Ohinemutu Visit

          What a fabulous day at Tunohopu Marae! 

We arrived for a powhiri - a great experience for all the children, followed by four activities: a hikoi around the village, science based in Kuirau Park, drawing the carvings and tukutuku panels in the wharenui. Lastly, making fried bread in the wharekai. A flat out day, but a great experience for our children - amazing how many didn't know about the significance of Ohinemutu! A great big thanks to NPeW for their 

support and Callie for liaising with everyone.

Planning for Marae visit and Maori focus this year

Te Āo Māori Planning   2016 Term:2 Level:2 Teacher/Team: Senior Team

Over-Arching Topic/Learning Area (NZCD):

Achievement Objective(s): 3.1 (From Progressions) Students should be able to: 3.2 communicate about events and where they take place	Specific Learning Outcomes: (Learning Intentions) Children will be able to: Identify powhiri practices and procedures Understand that there are specific behaviours acceptable and unacceptable when on a marae answer key questions related to marae Create a storyboard on marae protocols or the powhiri
W.A.L.T: - Identify powhiri practices and procedures - Understand that there are specific behaviours acceptable and unacceptable when on a marae
Modes: (Highlight) (Nga Ara Reo/Learning Modes) Pānui (Reading) Whakarongo (Listening) Mātakitaki (Viewing) Kōrero (Speaking) Tuhituhi (Writing) Whakaatu (Presenting)	Māori Context: (Highlight) Cutural Practices/Traditions History/Past Events/Local Stories The Creation/Nga Atua Marae (functions/roles/ceremonies) The Migration/Te Arawa Waka Māori leaders (Maui/Ihenga/Tamatekapua) Research/Inquiry Matariki/Māori Language Week/Waitangi Day Pōhiri/Protocols Kawa/Tikanga Whakapapa/Geneology/Pepeha Hauora
Language Focus: (Content) Vocab/Pronunciation of Location, powhiri terminology - and learning of the marae specific vocabulary	Topic Focus: (Context) The marae and use of vocabulary related to the Marae
Resources: http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Teacher-tools/Te-reo-Maori-lesson-plans/Curriculum-level-4/E-haere-ana-au-ki-te-marae-I-m-going-to-the-marae http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Teacher-tools/Te-reo-Maori-lesson-plans/Curriculum-level-4/Nga-tikanga-o-te-marae-Marae-customs http://hereoora.tki.org.nz/Unit-plans/Unit-8-Te-marae	Integrated: (Highlight) Inquiry/Research Literacy The Arts Technology Social Science Science Health/Hauora
Activities / Learnng experiences: Activity 1: E haere ana au ki te marae - I’m going to the marae *Children learn about the sentence structures and vocabulary associated with going to  a Rotorua marae at Whakarewarewa. Activity 2 : Ngā tikanga o te marae - Marae customs Discussion about acceptable behaviours on a marae. Children create a storyboard illustrating the powhiri or marae behaviours.       **More activities on Te Marae
Assessment: See Assessment Rubric below	Integrated (how): Children to attend a day at the marae in week 3, where they will be involved in science, social studies, baking and drawing activittes.
Reflection:	Next Steps: Units to follow:  Days of the Week TKI level 1                               Weather TKI Unit 2

Sue Larkey: Making it a Success

A fabulous day spent listening to someone who really understands autism - and Lily! Inspiring, practical and full of great strategies for teachers dealing with these challenging kids - who really don't mean to be difficult . . . its just the way it is! Great PD Thanks Sue Larkey for such insight!! I will use so many of your suggestions!

__________________

Sue Larkey: Making it a Success

www.suelarkey.com

Essential is a sense of humour with these kids 

Be Short, sharp and terrific when dealing with these kids

Be eclectic in your listening

Difference between knowing and doing - is your coat in the wardrobe or are you wearing it?

If there is no communication from a child then we only have behaviour  to go on

8+ kids have very different needs, . . . they need physical activity

Don't worry about why they're as they are, worry about what to do!! 

1 in 88 Children in Australia are on the spectrum. 

Choices are debilitating - they don't want choice    No free choice - direct choice

Choice making, collaborative learning, working with other kids is awful for them, the more choices, the worse it is for them!

A tote box is awful, they need their own tray with books all lined up and tidy

Stand their books up, colour code them so they are easy to find

The child will be calmer if there is less choice

Anxiety is one of their biggest issues . . . .     

They can't write while their talking so . . . Give time to discuss, 30 secs to record, then we'll discuss

Ticks for correct, an o for opportunity.  'Sugar on the table' doesn't always need to be an A

If you want him to have a go, stop correcting him

We're not teaching Chn the routines we ourselves use everyday

Year twos have 'why bother syndrome'

We all have routines - we're just sneaky about it, this kid is just honest about it!

Get to bed early it pays dividends the next day

Prepare them for when you, their teacher is going to be away

The more information, the calmer you are!

Drink and toilet routines have been lost - these Chn don't know they want to go till they're busting - so they don't drink. We need to up their drinks. Toilet, drink 3x a day. 

Drinking through a straw is relaxing.

Teacher aide, encourage the Chn to ask other Chn - it's a social skill, they need to learn to network - see 2 then see me. This child also needs to help other children. Every day Lily needs to help us! But teach her, who to go to.

They need to learn to ask for help! Lily could help people with drawing!!

What would it take for you to change? Washing line and toilet roll behaviour

Set realistic goals.   Better things to do / make it someone else's job /

Put the toilet roll in a basket

Change the structure not the child, give them a spot on the mat, a buddy in the line, 

This kid isn't motivated by a certificate, use their currency.

They're visual learners - write it down. . .  Use repetition, imitation

2 things at a time / week pick the thing that means most to the parents first.

Use a stylist on the iPad - need to use all fingers - can't use buttons / zips

See her website - poster on change your mindset

 - Hand push ups to calm down

Aspergers kids have mainly social issues/angst, they want a friend. . . .thats the line in the sand!

Between autism and Aspergers.

A diagnosis tells us what help Chn need.

It's not about  'I've got the perfect teacher, no I've got the perfect staff'

Teacher aides = 'Angels' 

Teachers - how are the child with a relief teacher - not with me as with me there are routines, things in place . . . What then.

Tourette's

Girls: on the spectrum. . . PDDNOS (DSM 5 now ASD) Wanting a friend = Aspergers

Keep them with their friends

Only 2 choices - you can do your work now or in 10 mins . . .the end result is always the same but they feel they have choice.

'Veneer of Coping'

No means never!   No is a trigger word for them. . .

As these kids get older they should become more independent - not strategies they need

These kids need downtime -we are the adults and need to give set time for downtime and reward time.

This kid doesn't want a certificate, he wants mine craft, Lego - they overstim - you need to tell them for how long - they don't know how to self regulate.

Now. Next. Later.    

Reward = time, task or token

Clear rules and boundaries - a routine. . . What works for that kid

She gets Tokens at school that give her xtra time on mine craft

Task, task, 10 minutes with figurines. . . Then again . . . Keep it the same

Name - Alex, what do you think. . . Always use the child's name - be explicit - they're literal, they need you to tell them what to do, they like a calm tone. Men go down in tone not up.

Tell them what to do - not what not to do

Be a GPS!  Be specific and tell what to do - each step - and give them time to process. Do a u turn in 4 m. It doesn't say you idiot when they make a mistake. Stays calm.

Don't talk over kids when they are working

We create 'prompt dependency' we keep on repeating instructions

Glasses create access

ASD = teach all Chn about it so when they see it, they can recognise it. It needs inclusion. All children know what they are seeing, they also need to understand it. Like with asthma.

A bright red ear is a precursor to a meltdown or a shutdown

Write a list for what the child can do in spare time - 

Consistent routings are essential to have. Smooth running day

Party analogy - avoiding coming to school, going to the playground. 

Where is our school bar??     Friendship seat 

Create ways for Chn to go to the ADD child - buddy tree or friendship tree. . . It's an older child's job to get those Chn up and playing. . . It's about teaching social skills.

Values cards with questions on. . .  - what can you do towards someone you've made sad?

What you'd say and an action? Conversation map . . . With whom, when, where . . . and make it visual.

Do 5 mins of social skills a day.

If they're not invited to things outside of school, we need to build it. These families, parents included, are isolated.

'We may all be individual fish, but in this school we all swim together'

You must learn about their special interests

Big difference between follow through and it's not working.

Persistence, consistency, tough love

Lots of repetitive action is to block out external noise, stuff. . . 

Sensory meltdown is immune to reward or punishment - what helps is pre warning and assurance. 

If targeting a particular person or thing it's a Sensory meltdown will use an object or they'll get contaminated.

They spit at people to keep them away from them

Behaviour meltdown 

1. Build up / Rumbling: shoulders is a barometer / colour of the face / sucking the hair / pupils -watch the hair is everywhere or tightly brushed / the newsreader look: glazed eyes,not blinking

Underneath table to escape, 

What works: a sensory box, a tent, drawing (but give a time frame) a box of things they'll love - not technology cos too much can go wrong. TIME / IGNORE THEM / SPACE 

2. Survival

3. MELTDOWN: Involuntary response they want escape, solitude, reassurance

4. TANTRUM: They want something / there is a knowing . . ./often right in your face . . .the kid that hates being in your face.

Anger is instant, anxiety is the last straw to b the c back

You need different plans for different situations.

NPeW Conference

 The Rotorua Education Conference     NPeW
                                    31st March 2016

http://www.npew.org/#!conference-2016/yy961 - details on the Rotorua Conference. Some interesting speakers, particularly Kerryann Knox on Covey's 7 Habits - (well worth exploring for our school) And Vikram Murthy on growth mindset . . .

http://www.npew.org/#!npew-song/tutw4 - the song written especially for the conference and our Rotorua schools?

Website: http://www.npew.org

Overall, a mixed bag! Some good messages ie about growth mindset and Covey's 7 Habits, otherwise not a lot we didn't already know. 

2015 Inquiry

Mathematics PD with Bruce Moody

Mathematics PD

Report on Assessment Document Day at Otonga Aug 27^{th 2015}

Issues

1.       There is a need to rationalise the various documents being used throughout the school for assessment. Different levels are holding different documents as being primary. This gives a lack of cohesiveness and the potential for misunderstandings about student achievement as children progress through the school.

2.    Some of these documents were written prior to the National Standards. They have the Numeracy Project focus on Number, and even focus within that on Addition/Subtraction regardless of what is in the relevant Standard. Parts of NZC are simply not being taught, particularly to Level 3 students. As such, these documents need to be re-aligned to current assessment requirements. Some documents have mixtures of teaching practices and important learning outcomes. It is unclear who the intended audience is and what the primary purpose is.

3.    Documents shared with parents/caregivers have too much detail, lack a standard form across the school, and are only indirectly linked to the Standards.

4.    Evidence gathering of student work seems to be rather ad hoc, both in terms of what is collected and how it is collected.

5.    There is an issue regarding reporting to parents mid-way between Standards. An unwillingness to report students as ‘not reaching the standard’ at mid-year may lead to reporting that students are At Standard when some important aspects have not even been taught yet. On the other hand, some students may be perfectly on track, but unnecessary angst created if they are reported as not meeting the Standard, when the issue is one of not having covered all of the work yet.

Suggestions

1.     A seamless set of documents is produced. These documents will share the same philosophy, wording, and physical appearance. They will be based upon the National Standards (as a subset of the National Curriculum).These documents will be written for the purpose of identifying student progress. They will not replace other documents such as the Progressions provided by Bruce Moody or the other material available online regarding planning for learning.Keeping these separate will help clarify what it is that teachers get students to do – a wide of activities – with the learning outcomes that will result from this work. This process allows for a concise page with a small number of points to be written for each year level. This page can then be used by many parties to focus upon key learning progress, rather than these being lost amongst the detail of how that learning is likely to occur.

2.    In order to clearly identify student progress, differences between adjoining Standards can be identified. These items form the basis of each page. For example, while addition is taught to Year 4’s, the key differences in the Standard are that subtraction and multiplication are now required. So, teaching documents will describe the addition that Year 4’s will do, but the assessment page will highlight the need to gather evidence of subtraction and multiplication. While Number is the critical element of each Standard, it is not the only one. This is increasingly recognised in the Standards as students move into Levels 2 & 3. While every objective does not have to be met in order for a best-fit OTJ to be made, having other items listed will help teachers recognise that the entire curriculum needs teaching, and that pushing students on in Add/sub, without addressing Algebra and other strands, does not enhance the evidence needed to support the OTJ.

3.    Limiting the amount of material presented to parents allows for a concise description of a year’s work to be shared.  By not linking these differences to specific language subsets (e.g. naming of strategies), we produce statements in common language to share. (Initial drafts of these were started on Thursday).

4.     Many students are operating blogs that include their work in Maths; it seems that this could be a very useful facility to gather evidence. The work itself does not have to be labelled with descriptors. The teacher could direct students to place key items of their work onto their blogs and know that this can be accessed and discussed as needed to support an OTJ. With junior students, the use of annotated photographs was discussed, especially where students have recorded clearly visible work (e.g. writing on a ‘jelly-bean table’) or are engaged in a recognisable process (e.g. measuring a table with ice-block sticks). Short transcripts may be required for younger students. The key is that these will be on a few, selected events and so not a repetitive burden for teachers.

5.    My understanding is that the Standard applies at the end of the specified period; e.g. the End of Year 4 Standard. Thus, the mid-year report indicates progress in respect to the Standard currently applicable. This eliminates the current problems of either saying students have done work they haven’t or suggesting that they are under-performing when they are not.

6.    Bruce willing to help edit work produced to help meet these suggestions.

Bruce Moody

Camp Whakamaru 2015

Camp was great fun again. What an excellent venue Camp Whakamaru is - and what a great way to get our families and children enjoying, learning and working together in the outdoors. HUGE organisation but well worth it!!

Camp Whakamaru

The camp objectives are as follows:

To build confidence in decision making and individual initiative away from home and parents – developing self-management skills.

To provide outdoor physical experiences which cannot be provided at school eg raft building, kayaking, rope climbing, archery etc.

To develop health and safety strategies for outdoors.

To develop team building group work and skills in cooperating with a variety of people.

To develop problem solving strategies.