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)

7

What is a winner?

Today I saw a whole lot of winners as I moved around Timaru trying to cover as much ground as possible within a short time frame and tick of as many things as I could. I drove past West End Park twice and on both occasions I saw a different field of soccer players, their support crew and their supporters. I went up briefly to the netball and saw 4 of our teams all having a great time playing for the fun of it, it was the final day and dressing up was required!! One of our teams, however did not dress up as they were contesting the final of their grade. I was impressed with the "professional" attitude they were displaying, along with their very supportive followers. I am unsure of the final score or outcome from what I observed it was irrelevant - they were all winners as they were playing their hearts out and thoroughly enjoying themselves knowing how much they had improved and learned over the season. They are the winners. As are all the others who stick at it, persevere to the end and apply themselves because they have the satisfaction of being part something bigger than themselves, by participating and contributing to a team. A team works together to achieve, Together Everyone Achieving More makes us all winners.
Well done to all our team players in whatever you participate in, and contribute to, your effort makes a difference. I think we have a lot of winning teams associated with our school; the team of staff, the team of leaders, the team of parents, the team of students and the Board team who work as a team and achieve a better result by working together. At Waimataitai we are all a team of winners, motivated and reflecting doing better all the time.

What makes a winning team?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately for a variety of reasons; the success of Southland over Otago in the Air New Zealand Cup ( which I was personally thrilled about), the success of some of our school sports teams, the success of our recent ERO review highlighting the teamwork of the Board, the leadership and the staff of our school and the whole notion of being a team player at Waimataitai. I, of course mean winning team in the broadest sense, that of a team that is successful and achieves the result they are looking for. I think the key to it all is having everyone working together for the same outcome, on the same page, all wanting the same thing and knowing what their role is in supporting people to achieve this outcome. I think we try really hard with this at Waimataitai, I guess that is why I believe that student led learning conferences are an essential part of the team work that needs to happen at our school. What I struggle to understand is when parents think these are only worthwhile to them if the child isn't there. I can't think of anything more undermining than having adults talking about my learning when I am not in the room to have input. I find it particularly hard to understand why parents wouldn't want to be there to hear how it is for both their child and the teacher and how we can all work together to achieve something. I guess it would be like having the team talk without the team. If nothing else student led conferences are a time for students to have their time in the sun and show their parents how well they are doing and what their next steps are. It must be really disappointing for students not to have this opportunity and it must be really hard for them to understand why when everyone else is doing it they are not. I guess being part of a winning team is about focusing on what is important, working together to achieve this and having everyone on the same page ( or team). Research strongly indicates the children whose parents who are actively involved and take an interest in their child's education or any involvements are more successful. So what makes a winning team - being there.

Changing of the Guard

It is so good to be back. I have had a wonderful sabbatical but I am most fortunate to have the privilege of having the best job in the world. I get to work with some of the world's most fabulous people; adults, staff, parents and children who want to learn and see each day as opportunity. I think that is why I am so passionate about education, because it is so empowering and so hopeful, the people involved in it what to make a difference especially the learners.
The week went well, great to be greeted by so many children and adults who were keen to hear how my time away was. Of course I was more interested in what they had been up to and have spent some time catching up. I did however "miss the boat" on a couple of things - one was a really big error on my part - hopefully, my apology will be accepted...... I forgot to acknowledge last terms recipients of the Wai Learner Awards ( this is a biggee so I really mucked up). My only excuse was that there was a "changing of the guard" and I simply moved on without thinking about the last few days of term 2. So I am really sorry to the outstanding students who received these awards - not flash on my part at all however they will be in the newsletter this week. I understand they were recognised by at the last assembly for the term so at least some people knew.

CHANGE
I must say that I take my hat off to learning team 3. They have had to move out "lock, stock and barrel"( I am into using cliches obviously) from their rooms and shift to a new area whilst the remodel of the main block has begun. They did it so easily and if you could see how well they have set up their new environments you would be suitably impressed. Learning Team 2 however have shown how adaptable they can be by ignoring all the activity going on above and beside them. When you look at the way the main block looks from the South side at the moment you might start wondering how it will ever possibly be finisheds- I guess that is the thing about demolition, you do have to get rid of the old to make way for the new. I know there will be lots of people really pleased to hear we are completely replacing the locker bay and toilets and addressing the really noisy and unsafe stairwell. It will be well worth the wait.

Don't you just love term break!!

I do. Except this year I felt a bit of a fraud as I had had my trip overseas and sabbatical so I really was ready to go back to school. Fortunately I have had one or two distractions to prevent me from creating heaps of work for other people next term. One thing I love about term break is you get the freedom to work when you want where you want so working at home away from the noise of the builders was really good and as the power, water and heat was little unreliable I felt quiet guilt free. I also had the added issue of my home computer being out of action so I was really forced to think about how we used to do things before computers.

I have spent time with my family and friends and even had my two nephews up to stay over the school. They love Timaru and rightly so because it has so much to offer; a good crisp climate in the winter, great resources on our doorstep like skiing, skating and just being active. They know all the really cool places to go like the skate park, the Scenic, the board walk and really enjoy "shooting hoops" at school and playing on the playground. They both spent quite a lot of time climbing one of my trees and determining the best way to build access and a hut. The other thing that kept them on their toes and rather challenged, was my new addition. I am now the proud owner of a Jack Russell puppy called Flynn. He is now nearly 10 weeks old and is still learning a lot ( and so am I) about what to do and not to do. I can see that my life has changes substantially and I will now need to adjust a number of my habits for him. He is very cute and of course I think he is rather intelligent but I guess that is the usual bias showing. I can't help but I have included a photo - you will see what I mean when I say he is cute!!

I am sure somewhere along the way you will get to know him quite well.

This term looks to be an exciting one with the challenge of coping with all the building going on and the changes this has meant, the ERO visit, skiing, skating and Student learning conferences and of course we have simply getting on with our learning.

I can't wait till Monday when everyone turns up so pleased to be back, yes kids (and Parents) really do like school and the staff well they never sleep well on Sundays anyway because their heads are so full of everything they want to happen in the next week, this is worse on the eve of a new term. I hope you are ready for Term Three and all that it brings, I look forward to catching up with you all.