 Over the past year our school has been reviewing and developing how we do learning around here and how that uniqueness is represented in a vision, or a brand. Earlier in the year this process has involved Staff, Friends of the School, Whanau Hui, and the Board. We are now working with Craig Burton, from School Branding Matters, to bring these words and images to life. We want this work represented in a strong image and story that gives life, and represents, what we do. Below are some of the words and image ideas that Craig gleaned from a day at our school and the discussion that involved. Please feel free to comment on any headings and specific words that you feel really resonate with you and your children!
Words That Describe Our Difference A School with Spark! Give it a go! Living on the Edge Spontaneous Risk Takers Questioning Non Traditional Progressive in Thinking Living (not just referring to) our Beliefs Thinking Outside of the Box Forward Thinking Words That Describe Our Learning Approach Exploring Curiosity Dreaming Wondering Discovery Journeying Channeling Imagination Creativity Fluidity Playful Words That Describe Our Nature Resilient Inclusive Collaborative Proud (of ourselves and our environment) Strong Mindful Skillful Respectful Engaged Content (Happy with ourselves) Globally Intelligent Environmentally Aware & Engaged Individually Unique Leaders Overcomers Whole Driven Intuitive Multi-Talented Connected Centred Self Directed Student Led Active Enjoying Words That Describe Our Personality Warm Welcoming Friendly Passionate Down to Earth Happy Fun Nurturing Secure Focused Sharing Caring Supportive Energetic Family Focused Enthusiastic Accepting Logo Ideas Local Mountain Lake, Water (or Maori Symbols representing these) Pathway showing discovery and journey Hihi – Ray of sun Pahihi – Passage Animated Native Birds, Ferns, Trees, Animals Greens, Blues (Lake and Mountain) Not Red Water Not Mountains (Blue) White Sparkles representing children (curiosities and innovations) Whirlpool Koru representing water (values) Sparkling Water Reflect children and their curiosity Tia – Perseverance (own path), Guardian, Mascot Lake as a Heart and Gateway for Learning Stream of Discovery Connection with the land (He Manu Whenua) – Gateway Birds Lake in the heart of Te ika Maui Cloak of Tia The overriding opinion for the logo seems to be around some type of water related logo, the stream and lake.
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Life is made up of the discovery, or not, of the talents we have. Our changed teaching structure for 2017 is about taking the best of what we have happening across our school and infusing it across all the different ages and stages we have, together, as a team. Our key initiatives, around teacher and student collaboration, developing a whole connected curriculum approach (seven learning areas), effective and creative use of digital tools, all contribute to creating the atmosphere for intentional and targeted professional practice. The ability to teach as a general practitioner across the different ages and stages of primary school is not seeing oneself as a 'knower' but a learner. Knowledge is not about what you know, but what you don't know and being prepared to say I'm going to find out. This is key for life - whether you are a student learner, or a teacher learner. These are just a couple of key points (which I have used to example our context) that are highlighted in the video below from Ken Robinson (British author, speaker and international adviser on education). If you have ten minutes it's an interesting quick view! I am readily available for any chat that you would like to have around what our school is up to and how we are structuring ourselves to get there. A quick email to make a time, or a request before or after school is all it takes. Never forget that there is a lot of thought, reflection and 'what ifs' considered with all school operation and planning. As a parent with two boys here myself, change is not done for changes sake! Looking ahead to 2017 2017 School Funding Changes - How does it all work?With the information (based on July 1 student numbers and predictions) being received from the Ministry of Education arrives the time to begin the planning process for the next year. Every child in zone comes with three elements of funding. They are: dollars; staffing; & classroom space. Out of zone children come with two of three elements - dollars & staffing. Hence maintaining our student roll for the actual footprint (classroom space) we have is a balancing act. By not taking in large numbers of out of zone families we maintain acceptable class sizes that fit into the space we have. The flip side of this is that you can't always have your cake and eat it too. By maintaining our school roll around 500 students the predicted number of students we will have for the next year ends up lowering operational and staffing funding. At the same time the government is again not even adjusting public school operational funding for inflation. What does this mean for 2017?We therefore have to plan for a new year, with the fixed elements of running a school (eg heat, light, water, cleaning, support services etc) slowly increasing in cost, with the same amount of money. We also have to staff our school in 2017 on a predicted roll that has reduced our staffing by just over one and half teachers. That's one full-time teacher and some part time hours (which are used to support the full-time teachers through learning support, release time etc). Some of this change can be absorbed through natural attrition (ie individuals own choice) and some change means an employment process has to be completed. For our school, this has resulted in the following. Kim Colebrook (R19) has decided to follow a different job direction in 2017 and won't be returning. Following Kim's decision the school had three positions that we could maintain for the beginning of the 2017 school year with five current fixed term teachers who were interested in applying. Following the process completed with the five internal applicants (Jodie Appleton, Ian McCabe - NE team; Mel Lee - R14; Jen Maloney, Jo Dundas - R17&18) three successful applicants were confirmed (Jodie, Ian, Jen). Mel and Jo, unfortunately, were unable to be retained within the 2017 staffing restraints. This was a difficult decision to make as all applicants bring different strengths to our team and all are valued and invested in by us as a wider team and school. Staffing changes for 2017 also include the return of Chanelle Wootten from extended parental leave to a classroom teaching job and Kristin Mason who returns from a years leave to the position of Deputy Principal alongside Judy Nepia, while Sarah Sherriff returns to a team leader's position. What does this mean for the strategic direction of our school?With staff returning from leave and teaching positions confirmed the leadership team then spent considerable time looking at the teaching and learning environment our school is developing and the strengths and development needs of our staff. This development is are centred around our four key initiatives that drive the professional learning and development of our school:
So what is the teaching structure for 2017?With all that whole school development in mind the leadership team (senior leadership and team leaders) looked across our team and planned out what structure could take our school to the next level and share and grow the innovation that is apparent across our teaching teams. We wanted a structure that was professionally rewarding to our teaching staff, while at the same time being personally challenging.
The team leaders themselves proposed their own challenge of where to teach and lead. With this 'leading by example' we confirmed the following structure for 2017. This was presented to staff at the end of last term. New Entrant Teaching Team Team Leader: Beth Wills teaching with: Jane Lowe, Fiona Griffin Junior School Teaching Team (Year 1&2) Team Leader: Jeff Diack Teaching Teams and partnerships for this level are: Jeff Diack & Susan Palmer (2); Deb Garrett, Jodie Appleton & Kylie Parkes (3) Middle School Teaching Team Year 3&4 Team Leader: Amanda Wilson Teaching Teams and partnerships for this level are: Amanda Wilson & Lisa Birchenough (2); Kim Stevens & Jeni Shekell (2); Hilary Sutton & Ian McCabe (2) Senior School Teaching Team Year 5&6 Team Leader: Sarah Sherriff Teaching Teams and partnerships for this level are: Sarah Sherriff & Holly Morrell (2); Jen Maloney & Kylie Barbour (2); Pam Kerr & Chanelle Wootton (2) Obviously the overall class level year structure (eg Y3&4 etc) listed above may adjust as numbers, names and needs of children are sorted for final class lists. This is a process that takes some considerable time over the next several weeks. However, whatever the final iteration of that is, the main overall theme is that teachers are changing levels as we look to strategically grow and challenge our team as a whole. |
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