Term 2, 2019

Week 1 29/04/2019 - 03/05/2019

Highlights - Back to school transition was pretty smooth, it felt like we hadn’t really been away,
which is a good start. Our routines this term will be pretty different to last term, with camp in week
3 and production prep starting after that. Reading and writing has been integrated into camp prep
which is quite refreshing for the students. Most are finding the Mount Cook work interesting. Some
of them are managing their time so well and really putting a huge amount of detail in.
Lowlights - One of our more problematic students had some devastating news in the holidays,
with a loss in the family. This ultimately would be extremely upsetting for any child, however this
child will be impacted significantly, especially coming from a broken family. This student has been
absent all week and the rest of Aruhe have been so understanding and feel very sad for this
student, so hopefully next week when he returns the rest of the students will react positively. To
be confirmed as to how this loss throws his behaviour.
Learning Curves - With camp approaching there is a reasonable amount of self directed time,
with students working through the camp work at their own pace. As I said above, some students
are completing this to an exceptional standard and are moving through the work at a reasonable
pace. However on the other hand, there are also students that are using this time to not do a lot.
It is important to keep these students accountable and motivated to complete the required work.

Week 2 06/05/2019 - 10/05/2019

Highlights - We started our initial production prep this week which was pretty exciting for the
students and staff, our theme for the production is pretty cool, and if executed well, will be very
effective. It was great to see the excitement of the students in this field, as it is something that
only happens every second year, so students have been so keen to get the planning process
started.
Lowlights - A continuation of the lowlight of last week with the child of interest. When returning
to school most students were so respectful of him and made him feel incredibly comfortable being
back at school. Unfortunately a situation arose at Hillmorton High during tech which ended in
physical fight between two students. It disappoints me that students react with physical violence,
making the initial situation so much worse. This has had serious repercussions for the student
throwing the punches, and unfortunately has affected KK severely in an emotional way, sending
him into a pretty dark place, with himself and other students.
Learning Curves - This week was supposed to see our annual cross country, unfortunately this
was postponed due to a double booking at the last minute, so needed some quick planning to
keep the students occupied for the rest of the day. Matua Steve was fortunately able to come in
to take Kapa Haka, then the rest of the day ran rather smoothly with the students continuing with
camp and production preparation.

Week 3 13/05/2019 - 17/05/2019

 Term 2, 2019

Highlights - This week we were away on camp which was pretty exciting! Aoraki Mount Cook is
such a spectacular place and also a place that not many of them have explored before, it is
awesome that they have the opportunity to do this through the school, considering it is a
reasonable distance away. The staff at Aoraki Mount Cook were amazing, they are extremely
knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and were very accommodating to our weather issues, providing
us with more indoor activities, and were flexible slight timetable changes. The parents we took to
camp were also amazing, they were very supportive, interacted well with the students and were
very effective in the kitchen. All in all, despite the weather, the students really enjoyed this camp.
Lowlights - Unfortunately the weather was poor so couldn’t do too many of the activities,
especially a lot of the walks. The students didn’t seem too worried about this which was a little bit
disappointing, suggesting they didn’t want to do the walks anyway, however at least they weren’t
complaining that they had missed out. Also due to weather we didn’t get to go out on the glacier
boats, however we were still able to walk out to Tasman lake which the kids were pretty stoked
about, the icebergs are pretty spectacular, especially for people who have never seen them in
real life before. Also student vomit on the bus was not ideal :(
Learning Curves - Outdoor education opportunities are always learning curves, with the students
in an unfamiliar environment, they are sometimes cautious, and at times their behaviour can
change, especially if staying overnight. In situations like camp it is important to have a thorough
safety action plan in place to ensure all possible situations have a plan of attack to ensure the
safety of those involved. The weather was an unfortunate issue at camp, as mentioned, we
couldn’t participate in some of the planned activities, however the flexibility of the Aoraki Mt Cook
staff allowed us to continue to the best of their ability.

Week 4 20/05/2019 - 24/05/2019

Highlights - After being away on camp with the students it has been interesting seeing them back
in a school context. Camp is an effective way for staff to build relationships with students and
allow students to bond with other students too. It is nice to see these friendships continuing.
Lowlights - To start the week off we had Elgregoe the magician at school to teach us about
bullying, which fitted in nicely to our focus of anti bully week last week. His illusions are fantastic
and he had some great messages in between these tricks, however there was a bunch of our
year 8 students who sat through this performance being incredibly disrespectful. It is unfortunate
that they don’t have the ability to be mature and appreciate what is going on in front of them.
Some of these disrespectful behaviours unfortunately continued on Thursday when I was left with
the year 8s on Thursday afternoon. A particular group of yr 8 boys were utterly disrespectful
towards me, making for an incredibly disrupted and painful afternoon.
Learning Curves - This week we had Sarah Cobb team teaching in our block, the session was
with a group of students who are often pretty quiet in maths so it was exciting to see them engage
with the task. Unfortunately the problem we had for them seemed to stump them a bit, and we
didn’t quite get on track to the strategy that we were planning to, however the discussions they
were having in small groups were great to hear. After the team teaching session we had a debrief
with Sarah at lunchtime, then again after school. Her knowledge of teaching effective maths
 Term 2, 2019
sounds so great, and looks so easy when she is putting it into place, but is a work in progress for
me. The resources that Sarah has are very cool, and she had lots of ideas to turn them into rich
problems to be able to pinpoint all maths levels with extension tasks.

Week 5 27/05/2019 - 31/05/2019

Highlights - I took two students to the Primary Schools Rotary Quiz this week. The two students
represented the school so well against the other schools in our district, unfortunately they didn’t
do so well results wise, but they tried their best and showed enthusiasm about the questions they
got right. The Rotary Club always puts on a well run quiz night. Another positive was a step up in
student behaviour from the team that played up last Thursday. I unfortunately had these particular
boys for the whole day by myself on Thursday with Lisa away at the young leaders conference
with the rest of the year 8s. Unfortunately, the amount of work done on this day and the standard
to which it was completed was not great, but at least these boys showed a little more respect.
Lowlights - This week saw another nation wide strike day, joining forces with the secondary
schools this time. In order to make a difference it is important for union members to go out together
to try and make an impact, our picketing station this year was supposed to be in one location for
all primary schools in order to make a bigger visual impact on the commuting Chch traffic. Halswell
School teachers made up a decent chunk of people who attended this which is a little
disappointing in terms of people putting in effort. A bigger crowd of people turned up to the strike
which is good, but all areas of the strike needed to be supported equally to make a big impact.
Learning Curves - I headed to the Zone Cross Country with Tash this week as Team Manager
which was a fun exercise. The students who attended were well behaved, represented our school
to the best of their ability with some producing amazing results and are able to head to the
Canterbury Competition. With a competition like this there are always competitive parents in
attendance, some questioning the course set up and placings. Unfortunately Tash and I did set
up the course with the cones on the wrong side in places, not knowing they had to be on a
particular side, but this feedback has been taken on board for next time.

Week 6 03/06/2019 - 07/06/2019

Highlights - Sarah Cobb was back in our block this week, team teaching with Lisa this time. Lisa’s
lesson went very well, with the students in the group very engaged with the turnip multiplication
tasks, taking time to test and retest their strategies. Sarah was very impressed with this (well done
Lisa). THe meetings with Sarah after school are also very insightful and interesting, she likes to
make the sessions interactive, which is more engaging for us. Sarah also has some amazing
resources that she passes on to us, which is super helpful for future problem solving lessons with
our children.
Lowlights - With production coming up very quickly our programme has had much more of a
focus on this and our camp inquiry work has taken a back seat. Some students who have been
incredibly studious have completed this to a great standard, however some are still lagging
behind, not using the sessions we have available to the best of their ability. In relation to this,
running alongside our production we have set up an independent arts inquiry for students to work
 Term 2, 2019
on. Despite the amount of practice our yr 7/8s have had with the inquiry process, they are still
very slow at picking up on what they need to do. After a 5th run through about what they need to
do, most students are finally on track to getting started.
Learning Curves - On Tuesday evening Sarah Cobb ran a parent session to explain about the
math professional development she is running at school. As a member of the maths focus group
I attended this. It was great to see such a great turnout of parents interested in the mathematics
we are teaching at school and how they can continue this at home.

Week 7 10/06/2019 - 14/06/2019

Highlights - First session at Te Hapua with T42 this year. They were extremely road smart when
walking down to Te Hapua which was great, made things much easier, and safer with them
stopping sensibly when there was a road to cross. The sessions; photography and Garageband
were very engaging for the students. Only a few students started the lesson being competent with
using Garageband, who went on to produce great sounding pieces while the others picked up the
skills efficiently, also producing some great beats. The photography activity was engaging too,
allowing students to use great quality cameras and work together on a cool alphabet challenge
which saw them independently roaming the library, all were working well, especially in the public
space.
Lowlights - Behaviour on Thursday from some of the students was appalling, not being
responsible in the library, calling out, being disrespectful as well as issues at tech. Unfortunately
Thursdays have a different vibe with students excited about going to tech (particularly the yr 8s)
which is disappointing. Hagley sport was also cancelled which was a shame. :(
Learning Curves - Production staff meeting was a great idea to ensure we were all on the same
page with production. Sara and Bella updated us with further details and last minute jobs that
needed completing. As it is my first production it is really important that I take note of all the
processes and tasks.

Week 8 17/06/2019 - 21/06/2019

Highlights - I have made a decent start to my mid year reporting which has made me feel a lot
more on top of things, with production coming up it is important that I try and get it done early.
Everyone in the team has made a great start on our ACTIVE comments and most nearly finished,
which is pretty unheard of this early in the term. Having this nearly out of the way is a great
pressure off.
Lowlights - Unfortunately behaviour has been a major issue this week, firstly with a student
misbehaving at Te Hapua, which was appalling considering we were out in a public space being
taught by someone else. The follow up from this particular parent was also not very supportive,
suggesting we have been picking on his son and that this is totally unfair. This sort of attitude
makes behaviour management extremely difficult, as there is no support from home or
consequences for poor behaviour. Unfortunately this behaviour is not uncommon for this student
and from now will probably get worse with this parental feedback. Behaviour amongst the wider
 Term 2, 2019
problem group of year 8 students is also getting worse, with them showing little respect to staff,
the other students as well as the school environment that they work in.
Learning Curves - Team meeting this week was very efficient with us starting our planning for
term 3. It was great to get the ball rolling and getting an idea as to where we will be heading next
term. Splitting the planning into smaller chunks at our meetings makes things seem a lot more
manageable and a lot less daunting.

Week 9 24/06/2019 - 28/06/2019

Highlights - Production this week! The students have managed to get all their costumes together
and looked great for the dress rehearsal. The week has been a bit out of the ordinary in terms of
normal routines with production dress rehearsals becoming priority. Most of the students
participated in these sensibly and to a high standard. The production nights were amazing!
Lowlights - Not a huge about of normal routine learning happened this week due to production
run throughs and final preparation, however it was still a very valuable learning opportunity for the
students.
Learning Curves - First production for me, so the last week has all been a learning experience.
It is difficult to manage so many students going to multiple different locations but we have been
trying our best with Lisa out doing lighting.

Week 10 01/07/2019 - 05/07/2019

Highlights - The production nights continued to shine, the students should be super proud of how
they performed on stage. Feedback from parents and the community was very complimentary so
it is nice for the students to hear how well they did. On the last day of term they also got to watch
their talent back which was a great way to reward themselves and for them to see how amazing
they were.
Lowlights - Unfortunately I have been sick for the last couple of weeks, along with a lot of the
students so unfortunately we were all just hanging on for the last couple of days. Being so busy
with production and late nights caused a lot of people to be run down.
Learning Curves - To reward the students who finished their arts and camp inquiry we had a
couple of days of art rotations which was a great opportunity for our students to express their
artistic flare. Some of them have amazing talent and produce pieces that I could learn from.
Also providing these reward opportunities really made sure that students realise that if they
complete their work to the expected standard, on time, they are able to have some fun.