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.