I have mentioned in previous blogs some of my reflections when “working out” at the gym. I set myself a target some years ago to do 2km on the rowing machine most weeks and what followed has been a love/hate relationship with a machine that has tested me in many ways.

This week the thought struck me how lessons from the machine can support what we can achieve through Student Led Conferences.

1. Goal setting

Before we start we need to set ourselves a goal – SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. For me that would mean finishing the 2km inside 8 minutes 20 which I have found quite challenging recently!

2. Tracking

While rowing it is important we keep an eye on the data on the control panel – this helps us to maintain the pace we need to reach our target – similar to the baseline and progress data we can share in SLCs.

3. Motivation

At times it is great if we can have someone encourage and guide us on how we can improve our performance – sometimes advice from a Personal Trainer or praise from family and friends can make a huge difference.

8 minutes does not seem to be a long time but I am sure we can all see how lessons from my weekly time trial mirror the importance the Student Led Conferences can be.

Growing greatness – Kia mana ake!

Thank you to the parents who attended our Forum last night. It was great to see you and I trust you have a better understanding of the school, what we are doing and hope to achieve. It was also great that John Bassano, Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees was present so that parents could connect with this important committee.

I presented some of the key work streams for 2018 which include the development of a new Charter, a Long Term Property Plan and planning for our 10 Year Birthday in 2019.

It was also an opportunity to give feedback on suggestions and comments made in last year’s Community Survey.

Something on my “To do” list based on parent feedback is to work with staff and students to develop a stronger culture relating to sun-safety. The number of incidents of skin cancer is one area where we do not wish to be leading Australia and we have an obligation as a school to ensure students and staff take more personal responsibility for their own safety (sunscreen and hats) and that our site provides appropriate shelter. The building of covered areas is already part of our Draft Property Plan as it also pertains to learning being compromised by rain. There is work to do in this important area and I will need parental support of any initiatives in the future to make it work. For the record we already provide sunscreen within the whanau and it is available for PE and I will be reminding staff to make supplies available to students. The school cap is available at our stockist and is part of our uniform.

This important feedback from the community is invaluable and I appreciate the positive approach parents took at the forum.

If we work together we can achieve so much!

Growing greatness – Kia mana ake!

2018 promises to be another exciting year for MHJC. Several initiatives will build on and strengthen our vision three of which I will highlight:

1. Innovative, personalised learning will be promoted with the use of digital platforms – Reading Plus and Maths Buddy have been used successfully for many years and we will be adding Education Perfect to this suite in English and Science. This is an important step as these learning areas will be able to lead the way in maintaining our reputation as a school which uses cutting edge pedagogy;
2. Students in Year 10 will be able to utilise the “Enrichment” aspect of the DEEP programme to investigate an “Inquiry” project. This has been successfully completed by accelerate classes in the past (and the year 9 and 10 accelerate classes will continue to be involved) but has been extended to include any student who has the talent and passion in a particular field of study to extend themselves in external competitions like IPENZ;
3. Students in year 7 and 8 will benefit by the inclusion of “Option” subjects into the planning of contexts. Every Whanau will include one of STEM (including coding, robotics and gaming for learning); Technology; Visual Arts and Performing Arts (dance, drama and music) every term as a “chunked” learning opportunity, three sessions a week. E.g. Year 7 and 8 students in Forest will have Performing Arts in Term 1 then Visual Arts in Term 2 and so on. This will strengthen our provision of specialist teaching and the benefits of an integrated curriculum where students can see the connections between learning areas within a broad context.

More will be revealed as the year unfolds but may I wish every member of our community all the best for a richly rewarding year in which our students are guided and supported to collectively “grow their greatness”

Kia mana ake!