Gypsy day

Yes this is something that happens in NZ! Before moving to dairy country this was not something I was familiar with or the very real impact it has on small communities and schools.  Gypsy day refers to the change in working seasons for farmers.  June 1st is a big day for farmers... Literally everything changes! Whole farms move, communities change and our quiet country roads are filled with utes, trucks and trailers as everything including the kitchen sink is moved across the country. 

Imagine moving districts, houses and jobs all in one day! It is a big task and one that I would struggle with personally. 

Within my own bubble Gypsy day has a huge impact our school.  Last year on June 1st 10 children left on the Friday and 3 new children arrived on the Tuesday.  That might not seem like many in a big school but for a school of 33 students that change is profound.  Suddenly our targets no longer reflected the need of our students, we lost 3 board members and our roll took a huge dip. Considering we had lost no children at the end of 2012 this was like the end of our year. If was sad to see many familiar faces leave and our new students needed time to settle in and become part of our school and our culture.    

It is also important to recognise that for these kids they have moved house and school over the course of a weekend, many moving into communities where they know no-one! 

Our school is able to adjust to this change.  We do what is right - welcome in the new families, change when we report to parents and run programmes that fit this time schedule. we run our term to allow for changes and it would be nice if the ministry acknowledged this.   In 2012 I was only able to track 14 students for the whole year.  Yet had my data been June to June I would have been able to report on 30 students. 

Sure we can internally review this, make adjustments to our priorities and change our programmes but this is double handling and the documents presented are not a true reflection of our school and it's effectiveness. 

So here's to gypsy day and the families whose lives are changing literally overnight! 

When all your ducks line up

Without sounding conceted, I know that my passion for education and student learning has been driven by my goals and an understanding of what I want and need to see happen.   That drive and determination has been labelled in both a positive and negative light but it's been my motivation and light at the end of the tunnel. For those of you who resonate with this and are goal driven, you will understand my bewilderment when in 2013 I was unable to see my next steps and goals.  I was no longer an FTP, our school no longer needed huge change theory and well it was suggested that my next goal should be to sustain the changes and embed the new culture.  It felt like standing still (something I don't do well).   The confusion and fog light feeling was compounded by my need to fill the gaps. I did online study - which was one do the best courses I have ever done, our school participated in incredible years, ALL, maths PLD and LCN.  I became a Rotarian, joined a few committees, consulted with other schools and none of it really matched.   In trying to keep things stable I completely lost my way.  Sure we did achieve a lot but it didn't all fit together and  2014 looked as if it were heading the same way until 2 very exciting days of PLD. 

Firstly I met with a small cluster of teaching principals and together as a team we stuck to our guns.  Teaching principals are unique... Because of our role there are things we do with ease and other things that take time.  And much of the PLD offered is not tailored for us.  Well not any more.  We have formed a PLG with a focus on achieving accelerated learning in writing.  From this goal we have pulled in the support of various agencies - leadership and assessment, literacy advisor, LCN facilitators to work with us.  With their support we will be able to deepen our pedagogical knowledge, challenge our literacy beliefs and develop student agency.    Suddenly I am back on track.  I am challenging myself again and have this amazing team to work alongside with.  

The notion of student agency is brilliant. Learners understanding what they need to do to improve their relationships and skills, learners demanding the context and teachers facilitating that learning all with parents alongside.   - I have a goal and a vision.  I have colleagues I respect and trust to work with. I have a team of professionals to critique current practice and I have my belief back.  The ducks are starting to line up.     The work we are doing within our school links back to this. My own study relates to this and our movement forward is very clear. 

Then today I spent the day with this group of phenomenal educators at educamp rotorua.  Here in a room of 30plus teachers I saw some amazing classroom ideas. Some things we can do to move along the digital learning pathway and how that might look to parents and students.  More ducks have lined up.   And best of all we made connections, had conversations and were able to openly share our passions and enthusiasm.  

In the past two days I have worked with colleagues who want to move forward and experiment.... No one rolling their eyes in the corner, no one putting up the barriers! 

I'm back on track and ready to roll!! 

Why are libraries quiet?

There is nothing nicer than sitting in peace reading a book.. But why are libraries so quiet? Our challenge this year is to make our library noisy. 

 I want children to share their knowledge of books, be enthusiastic about sharing a book with others. A hub of information where student voices resonate.

So today after sharing this vision with students to our library was so different ...

"Has anyone read this?"

"That's the second book in the series you should read this first."

"  You had better read that quick cause I want to read it too."

"She is such a cool author"

I saw books being put back, I saw children negotiating and I saw children actively looking for books that were of interest to them.

I heard noise but it was a healthy noise. And then there was silence..  

Every child happily sprawled and reading. 

And that is how we could have spent our first day! 

Here's to a noisy library and 40 books read!! 

Returning to school

Well I have one more lazy start and then the madness of the school year starts in earnest.

There is a mixed feeling in our house. The two youngest girls have been eagerly counting down the days for about 10 sleeps now and can't wait for Monday.  I think slightly differently.

I am not sad to go back to school. I am looking forward to hearing the kids stories and sharing our plans for the year.

However I will miss the lazy starts, leisurely breakfasts and plenty of time!    For the first time in 4 years I have truely had a holiday and will find the first few days a culture shock! 

And I think that is a good thing. It means that there is a little more perspective.

So here's to an exciting, fun filled year! 

Donations!

It is sad that for many the beginning of the school year is marred with $$$ concerns.  We are all fighting for the dollar.  Parents want to try to limit the amount of it that flows endlessly from bank accounts at this time of the year and schools want more of it to put in place the programmes and experiences that parents are wanting for their children.     At the heart of it and often most hurt by it all are the very people we are all fighting for - Children!   

$$ is an adult commodity and I cannot understand how any school can embarrass/ punish / remove a child from class to get at a parent -   and why are parents sending their child into that type of environment?     Money is never a child's fault.  Do you really want their memory of school to be about not having a bag tag or spending a week in a corridor because mum hadn't paid the fees.

I can appreciate that many schools are stuck.  Parents want their children to have access to specialist teachers, ICT's, experiences, small classes, school camp etc etc but all for free.     Schools that are able to provide these experiences are deemed 'better' and so the vicious cycle begins.  

So what do I think: 

Well I think parents need to be looking for an education where their child/ren are valued, encouraged to learn and enjoy going to school.   And much of that is free- it comes from the school culture, the input of the wider community and of course some excellent classroom teachers.  We all want happy, confident kids and somehow that is being translated into dollars.   Research shows that it isn't necessarily about the experience, it is about the time taken and the feelings associated with the day.

Last year our end of school day was a huge slip n slide,  potatoes smothered in butter and grown in our school garden,  teachers initiating water fights  and lots and lots of laughter.     A day that probably cost the school $50 ( sausages, bubbles and some treats)  produced as much fun and enjoyment as a day that could have cost $600.   What did the kids love - the teachers getting wet!

I think schools need to think a little differently about the word 'donation' - why does it seem to revolve around money when actually the most valuable of donations are time and expertise.  Sometimes by asking for less you get more!     

Our school does not ask for a donation and many of our trips are funded by the generosity of our PTA - in terms of a 'free' education we are pretty close to it.  And when we do ask for money we make sure families have the opportunity to pay it off.   We have one amazing lady who pays $3 per week.   She is often in credit and can use this to pay for school photos, school lunches etc.

What does happen for our school though is that parents do donate - we have beefies that are sold and the money donated to school because parents choose to. We have parents who care for the gardens.  We have parents who bake treats for the kids.  We have parents volunteer their time.  Things that money really can't buy.   

Yes my views are simplistic but something that I am beginning to appreciate more and more as I age is that  life is about the simple things.       

Less is more!

creating communities

creating communities

When ticking a box outweighs common sense

I really do try hard to be a good person.  I try to make sure that I treat people well and well today it was beyond me.

We had an inspection at school today and we failed.  According to our inspector we had not been performing monthly building checks since 2011.  Well since he signed us off in 2012 I thought that was strange.    So there was a lot of stress on his behalf and he quickly did some staff training so that even though we failed we would be compliant - how that works I do not understand and how silly that 15 minutes of training could make up for 2 years of no maintenance check?  This puzzled me and I went through our book - sure enough there were our monthly checks dating back from 2005 until the current day.   Well he said when he looked he couldn't find them!!! and they aren't in the right book so I am not going to accept them.

Are you serious!  We are a small school, we work hard to do the right thing and surely actually doing the checks is more important than signing the correct book.    - Well apparently not.

What happened to our friend common sense? - his loss is profound and the impact vast.

And perhaps what I should add is that he was a lovely guy, just trying to do his job but so much time was wasted on ticking off something in a box that should have been irrelevant.