. Sometimes I can remember the rules we’ve learned and I try to think about the syllables. I like that we get to read some fun stories with Mrs Scoullar. We get to play some games with the words and that helps me to remember the spelling and the words. Evie, Year 6 I sometimes practise our word lists at home and when I do, it helps me to remember the rules. I really like the series I’m reading with Mrs Scott. I like the word games and I try to remember to look for the syllables and work out how to say them. Eddie, Year 5 My spelling and learning some of the rules has helped me a lot with my reading because I think about the vowels and if they say their name or not. I really like the reading books as they’re interesting and not too hard and not too easy.

I’m better with my punctuation when I’m reading and I understand it better. Tia, Year 5 The way she teaches helps me read and spell the words. I like learning all the concepts because they help me spell.

Lucy, Year 3 Practising reading by saying and finger spelling the words helps the word pop. James-Alex, Year 2 Spelling concepts help me sound out words when I’m writing a story. I know all the different concepts and can make difficult words. Greta, Year 2

As a parent trustee on Holy Family’s Board of Trustees it has been a real pleasure to be involved with the evidencebased Structured Literacy implementation across the school – from the presentation of the initial idea, to the board’s commitment to our students’ achievement and the investment into our staff’s professional development.

Then as it was implemented and refined in our classrooms, watching the positive effect on our school’s learning data, and now, supporting our team as they share their professional learning about this approach and its implementation with their peers from across the country. Carrie Wallis, board member and parent.

As parents we have great confidence in the structured approach to literacy, starting with the thorough assessment to identify the specific areas of need, so that subsequent teaching is targeted to support the learning needs of the children. The whole school approach provides cohesion between years so the children are continually building on previously acquired skills. We can see a real sense of achievement in our children as they continue to make clearly identified gains in literacy.

Lucy Annan, parent.

We have loved the Structured Literacy programme at Holy Family. Our kids have benefited greatly from evidence-based learning and the consistent approach taken across the school. Listening to our kids sounding and figuring out each word as they are learning to read through the tools provided to them through the programme has been amazing. Both our children are now avid little readers at 6 and 7 years old. I would absolutely recommend this to everyone. Rebecca McElrea, parent

Teacher Kathy Pittaway with Year 4 and 5 students Melati, Gabriella and Ruby.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

25

LITERACY

Inaugural year as a reading role-model Lyttelton-based author, poet and educator, Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa) discusses his first year in the role of Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador.

“I tell the kids, your brain loves using its imagination, it makes you happy, it brings you joy.”

Ben Brown

Ben Brown is working to build a love of reading in children and young people.

26

Education Gazette

K

ā awhi rito is a metaphor describing the mature leaves that embrace the young centre shoot of a harakeke plant. The mature leaves represent the older generations supporting the younger.

Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador role was established in order to nurture a love of reading among young people amid significant declines in this pleasure practice.

Ben took on the inaugural role in May last year, in a programme led by The National Library of New Zealand.

“The first year was disruptive, hectic and a learning curve for everyone,” says Ben. “But I worked to represent a supportive structure tasked with promoting a desire in young people to read, continue to read and read for love, rather than just having to for school.”

Encouraging an uptake

A champion of the cause, Ben’s role was to visit schools and talk with students, striving to re-inspire and encourage an uptake in reading again.

Studies have identified trends in attitude towards learning, including a decline in reading for pleasure since 2009 for 15-year-olds, and since 2010 for 10-year-olds. In PISA, students who enjoyed reading had significantly higher reading scores. For every unit increase on the enjoyment of reading index, there was an average increase of 29 points in reading performance, after accounting for students’ socioeconomic level and gender.

“I think the screen probably has a lot to do with this change in reading habits. Kids are overwhelmed with information,” says Ben. “When I was a kid, we had one TV channel and a black melamine phone on the wall with a three digit phone number and a party line, which is what the crank handle sticking out the side of it was for. Books, magazines, that was it. That was the sum total of information you were exposed too.”

Ben has children of his own, and through bringing them up in the digital age, he’s noticed just how much ‘stuff’ they’re taking in.

He says that in this day and age, you can get by without reading, “but the question is, what are you missing out on?”

at school once upon a time but my dad always ragged at me,” he says.

He explains it’s important to get creative, to paint a colourful picture in the students’ minds of why reading is important.

Ben was 10 years old when he first found a love of books. He grew up in a house full of stories, with his father from outback Australia and his mother from a Kīngitanga Māori background. His father wanted him to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. One Sunday afternoon, when Ben was moping about, his father chucked the hardcover book at him and Ben duly obliged.

“Now, I grew up in the beautiful Motueka Valley. I lived by a river, had rafts, bunked off school with my mates, just like Tom Sawyer,” he says.

Ben was completely taken by the story and was eager to read more. He joined his local library and then started on Huckleberry Finn. It opened his eyes to slavery, a topic he talked about with his father.

“My father said to me, ‘keep reading and you’ll understand,’ which is a line I love.”

Ever since then, Ben has been an avid reader.

Finding a love of books

He explained to the students how stories are so important because it’s how you build your imagination.

“When your mind has to do all the work, that’s the goal. When kids are on their devices, they’re not reading substance, it’s just gloss and they’re confusing content with imagery. If you just watch Tom Sawyer, half of your brain goes to sleep when you’re watching the movie as it doesn’t have to work,” he says.

“I tell the kids, your brain loves using its imagination, it makes you happy, it brings you joy.”

Getting young people to read starts from sharing our own love of reading, Ben believes.

He says it starts with teachers sharing their love of books and encouraging parents to read as role-models.

He doesn’t chuck statistics at his students, instead he bounces around the stage, getting excited as he tells them how reading has changed his life.

As his second year in the role begins, Ben is hoping to explore how older students can be reading role-models to the younger students.

Throwing out the script

At the Auckland Writers Festival, his first gig as Te Awhi Rito, Ben stood before 1,800 Year 7 and 8 students.

“I was the last speaker of the day and they were all sitting there yawning and so I threw my script out of the window,” he says.

He asked the students, “How many of you love reading? How many of you read because you love to, not because you have to?” Less than half put their hand up.

Ben tells the students he meets about his own upbringing and relationship with reading.

“Trying to sell them the idea that reading is good and fun is hard. It was even hard for me to get into reading

21 March 2022

Find out about the role of Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people.

Read more about literacy research in Progress and achievement of New Zealand learners in English Medium settings.

Tukutuku Kōrero

27

WELLBEI NG STRATEGY

Te Ao Māori grounding for wellbeing mahi In a small community where everyone is inter-connected, a mid-Canterbury kāhui ako is successfully focusing its collaboration on student wellbeing using a Te Ao Māori approach underpinned by a lot of data.

Grace and Emma from Ellesmere College reflect on a sunny, Canterbury day.

28

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

T

he Kāhui Ako Ngā Mātāpuna o te Waihora lies between the Rakaia and Waikirikiri (Selwyn) Rivers. It unites Ellesmere College Te Kāreti o Waihora, Dunsandel School, Leeston Consolidated School and Southbridge School with approximately 1,100 students in total. Three playcentres and three private preschools are also involved.

Karla Morton is head of mathematics at Ellesmere College and the single across school lead for the kāhui ako.

The team includes seven within school teachers (WSTs), Lisa McClure and Kylie Breading (Leeston), Nicole Thornton (Southbridge), Kate McCloy (Dunsandel) and Desirae Beechey, Shayla Foster and Steven Packer (Ellesmere).

There are also two lead principals, who share the job on a six-month rotation. The lead principals are Dave Robinson (Dunsandel) and Lynda Taylor (Leeston).

Transitions between the schools and cultural responsiveness were initial achievement challenges identified in 2019.

Then the leadership took a unique step.

As a small kāhui ako, they decided to put all their effort into one area – wellbeing – as the basis of all those transitions and of people’s identity. The confidence to focus on wellbeing was reinforced by the kāhui ako’s data collection.

Think tanks were established to gather information and get ideas from ākonga, staff, whānau and the broader community, which is intrinsically interconnected.

The community think tank was an open invitation to a series of meetings.

“We had a massive amount of people come, from parents within the community, to the Scouts, the Fire Brigade, a lot of local groups that came to the sessions as well. So, we felt we had a lot of rich data there to work from,” says Karla.

For student voice, Year 6 and secondary school students were surveyed.

An important finding was that, particularly as Year 6, ākonga felt their wellbeing was everybody else’s responsibility.

“They didn’t realise they could have an impact on their own wellbeing,” says Karla.

Consistency needed

In 2020, a strategic plan was formulated, and it was apparent that a consistent wellbeing model would be crucial to success.

“If we had a consistent model that they started in Year 1, and see other students all using the same language or the same information, they could leave us as young adults having a good understanding of their wellbeing and how to manage it,” says Karla.

Research by the team included absorbing many reports on wellbeing, studying Wellbeing@School data and drawing on the resources of the Grow Waitaha Community of Practice of Wellbeing.

The framework had to integrate with the many existing school programmes such as Pause Breathe Smile, KiVa Bullying Education Programme, and Bounce Back! as well as schools’ Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) journey, and Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC).

In its search for a wellbeing framework, the group heard about the work of Wiremu Gray and his Te Ao Māori approach, which led to adoption of his Te Whare Mauri Ora wellbeing model.

In reality, the chosen framework has created a structure and support for enriching the existing programmes.

In 2021 some centrally funded professional learning and development (PLD) with CORE Education provided New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience (NZIWR) materials. Two CORE facilitators, Angela Vermeulen and Lex Davis, worked with the kāhui ako.

Leadership Lab are approved providers for the Ministry of Education under the cultural capability fund, which means the group is working directly with Wiremu to implement the model further.

In 2021 the goal was to introduce staff in all the schools to the concepts of Te Whare Mauri Ora and for them to be confident with the different aspects of the pillars. For students, the emphasis was on helping them learn the pillars and the pronunciation.

“My Year 6 class understand what wellbeing is now, whereas before it was just a word we’ve talked about a lot. Te Whare Mauri Ora is all new language, but the children understand how it links with their lives and the school values and to what happens each day.”

Nicole Thornton

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

29

“Even at this early stage, the reflections from the other WSTs last year have been that the conversations that we’ve been having with students about wellbeing, you wouldn’t have had two years ago,” says Karla.

Lisa McClure, a WST at Leeston Consolidated School, says, “It’s pretty cute when a group of seven-year-olds are playing on the field and lying on the grass and one wee girl is looking up at the clouds and you hear her saying ‘I am so grateful for Papatūānuku for giving us such a beautiful day.’

“It’s really cool that they are just appreciating the little things in life and it’s starting to become a shared vocab across all the schools,” says Lisa.

“My Year 6 class understand what wellbeing is now, whereas before it was just a word we’ve talked about a lot.

Te Whare Mauri Ora is all new language, but the children understand how it links with their lives and the school values and to what happens each day,” says Nicole Thornton, the WST at Southbridge School.

Part of the PLD involves maintaining the mana of the pillars and acting with cultural integrity. Resources were developed to help teachers learn Māori pronunciation of all the different aspects of the model.

Kylie Breading, another WST at Leeston Consolidated School, says they worked behind the scenes to build up staff knowledge a little at a time.

The model’s concepts and language were drip fed to the staff on a weekly basis at their staff meetings.

Similarly, Kate McCloy from Dunsandel School says it was important to ensure the teachers had the resources they needed to feel confident to introduce the model.

She taught the staff a pillar a week, then at whole school assemblies the following week the students learned that same pillar together.

For Wiremu, the crux is teachers modelling the growth mindset in their classrooms.

“I see so often in schools and organisations where they might start off using Māori terminology and language for different things and then they’ll start using European concepts for those same things,” he says.

“What’s important is that we model that we’re in a learning environment, we end up giving it a go, and that’s the most important thing our kids need to understand as well.

“We’ve got to create that safe place that it’s okay to get it wrong. The key thing is that we try,” adds Wiremu.

Age-appropriate material

Ellesmere College principal Ronan Bass.

30

Education Gazette

It’s important the material is age-appropriate and the kāhui ako is working to preserve the consistency of the model while adapting the concepts for every year group. Once the primary and secondary schools’ material is complete, the next challenge will be extending the model to the six early learning services in the kāhui ako.

“Our vision really is that as students transition from Year 6 from the three schools, they come to us and you see them understanding the imagery on the wall is the same,” says Karla.

“The teachers are talking about the same aspects of wellbeing. It’s not something new to them. It’s something they’ve been spending several years doing.”

A challenge is pitching the material meaningfully to both

gazette.education.govt.nz

5-year-olds and 11-year-olds, says Kate.

“For the children in our schools, you are teaching about how everyone has a whare inside of them, and the foundation, the walls and the roof of the whare all need to be strong so all of our wellbeing whare can be strong and our mauri ora can flourish,” she says.

“For the Year 6s, who are the leaders in the school, the biggest focus was on Ranginui, the roof of the whare, and there was real dialogue about aiming high, following their dreams and striving for success.”

For the younger children, the emphasis was on looking after Papatūānuku/Mother Earth by picking up rubbish on the grounds.

This year the kāhui ako team is delivering a programme developed by Wiremu Gray called Te Waka Mauri Ora and it’s a journey of resilience. The Waka programme aligns with the concepts of Te Whare Mauri Ora. The kāhui ako team customised the programme with Wiremu to develop the appropriate language to suit all age ranges.

Students will receive explicit teaching about Te Whare Mauri Ora. The goal is for students to have an in-depth knowledge of all the aspects that will impact on their wellbeing and how to reflect on their wellbeing.

At Ellesmere College, this will be integrated into teaching in the Year 7–10 hapori class, in which students are with a hapori teacher for an hour a week.

The kāhui ako is using a poutama measurement tool developed by Wiremu Gray to help students to self-assess their wellbeing with practical steps to improve it. The tool utilises Google Forms for ease of use.

Measuring success

Karla’s statistics teaching experience underlines how quantifiable data will be important for ongoing measurement of success and accountability for the kāhui ako.

As the achievement challenges involve what the ākonga are feeling, rather than studying, the data is especially significant.

A Year 6 longitudinal study has begun and two years of data is already to hand about what wellbeing means to the students, who is responsible for their wellbeing and who supports them. Each year the cohorts will be surveyed as they move up through Ellesmere College and a new Year 6 group will join in.

“We want to see when a shift happens, when students actually realise that they can influence their wellbeing,” says Karla.

Student voice is critical to success. Grace, Emma, Jackson, and Corbin share their views with across school lead Karla Morton.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

31

“We’ve come through this journey to get to this point, everybody can see the benefits and we all know the benefits might not be here on Thursday. It might be when the students are much older that they are able to manage their wellbeing. Whenever it is, I think that’s a massive, massive outcome.”

Student voice

Valid and authentic student voice is a crucial part of the model.

Ellesmere College developed a wellbeing student leadership position and a student wellbeing committee with assistance from the CORE Education facilitators, who supported the Ellesmere College students to build their skills to work with small groups of Year 6 students asking questions around wellbeing.

Year 9–12 students went out to the primary school Year 6 classes and collected information about what they thought about wellbeing, what wellbeing was, and what their concerns were at that point in time.

“The older students were making all these awesome connections with the primary children and these children

now have come to us this year,” says Karla.

The older students are now reporting back on their findings.

“It’s about making sure they’re on their journey with us. They’re not having it done to them; we’re doing it with them.”

The strength of Te Kāhui Ako Ngā Mātāpuna o te Waihora is their shared purpose, collaboration, support and empowerment with all the principals on board.

“If a WST’s got something they’re trying to figure out, we can try and put things in place to support them but they lead it,” says Karla.

Kate from Dunsandel School, says, “Even though we’re all doing our own different things, we still have that one model that unites and unifies us, and it’s great to have that shared language so that when our children do leave our primary schools and go to college, they’re all in the same waka.”

The kāhui ako reports each term to the schools’ boards and this year the reporting will extend to the Parent Teacher Associations.

Regular updates in the Ellesmere Echo local paper keep the broader community in touch with their work.

“For the children in our schools, you are teaching about how everyone has a whare inside of them, and the foundation, the walls and the roof of the whare all need to be strong so all of our wellbeing whare can be strong and our mauri ora can flourish.”

Kate McCloy

Junior and senior Ellesmere College students bring Te Whare Mauri Ora to life. Pictured from left are Felix, Ethan, Jackson, Grace, Jennifer-Rose, Emma, Corbin, Ava, and Jamal.

32

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

Te Whare Mauri Ora Wiremu Gray is a counsellor dedicated to young people and he’s humbled by the impact his bicultural wellbeing model Te Whare Mauri Ora has had in schools. His whakapapa is Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Porou.

Before training as a registered counsellor, Wiremu qualified as a Māori wood carver under the guidance of two tohunga whakairo master carvers from Ngāi Tahu and Tūhoe, Duke Edwards and John Rua. That experience taught him a lot on tikanga and he gained mātauranga on Te Ao Māori, Māori cultural concepts and beliefs. Training later as a counsellor at Te Whiuwhiu O te hau in Waikato also taught him more about his cultural heritage.

He also spent a lot of his younger life with his uncle, Rev Maurice Gray, a kaumātua who was pivotal in embedding his understanding of tikanga.

“It values the mana, gives it a New Zealand flavour, and is bicultural. As the saying goes, what works well for Māori works well for all,” he says.

Te Whare Mauri Ora includes Papatūānuku as the grounding, moving up through the central pou the Mauri Ora (life force) to Ranginui, symbolising the aspirations of students.

Wiremu is currently working with many individual schools, student groups, counsellors, pastoral teams and with the Kāhui Ako Ngā Mātāpuna o te Waihora and Pūtaringamotu Kāhui Ako. Alongside being a guidance counsellor for over 18 years at many different schools around Canterbury, Wiremu has his own company called Mana Facilitation, and facilitates cultural capability with schools through Leadership Lab.

Positive psychology and positive education are Wiremu’s benchmarks. In 2017 he developed his own wellbeing model based on Te Whare Tapa Whā, PERMA V, 5 ways to wellbeing, and his lived experience.

Wiremu is also a supervisor and cultural advisor for members of the NZ Association of Counsellors and offers training to social services teams on cultural competency based on the key themes from Te Whare Mauri Ora.

“Te Whare Mauri Ora incorporates health and wellbeing but also factors in mātauranga on Te Ao Māori, Māori knowledge, world views, tikanga and Māori beliefs and cultural narratives,” says Wiremu.

He is on the board, alongside Chair Dame Sue Bagshaw, of Youth Hub, an innovative project in Christchurch for providing wraparound youth services, transition housing and accommodation for homeless youth.

Te Whare Mauri Ora is a bicultural wellbeing model. This particular image is for a primary school understanding.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

33

Ellesmere College is based in Leeston, located amongst tranquil farming landscape and 30 kilometres from Christchurch.

A community solution to classroom supervision Ellesmere College Te Kāreti o Waihora in Canterbury had a very small number of relievers available, and so it reached out to its community for help as classroom supervisors.

In November 2021, Ellesmere College principal Ronan Bass and his team were planning long-term strategies for when the Omicron wave would impact their school.

“I wanted to make sure that we can actually have staff just purely focused on teaching and learning rather than having to supervise kids,” says Ronan.

The top priority was staff and student wellbeing, while ensuring the school could still function. The reality of the small pool of relievers meant they had to be self-sufficient and devise a way to resource the school when most staff would be working from home.

The school advertised in two local free papers and had a tremendous response.

Hearing an interview with an Auckland school principal about involving the community in their Covid response prompted Ronan to consider ways the tight-knit and supportive Ellesmere community could help his school.

A new role was designed for the situation – classroom supervisor.

The idea is that if staff are working from home, then the classroom supervisors can watch over the virtual learning of the children of essential workers who need to be on site at school.

34

Education Gazette

“It’s been fantastic. When things happen, people do step up and support each other, which is great,” he says.

“We hope to have a healthy pool of local community members who literally will just be physically there looking after students who will be engaged in online learning. Staff are at home, fully focused on planning and engaging with their students,” adds Ronan.

“We want the children of critical workers to still be able to access a safe space where they can be supervised throughout the day, so that the parents can go to work to do what they need to do, and rest assured that somebody is looking after the children.”

gazette.education.govt.nz

ADVERTORIAL

A new approach to trauma-informed teaching: Teacher practice with the Berry Street Education Model

The Berry Street Education Model

One of the risk factors for poor school engagement is exposure to traumatic stressors including abuse, neglect and violence directed at and witnessed by children and young people. Trauma affects child development in a number of ways, including the ability to navigate and succeed in education. In response to this, programs addressing poor school engagement should be trauma-informed.

With foundations in trauma-informed teaching and learning and in positive psychology the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) has been developed to target this cohort of students, who can often be the most disengaged and disruptive in the classroom and the school community.

The model combines approaches to welfare, wellbeing and academic learning to help struggling students develop the skills and relationships that enable them to heal first, then thrive.

Further learning opportunities

• extend your knowledge of the model at a BSEM Masterclass • access BSEM resources and tools – join the BSEM Alumni community.

• Creating Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Classrooms https://www.berrystreet.org.au/shop/products/creating-traumainformed-strengths-based-classrooms

Find out more about us at

www.berrystreet.org.au

The BSEM focuses on training teachers and educators in classrooms and whole-of-school strategies to promote an understanding of the five domains of the model:

1. Body

Building students’ capacity by increasing physical regulation of their stress response, de-escalation and focus.

2. Relationship

The Berry Street Education Model A trauma-informed approach to teaching and learning

Nurturing on-task learning through relational classroom management strategies.

3. Stamina

Creating a culture of academic persistence by nurturing resilience, emotional intelligence and a growth mindset.

4. Engagement

Motivating students with strategies that increase their willingness to learn.

5. Character

Harnessing a values and character strengths approach to instil students’ self-knowledge for future pathways.

The model sees these domains as corresponding with the child development capacities that each student must build in order to be ready to learn.

Our Courses

Details of our next online course can be found in the flyer on this page.

The BSEM online course includes:

We know that all students, particularly students who can present complex needs within a classroom, benefit from strategies that increase their engagement and wellbeing in order to achieve academic success. Berry Street's trauma-informed positive education approach is based upon our research and practice. For 140 years, Berry Street has supported vulnerable children and their families and the Berry Street Education Model continues to build upon this foundation by enabling teachers to successfully increase all student's self regulation, relational capacity, growth and achievement.

The Berry Street Education Model provides teachers with a toolkit of 100+ studentcentered strategies that can be implemented immediately with your schools. Our aim is to provide a consistent approach across your school for all staff.

Dates of Professional Development • • • •

Domain 1 Body: April 28th Domain 2 Relationship: April 29th Domains 3 & 4 Stamina & Engagement: July 12th Domain 5 Character: July 13th

• online group training sessions that are facilitated by an expert instructor

Each day of our online course is delivered in 3 x 90 minute sessions • Session 1 - 9.30am -11am - Break for morning tea 30 minutes • Session 2 - 11.30am - 1.00pm - Break for lunch 1 hour • Session 3 - 2.00pm - 3.30pm

• approaches to pilot learned strategies back at your school

4 day course fees are $400 Aussie per person

• support from your facilitator between sessions, including (optional) individual conferencing or other consultation • set of BSEM books covering the 5 domains to support your learning.

To bring BSEM training directly to your own school as a whole-school approach please fill out the enquiry form.

To register: https://cvent.me/v73qZL For more information E: ogardener@berrystreet.org.au T: +61428395206 W: bsem.org.au

Tamariki at Ruakākā School in Northland are learning to take responsibility for their hauora.

36

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

WELLBEI NG

Empowering tamariki to guard their hauora During a time of major global events like war, climate change and a pandemic, it’s understandable that rates of anxiety are rocketing. A beautiful exception to this can be seen at Ruakākā School where tamariki have been learning to take control of their mental and emotional wellbeing.

W

ellbeing has long been a focus for staff and students at Ruakākā School in Northland, but when the pandemic struck, school leaders decided to step it up.

Teachers Tracey Morgan and Jo Statham began the mahi by meeting with Natalie Wilcock, a Healthy Active Learning facilitator from Sport Northland, to develop a wellbeing model for their kura.

“We wanted to integrate Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā with our school values which embody everything we do,” says Tracey. “Natalie helped us merge them together.”

Te Whare Tapa Whā was developed by leading Māori health advocate Sir Mason in 1984 and describes health and wellbeing as a wharenui/meeting house with four walls.

These walls represent taha wairua/spiritual wellbeing, taha hinengaro/mental and emotional wellbeing, taha tinana/physical wellbeing and taha whānau/family and social wellbeing. Our connection with the whenua/land forms the foundation.

“When all these things are in balance, we thrive. When one or more of these is out of balance our wellbeing is impacted.”

Fused with the school’s values, collectively known as SHINE, the new model was designed to empower kaiako

and ākonga to identify and express their feelings and understand how it influences behaviour and teaching/ learning.

“If a child was upset, they were able to say why, for example, ‘My physical and emotional wellbeing is sad because I haven’t been at school because of lockdown.’ Or ‘I am happy to be back at school after lockdown’,” says Tracey.

“We wanted to go deeper, to empower the tamariki to reach out of that egocentric state and get to the root cause of what was happening, why, and to reflect on that. To realise that what’s happening is bigger than this moment, it’s also to do with what is happening in the world, and that there are ways we can help our own wellbeing.”

Tracey explains some ways could be by taking sips of water or taking a movement break during class time or getting outside to touch the ground.

“Now when we ask the kids what’s happening, they can say, ‘I’m sweating so I need to get some water,’ ‘Taking a movement break makes us feel better because our bodies release endorphins,’ and ‘We like being outside because when our feet touch the earth, we feel grounded’,” she says.

Principal Marilyn Dunn says, “All this work we’re doing here is giving children licence to attune to their own needs. We are all made up differently.”

“We wanted to go deeper, to empower the tamariki to reach out of that egocentric state and get to the root cause of what was happening, why, and to reflect on that. To realise that what’s happening is bigger than this moment, it’s also to do with what is happening in the world, and that there are ways we can help our own wellbeing.”

Tracey Morgan 21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

37

A mural at Ruakākā School highlights their inspiration from the song, 'Permission to Shine'.

The school's SHINE token box.

38

Education Gazette

Marilyn and her team introduced the SHINE values soon after she joined the school in 2005, inspired by a song called Permission to Shine. The song became the name and the theme of that year’s school production.

“We put it together ourselves with the main theme being that every child has permission to shine by performing on stage. From there, the culture of our school grew and permission to shine still strongly influences every decision we make.

“It was about allowing people to be individuals and our values journey just bounced from that song.

There is an expectation for us as a school to let our children shine.”

At Ruakākā School, SHINE means Show respect, Help others, be Inclusive, Never give up and be Environmental guardians.

When a child is observed practising a SHINE value, they receive a token to fill the school’s SHINE metre thereby creating a visual representation of which values are firmly in place and which ones need topping up.

The token system was funded by an initiative run by the Tai Tokerau PB4L team in which schools are encouraged to develop initiatives aligning to their PB4L journey and funded up to $5,000.

Marilyn says the new wellbeing framework is as much for the staff as it is for the students.

“We talk about filling your whare tapa whā. Each

gazette.education.govt.nz

week we focus on one little dimension of your mental and emotional wellbeing.”

Jo says that despite the challenges of pandemic restrictions such as lockdowns and mask wearing, the resilience of the school community has grown.

“This foundation has made us more adaptable, and we can see our students developing leadership skills.”

Ruakākā has been a PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) school since 2017 and children were already familiar with Zones of Regulation, an approach used to support the development of self-regulation.

Designed by occupational therapist Leah Kuypers, the framework is a systematic, cognitive-behavioural approach used to teach how to regulate feelings, energy and sensory needs in order to meet the demands of the situation and be successful socially.

Students use a colour system to identify their feelings and levels of alertness. Blue is sad or upset, yellow is anxious or excited, a heightened state, red is angry or terrified, out of control, and green is the ideal learning state.

Jo says students can now name their feelings, why they’re feeling that way, how to get back to the green zone and how to help someone who is in the blue zone.

“The language is consistent across the school and parents are telling us that tamariki are continuing to articulate their feelings at home. It’s so authentic, you will hear kids say to each other, ‘Are you shining?’”

21 March 2022

Tracey Morgan with students at Ruakākā School.

Tukutuku Kōrero

39

I N FRASTRUCTU RE

Repurposing classroom waste and strengthening Pacific communities One man’s quest to find meaning has grown into a thriving business that repurposes old classrooms and keeps young people engaged in education in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

The TROW Group is Pacificled for Pacific growth.

W

hen Saia Latu’s brother died suddenly in a car accident, he returned to Tonga to be with family.

While reconnecting with his people and homeland, he seized upon an opportunity to help locals by sending discarded furniture from New Zealand to schools in Tonga.

“It started with little containers to help rebuild some of the poorest areas, but as I learned more, I realised we had a big problem in New Zealand – 60 percent of landfill is construction waste,” says Saia.

“The issue became bigger than helping people, it became about changing the construction mindset. We needed to look at how we could redesign or reuse.”

Saia sold his business assets to invest in a deconstruction business, TROW Group and today, five years on, that business is now a nominated supplier to the Ministry of Education for demolition and relocation. It is also Auckland Council’s prime supplier of deconstruction and salvage services.

Since its inception, TROW Group has repurposed almost 500 tonnes of building materials and helped to build schools and churches in Tonga.

Its first project for the Ministry of Education was at Browns Bay School on Auckland’s North Shore in 2021.

“They performed very well,” says Damien Strogen from the Ministry’s Capital Works team. “We are always looking at broader outcomes, such as societal benefits, diversion from waste and we know there are communities worse off than we are here so we’re delighted if materials can be repurposed or recycled.

“The TROW Group takes its waste management seriously, they walk the talk. Aside from that, they are a

“We take in troubled young people, those who come out of youth courts, and we’re the last chance. We give them an opportunity to learn in a different way to school. Our learning is touch, feeling and smell.”

Saia Latu

Saia Latu, founder, CEO, and general manager of TROW Group.

The crew is focused on strengthening community.

Tukutuku Kōrero

41

delight to work with, they’re a great team and we’ve had great feedback from the schools where they’ve worked.”

Another recent project on Auckland’s North Shore was at Target Road Primary School, where two classrooms were deconstructed. Only five percent of materials taken from the classrooms was sent to landfill. Chairs and cabinets have been donated to an early learning centre in Ōtara, and other materials are being sent to Tonga for use in community centres such as churches and schools.

Open classroom engages ākonga

TROW Group also has a contract with the Ministry called Open Classroom.

“We take in troubled young people, those who come out of youth courts, and we’re the last chance. We give them an opportunity to learn in a different way to school. Our learning is touch, feeling and smell,” explains Saia.

“We pick them up, take them out for walks, to the park, the museum and local marae just to get them out [of the house]. We don’t try to put them into jobs, it’s just about engaging in conversation and getting them connected again.

“Soon they notice that everyone in the company is Māori or Pacific, from the guy who is picking up the rubbish to the engineer to the managing director, and they can relate. It can be different from what they’ve seen before.”

Saia says when they take them to see a classroom deconstruction they are like, “Oh, I don’t want to see a classroom”, but when they all go back to their site for recycling, they catch on quickly.

“We have architects who design 30 square metre houses out of Ministry properties and when the kids see that, they want to get involved.

Often, they are inspired by the work we are doing, building homes for the homeless for example, because they can see there are people worse off than them, and it motivates them to want more.”

It’s a different way of learning, adds Saia.

“Education is important but not everyone can sit in a classroom for a long time. We give it five weeks and by then we know if they want to stay and work with us or to move back into study.

“I left school at 14 because we didn’t have any money, and that is still happening for many young people today. There are cracks in the system, cracks that got a lot wider during Covid, and we are trying to pick the kids out of the cracks and relieve the stress on families.

“We are the first Pacific head contractor and we’re proud of that, we’re leading the way for our people. I believe that we Pasifika can look after ourselves and that we don’t have to be poor. We are changing the way we do things.”

The TROW Group has been working with the Ministry of Education to repurpose construction materials from schools.

42

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

Your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is here to help with any work or life issues and to improve your health and general Well-being.

EAP Services is completely confidential and funded by the Ministry of Education until June 2022. The discussions with your EAP Professional will be informal, friendly and focused on meeting your needs.

• Just to talk

• Personal development of career direction

• Building resilience in times of change and uncertainty

• Dealing with burnout and fatigue

• Family challenges or personal relationship issues • Feelings of anxiety, stress, pressure, or depression

• Conflict and tension with partners or work colleagues • Lifestyle or health issues

Making an appointment is easy and confidential

Speak to someone in-person, by phone, video or via e-counselling.

Scan the QR code, phone or visit eapservices.co.nz to set up a time.

0800 327 669 © 2022 EAP Services Ltd - Partnering for Performance

LO CAL CU RRIC U LU M

Authentic local learning in Roxburgh Students at Roxburgh Area School have been making authentic connections with local organisations and businesses, as well as learning a range of skills from ideation and prototyping to time management.

Year 10 student Luc created a Facebook page which has resulted in a lot more customers when vegetable crops are ready.

44

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

N

ear the end of 2021, Year 7–10 students and their teachers came off timetable for two weeks to take part in an inquiry-based project to find out about the problems and opportunities faced by local businesses and organisations, and develop solutions.

The 40-plus students were joined by the Central Otago school’s Year 12 students, who were learning life skills.

“We wanted our students to see themselves as problem solvers and innovators, and we wanted them to see that in an authentic context and within their local community, so the first thing we did was look at our local businesses.

We asked them what issues or opportunities they saw, and we had all sorts of different responses from things around Covid to problems developing our skatepark, issues around paperwork, to problems with staff and pests on orchards,” says Adelle Banks, assistant principal, Years 9–13.

Workshops develop skills

To develop design thinking, the project began with a series of workshops which taught skills for an inquiry process model.

“All those kinds of skills that they needed before they could actually even start the project. You start with emphasising, then you have to define your problem, you come up with ideas, you prototype and you test,” explains Adelle.

While students had mentors and support, they had to be self-directed, plan their own time and work through their projects by themselves.

“There was a huge student agency focus.”

Supported by an outside provider, Karla Sanders from Using Technology Better, and using the strengths of the school’s teachers, teachers ran workshops that included building empathy, ideation, prototyping and time management.

“We did ideation workshops – ‘how do you come up with a really good idea? What are the skills to be able to do that?’ There were time management workshops – ‘how are you going to do this in a week and a half without getting to the last two days and freaking out?’

“We had some design challenges just to get them started. We looked at perspective taking – ‘this might be what YOU think the business needs, but you need to actually listen to the people to find out’. To start with some of them would say ‘I’ve got this great idea for whoever’ and we would ask, ‘is that what the business wants, or what you think they want?’.

“This is where it was really cross-curricular, they had to learn how to make a good graph, or find the best way to present the data they found and how that will appeal back to the end user. In our second week, we had extra workshops once we had started the projects, just to be able to develop those kinds of skills as well,” says Adelle.

The project was also a good opportunity for Year 12 students to develop effective communication and interviewing skills.

“A lot of students don’t like ringing businesses on the telephone – they actually had to script it before ringing a business and talking to them.”

21 March 2022

Choir and community garden

An expo was held, where students had an opportunity to pose questions to people from organisations and businesses including the Central Otago District Council (based in Alexandra), Fulton Hogan, Horticulture New Zealand and local orchardists.

“Rather than students just sitting and listening to a presentation, they made authentic connections. We had to drag away some of the students! We were really impressed with the engagement both ways – how engaged the students were, but also how open our businesses were to share with them,” says Adelle.

Students came up with many solutions, which were presented at the end of the two weeks. These included a prototype for a mask dispenser at a supermarket, ideas for a local website, a mountain bike park and ways to solve the worker shortage crisis for local orchards.

The local community garden was growing produce, but locals did not necessarily know what was available, so one student came up with a solution.

“We wanted our students to see themselves as problem-solvers and innovators, and we wanted them to see that in an authentic context and within their local community.”

Adelle Banks

“Luc, who focused on the community garden, found they weren’t getting people buying the vegetables from the community garden. He set up a Facebook page that he puts on the Teviot Valley noticeboard, that now has 140 followers – and he still does it even though the project is over!” says Adelle.

After the empathy building workshop, several groups of students were keen to do something for the rest home over the road, but they were constrained by Covid restrictions.

“But they managed to be able to speak to someone outside the rest home and they sent emails. In the end they formed a choir and sang outside the windows. The rest home posted on the Teviot Valley noticeboard how thrilled they were and how wonderful that was for their residents. It was such great feedback for the students,” says Adelle.

Teacher feedback

The project was a big ask for teachers at the end of a stressful year and some teachers who had not done this kind of work before initially found it difficult. But Adelle says that with the support of the outside provider, teachers found the experience very worthwhile. She hopes the project will be repeated this year.

Tukutuku Kōrero

45

Adelle Banks brainstorming project ideas with a group of Year 9 and 10 students.

“The provider gave a lot of ideas for how to teach things such as brainstorming and empathy. But we also used their strengths, for example the maths teacher did the data workshop.

“Initially they found it quite stressful, especially if they hadn’t done that type of work before. It took quite a lot of extra work, especially at the end of the year. But at the end they said it was an amazing way to build relationships with students that they don’t necessarily teach; also to see their students in a different light. Some students might not shine in class, but get them into that problem-solving technology area and they just fly.”

development part of orcharding, and it just makes them think a little bit more than just picking the fruit.”

Adelle thinks that many of the students now see themselves as innovators and problem-solvers and have learned more about what their community values.

“When we did our own expo when the students were presenting, we had parents come in too and they gave students a lot of validation about what they’d done, as well as other people in the community.

“It’s all about that connection with our local community, having an authentic context for students – that’s wonderful local curriculum,” she says.

Horizons widened

Pathways to employment

Adelle reflects that the students’ awareness of what goes on in their community was increased and many authentic connections were made.

“I don’t think they realised how many wonderful businesses we have. They even said later that they LOVED the expo, just getting to talk to different people. They go to Jimmy’s Pies, but they don’t necessarily get to talk to Dennis, the owner. Even having him come in and being able to ask questions was really powerful – to be able to delve into how he started and developed his business.

“We’ve got a lot of students who pick fruit in their summer holidays, but none of them really look any further than that – they don’t delve into what they do.

“We ended up getting two former students to talk about the issues the orchard sector has faced. One of the women had been at school at Roxburgh, gone overseas and then got a degree and came back and she’s right in that design and

46

Education Gazette

The initiative has helped the school build stronger connections with local businesses, but Adelle also says providing this experience to younger students was beneficial.

“Often, we have people come in and talk to Year 12 and 13 students, maybe Year 11 too. We do career expos and we take our older students to look at businesses like Fulton Hogan. But actually, at a younger age, you want them to start thinking about what is possible. What do they enjoy and what is out there that they could be aspiring to?

“And now they know if you go into horticulture, you can actually be at management level – you can go and get a science degree and go into a business like that.

“Quite a few students liked digital technology and could see that they can have a job in that sector if that’s what they want to do. We’ve certainly had quite a big uptake of students wanting to do digital technology as an option this year,” she concludes.

gazette.education.govt.nz

The community garden Facebook page has resulted in extra money to buy more seeds and equipment and to pay the water bill, says volunteer Alice Moore, pictured in the garden with Luc.

Community garden kōrero Year 10 student Luc and Roxburgh community garden organiser Alice Moore kōrero about Luc’s project What was your solution to help the community garden and how did you develop it?

Luc: To help the community garden I had to come up with the idea of a Facebook page to inform the community when the garden was open. After doing some research I decided to create a Facebook page showing which fresh veggies were for sale every week.

How successful has it been and how do you think it has helped the garden, and the community?

Luc: I can’t believe how big a difference it has made towards the Roxburgh community garden. We have a lot more customers than we did last year. If I continue on my Facebook page, lots more people will want to

What motivated you to get involved and why?

Luc: When I was working at the community garden the volunteers told me that we were not getting enough customers because nobody knew about it or what was for sale. So I decided to change that by creating a Facebook page and make sure that everybody knew that there were fresh veggies being sold and without chemicals on them. I love getting involved and I guess this is what I am good at.

Alice, what was the problem you sought help with and how had you tried to solve it in the past?

Alice: We did not have enough customers and therefore often had extra produce. We relied mainly on word of mouth in the community.

How has Luc helped the community garden?

Alice: Luc has been working with us every Saturday since last June as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award. His Facebook page has significantly increased the number of customers we now receive. We are able to use this extra money to buy more seeds and equipment and to pay the water bill.

buy fresh veggies.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

47

Rangi Ruru Girls’ High School students Victoria, Lucy, Maggie, Meg, Holly and Elle performed alongside teacher Henare Kaa and fellow Dillastrate band members Tim Driver and Jamie Thomson.

48

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

MUSIC

Ōtautahi music teacher hits the charts – with students’ backing Music teacher Henare Kaa is supporting his talented students to get a taste of the music industry, with their latest project hitting the New Zealand Music Top 10 Te Reo Māori Singles Chart, and the Hot NZ Singles Chart.

L

ife itself is one big classroom, says Henare Kaa. A music teacher at Christchurch’s Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, Henare spends his days outside of the classroom performing in the band Dillastrate.

At the beginning of February, the band’s song Tāwara Ana was number 10 on the official New Zealand Music Top 10 Te Reo Māori Singles Chart. It was also number 12 on the Hot NZ Singles Chart.

The song featured vocals from Henare’s 2021 Year 12 Commercial Music class.

Tāwara Ana, with te reo Māori lyrics, was based on the original Dillastrate song, Party in My Head.

“It’s about me having ADHD and celebrating the party that is always going on in someone with a hyperactive mind,” says Henare.

Henare wrote the song, which was then translated into te reo Māori

by Te Reo Tautito for Māori Language Week.

Taking the song into the studio, he matched the background music from Party in My Head, with the new te reo lyrics. He involved New Zealand producer Black Comet and Laughton Kora (from the wellknown band Kora).

Henare says they wanted to give the song a unique point of difference – and that was where his music class came in.

Supported by Henare, the Rangi Ruru students stepped outside of their comfort zones and into the recording studio.

“I wanted to show them they are capable and they have the ability and potential to do amazing things,” he says.

The students ended up contributing improvised vocal lines and group vocals to the song.

Student Maggie Craw says it was intimidating in the recording booth with everyone looking in.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

49

“But it’s so satisfying afterwards hearing the final version on Spotify. The fact that this song is now in the Top 10 is just a bonus,” she says.

“I mix my mahi in the music industry with the mahi I do at school and so every opportunity I can involve the students in, I do,” adds Henare.

Mixing with the music industry

Musicians have visited the class sharing what it’s like to be a working artist in the New Zealand scene. The students have spent an afternoon with LAB going through their soundcheck at Horncastle Arena. They’ve also hung out with Shapeshifter and Tiki Taane behind the scenes.

“I’m very fortunate to have a group of very talented wāhine who are able to sing and perform at such a high level,” says Henare.

“Giving them the opportunity to be a part of the waiata, it’s not just because they can, it’s because their involvement makes the song special.”

After putting the song together, Henare was approached by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, who arranged the song for the Sparks in the Park concert.

“I think it’s only fair that I share what I have with our rangatahi.

When you can put what you’ve learned in the classroom into practice, you learn so much more.

It helps you to understand if a certain career is what you actually want to follow and pursue.”

Henare Kaa Three chamber music students also performed with the group at the Christchurch Town Hall for the Go Live! Festival.

Henare says this was another opportunity to feature his students, but this time, live on stage.

The group performed with Dillastrate in front of tens of thousands of people crowded into Hagley Park.

“Unreal.” “Insane.” “Amazing,” are the words used by the students describing the experience.

“The lesson here is not just about the performance but it’s about learning to work as a group knowing that when you step out onto the stage and there’s a huge crowd looking back at you, you understand that, okay, I’m up because I can be up here,’ and ‘I’m up here because I have the skill, it doesn’t really matter that I may be young and less experienced, I’ve got the opportunity. The music and having fun is what entertains people,” says Henare.

50

Education Gazette

Maggie adds that being on stage wasn’t even scary as they were all together.

“It was so nice to be on the stage with some friends and sing. The view was also so cool, looking out at all the people was so unique.

“I’ve learned how good it is to say yes to opportunities because it always ends up being super fun,” she says.

The students also got to see how background operations work at a music festival, interacting with the Christchurch City Council and event team.

“When they go to festivals when they’re older, they will now have that perspective and appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes,” says Henare.

Real-life opportunities

Henare says one of the best parts was the song hitting the charts with its te reo Māori lyrics.

Henare says he looks back on his musical career and wishes he had similar opportunities when he was at school.

“It’s about providing students with real-life opportunities.

They’re just as beneficial, if not more beneficial, than being in front of a whiteboard.

“You’ve got to know your values and how to look after your hauora as well as be a good performing musician,” he says.

Henare wants to make it easier for young musicians hoping to be the future faces of the New Zealand music scene.

“I think it’s only fair that I share what I have with our rangatahi. When you can put what you’ve learned in the classroom into practice, you learn so much more. It helps you to understand if a certain career is what you actually want to follow and pursue.”

Henare adds that he would have loved to have learned that entertaining is primarily about working with others and having fun when he was at high school.

“Hopefully through these lessons, the students won’t have to go through some of the difficult stuff I went through to get to where I am. It’s about not being naive to the music industry,” he says.

“It’s important they know how to deal with disappointment and soldier on.”

Henare wanted his students to see just how enjoyable working in the music industry can be.

Student Lucy Aitken said through the process she now understands how to properly record music – something she hopes to do herself one day.

“I love songwriting and have written some of my own,” she says.

Student Holly Williams says the whole experience was unreal.

“It’s insane to think that something we did as a music class has made it to the charts.”

Listen to Tāwara Ana on YouTube, or search for it on Spotify or Apple Music.

gazette.education.govt.nz

Is your school an awesome place for students?

How does your school contribute to the vision to make Aotearoa NZ the ‘best place in the world for children and young people’?

What would your students say?

Student Wellbeing Measures Project The Ministry of Education is undertaking a Student Wellbeing Measures project that commences in phase 1 with actively listening to the voice of students and ākonga to understand what ‘student wellbeing’ looks like for students in schools across Aotearoa NZ. This information will help us develop a consistent set of measures of student wellbeing that may be used to support schools to monitor, respond and improve student wellbeing.

Students in Years 7-13 are invited to directly engage in this project to have their say. This period of engagement is open until 30 June 2022.

Schools are invited to support student engagement through Ministry provided in-class and online learning options.

Class handbooks and resources are provided.

Please contact the Project Team at edkstudent.measures@education.govt.nz or directly indicate your school’s interest and order your resources here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MOEWellbeingfeedback

NOTICEB OARD

Maths Teachers

Best School Trip Competition Get your class to email a 200 word article with photos describing their best school trip and be in the draw to win $250 for your school.

Reduce Workload and Stress (Years 11-13) Use our Editable Assessment Masters, Internal and End of Year.

Entries will be printed in Education Beyond the Classroom distributed to schools with the Education Gazette on 23rd May 2022.

www.sincos.co.nz

Entries close 15 April 2022.

Email entries to Jill Parker (04) 915 9798 jill.parker@nzme.co.nz

SINCOS Mission Statement: Reducing Teacher Workload

GEN ERAL VACANCI ES

NMSSA

Wā n a n g a t i a t e Pu t a n g a Ta u i r a

National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement

APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR TEACHER ASSESSORS • Health and Physical Education • Mathematics and Statistics

To view the PLD, general notice listings and vacancies at gazette.education.govt.nz Professional learning Vacancies Scan the QR codes Notices with the camera and development on your device.

Applications are now open for effective and committed teachers to be trained as NMSSA assessors to implement the 2022 programme with Year 4 and Year 8 students. Positions nationwide.

PLD

NOTICES

VACANCIES

We are seeking teachers: • with curriculum interests, responsibilities or skills in health and physical education, or mathematics and statistics; • who are able to clearly demonstrate cultural responsiveness to, and affinity with, children from diverse backgrounds, particularly Māori and Pacific; • who can communicate and establish relationships effectively with children, teachers and parents; • who can follow procedures and work accurately with attention to detail; and • who can work confidently with digital technology and new software.

APPLICATIONS: OPEN Mon 21 Feb CLOSE Mon 28 March Online application form and detailed information available at https://nmssa.otago.ac.nz.

Specific enquiries to freephone 0800 808561 or email nmssa.earu@otago.ac.nz.

NMSSA is conducted by the Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU), University of Otago, in partnership with the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), under contract to the Ministry of Education.

E tautoko ana Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo i te kaupapa whakaorite whiwhinga mahi.

Equal opportunity in employment is University of Otago policy.

Educational Assessment Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin

52

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

VACANCI ES

Kaitohu Mātauranga – Education Advisor New Zealand Council for Educational Research

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao!

Do you have expertise in growing assessment capability?

Applicants should have:

We are looking for a Kaitohu Mātauranga – Education Advisor. The person in this role will provide high-quality professional advice to schools and kura, promote and support effective use of NZCER’s suite of assessment and survey tools, and deliver professional learning and development (PLD). You will work with Kāhui Ako, leadership teams and kaiako across Aotearoa New Zealand.

» sound experience as a school leader or educator in Aotearoa New Zealand » knowledge of how Te Tiriti o Waitangi applies in an education context » sound understanding of effective assessment practices and assessment tools » demonstrated experience in using assessment data to improve practice » experience working in Māori contexts » excellent communication skills and ability to convey complex ideas » adult learning facilitation skills » experience working in Māori-medium education would be an advantage.

In this role, you will grow NZCER’s education sector networks and continuously improve our service delivery. You will also contribute to research and resource development projects.

You may already have experience in the provision of PLD, and/or be a principal or teacher with leadership experience looking for a career change. This is an exciting opportunity to join NZCER and contribute to transformational change.

To apply and for more information about the position, please visit our website: www.nzcer.org.nz/news/kaitohu-m-tauranga-education-advisor.

Applications close 5pm 30 March 2022.

PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL TOTARA GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL TOTARA GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Do you have a vacancy that you would like to advertise to the education sector?

Place an advertisement in the display vacancies section and reach both the passive and active jobseekers by contacting Jill Parker: jill.parker@nzme.co.nz 027 212 9277

U5 Decile 2 Year 0—6

Commencing Term 3 2022 or PRINCIPAL

TOTARA SCHOOL U5 Decile Year 0—6 GROVE PRIMARY Commencing Term 3 2022 or Roll2300 by negotiation U5 Decile 2 TOTARA Year 0—6 GROVE PRIMARY Commencing Term 3 2022 or bySCHOOL negotiation We Roll seek 300 an experienced innovative school leader with proven U5 Decile 2 Year 0—6 Commencing Term 3 2022 or Roll for 300the cultural diversity within by negotiation empathy our school.

We seek an experienced innovative school leader with proven Rollan300 by leader negotiation We seek experienced innovative school with proven

empathy for the cultural diversity within our school.

Our children a leader Our staffour want a strong, empathy for the cultural diversity within school.

We seekwant an experienced innovative school leader with inspiring proven leader

empathy for the cultural diversity within“who ourisschool. genuine”

“who is kind”

Our children want a leader Our children want a leader “who stands up for us”

Our want a leader “who ischildren kind” “who “who iswants kind”us to have a

Our staff want a strong, inspiring leader

Our staff want a strong, inspiring leader “who has an understanding of Tikanga andwant Te AoaMaori ” inspiring leader “who isstrong, genuine” Our staff “who is genuine”

“who is an effective communicator” “who hasunderstanding an understanding of Tikanga “who an of Tikanga “who ishas genuine” TeMaori Ao Maori ” andand Te Ao ” “who has an understanding of Tikanga “who anMaori and TeisAo ” communicator” “who iseffective an effective communicator”

better future”

“who stands upupfor “who stands forus” us” “who is kind” “who wants have “who stands us”a “who wants ususup totofor have better future” better future” “who wants us to have a better future”

Our whānau want a leader “who is an effective communicator” “who is adaptable” “who is approachable”

Our whānau want a leader

whānau a leader “who is Our observant, caringwant and understanding”

Our whānau want a leader “who is adaptable” “is approachable and “in-touch” with the com“who is adaptable” Applications close 12pm, 8th April 2022.

Application packs are available online at “who is is approachable” “who adaptable” munity” www.totaragrove.school.nz, at the school office (38 Corks Road, Kamo, Whangarei “whoisis approachable” is observant, caring and understanding” “who approachable” phone 09 4350019)“who or email at office@totaragrove.school.nz.

“who isis8th observant, caring understanding” “is approachable and “in-touch” with the com“who observant, caring andand understanding” Applications close 12pm, April 2022.

Application packs are available online at munity” www.totaragrove.school.nz, at the school office (38 Corks Road, Kamo, online Whangarei “is approachable and “in-touch” with the com“is approachable and “in-touch” with theavailable comApplications close12pm, 12pm, 8th April Application packs are at Applications close 8th April2022.

2022.

Application packs are available online at phone 09 4350019) or email at office@totaragrove.school.nz. munity” munity” www.totaragrove.school.nz, at the school office (38 Corks Road, Kamo, Whangarei

www.totaragrove.school.nz, at the school office (38 Corks Road, Kamo, Whangarei phone 4350019)or oremail email at phone 09 09 4350019) atoffice@totaragrove.school.nz. office@totaragrove.school.nz.

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

53

S E N IOR LEADERSH I P Y0-8 VACANCI ES

54

Education Gazette

gazette.education.govt.nz

S E N IOR LEADERSH I P Y0-8 VACANCI ES

21 March 2022

Tukutuku Kōrero

55

S E N I O R LE ADE R S H I P Y7-15 VACAN CI E S Deputy Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua – 6 MU plusTuarua 1 SMA Deputy Principal/He Tumuaki – 6 MU plus 1 SMA Papakura High School is seeking to appoint a Deputy Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua to

on Monday 13 June 2022 or earlier by negotiation.Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua to Papakura commence High School is seeking to appoint a Deputy a full time, permanent position. commenceThis onis Monday 13 June 2022 or earlier by negotiation.

E AL

R

Tenaa koutou nga Rangatira te Kura o Papakura.

T!

mihi atu tenei kia koutou e kaha nei ki te Ako, Manaaki i to tatau Tikanga.

This is a fullE tuku time, permanent position.

Tenei Turanga kiarangatira. mohio mai i tona Aokanga mai tetahi Kura teitei ki te whakatakoto nga Teenaa koutou e ngaa Mahere Rautaki.

- E Matatau ana ki te Reo Māori.

Ko teenei Tuarua te Kura Tuarua o Papakura e tuku mihi atuRua. ana ki a koutou e kaha nei ki te Tua toru - Kua Matatau ki nga Matauranga I roto te Reo wha - Kiai pai te whakawhiti korero ki te whakahaere nga Maaori. mahi. ako me teTua manaaki to kitaatou tikanga me too taatou oReo Strategic responsibility for Kaupapa Māori and whānau/community engagement.

Me moohio mai te kaitono i ngaa aahuatanga o te whakaako i nga tamariki Maaori i High School is a co-educational secondary with a growing roll that currently ngaa KuraPapakura Tuarua.

Me moohio hoki te tangata kischool te whakatakoto Mahere Rautaki.

Carmel College

serves around 1000 students.

Approximately of studentski identify as Māori.

This is a key strategic leadership role at Tuarua - Me matatau60% te kaitono te Reo Maaori. our school to work closely with whānau and community to help realise the aspirations they

their rangatahi.

Tua toru - have Me for tautohito ia ki ngaa aahuatanga o te whakaako i ngaa reo e rua.

Principal Appointment

The successful applicant will –

Tua wha – Me kaha ia ki te whakawhiti koorero me te whakahaere kaupapa o te kura.

• Have proven success as a middle or senior leader in a NZ school •

Be fluent in Te Reo Māori and have a strong knowledge of Tikanga

•

Have the willingness and ability to work collaboratively in a team

Strategic responsibility for Kaupapa • Have experience in bi-lingual Maaori education and whānau/community engagement.

• Have excellent communication and organisational skills.

Papakura High School is a co-educational secondary school with a growing roll that • Have high expectations of students • Have a genuine commitment to raising Māori achievement currently serves around 1000 students.

See Full display advertisement in the Vol 101, Issue 4 Education Gazette 11th April

• Be able to facilitate or adapt to change in teaching and learning methods Approximately 60% students identify This is a key strategic leadership Deputyof Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua – 6as MU Maaori. plus 1 SMA High School is seeking to appoint a Deputy Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua to Papakura High School is seeking to appoint a Deputy Principal/He Tuarua to Papakura pack is available on request from Principal’s Philippa Kaisser at role atTumuaki ourApplication school to work closely with whānau andPA, community to help realise the commence on Monday 13 June 2022 or earlier by negotiation. commence on Monday 13 June 2022 or earlier by negotiation. p.kaisser@papakurahigh.school.nz This is a full permanent position.

This is a full time, permanent position. aspirations they have fortime,their rangatahi.

Deputy Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua – 6 MU plus 1 SMA

Tenaa koutou nga Rangatira te Kura o Papakura.

Tenaa koutou Rangatira4teApril Kura oatPapakura.

Applications close onnga Monday 4pm

E tuku mihi atu tenei kia koutou e kaha nei ki te Ako, Manaaki i to tatau Tikanga.

E tuku mihi atu tenei kia koutou e kaha nei ki te Ako, Manaaki i to tatau Tikanga.

The successful applicant will – An application pack and referees form will be available from The Education Group Turanga kia mohio mai i tona Aokanga mai tetahi Kura teitei ki te whakatakoto nga Tenei Turanga kia mohio mai i tona Aokanga mai tetahi Kura teitei ki te whakatakoto nga • Have provenTenei success Mahere Rautaki. as a middle or senior leader in a NZ school Rautaki. website www.educationgroup.co.nz from 4th April 2022 Mahere Tuarua - E Matatau ana ki te Reo Māori.

Tuarua - E Matatau ana ki te Reo Māori.

TuaReo toru - Kua Matatau ki nga Matauranga Reo Rua. knowledge of Tikanga Tua toru - Kua Matatau ki nga Matauranga I roto te Reo• Rua. Be fluent in Te Maaori and haveI roto a testrong Tua wha - Kia pai ki te whakawhiti korero ki te whakahaere o nga mahi.

Tua wha - Kia pai ki te whakawhiti korero ki te whakahaere o nga mahi.

Any queries please contact Julie Schumacher • Have experience in bi-lingual education Strategic responsibility for Kaupapa Māori and whānau/community engagement.

Strategic responsibility for Kaupapa Māori and whānau/community engagement. jschumacher@educationgroup.co.nz Papakura High School is a co-educational secondary school with a growing roll that currently Papakura High School is a co-educational secondary school with a growing roll that currently • Have excellent communication and organisational skills. serves around 1000 students. serves around 1000 students.

60% of students identify as Māori. This is a key strategic leadership role at Approximately 60% of students identify as Māori. This is a key strategic leadership roleApproximately at our school to work closely whānau and community to help realise the aspirations they our school to work closely with whānau and community to the aspirations they •help realise Have high expectations of with students have for their rangatahi. have for their rangatahi.

The successful applicant will – to raising Maaori achievement The successful applicant will – • Have a genuine commitment • Have proven success as a middle or senior leader in a NZ school • Have proven success as a middle or senior leader in a NZ school • Be fluentand in Te Reo Māori andto have a strongcollaboratively knowledge of Tikanga • Be fluent in Te Reo Māori and have a strong knowledge of Tikanga the willingness • Have ability work in a team • Have experience in bi-lingual education • Have experience in bi-lingual education • Have excellent communication and organisational skills.

• Have excellent communication and organisational skills.

• Be able to facilitate or expectations adapt to change in teaching and learning methods • Have high of students • Have high expectations of students • • •

Have a genuine commitment to raising Māori achievement Have the willingness and ability to work collaboratively in a team Be able to facilitate or adapt to change in teaching and learning methods

•

Have a genuine commitment to raising Māori achievement

Have the willingness and ability to work collaboratively in a team Application pack is•• available onor adapt request from Principal’s PA, Be able to facilitate to change in teaching and learning methods Application pack is available on request from Principal’s PA, Philippa Kaisser at Philippa Kaisser at p.kaisser@papakurahigh.school.nz p.kaisser@papakurahigh.school.nz

Application pack is available on request from Principal’s PA, Philippa Kaisser at p.kaisser@papakurahigh.school.nz Applications close on Monday 4 April at 4pm

Applications close on Monday 4 April at 4pm Applications close on Monday 4 April at 4pm

close on Monday 4 April at 4pm pack is available on request from Principal’s PA, Philippa Kaisser at apakurahigh.school.nz proven success as a middle or senior leader in a NZ school uent in Te Reo Māori and have a strong knowledge of Tikanga experience in bi-lingual education excellent communication and organisational skills. high expectations of students a genuine commitment to raising Māori achievement the willingness and ability to work collaboratively in a team ble to facilitate or adapt to change in teaching and learning methods

St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College

ga kia mohio mai i tona Aokanga mai tetahi Kura teitei ki te whakatakoto nga taki. atatau ana ki te Reo Māori. ua Matatau ki nga Matauranga I roto te Reo Rua. ia pai ki te whakawhiti korero ki te whakahaere o nga mahi. u nga Rangatira te Kura o Papakura. atu tenei kia koutou e kaha nei ki te Ako, Manaaki i to tatau Tikanga. time, permanent position. igh School is seeking to appoint a Deputy Principal/He Tumuaki Tuarua to on Monday 13 June 2022 or earlier by negotiation. cipal/He Tumuaki Tuarua – 6 MU plus 1 SMA

We are seeking a committed and experienced Senior Leader who will alongside the Establishment Board create a culture and pedagogy that promotes development of students of conscience, competence, compassion and commitment.

» Be an active and committed Catholic.

sponsibility for Kaupapa Māori and whānau/community engagement.

The Foundation Principal will be a passionate and future focused leader committed to a culture of excellence, giving effect to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, truly committed to the holistic development of each student, a caring and critical thinker, with the pervading philosophy of finding God in all things.

They will –

igh School is a co-educational secondary school with a growing roll that currently nd 1000 students. ly 60% of students identify as Māori. This is a key strategic leadership role at o work closely with whānau and community to help realise the aspirations they ir rangatahi.

The opening of St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College in 2024 provides a unique opportunity for the Foundation Principal to lead this Year7-13 co-educational Catholic state integrated school. Situated in the Franklin Region of Auckland at Drury this Ignatian College will be part of the network of Auckland Catholic Schools and additionally part of the Australian Jesuit’s school network which reflects the vision of St Ignatius of Loyola.

sful applicant will –

FOUNDATION PRINCIPAL/TUMUAKI

» Be an engaging leader with proven capacity to work collaboratively with whanau, hapu and iwi. » Celebrate diversity and value inclusiveness. » Be an experienced and dynamic educator with a deep understanding of effective pedagogy. » Demonstrate exceptional people skills with which to build a strong team and motivate staff to achieve and fulfill the vision.

A willingness and ability to take part in religious instruction appropriate to the Special Character of the school shall be a condition of appointment.

The position commences on 17 October 2022.

Applications close at 4.00pm on 14 April 2022.

Please contact Linda McQuade, for further information and electronic application pack.

Email l.mcquade@xtra.co.nz Phone 021 186 6394.

WESTLAKE GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL Remember when work was fun? When like-minded teaching professionals sparked ideas off each other, explored new ways to stimulate young minds and encouraged curiosity and learning through hard work and genuine enquiry.

Well, good news, such a thriving school environment still exists…..

Welcome to Westlake Girls High School, one of the best performing girls’ schools in New Zealand. Superbly situated on Auckland’s North Shore, with a roll in excess of 2100 culturally diverse students, we enjoy a reputation for excellence across academic achievement, sports, the arts and cultural activities. To strengthen our management team, we are now looking to appoint two inspirational leaders with the drive, passion and enthusiasm to make a real contribution to our future success.

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

HEAD OF FACULTY - SCIENCE

We are looking for a Deputy Principal with the intellect, credentials, imagination, passion and proven leadership prowess to join a senior team that does challenge the status quo, enjoys working together and is prepared to take risks. You will assist in the running of the school, creating and implementing our strategic and annual plans and will take on various leadership, management and mentoring duties. You will demonstrate an uncompromising commitment to the special character of our school, go the extra mile for your students and staff teams and display the mana that imbues confidence, trust and belief. If you feel you have what it takes to succeed in this challenging yet rewarding career opportunity, please submit a convincing application.

We are ready to be impressed. Ref. #:1HAT8Z

As Head of Faculty - Science, you will ensure the successful delivery of innovative and stimulating programmes across Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Junior Sciences. You will lead and inspire a team of 21 accomplished science practitioners. Applications are invited from experienced teaching professionals with a deep understanding of the NCEA Science curriculum and the leadership qualities required to be credible in this prestigious role. If you feel you have what it takes to lead one of the most successful science teaching teams in New Zealand, please impress us with your application. Ref. #:1HAT8A

CLOSING DATE - MONDAY 4TH APRIL 2022

CLOSING DATE - THURSDAY 31ST MARCH 2022

Interested? Please contact our retained consultant Andrew Harris, Blackcat Education for a confidential chat on 021 0296 9891.

For an Application Pack, please contact Jane Parkinson at jane@blkcat.co.nz and quote the appropriate reference number.

Thank you, we look forward to hearing from you.

TAURANGA BOYS' COLLEGE

PRINCIPAL Tēnā koutou Tauranga Boys’ College is at the forefront of international trends in boys’ education and has become one of the top state boys’ schools in New Zealand. With a growing roll of 2100 students from diverse ethnicities, this thriving Decile 6 school for Years 9 - 13 is the best for boys and totally committed to the pursuit of excellence across all aspects of school life. Established in 1958, the College greatly respects stability and longevity, having only had six leaders since foundation. The Board is looking to appoint a new Principal who shares that sense of loyalty and commitment. Located in the heart of the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga is a stunningly beautiful place to live and one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Are you ready to become our next leader?

OUR NEW PRINCIPAL WILL:

• Be a role model who builds trust, is committed to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi with a deep understanding of the NZ Curriculum and grow the safe and supportive learning environment to sustain and further strengthen the unique culture of the school.

• Have the mana necessary for this prestigious role, be a clear thinker, calm under pressure, will set high expectations and be a persuasive communicator both orally and through the written word. You will

demonstrate an unwavering focus on being better than before and will honour our past while creating our future.

• Lead a talented team of teaching and non-teaching staff, manage the school’s financial performance and extensive property portfolio, continue the focus on academic excellence and ensure Tauranga Boys’ College remains dedicated to meeting the educational, social and developmental needs of all students.

APPLY NOW. Closing Date for Applications - 5.00pm Wednesday 30th March 2022 Contact Jane Parkinson at Blackcat Education for an Application Pack on jane@blkcat.co.nz For confidential enquiries, please contact Andrew Harris on 021 0296 9891 Also, please visit www.tbc.school.nz and our website www.blackcateducation.co.nz We look forward to hearing from you. Ngā mihi.

Nō konei ahau, nō mai rā anō

He iwi, he whakapapa, he tātai korero.

Te Takanga o Te Wā | Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories For more information please visit

education.govt.nz/AotearoaNZhistories

We all have a shared history, and our own stories to tell.

These stories are treasures to be cared for.

Our stories Ours to tell