Mental Health Awareness Week(27 Sep-3 Oct)

 

Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) runs from 27 September to 3 October and this year’s theme is Take time to kōrero/mā te kōrero, ka ora. This MHAW is all about connecting with the people in our lives and creating space for conversations about mental health and wellbeing. Whether it’s checking in with a mate, having a kōrero over some kai or saying hello to a stranger, a little chat can go a long way. 

This is because the little, everyday conversations we have are surprisingly important – and they make a big difference to our mental health – so we want you to take notice of the kōrero that makes you feel good and do it more often. Over time, these small chats create meaningful connections, help us understand each other better and ensure we have people we can count on when times are tough. 

The week is an opportunity for me to explore the experiences, actions, relationships and surroundings that make you and your workmates feel good and uplift your wellbeing.

Monday: Look back through your photos and share a happy memory to reconnect with someone you’ve lost touch with.

Tuesday: Connect with the whenua – grab some mates and get into the great outdoors. Go on a bushwalk, walk up to your local manga, breathe in the salty fresh air of the Moana. Take time to kōrero and get to know each other while you’re there.

Wednesday: Share a pic of you are looking after your Te where Tapa/you are well being.

Thursday: Share a photo and leave a comment of how you are doing something nice for someone and connecting through kindness today.

Friday: Share kōrero and kai with your team at work. Everyone brings a plate and chats about the things they do to look after their well-being. If you’re working from home, have lunch and chat together over Zoom.

What working well in science department during Delta lockdown(Reflection)

 In this delta lockdown, we are trying different activities, strategies, and platforms for students best learning experience and participation. we discussed different teaching techniques in science department meetings and give our feedback on them. Here are few teaching-learning platforms that science teachers are using lockdown and it's going really well.

1. Hapara: The teachers and school leaders in the Manaiakalani cluster were the driving force behind the creation of Hāpara’s pioneering tools. Having first-hand experience with the transformation as well as challenges teachers face when adopting G Suite, the Manaiakalani educators collaborated to design a dream tool that would streamline teacher workflow and deepen personalized learning and student engagement. To do this, they created a dashboard that consolidated all student work into a single view. They emphasized a straightforward design that would empower teachers of all technical abilities to track student progress, provide ongoing feedback, disseminate files and facilitate collaboration and differentiation through flexible groupings.

Education perfect:  Education Perfect is a Kiwi technology company that has become the complete digital teaching and learning toolkit for thousands of teachers across New Zealand.  It also assists with differentiation, student engagement, feedback, and assessment whilst providing rich data insights that are perfect for tracking student progress. 

3. Jam board:   Jamboard is a digital interactive whiteboard developed by Google to work with Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite. Use Jamboard as you would any whiteboard app. Teachers with Jamboard hardware can demonstrate on the Jamboard whiteboards and share Jams with students for collaborative whole-class discussions. 

4. Online practicals with Intermediates: Online practicals with yr 7&8 going really well and students are really enjoying virtual practicals and participating really well.

Te Reo Maori Language week 2021( Reflection)

 New Zealand has its very own language, Māori! Along with English and NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language), te reo Māori is has been the official language of Aotearoa since 1987.  Every year Māori Language Week is held to promote the indigenous language and celebrate the culture. New Zealanders are encouraged to learn some te reo Māori and are given the chance to experience the culture with events scheduled around the country. In 2021, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori will run from 13 ki 19 Mahuru (13 to 19 September). The theme is: Kia Kaha te Reo Māori - Let's make the Māori language strong.

This year we celebrated Maori Language week online with Tamaki whanau and students. Ruihia arranged all the activities for this week and shared them with all of the houses. And each activity has a house point. We have to perform all the activities in a group or solo there were some tik tok challenges for Head, shoulder, knees in Maori. It was fun. All the students and teachers participated really well in all activities and learned new words, sentences in Maori. As a Puriri house mentor, we recorded our Pepeha. Puriri students participated really well and enjoyed all the activities. This year Maori language week was online but still, it was very exciting for teachers and students.

Puriri whanau Head, shoulder, Knees

Tongan Language Week(5 Sept-11 Sept)

 This year’s theme is which means enriching Aotearoa with holistic education. The theme serves as a conversation starter on the importance of holistic education, diverse forms of learning and how Aotearoa can benefit from it.  Due to COVID-19 Alert Levels across Aotearoa Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga - Tonga Language Week will be celebrated online. 

This year we are celebrating Tongan language week between different houses and it will be Inter house-Competitions. The purpose of this is, Staff are provided with opportunities to experience and enjoy some aspects of our Tongan language and culture. These are also alternative platforms to have a fun enjoyable time together during this challenging time. Teachers can also grab points for their houses. 

On Monday it was a singing competition. Teachers can sing Tongan alphabets with or without instruments. Teachers have to sing with their house teams and Tongan teachers can't sing solo they just have to guide us and accompanied us in our singing. But this was going to be fun.

On Monday during the mentoring time, our team(Puriri) sang a Tongan alphabet song, I learned it by heart, So first I sing then all of the teachers follow me. We really enjoyed it. It was great fun and the best thing to learn about different cultures. I really want to appreciate Mrs latu efforts in Tongan language week.

New Rotation of intermediates yr7&8 STEAM

 Regardless of whether you’re forewarned or not, your mind is usually whirring with all the things you need to organise to help your new child get sorted. This week is a new rotation of intermediates kids and I will see them online due to Covid lockdown. But to make science interesting I planned few online activities for them to make science interesting. 

Today is the first day, so the day starts with the introduction I introduced myself and gave students an ice breaker. They have to write about themselves like, favourite colour, where are they from, favourite movie etc. That is a good way to communicate with students. Some of them put pictures of their favourite food, favourite movie and we talk about it. We spend 15 mins on Ice breaker activity. Everyone liked it and we start talking with each other.

After that, I introduced my website that we will follow all the time. I instruct them to create a science folder in their drive and share it with me so every time when they will start a new topic in class they will create a new doc in that folder and write on it. This is like a piece of evidence for us to track learning.

Then, we start new topic 1 ie introduction of science. I this lesson we talk about some science facts and science pictures. At the end of the class, I instruct them to start writing blogs on STEAM. 

                ICE BREAKER

Well being in covid delta outbreak

 The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 has undergone genetic mutations over time as it adapts to humans, leading to the development of new variants of the virus. One of these new variants, the Delta variant, is swiftly becoming the dominant variant globally.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on how we interact with others, go about our lives, our work, study and many other aspects of our lives. We know that a combination of stress and uncertainty can have significant and wide-reaching impacts on the mental wellbeing of people in New Zealand. People should know it is normal to not feel all right all the time – it’s understandable to feel sad, distressed, worried, confused, anxious or angry during this crisis. Everyone reacts differently to difficult events, and some may find this time more challenging than others. The ways people think, feel and behave are likely to change over time – we all have good days and bad days.

During this time, you may be looking for new or additional ways to help you feel mentally well and get through. Here you can find information on tools to support your own and others’ mental wellbeing and where to get help if you need it.

Keep your usual routines: If you're working from home, stick to your usual mealtimes, bedtimes, etc, as structure helps keep us grounded and calm. 

Don’t overwork: Don't forget to clock off as becoming over-tired or fatigued isn’t going to help your mental wellbeing or your organisation.

Eat well: Choose healthy foods that help boost mental health. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables; wholegrain bread, rice and pasta; and legumes, such as lentils and chickpeas. Keep sugary, salty and foods high in saturated fats to a minimum. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Keep active: Even if you don't feel comfortable going to the gym, try to get some exercise. Head outside - garden, go out for a walk or run, but still keep your distance from others. Search the internet for some yoga, Tai Chi or stretch routines, which can also be calming. 

Connect: Keep in touch with family and whānau, friends and workmates. Depending on the COVID-19 situation, and people's health, you may need to keep a physical distance. 

Helping children and young people while they are learning at home.

 The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Research suggests that online learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay.

While countries are at different points in their COVID-19 infection rates, worldwide there are currently more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries affected by school closures due to the pandemic. Routines bring a sense of normality and a feeling of safety for children. This is a stressful time for parents – we are doing our best to ensure home learning doesn’t add to this stress. 

Helping children and young people cope with the changes caused by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) means providing accurate information, discussing facts without causing undue alarm, and re-establishing routines. You are an important role model for children and young people. Staying calm and enabling time and space to be together with children will help them adjust to this “new normal”.

Children and young people look to adults for guidance on how to react to stressful events. If parents or teachers seem overly worried, children’s and young people’s anxiety may rise. Parents and teachers can reassure children and young people that everyone is working together, from the Prime Minister down, to help people throughout the country stay healthy and to limit the spread of this virus.

Remember, COVID-19 may never come to your place or to your community. If you feel anxious, that’s a normal reaction to the new situation we all face. Children and young people notice when we are anxious. As a parent or teacher think about how your reactions could impact the people around you. Take a quick break if things feel overwhelming, or notice and try some slow breathing, or concentrate on the sounds outside, anything that you know helps. You can express your feelings but base your words on facts and truth, and model how you want children and young people around you to behave.

Your school is helping children continue their learning, in person or online through the alert levels. Keep children and young people engaged in their usual activities and routines as much as is possible. This will support their wellbeing, connection with others and their learning. If you need help with this, contact your school or your local Ministry of Education office.