Waimairi School - A goal without a plan is just a wish!

Wairmairi School is a school on a mission.   While listening to the Principal, Mike Anderson, a quote most certainly came to mind..."A goal without a plan is just a wish".  Mike's vision for Wairmairi involves teachers being 'designers' of learning not merely planners of it.  While we walked through classrooms, I was taken with the design of the spaces that were made within classrooms, showing innovative ideas, practical flow and accessibility.  Classes ranged from old single prefabs to MLEs.  Mike believed that teachers needed to design spaces which involved prototyping learning spaces.  This design process was spread over 3 years and is ongoing...all in preparation for the re-building of this earthquake damaged school.
In the beginning, the school held a 'convention' on site.  Money raised by this event, was then used to fund a 'study tour' for all staff of the school (including auxillary staff) to Melbourne.  While in Melbourne staff sought out information and resources around contemporary schooling and on the last day of their tour, staff attended a work shop on developing shared design principles.  This set the scene for the Wairmairi journey of renewal.
Part of Mikes vision is to 'design outwards' through discovery learning and planned settings using inquiry, solo (Pam Hook), learning-by-design (Dr Julia Atkin), ako and shared knowledge.
Mike ensured staff discussed the vision behind the New Zealand Curriculum and teachers use the essence page of the NZC to review their programmes against the curriculum. 
Mike shared the Alan Watts short video about Music and Life - he encourages his teachers to 'make music' with learning...listening to him speak, I heard his music!  I think life at Waimairi School is an orchestra of instruments.

Mindsets - in Maths

During our Math professional development, we have touched on Carol Dwecks ideas around "Mindset" and that we can grow our brain's capacity to solve problems.  While we discussed Carol's ideas and watched her talking about the different sets of 'fixed' and 'growth' mindsets, I was constantly reflecting on my own mindset, the mindset of some of my family members, staff members and students in our school. 
Below is a short clip of Carol describing two ways to think about a problem that's slightly too hard to solve.  Are you 'not smart enough to solve it'...or have you 'just not solved it yet'?

When we viewed the types of language used by 'Fixed' and 'Growth' mindsets, I could make connections between the way I think about things, not just in the classroom, but in life too.  The power of 'yet' also resonated with me as it gives a pathway to the future that the word 'fail' doesn't - particularly with the students I work with.  This PD was an opportunity to reflect on how and why I think the way I do.  It highlighted to me how important it is to know the learners and to think about the responses I give them to ensure they reflect a positive, growth mindset.
I can see 'mindsets' as a whole new feather to my cloak and I can't wait to set it in motion...starting tomorrow!!

Real writing at work.

This week I am on the Manaiakalani Principals Tour. I have A LOT to blog about on this tour and will when I get a chance to sit down and go through the notes and photos I'll be putting my experiences and new learning and 'wonderings' on my blog.
For now though, I want to briefly write about my visit to one of the classes at Waitakiri School.  This is a great school with an amazing Principal, staff and children.
While walking through the school I was privileged to met a young little learner called Shiloh.

Shiloh is 7 years old and was happy to take time out of her busy learning to share with me a wonderful piece of writing she was doing about being a passenger on a ship from England in the 1850s. Her writing was very descriptive, she wrote of the movement of the ship, the sky above and the sea below. She told of her feelings about going to a strange new land and beginning a new life.  Her teacher and class mates were on a journey together to find out about what life was like for earlier settlers to our country.  Shiloh used what she had learned through her inquiry to create the story she was writing during literacy time.
I found Shiloh to be a very articulate, curious learner who enjoyed writing and was proud of her work.
Thank you Shiloh, for sharing your learning with me and taking me on a small piece of your wonderful learning journey.

A fantastic little Ap to have!

Being in a digital school there's lots to show and tell when we have guests come to check out what we do...and we have many guests.  So, as you can imagine, there has been many a time when 'murphy's law' comes to play with setting up and showing a presentation to guests only to find there's a glitch in the technology.
Well, this fantastic little ap should take some of that stress away...we hope!  Love the concept and the efficiency that this ap provides.

Ruben Puentedura on the Impact of the SAMR Model

Amazing what a live experience can do!

Some people are fortunate enough in this life to have a wide range of experiences presented to them as children.  Indeed, many take experiences for granted such as trips to the beach or snow with family, school holiday outings to movies or the zoo and for really lucky ones, traveling holidays to visit relatives in another town or city or flying overseas to holiday in far flung places.
Unfortunately, for some, real life experiences don't go far past their front gate or the community they live in.  The only knowledge they have gained or real life experiences they have some knowledge about is seen through reality TV or what they've been told by others.

Recently, we have had school trips to participate in education outside the classroom.  Firstly was a trip to the Auckland Museum where our Y7&8 students, making connections between ancient worlds through myths and legends and a trip to the Auckland Zoo for Year 1 to 6,  to see animals and their habitats - once again making connections between animals and myths and legends.

  Both trips were extremely valuable to students learning, not just in relation to their topic of study, but to their own life experiences.  Both trips were guided tours, with trained educators with specific areas of expertise.  Students were given opportunities to share their thoughts and ideas, ask questions to people who knew their subjects and were absolutely buzzing having the opportunity to experience the animals and artifacts first hand. 
These trips proved to show that we must keep education outside the classroom alive in our practice and advocate for our students to be able to access these opportunities! 
They are absolute GOLD!