Last week the Government announced changes to teacher staffing ratios that will increase class sizes and result in the loss of 500 teacher positions every year for the next five years. I am struggling with this concept as it will reduce the amount of time teachers have with individual students and put pressure on schools to find more money to reduce class sizes themselves.

At our school, we anticipate this may mean 1-2 next year and 1 over the next five years, assuming current roll projections.

Teachers’ are very concerned at this decision because research shows that smaller classes help boost children’s reading and maths performance, improve behaviour and engagement, especially for children who are struggling.   Research shows that the teacher student relationship is essential to a child's learning and success at school, having less time to develop this more students in a class will be a further barrier for many children.  All the Positive Behaviour for Learning initiatives such as Incredible Years are underpinned by the relationships with the child.

More students in classes less time on individuals.  

Cheese Please

I heard this a lot yesterday as we made 2200 dozen cheese rolls as a fundraiser for the PTA.  It was a long day, some of us there from 8 in the morning and I locked up and was driving home at 8.30pm.
Last year we did this also making slightly more than this figure but we did it over two days. This year a finely tuned operation decided it would be done on the same day, orders collected and we would be cleaned up and leave on the same day.  It was a really good example of team work, demonstrating everyone has something to offer.  Many parents and children contributed, and all help gratefully received.  The children's contribution was notable, there was period when there were no children as they were off playing sport in the morning and we came to realise that having the bread and cheese arrive at the table and the completed rolls collected actually meant we could just carry on.  Between the parents, whanau, staff and children we were able to undertake and achieve this task together.  A significant contributing factor was the fact that we had a high, but realistic goal to aim for and everyone was committed to it.  We were all on the same page, all doing our bit and we were getting regular constructive feedback and encouragement, ( we could see the bread pile go down, we knew how many mixes we needed, how much cheese we had to use) and this all helped.     So when the task is big, work together, be clear about what and how it will be acheived, ensure everyone knows what they are doing, ensure there is regular feedback about progress and at the end of the day celebrate the success!!  Well done team a great effort.

The importance of knowing what has gone on before

Where we've been is who we become and it makes us who we will be.
A really good example of this is the way we acknowledge our fallen, the impact of war and the  need to not go there again, with our ANZAC commemorations.  I have watched over a number  of years in teaching, the numbers of people, particularly younger people attending the services held on ANZAC Day. As a young person in form 4 ( year 10)and a long time ago now - last century in fact,  I was exposed to a teacher who allowed us to discuss and debate ( during English war poetry ) the anomalies and fallacies of war. at the time it was seen as a great way to avoid us doing the written work but many of us became quite incensed at the senselessness of it in terms of loss of life. Two years later as a 6th former (year 12) the Falklands war broke out and I was totally dumbfounded at the reaction of many of my classmates ( male largely) who openly talked about how they would go if they were needed.  It is only now as an adult that I know what was actually happening in that particular case.  I strongly believe and have to have faith now that our children will know that they have a right to question and challenge and say I do not agree.  Much as ANZAC day is a day to commemorate those incredibly brave people who died when there was little chance of survival for something they believed, it is also about the need to recognise that  we need to have the ability to challenge and think for ourselves, question and pursue things.  This is freedom.

Busy times

These last few weeks, and in fact since the beginning of term, we have been very busy.  We have had camps, our very first Wai Tri ( triathlon), school fair, swimming sports and are about to have our student learning conferences.   Whew!! No wonder we may be feeling a little jaded, but it has all been great.  Throw in a cricket tournament and simply settling back into school after a long holiday in a new class with a new teacher, I think we can all be very pleased with how things have gone this term.  It may explain why some kids are feeling a little tired. We sure pack a lot into our school lives.

National Standards - my worries

I don't think I have ever felt so disillusioned with my job in the 15 Years I have spent as a Principal. The disillusionment stems from feeling totally disregarded and dis-empowered when trying to effect change with the present bulldozing through of National standards in their current state. Principals, teachers and Board members all over the country having been asking for things to slow down, for the Ministry to take another look at the contents and also the implementation process and in particular the appalling training that has been provided around the standards.
Let me put the record straight as I believe the public are being deliberately confused - there are two main components mostly associated with the National standards debate; one is being used to wash over the professionals real concerns, that is reporting to parents - all professional acknowledge we want parents to be well informed about their child's achievement, their next steps and what parent scan do to assist, we can get better at communicating this and are very keen to work together on this. BUT parents positive response to this is being used as an argument that parents want the present National Standards. I believe this is not the case because to date we have been naively focusing on trying to affect change with the Minister when we are clearly never going to be heard. We have tried to remain professional and to minimise any impact on children and teachers. But now we need our parents to understand our concerns and for them to consider whether this is what they want for their children and their learning.
So what are my worries about National Standards;
- National Standards are being implemented without any input from teachers or principals - the people who teach and assess children on daily basis, those who know what works and doesn't work for children's learning.
- The content of the actual standards had no input from teachers and principals, in fact no one has actually admitted who devised the standards - it was apparently done behind closed doors and rumour has it those involved had to sign confidentiality agreements. Very Transparent and open - NOT!!
- Overseas research indicates that National Standards have not raised student acheivement
but can in fact have the opposite effect.
- In 2008 the minsiter was advised, at a Symposium on Assessemnt held in Queenstown, by overseas experts that National Standards shoudl not be pursued as the impact would be negative.
- The current National Standards are being implemented in an untried manner, with such speed and haste those delivering the training do not know the answers to the questions teachers and principals are asking.
- There is a huge mismatch between the Assessment tools and the results these give and the National Standards. Students who have until now been achieving well may well be seen as failing the National Standards.
- There are additional requirements with this new system which are taking time away from teaching and learning and also requiring teachers to spend more time away from planning and preparation. This has a negative impact on the programmes students receive.
- We have a newly implemented, widely consulted, world class curriculum which has taken 7 years to develop. It is exciting and relevant. There are huge risks that this will now be narrowed as time is taken and focused on National Standards.
I have a number of other concerns also but will this will do for now.

I fear for the direction of our highly acclaimed and recognised education system, but my largest fear is the damage it may well do to our children, there has been no trial and it is against all research and follows a pattern of others that they have now abandoned - so why the rush?...

Good things can take time....

Finally we are nearing the end, putting the finishing touches on our remodelled block. It seems like we've been waiting forever for this to actually happen. In fact we have been talking about doing something about it since around 2002, and finally after discussion with eh Ministry about how much money they would give us and whether we should knock down the entire building down and rebuild altogether ( we'd probably still be waiting another 10 years on that!) we have achieved it. Now we have a modern learning environment which accommodates 8 teaching spaces, has flexible space, maximises the use of storage and access to resources and is acoustically sound. Can't wait for the next project!!

Spring is here!!

Spring is here and it makes us all feel a lot better and more hopeful. It brings nicer weather, longer days and for most people a new outlook. Studies have shown that the amount of sunlight we are exposed to actually affects our mood and mental health, so even our mood starts to improve.

It was great to see everyone so actively involved, participating and having fun at our JUMP OFF on Friday. What was really wonderful to watch was the way the students all supported and encouraged each other as they were in mixed age groups and skipping is certainly does not always come easy to all children.

I also got to catch the Waimataitai Brass concert this afternoon which was the end point for their Band Camp. Not only did they perform as a band but we were treated to some of the band members other talents. Nurturing our talents and creativity certainly helps us try new things and allows us to realise the other opportunities out there. My apologies the sound was not on and the camera person was a real amateur (me)

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