Reaching Out - 22nd Nov

Mōrena koutou!! Am reaching out in hopes that you have some cool resources, readings, advice, PLD support etc for me. 

In my year as curriculum advisor - I've sought help from around the country, within my school and online from around the world. Thank you to everyone who has answered my questions thus far. 🙌

I have massively high expectations of myself and I still don't think I'm doing the job justice. With that in mind, we've actually had an incredible year - built cohesion and collaboration in our dept, made some serious changes to how we do things and are continuing to develop a more coherent and consistent focus for the coming year. 

Our internal moderation processes are strong and we collaboratively plan units, programmes of learning etc. My dept quite willingly welcome me into their classrooms and engage with me when I've done walkthroughs or ask for feedback for help with students while I'm in class, have built more confidence in themselves and their marking. 

I just know I need to keep growing so I can be of most benefit to others but also to myself and my aspirations. As a Curriculum Advisor, Head of Department, TIC - what support have you been given, or found, that have supported you in your role? What further support or PLD would you encourage someone to go on who wants to be further developed as a leader, who has aspirations of one day... very much in the future, of gaining a principalship.

English Dept Appreciation - Planning Day - 26th Nov

Before we started our planning day... This happened.

This was cool today ❤️ Showing appreciation to my dept. Specific gifts for our awesome team and some cool literacy games for 2020. Love my colleagues.

Y13 English Exam - 23rd Nov

Yesterday my Y13 students came early to their English exam, sat their exam and came to tell me which questions they chose. Most stayed for the full three hours. 

So freaking proud of them all and the other students not pictured here too who were super early but had the wrong uniform on and had to go home and change. 😂🤦 

Building up the confidence in these kids has been the biggest highlight of my year. To see them believe in themselves, their learning and the power of understanding (plus the intense analysis and portrayal of their knowledge in their close viewing helped!!), their abilities and overwhelming sense of 'I've got this'... it's honestly just so incredible. 

Such a pleasure to have taught you all this year. Karawhiua koutou! ❤️🙌

SHHKA - Sudima Hires Heights Kids Always ❤️🙌🏼 - 22nd Nov

Caught up with three of my favourite students at Sudima tonight! Loved hearing how they're doing and the buzz from them, happy in their work and their lives. Love it. So proud of you guys!! 

Of note tonight was seeing Miss Vana James Murray - who was so excited to see me, she dropped an oyster 😂😍 It's okay kiddo. I was so excited and surprised to see you there tonight too that I dropped a bread roll while I was still buzzing out. 

So proud of all of you ❤️ Thanks for making my night 🙌 

#HeightsKids

School Journals - 22nd Nov

Mōrena koutou! Just wondering what everyone does with the school journals that come to the dept? What do you do with the very old ones? What's the exit plan for the ones that need to be removed? #SkipBin #GiveToANeedyOrganisation

Get Out, Do Cool Stuff, Return & Give Back - 20th Nov

https://leoaugusta.blogspot.com/2019/11/home-is-where-heart-lack-of.html?spref=fb

Tautoko. Best thing I ever did was move out of Morrinsville. For some people it was a great town. For me, not so much. If I didn't leave when I did, force myself to keep striving to achieve my goals - I don't know where I would be today. 

It's kind of ironic really, now that I'm living here in Ōpōtiki. Same kind of small town. Same kind of issues. But when you hear your 19 year old sister exclaim, "You have a cool life!" and see her frustrations that she doesn't yet have what she deems 'a cool life' - it made me think that actually, it is pretty cool. 

Awesome job, cool kids, cool people I work with. Cool furbabies, even if somewhat annoying and restrictive to do other fun stuff. Being fun busy - choosing to do cool stuff in my spare time and using my free time as I can. Travelling when I want to. Being able to get in the car and go. Not worrying about factoring in another person, just myself. Some might say it's lonely - I see it as freeing. Being able to see my whanau when I want to, not when I need to. Having the choice to go visit people rather than being forced to. 

I still have a long way to go til my life is as 'cool' in my eyes as it is in my sisters. But it definitely started with getting out. Thinking big. And trying my hardest not to let anything stop me, even if that something was sometimes my own damn self 😂

Te Reo Māori Adaptive PAT - 14th Nov

Yesterday I did the te reo Māori adaptive test on NZCER. It very quickly adapted to my level and kept asking me questions that got harder and then sometimes easier based on what I needed/when I got questions wrong. Good to see that I'm close(ish) to the Y10 national guidelines!! 😂🙌 Scarier doing the test in front of my talented reo Māori speaking colleague who tried not to give anything away with his facials 😂 

This te reo Māori adaptive PAT test should be done by all staff, all students ❤️ love it! Thanks NZCER!