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.