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.

Mighty Puriri( Supporting yourself and your team)

 Coronavirus: supporting yourself and your team

We know that many of us are worrying about the current situation around coronavirus and how it might affect our lives. We'll likely be working from home for longer periods of time to help keep us all safe during the coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, we must recognise how it may affect our mental health and ensure we are taking care of ourselves and our colleagues.   

1. Maintain a positive work/life balance and encourage your team to do the same 

It's easy to work longer hours and take fewer breaks when working from home. Why not put a reminder in your diary when you plan to finish working? You can also make sure you take at least a 30-minute lunch break. If you can, try to get some fresh air and go for a short walk.  You must look after your own well-being so you can also be there to support your team.   

2. Check in with team members regularly  

Working from home can be isolating; ensure you and your team have regular check-ins virtually. Find an online tool that works for your team whether it's Microsoft Teams, a conference call facility like Skype or by phone. Make sure these regular check-ins are scheduled in advance with your team members: have some daily scheduled chat time with each of them and regular time in the diary as a team.  

3. Establish new ways of working 

Working remotely will require consideration as to how you will deliver work as a team - what collaborative working platforms will be used, how you will communicate and how you support each other through challenges. Some of it might be trial and error so it is also important to think about how you will reflect on what's working and what isn't.  

4. Ask your team to create Wellness Action Plans 

This is an uncertain and worrisome time for many and your team may need additional support. Why not encourage your team to complete a Wellness Action Plan and encourage them to share this with you. If they already have one then it would be helpful to review in light of recent developments and changes. 

5. Take advantage of technology 

Use the MEET link or other communication/collaborative working platforms to connect with colleagues and work together. It's can also be good idea to use a range of technologies so you're not always typing or looking at a screen – switch things up with a telephone call or video call so you can see someone face to face.  

6. Encourage your team to use the support tools available 

Whatever wellbeing support your organisation has available, make sure your team knows about it and how to access it. 

Te manu tukutuku – Māori kites with 9KLe

 

Māori kites are known as manu tukutuku or manu aute. Manu is the word for both bird and kite. Tukutuku refers to the winding out of the line as the kite climbs and aute is a type of bark that could be used to make kites. Kites were seen as connectors between heaven and earth and were often flown at this event, especially on the first day of the New Year.  Kites were often flown at Matariki, but also at other times:

They were used to work out what the gods wanted the people to do. They were a way of sending messages to people far away, both to living people who were far away and people who had died. People had kite flying competitions. They were used to celebrate things, like Matariki. Children played with them.

Kites were flown for recreation, but they also had other purposes. They were used for divination – to gauge whether an attack on an enemy stronghold would be successful or to locate wrongdoers. They were also a means of communication. It is said that when the founding ancestor of Ngāti Porou, Porourangi, died in Whāngārā, on the East Coast, a kite was flown and his brother Tahu, the founding ancestor of Ngāi Tahu, was able to see it from the South Island. Sometimes people would release a kite and follow it, claiming and occupying the place where it landed.

This year yr 9KLe got an opportunity to make kites at Whare Nui with Whaea Ruihia. They participated really well and enjoyed it. They really like to learn new things and were excited to finish their kites.

Materials

The frames of larger kites were usually made from selected lengths of mānuka (tea tree) and split lengths of kareao (supplejack). Smaller children’s kites were made from the stems of toetoe, kākāka (bracken), and various types of rush.

The coverings of large kites were fashioned from bark cloth made from aute until the plant became virtually extinct. Subsequently, raupō (bulrush) leaves or the leaves of ūpoko Tangata (cutty grass) were used. Flying lines known as aho tukutuku were made from a fine twisted cord made from muka, the fibre of the flax leaf.

Decoration

Kites were decorated with feathers, shells, carved faces, and coloured patterns drawn with black or red pigments from charcoal or clay mixed with shark oil. Some kites featured long feather tails known as pūhihi, attached to the lower end or wingtips. Others were decorated with horns, and some had shells held inside a hollow mask that rattled during flight. Some kites had a ring, called a karere (messenger), made of toetoe leaves or wood, which was blown by the wind up the line towards the kite.

Matariki celebration 2021

 Matariki, also known as Māori New Year, is a time for celebration, growth and renewal. It's a chance to get together and remember whānau who have died, share food, tell stories, sing and play music. Matariki is the Māori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. It can be difficult to see Matariki clearly from some parts of the country, so some iwi uses a different star as their signal. The tribes of Whanganui, Taranaki, parts of the Far North, and parts of the South Island recognise the rise of Puanga (Rigel in Orion), which appears around the same time as Matariki. The rise of Matariki in the winter skies above Aotearoa is an important time in the Māori calendar, as it signifies the start of the Māori new year. 

For Māori, astronomy was interwoven into all facets of life. Experts would observe the night sky, charting star and planet movements, the relationship of the stars and planets to the moon and sun, while also noting what was happening on the whenua (land) and in the Moana (ocean), lakes and awa (rivers). All of these celestial star beings were attributed qualities and named accordingly, and their stories were woven into the history of the people. Historically, new year celebrations provided the opportunity for whānau to come together to acknowledge the year gone by, prepare and plan for the year ahead; to celebrate with kai, kōrero, ceremony and entertainment.  For a time, these celebrations were only acknowledged and celebrated by iwi, but at the beginning of the 21st century, a cultural renaissance occurred, making knowledge of this special time of the year an important part of New Zealand’s history. Today, everyone in Aotearoa has the opportunity to celebrate the unique places we live in, show respect for the land we live on, and share and grow together through traditions that continue each year, with the support of kaupapa like the Matariki Festival. 

Matariki is one of the famous festivals celebrated in school. Matariki starts with a dawn ceremony and most of the teachers and students participated in that ceremony. After that, a full week was Matariki week and celebrated by different activities. Such as Matariki quizzes, Kite making, Fashion shows, Food and singing. Teachers and students participated in different activities and enjoyed this week. 

Matariki decoration at Staffroom

                                Matariki Cake for staff lunch

International languages week(ILW) 28 June to 2 July

 International Languages Week is an annual event held in New Zealand to promote language and culture from around the world. Learning an international language encompasses much more than language proficiency. Knowing an international language means knowing about the culture that is the foundation of that language. 

This special week provides an opportunity to showcase, learn, and promote the diverse languages and cultures in our schools, communities, and nation. This year Tamaki school celebrate an international language and this was a very good opportunity for all of the teachers and students to participate and reflects their culture,, traditional and rituals of a country. The week starts with the introduction of different countries that we were celebrating the whole week. Such as India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Colombia, Malaysia, South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, England, Philippines. On the first day, different teachers came and introduced their countries. Then, students from different countries and presented their countries in their own language. It was very beautiful everyone enjoyed it. Moreover, it was a great opportunity for a teacher as well as a student to know about the country and its language. 

I represented India. I prepared a slide show on different languages, cultures and religions of India, along with this, Indians states, food, dresses and marriage rituals. In the end, I planned Indian dance moves for teachers. Everyone really liked dance and participates really well while dancing. 

On Wednesday, we had different countries stalls in the auditorium. Teachers and students brought different things that belong to their country and put them in stall. Different classes visited stalls at different times and enjoyed and appreciated it. On Thursday, we had a shared staff lunch and everyone brought a plate of food that belongs to their country. And on Friday we had an inter-house dance competition with different houses. Students participated really well and enjoyed dance steps and music.

   Cultural stall representing South Africa

                 Malaysia Stall

Indian Stall

       Phillipines Food

                                   Staff lunch  decoration

South Africa dessert

Induction and Mentoring with Mr Moyes(Reflection)

A mentor is a knowledgeable, experienced, highly effective teacher who works with or alongside a beginning teacher or less experienced colleague. It is a structured relationship with clear planning for the type of support sought and the goals of the relationship. However, mentoring is not just for new teachers; experienced teachers may also hone aspects of their teaching and leadership skills in partnership with a mentor Mentoring can involve regular meetings and check-ins, classroom observations and debriefs as well as other shared professional learning discussions and activities. It can be helpful for a beginning teacher to have a mentor observe their class and provide feedback. It can also be beneficial for the mentee to observe their mentor in action and see them model different aspects of classroom teaching. 

This is my second year of mentoring and we have Mr Moyes(HOD P.E) as a mentor who will help, guide us in our journey of teaching and learning. Fortnightly, we have a meeting in which we discussed teaching standards. Every time Mr Moyes organise a different slam session on a different standard to guide us or to give examples of how we can collect shreds of evidence and how. The role of a mentor is to work with their mentee and support them towards a professional goal. A mentor may: provide advice and help the mentee resolve issues they are facing. Model different teaching strategies. observe the mentee and provide constructive and meaningful feedback. Check-in on the well-being of the mentee and provide emotional support.

The first slam session was on the first standard Te Treaty of Waitangi. Mr Moyes explained this standard to us and give many examples of pieces of evidence that we can collect for this standard and how we can write about that. This was a very good session I learned a lot and started gathering my evidence for this standard. Our second slam session was on Teaching(Standard 6), Planning lesson plans before delivering in class. We discussed why planning is important and how we can plan our lessons. Different teachers shared their experiences how they are doing plans for the lessons and what are working for them and whatnot. I shared my planning as google calendar and I am also doing a doc from last year. I am writing my lesson plans on a doc and write reflections about each topic. If any of activity didn't work for me last year this time I am changing my plans and involve other activities that might work. Planing and change in planning are very important.

Mr Moyes also shared his experiences and his planner with us. It was a very good opportunity for us to learn something new and how we can implement that in our teaching. I really enjoyed this slam session.

Aurecon Experience Day(Engineering, Design and Advisory)

Aurecon is an engineering, management, design, planning, project management, consulting and advisory company based in Australia, Middle East, New Zealand, South East Asia and South Africa. Aurecon attracts and inspire a diverse workforce and create an inclusive, high-performing culture where different people, across more than 25 countries around the world, feel valued. All companies say culture is important, but ask anyone at Aurecon and they’ll tell how culture permeates through everything they do. All the strands of what they do, think and feel tie together to make who we are. Aurecons Attributes are a way of being. Principles and the Methodology is their way of doing. Aurecon Principles are our way of working. They infuse culture, where our people can flourish and bring our client’s ideas to life. They focus on what matters, and make the most of opportunities, helping clients shape the world to make it a better place. Aurecon attributes are our way of being. Individually and collectively they are the catalyst that unleashes the true power of Aurecon. Co-Creative, Inquisitive, Engaging, Commercial, Sense Maker, Unconventional Thinker, Fearless, Resourceful.

 In Tamaki college, our seniors from year 11 to year 13 Science students got a chance to visit Aurecon Auckland and talked with the best engineers about their success stories and their work. Different streams of engineers welcomed students and talked about their areas and their work. Their work and success stories were really inspirational. Students stayed for the whole day and they planned different engineering activities for students. Students participated really well and were enjoying their own work They were so excited to create their maps, plans and stories. 

They gave a 3D point England map to students and instruct them to create a new path by using this map. Different tasks were set for them and they divided students into 3 groups, Students with the best path, explanation and story won the prize. Some of the students were really interested in engineering and they were talking with engineers about the entrance, study and many things. Students returned to school with a great experience.

Introduction by Aurecon engineers for different engineering areas

 Students participating in activity

Students describing their work

Yr 13 students presenting their route map