Remainder of the Year Planner

2014 Term Three and Four Planner
This is a combination of the Kamar events planner and some senior leadership team discussions. 


Some key things to identify are that our seniors are under pressure with there being only around about 60 days of learning left in the academic year. 
Another important aspect is that we've yet to finalise the dates or the number of days that our senior school examinations will need.

Maori Language Week at Waihi College.

Maori Students and Waihi College

The 5th of our college annual goals ties nicely in with the Maori Language Week.  That goal states...
"Culturally Responsive Teaching - Teachers will continue to develop culturally responsive teaching practices that recognise the special place of Maori and Pacifika students to maximise effective learning relationships with students."

Waihi College is very much a bicultural school.  We have on our role 201 students that primarily identify themselves as Maori.  [based on the number of domestic students as at June 2014].

This means that 29% of our role, on enrolment have selected to identify firstly as Maori.  There will be an additional number of students that will see themselves a Pakeha first with some Maori ancestry/whakapapa. 

In year seven and eight 35% (67 students) of those cohorts primarily recognise themselves as Maori.  There is a case for speculating that students are becoming more open to acknowledging their culture.

What does it mean to be Maori?
An interesting thing that can be noted, within the statistics of Maori in the population of students at Waihi College, is that whilst there are significant numbers of students identifying as Maori only two thirds were able to connect/identify with a specific Iwi. 
 
n.b. Did you know that the Hauraki Maori Council officially recognised in the 1960's a new Iwi - Ngati Waihi.  None of the current group of students recognised themselves in this Iwi. 

Maori students are not getting the results that they should be getting.  We in NZ education have a collective issue on addressing this inequitable situation. 

Something tangible that we can all do as teachers is to check that we are honouring our Maori students names.  Here is a video highlighting that pronunciation is important.  The real key message is to be able to show the students that you care enough to try.

 

Here is that video by Key and Peele "Substitute Teacher" (comedy central)

 





2015 Term Dates

Official Term Dates
We have finalised the plan for next year.  Here are the main dates that you can book in for...

Term One 10 Weeks (from Tuesday 27 Jan to Thursday 2 April)

• 26 Jan Auckland Anniversary
• 27 Jan Teacher Only Day
• 28 Jan Teacher Only Day
• 29 Jan Year 7 Only
• 30 Jan Years 7 - 10 Only
• 2 Feb Full School
• 6 Feb Waitangi Day
• 2 April Last Day of Term

Term Two 11 Weeks (from Monday 20 April to Friday 3 July)

• 27 April Anzac Day (observed)
• 29 May Teacher Only Day
• 1 June Queens Birthday
• 3 July Last Day of Term.

Term Three 10 Weeks (from Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September)

• 31 August to 4 September (Week Seven) Winter Tournament Week
• 31 August Teacher Only Day
• 25 September Last Day of Term

Term Four 9 Weeks (from Monday 12 October to Friday 11 December)

• 26 October Labour Day (observed)
• 9 November NCEA External Examinations Start
• 11 December Last Day of Term/Year

Here is the calendar in a graphical format...

You can find this saved as an Excel spreadsheet on the s drive at S:\Administration\Waihi College 2015 Calendar.xlsx

Student Voice

How To Guide Student Voice

One of the important aspects of knowing your impact as a teacher is to gain some perspective from your students.  The following presentation was given to staff at morning professional development. 

The end of the second term marks a convenient time of the year to get some student voice. 

Here is the presentation that I made to staff...



It goes through the reasons behind gathering student voice. Ties the method/tools used into our appraisal system on OneNote and also links into the Registered Teacher Criteria. 

Here is the link to the actual student voice document I've set up for Waihi College.  http://learningwaihicollege.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/student-voice.html

Peer Review - DP

Feedback Learning Design - Justin Harper

Purpose - I am hoping to become a more relevant and efficient part of the school leadership team here at Waihi College.  In order for me to achieve this I really need to have some thoughtful, honest and pragmatic advice - I need to know what ways I can better assist you.  The following set of questions I've designed to try and create an opportunity for your input.  I anticipate that it should take no longer than 5 minutes.  Thank you in advance for your time and energy. 

Online Form - The following survey can also be completed using online survey at www.surveymonkey.com (hit the link below and it will take you to the right place).  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/98XXY6G

Key - a) Very Good, b) Proficient, c) Growth Needed, na) Not Applicable (need more information)

Personal Characteristics
1.  I am a clear communicator    a         b        c        na

2.  I am an efficient worker/good time manager    a         b        c        na

3.  I am available/approachable when needed    a         b        c        na

Professional Responsibilities
4.  I am an advocate for staff to Principal     a         b        c        na

5.  I am setting a clear direction on Professional Development     a         b        c        na

6.  I am setting a clear direction for staff appraisal      a         b        c        na

7.  I am "aware" of the key issues facing Teachers here at Waihi College     a         b        c        na
Things I should be doing more of (or more often)...
_______________________________________________________________
 
________________________________________________________________
 
________________________________________________________________

Things I should be doing less of (or less often)...
________________________________________________________________
 
________________________________________________________________
 
________________________________________________________________

Any other information/advice/hints...
________________________________________________________________
 
________________________________________________________________
 
________________________________________________________________

Again thank you for your time and input. 

Justin Harper. 

ART - Achievement Retention Transition - June Audit

How To Use Kamar Interview

I've set up on Kamar a place where staff (ideally the Learning Advisor) can sit down with a year 12 student and go through some questions about how their year is progressing towards NCEA level two. 

This is a pretty big job (about 5-10 minutes per student).  So ideally we want the Learning Advisor to pick out those students that they feel, probably indicated by their reports, may be in trouble with NCEA level two. 

I've set up a slide show that will show the teacher how to get to the right place on Kamar...



I'm available during morning Learning Advisory times to come an assist any year 12 Learning Advisors with these interviews.  The better the quality of these discussions the better our interventions can be for these students. 

Good Info For Parent Interviews

A Student Self Review

This is a review form that I adapted about twelve years ago (sorry I can't reference the original - it was from professional time management review - I adapted to focus on students). 

This is a form that I give to the students and say "you're not expecting to 'ace' this like a test but just to give an honest assessment of where you're at in learning here in this class".  Generally students are very honest and a lot of the material is relevant about trying to forge better links with home. 

I will highlight a few things with parents when I have an interview. 

Here is a copy (a few handed out in staff briefing too).  It would be silly for all teachers of any particular class to all do this - but good for at least one too (maybe kamar out to fellow teachers of any particular class if you have used it).

The original is saved in S:\Administration\Appraisal\Admin\Student Self Review.doc

Some New Staff Reference Books

Professional Reading

Here are some of the latest educational books available for staff in the staffroom. 

One of the best things about having a ready supply of books is that it allows you to expand your thinking about modern educational theory.  You can quickly pick up a few ideas over a weekend of reading and reading more about teaching will encourage you to try new things in the classroom. 

You will notice that several of these books have reviews in the staffroom (and some here in this blog - below).  I would be very grateful if you're taking a book that is yet to be review that you'd take that extra ten minutes to write a review for others.
 
Registered Teacher Criteria has several areas where professional reading can be used as evidence (see RTC#12 - "engaging with professional literature and reflecting on ones practice and RTC#5 - "actively contributing to a learning community"). 




I would also be very keen to hear if you've got some other titles to recommend. I'd love to see our teacher reference section grown and increase in relevance.

PLG Discussion - Five Powerful Questions to Ask Students

Good Questioning Techniques 

I found a very interesting article (click and the link will take you there) in Edutopia website (a nice source of material for teachers). 

It is an article written by at teacher and puts forward five simple questions (and presents reasons why we should be asking them).  It's nice to be reminded to take the time to make those links with our students. 

The questions are...

1. What do you think?
2. Why do you think that?
3. How do you know this?
4. Can you tell me more?
5. What questions do you still have?

A real encouragement to try and ascertain where your students thinking is at in any given topic/unit. 

Nb RTC 12 is about critically engaging with professional literature and reflecting on how this is part of your practice in the classroom. 

How to Check Your Interview Times

The following video has been put together as several staff have asked for instructions about how to use the schoolinterviews.co.nz website to check their appointment times. 

Hope that this helps. 

Know Thy Impact

Visible Learning For Teachers by John Hattie

Review by Justin

John Hattie is a person that I admire.  He would be the most globally recognised kiwi born educational theorist around.  Many teachers that have come through Auckland University will most likely know of Hattie. 

The most powerful thing about Hattie's book is that it is not a single educational idea that John has come up with and researched.  Rather Hattie decided to take as much educational research as he could find (over 800 separate research projects over 15 years involving over 240 million students) and do some meta analysis. 

Hattie formulated at means of quantifying the 'effect' of different factors of education.  That is he's examined the positive (and negative) influences various teaching decisions have had on learning.  For example he quantified  that good feedback is four times as effective in improving learning as finding secluded place for study. 

Hattie begins by pointing out that in his time dealing with hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers that most of us are doing 'good' things.  But he wanted to be able to see the effect of what we do and work out what are the 'best' things we could be doing.  

I found that this book was very good for thinking about what I'm doing in the classroom as a teacher.  It made me rethink my practice, and deeply consider the impact I'm having on learning.  What's more I seriously began to think about expanding my practice and trying new things to become a better teacher. 

The downside of this book is that Hattie is ultimately an academic.  The reading and theory can get fairly heavy (and this is the easier 'how to' version for teachers).  I found that some of the chapters merged into one.  The last 80 pages are all appendices of sorts. 

I would recommend that all teachers read the intro and conclusion as Hattie really lays down the challenge of improving learning at the feet of teachers.   He presents a persuasive argument and sets about trying to expand our horizons in education. 

Ultimately this is great book for those staff wanting answers to the question - How can I maximise learning in my classroom?

This was one of the youtube clips that led me to this book by Hattie...

 

Appraisal Where You Should Be

Appraisal Steps...
This is a good time of the year to be making sure that you're on track with you own development and appraisal.  You should have been taking the time to fill in the "Profile Page".

Here you can find a place to record all the core part of your role here at Waihi College.  There are links to the professional standards, registered teacher criteria and cultural competencies'.  There is also a descriptor of your job description(s). 

You can find lots of the information (MOE #'s etc) on your payslip from Novopay. 

Inserting a optional photo is just a cut and paste. 


Talking with Your Appraiser & PLC
At this stage you should have made initial contact with at least two key people (hopefully three).  They are one your appraiser (see the list under the "Appraisal Grid" page in the section titled "Waihi References") and the other is a colleague that you feel you can have meaningful conversations with about your goals and development this year. 


First Meeting with Appraiser
There are two pages that you should have filled in prior to this meeting.  They’re under the headings of “Preparation for Initial” and “Goal Setting”. 

You will need about 20 minutes to fill these in.  Be expecting that your Appraiser should be asking you good positive questions about your goals.   The purpose is to have you come out of your comfort zone so that you’re learning.  As such the actual goals you settle upon should be 80% from you and 20% influence (give or take) from your Appraiser. 

Having input from your Professional Learning Colleague/Community is vital at this stage.  It is about creating degrees of accountability.  Ultimately we are accountable to ourselves (and this is reflected in the 12RTC’s when we register ourselves as professional educators)… but having an Appraiser and PLC talking with us should keep our goals relevant and real. 

Keeping Track

Remember to keep a record of your meetings.  Make efforts to summarise the general consensus of the discussion.  We need to be highly reflective in our practice… it is better if you have some challenge in your conversations as this leads to deeper reflection.  But always keep in mind that we must maintain those high level trust relationships.    


Beginning Your Inquiry

The goals that you’ve set – particularly your goal focussed on students achievement in you classroom.  This (these) will be the primary basis for establishing your ‘Teaching as Inquiry’ cycle this year.  You can read about this in the sections marked… “Inquiry Plan Template” and “Teaching as Inquiry”.  I’ll be posting on this shortly (and some morning PD sessions too).