Day One of the Term 4  2015- this will be a busy one as usual. Each term I think.... it will be a little quieter this term but this never eventuates. It's about finding the right balance I believe - carrying on with the curriculum as per normal but being smart about integrating Essential Learning Areas (ELA's) as much as possible to enable us to have coverage of all the necessary learning areas. This needs to be balanced out with the extra curricular activities and school events, which make schooling exciting. This is an area we are looking to review and revamp for 2016 so we can stay as energised as possible.

The Army Came to Town

                                                   

Last week the children and staff at Whakamaru School were part of a fun, learning event. The NZ Army were taking part in training exercises in the Mangakino area and offered to come to the school to set up a boot-camp style activity programme for the morning. All the children from Y1 - 8 were able to take part in some or all of the activities. These ranged from boot camp physical training, riding in the trucks, running up and down hill with the very heavy flack-jackets on, tasting some of the MRE 'Meal- Ready to Eat"dehydrated food and a session on the equipment they carry in their packs. Many children went home a different colour that day - army camouflaged faces.
I was very impressed  with the way the soldiers organised the sessions, their manner with our students  and the informative talk they gave to the older students, who were very interested in the army life.
Great to hear the animated talk in the playground  and oral language discussion in the classrooms, over the following days.
EOTC is such an important part of our education programmes - particularly for those students who do not get the opportunity to be involved in experiences such as these.

Term 3 week 3, according to a child councilor I have worked with in the past, is a 'tricky week' for some students. This can be the time that negative behaviours start to rear their heads, even in students who have not had issues earlier in the year. This is the time of the 'equinox' - the change of seasons and this particular  councilor believe this has a negative affect on some students. Whether you believe this or not, I have found that this certainly a tricky time of year. It would be interesting to see if anyone has data around this 'phenomena'. We need to consider what we do to keep children on track and getting through to the end of the term in an appropriate manner. One strategy I have found useful is the child who is heading off track behaviorally goes to a buddy class as the teacher's helper. This is not seen as a punishment but more as 'distraction therapy'. Most children thrive on being given responsibility. Let's see if this will work this week.

We have a great positive behaviour programme at our school which involves students getting vouchers for positive behaviour and work habits. When the children get 20 vouchers we have a Pizza Party, 40 equals a Pool Party, 60 means off to the movies etc... Today I got to take a group of great kids and a couple of supportive Mums to the AC Baths for the Pool Party. What a great day! The children were awesome - polite, sensible, enthusiastic and playful. I was very proud of them and we had some lovely comments from the AC Baths staff about our students.

   It is so important to balance consequences and positive reinforcement    when encouraging positive behaviour in children.

Great show today at Whakamaru School. The Edgewater College Band, from Auckland, presented a wonderful musical show to our students this morning. What a talented group of young people and dedicated staff members who directed the choirs and  bands. They had our students enthralled and engaged for nearly an hour. It was wonderful to hear the children talking about the show for the rest of the day.
No matter how important it is to have literacy and numeracy curriculum covered every day, it also hits home to me about the importance of introducing our students to, and the  teaching  of the Arts curriculum. With the crowded curriculum we need to be 'creative' and integrate these areas into the Inquiry/Topic sessions in our week.

 “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.”

― Plato

A really interesting read "Learning Links:Strategic teaching for the learner-centered classroom" by Murdoch and Wilson (2004). Lent to me by one of my staff. I read it at the FTP conference and then have gone over the first couple of chapters again today. Fits nicely with the key teachings of the Incredible Years Course I facilitated for teachers when I was an RTLB, also to the Inquiry Cycle of learning/Action Learning approach. My staff and I will be working through this book as part of our professional reading - looking at how it relates to classroom practice, pedagogy and school vision. I'm sure it will evoke some interesting discussion.

Halfway through the FTP Principal Conference in Auckland! Inspiring and tiring at the same time! I have a bit of brain-overload, but I am looking forward to taking some time next week to reflect on the 'big ideas' and starting an action plan for change.
Though the speakers have been great, I always find the networking sessions some of the most valuable time spent at conferences. I really appreciate the MOE putting in place the First Time Principal  course - workshops, mentoring and conference.