Diwali and Wananga

 

As I write this, I cannot believe we are in November, and it will be 2022 very soon!  

Diwali 

We finished a week of Diwali celebrations.  As I browse our blogs and talk to our staff,  it strikes me the different ways we have celebrated Diwali with our current restrictions. It speaks to the idea that people will find a way to make it happen if it is important.  I highly recommend you visit our Facebook to see all of the celebrations: https://www.facebook.com/newwindsorsch. 

Manaiakalani Wananga

Last week, I had the pleasure to attend my very first Manaiakalani Wananga.  Wow! I can see the effort and work that went behind the scenes. Ka pai to Russell/Dorothy and their team. Very slick. 

My biggest takeaway was definitely the Manaiakalani Innovative Teachers presentation.  I thought it was an excellent example of Teachers' Inquiry. Our school is currently going PLD under Spirals of Inquiry.

                                             Graphic credit: Judy Halberg and Linda Kaser (2013)

The inquiry is about what impact do I have as a teacher on my students? Am I having an impact? How do I know? 

Things I took away from the presentation: 

• How specific the focus is. As teachers, we want to always do the best for our students, and what happens, we can take on a considerable part of an inquiry instead of focusing on specific teaching practices. e.g. I want to be explicit with my learning intentions. How can we be explicit? What are the tools we are using to be clear?  What does current research say? Does the data match what your hunch is? 
• The use of tools to enhance the teaching practice rather than learning the digital tool or app. The change is the teaching practice.