Standard 4 Learning-focused culture

Term 1: 26/1/2018 - Setting up for the year

• Manage the learning setting to ensure access to learning for all and to maximise learners’ physical, social, cultural and emotional safety.

I have taken everything I learnt from last year, my first teaching in Year 2, and added that to our requirements for this year and have set up my classroom ready for the first day of term.

I've not only considered layout of tables and equipment, but also movement space, accessibility to the most important equipment (pencils, gluesticks!), and areas for the students to play.

With the introduction of Wa Kitea into our classroom this term I have needed to consider much more than just where the students can sit.  

I have incorporated colourful areas, information areas, and learning areas whilst still leaving plenty of room for student's work- including passion projects to be displayed.

I have made a concerted attempt to include more Te Reo Maori labelling in my classroom as I really try to get to grips with better inclusion in everyday classroom activities.

There are plants for calmness as well as education - with the return of a class Swan plant to bring nature into the classroom and watch caterpillars hatch from eggs and turn into butterflies - such an awesome activity that was thoroughly enjoyed by last year's group.

With a large number of boys I know we will need lots of hands on activities and movement to keep us engaged in the classroom.  As usual, I will make adjustments as the dynamic of our class changes throughout the term and year.

For now I am happy with what is in place and prepared to be flexible as soon as the first child enters the classroom at 8.30am on Tuesday!

Kia Kaha!

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Term 1 - New Role  (see also Standard 3)

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.

I am very excited to have been offered the role of delivering Enrichment and GATE programmes throughout the school.

I am looking forward to investigating the opportunities this role will bring to work with my colleagues and the students at Torbay.  I have had some ideas of projects to involve and engage these students, but need to clarify what is expecting of me in this role and what means I will have to create these opportunities for our akonga.

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Term 1 GaTE Appointment

• Create an environment where learners can be confident in their identities, languages, cultures and abilities.
• Develop an environment where the diversity and uniqueness of all learners are accepted and valued.

This term I have been given the role of leading the delivery of Enrichment and GaTE programmes throughout the school.  I have a two pronged task of assessing our programme for Gifted students, and alongside that, managing our Enrichment programmes and initiating special one off projects to be achieved throughout the school year.

I am reading the TKI Gifted and Talent document which has provided lots of food for thought on recognising Giftedness and putting into place a programme that is inclusive of all staff and the school community as a whole.

I have set up a timetable for Enrichment projects and worked with help from Katie on creating a document that details our programmes and projects.  Gary is accepting of the fact that looking into how we run the gifted side of the programme is a longer term investigation.  I have arranged a visit to the Gifted Academy in Takapuna to investigate how the projects they run to engage and promote gifted children and am hoping that I will bring back ideas to help staff who are identifying gifted children in their classroom.

Information on my GaTE research and documents can be found here.

This blog entry meets criteria from and is repeated in Standards 2, 3 and 5.

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Term 2 - Inquiry

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.
• Foster trust, respect, and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks.
• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs.
• Meet relevant regulatory, statutory, and professional requirements.

This term I have started my Teacher Inquiry into improving engagement in writing through STEAM activities.

See the Teacher Inquiry tab to find my plans and reflections.
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Term 2 - School Song GaTE Project

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.
• Foster trust, respect, and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks.
• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs.

This term I have been leading a group of students and teachers to create our own version and video if the school song.  This has involved liaising with two other teachers and the students who were picked from the project.

I have encouraged the students to get involved in all parts of the process which allowed them to see the song being professionally recorded and going out independently to film shots for the video.

This project will continue into the beginning of Term 3.
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Term 3 - Completion of Torbay Kids Song

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.
• Foster trust, respect, and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks.
• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs.

This term the GaTE TV team completed filming of the Torbay song. Then Rio, Bowen and I made a video to show in assembly explaining why the song was created and how

it was made.

Both videos had their premiere during the Week 8 assembly and were really well received.

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Term 3 - Dragons Inquiry

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.
• Foster trust, respect, and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks.
• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs.

For our writing and inquiry this term we are focusing on dragons. We are completing writing tasks cross writing genres based around dragons.

Our inquiry will look at dragons around the world with students having the oportunity to create "I wonder" questions that they would like

answered.

Reflection: This worked really well the the students really engaged in our dragon writing and inquiry tasks. We even roped in Mr O'Brien to be unhappy about the dragons

so the students could write letters persuading him to let them stay. We used props including dragons eggs, teeth, and burnt blankets etc to engage the students.

 


 We also worked with our buddy class to create a collaborative piece of dragon art.

We tied this in with our Art and Writing Festival and the children made fantastic fire breathing dragon art. I created 3 different books to display

our dragon writing of instructions on how to hatch a dragon egg, stories of how the dragon lost his / her tooth, and recounts of the day the dragon hatched.

We received many compliments on the writing and the quality of the artwork. The students all enjoyed completing the art.

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Term 4 - Celebrations Around the World

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.
• Foster trust, respect, and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks.
• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs.

Following on from the success of our writing and inquiry focused topic last term we are continuing with this way of teaching.

This term we are focusing on "Celebrations Around the World". Over the term break I was in charge of creating the writing plan for this term.

Writing plan here.

We are going to look at lots of different celebrations and cultures and write recounts, letters, descriptions, narrartives and instructions as before.

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Term 4 - 18/10/18 Meeting with Leisha RTLB - re in class support and programme for Aamani and Evie

• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs.Develop an environment where the diversity and uniqueness of all learners are accepted and valued.

Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning.

Foster trust, respect, and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks.

See entry in Standard 2.

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