Manaiakalani Convenors' Hui at Te Mahuri Mānuka

 We had the great pleasure of hosting the Convenors' hui at school on Friday 17 June. Convenors travelled far and wide from Paihia in the Far North to Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island.

Our tamariki from Te Puna o Te Reo welcomed our guests with a mihi whakatau, then Russell Burt (Pt England) responded on behalf of Manaiakalani. This was was a wonderful opportunity for our leaners to share their language, culture and identity in front of an authentic audience. And after Russell's usual enthusiastic response to the Convenors' welcome, our tamariki were full of smiles and standing 10 feet tall as they walked out of the whare, thank you Russell!

                                                            Russell responding to our tamariki

First up on our agenda was Pat Snedden, Chair of the Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET).

                                                                    Pat Snedden's korero

Pat Snedden discussed the importance of strong leadership to continue the work we are doing. Our aspiration is to have all low decile communities access the opportunities that current cluster schools are experiencing; access to digital devices and accelerating student progress and achievement - this will not happen without strong dedicated leadership!

Dorothy covered Manaiakalani updates

• October Wananga where we can hopefully return to the Waipuna Hotel
• G Apps
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Learn Create Share
• Toolkits
• Gearing Up for new schools 

                                                                 Hornby Hikoi

After morning tea our Manukura (school leaders) escorted our manuhiri around the school sharing significant points of interest.

We covered lots of ground throughout the day

Research team - Kiri

1. Reading observations
2. Reading programmes
3. Term 3 questionnaires
4. Middle leaders programme/research reflections

Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET) updates - Jenny
Tech updates - Dorothy

Another very special day of problem solving and supporting each other to progress equity for our learners and whānau. Thank you Manaiakalani and MET for this special taonga, we are making a positive difference!

What makes the biggest difference to student learning?

 I came across this recently ... suddenly all the 'dots joined' ... an ephiphany!

"John Hattie and his team have presented Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) as the 'new number one' influence related to student achievement several times ... Although Hattie's latest published list of 195 effects in The Applicability of Visible Learning to Higher Education (2015) puts CTE in second place, its effect size of d=1.57 is still huge: it is more than two times bigger than that of feedback (d=0.72), and almost three times bigger than the effect of classroom management (d=0.52). The message seems to be clear: together teachers can achieve more, especially if they collectively believe that they can do so!"

Uru Mānuka held a Teacher Summit (see Robin Sutton ) recently, 106 teachers and 23 workshops sharing teaching and learning practice from Year 1 through to Year 13.

Manaikalani Convenors meet each term at a Convenor's school, our lastest was at Paparore in the Far North. Using research, teacher and student observations, and student achievement data, we have identified high leverage practices (HLPs) that accelerate progress and achievement. Together we are co-constructing effective teaching and learning literacy practices that will raise student achievement.

Recent Uru Mānuka professional learning focussed on reading comprehension and oral language; 17 schools, including our high school and 190 staff attended.

So what is the big deal you may be asking? Uru Mānuka, supported by our Manaiakalani alliance is growing Collective Teacher Efficay (CTE), and as Hattie has identified, this is the 'stuff' that will make the biggest difference! This was what I was thinking as I was sitting in on the HOD of Science workshop at our recent Teacher Summit ... how cool was this! Secondary and primary teachers in the same room, sharing practice! We often talk about student agency, but I believe teacher agency is just as powerful and you cannot have student agency without teacher agency first. What I am observing now is that our Uru Mānuka teachers are starting to believe they do have good practice to share with others, instead of always looking to others or outside providers for all of the answers ... well actually, we can solve our problems and challenges from within, we just need to believe and share the knowledge and skills we possess as a collective!

Bandura(1993, 1997) defines collective efficacy as "a group's shared belief in the conjoint capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given leverls of attainment." Bandura found that the positive effects of CTE on student academic performance more than outweigh the negative effects of low socioeconomic status.

Our deliberate and intentional foci must continue on CTE, I believe this will 'move the dial' and ensure we get the biggest 'bang for our buck' ... together teachers can achieve more, especially if they collectively believe that can do so!

Reference: Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) according to John Hattie

Professional Development

 Professional Development (PD) or laterly Professional Learning Development (PLD), the same things, I will refer to PD for this post. We, being schools/boards, and the Ministry of Education, have put a lot of resourcing into this aspect of school improvement over many years. So the question needs to be asked, what does effective PD look like and have we been getting 'bang for our buck'?

An example from 30 years ago, my experience. Each teacher was able to choose 2 courses for the year and run it by the Principal who would say yes or no. I chose Kiwi Golf and a spelling course from memory. I had a wonderful day at Kiwi Golf and picked up a few ideas how to improve my swing. What impact did that year's PD have on my teaching and learning practice, and just as importantly, what impact did it have schoolwide? As you can probably infer ... not very much, if anything at all!

So here is what effective PD looks like ...

Uru Mānuka hosted a cluster-wide PD day at the Showgate Lounge (Riccarton Racecourse) today ... 7 schools, including our wonderful High School, approx 190 staff ... including our valuable support staff! Our focus was on reading comprehension and oral language, and was facilitated by Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey. We took everyone to the 'movies'! Not piecemeal PD like I have descibed above. For true meaningful, indepth professional learning to be effective and have an impact on our teaching and learning practice, it MUST be schoolwide and involve as many staff as possible.

Now you may well ask, can you guarantee that Friday's PD is going to have a meaningful impact on our teaching and learning practice across Uru Mānuka and Hornby Primary. I can confidently say this ...

1. there is a far greater chance that this approach will have a positive impact on our teaching and learning practice
2. it is up to leadership to ensure we plan for deliberate and intentional acts that will impact teaching and learning practice

A great day of connecting and collaborating ... New Entrant through to Year 13 teachers, support staff and principals. An authentic example of Learn Create Share that I have no doubt is going to have a positive impact on learners throughout Uru Mānuka and develop our teaching and learning practice in the important areas of reading comprehension and oral language, and as a consequence, will lead to accelerated student progress and achievement.

Going back to my original question about what effective PD looks like, and have we been getting value for our investment. I am a great believer in the power of the collective, our challenges are too difficult to overcome individually, but if we harness the power and expertise of the collective, we increase our chances of finding solutions to our shared challenges. And, I have no doubt that today's investment has been wisely spent and will lead to improved teacher practice and student learning outcomes over time.

A special thank you to Louise and Sheena for a wonderful day of learning, your presentations 'hit the mark' and I know we will be seeing lots of your activities and strategies implemented across Uru Mānuka classrooms from Monday onwards! 🙏

For a thorough summary of the day, refer to Uru Mānuka's prolific blogger Mr Robin Sutton 😀.
Link

Covid-19 Reflections

Never waste a good crisis Winston Churchill once said, or, 'so what does this mean for my learning?' when I was writing Learning Stories (narrative assessment) for pupils.

What are we to make or learn from this pandemic that has forced us to provide distance learning for 7 weeks for our learners and families/whānau? We have all heard about wonderful examples of engaged and motivated learners creating superb learning products and excelling in the home learning environment. However, we also know of many students that have not engaged in purposeful learning during this time, and there are a numbers of obvious reasons for this which still need to be addressed.

We have all witnessed how schools have responded to distance learning and how various governments around the world have responded to the pandemic.

During the last 7 weeks, the importance/value of the following has been strongly reinforced for me ...
1. leadership
2. collective action
3. coherence
4. challenging the status quo

I am not reflecting so much on the pedagogy in this blog, my colleague Robin Sutton at Hornby High has done some wonderful thinking in this space, I strongly suggest you read his recent posts.
https://whakataukihewakaekenoa.blogspot.com/

I believe our Prime Minister and coalition government's response to Covid-19 and their leadership has been superb, some have descibed it as a "masterclass." An explicit game plan, clear and regular messaging and involving a team of 5 million. As a result, everyone bought into the plan. Contrast this with the leadership on display in the USA and United Kingdom, or more accurately, lack of leadership! Countries that have displayed strong decisive leadership, and strong government, have reduced the curve of infection and as a result, have saved lives. An interesting sidenote, the majority of these countries are led by females.

Strong leadership has been required during Covid-19 in order to support our learners and whānau during distance learning. This has not been easy, however, leaders who have employed the following qualities have been able to successfully navigate these challening times.

Kiwi Leadership for Principals (Ministry of Education, 2008). Four educational leadership qualities underpin principals' ability to lead their schools:

• manaakitanga (leading with moral purpose)
  a strong values base is essential for decision making
• pono (having self belief)
  a strong values base enables self belief
• ako (being as learner)
  non negotiable, effective leaders must be life long learners and 'walk the talk'
• awhinatanga (guiding and supporting)
  Sergiovanni refers to 'servant leadership'

Throughout this journey I have focused on all 4 qualities to varying degrees. I must admit there were times when I questioned my  'pono' ... was I up to this? However, a strong manaakitanga, always open to ako and awhinatanga convinced me I was ... my community and staff were relying on me. During times of crisis, leaders stand up, strong leadership is crucial if we are to win the battle. 

Because I am a political junky and am fascinated by Donald Trump (not in a positive manner), I will draw the comparison when the above leadership qualities are absent ...

• manaakitanga - Trump is 'value free', only believes in winners and losers, and what is in it for him
• pono - like all narcissists, plenty of self belief but unhinged and deluded, and lives in a parallel reality
• ako - a "stable genius", does not need to read or seek expert advice, has little if anything to learn
• awhinatanga - not a team player or capable of building high functioning teams, thrives in chaos

Barack Obama describes the current USA administration as a "chaotic disaster." This should not be a surprise to anyone.

Collective action ... no better example than the Manaiakalani Education Trust, which includes The Manaiakalani Programme (TMP). 

None of us are good enough to do this all by ourselves. The following collective action has put Hornby Primary and the Uru Mānuka Cluster in a very strong position to support our learners and familes/whānau during the lockdown. It looks like this

• Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET)
• shared pedagogy based on Learn Create Share
• affordances of digital technology to supercharge learning
• Woolf Fisher Research Centre (WFRC) data analysis and research, including high leverage  practices that accelerate student progress and achievement
• shared sense making sessions with WFRC
• Uru Mānuka Educational Trust (UMET)
  provide funding to employ Educational Programme Leader (EPL)
  supports procurement and provisioning of digital devices for families/whānau
• Uru Mānuka Teaching as Inquiry PLGs that meet every term and share inquiries about raising student progress and achievement
• Manaiakalani Digital Fluency Intensive (DFI)
  9 week intensive on Google applications and Learn Create Share pedagogy
• One digital solutions provider across our cluster

Collective action has provided valuable support, not only locally, but nationally. Being able to connect with other principals in the same situation was invaluable, a problem shared is a problem halved. Manaiakalani Convenors were meeting weekly and sharing ideas and planning for each Alert Level. This certainly created more clarity for myself and I was able to share this with our Uru Mānuka cluster colleagues. An interesting sidenote, as a result of these weekly Google Meets, there is a desire to continue these Meets during Alert Level 2. 

It also begs the question, in the future, do our cluster meetings need to be face-to-face (F2F)? Or could we have a blend from now on, some F2F and some online Meets? May this be a more effective way of utilising our precious time?

This collective action, some may refer to this as a systems approach, not sure if it really matters, has undoubtedly placed Hornby Primary School and the Uru Mānuka cluster in a strong position to

• reduce the digital divide
• address fairness, equity and the moral imperative
• accelerate student progress and achievement 
• ensure fully engaged digital citizenship
• ensure our learners are equipped to reach their full potential

As a result of five and a half years of collective action with Manaiakalani, Hornby Primary was well prepared to ensure learning was accessible and continued  throughout distance learning.  The UMET enabled 12 families to purchase chromebooks during this time also which ensured these learners were connected and able to access learning from home.

Coherence ... when all of its parts fit together. I love this word! Thank you Pat Snedden (Manaiakalani Chair), I first heard Pat use this word in 2015 when addressing our cluster at Hornby High and it has resonated ever since! Leadership and collective action will not be effective or reach its full potential if coherence is lacking. How does one enable or facilitate coherence? Certainly not by remaining in the Principal's head. Everyone must be 'singing from the same songsheet', fully understand the game plan, and be intentional about the implementation. It is then the leader's job to keep the vision alive and enacted.

Status quo ... let's get back to normal as soon as possible. This is often the call we here in regard to Covid-19. But what we had before the lockdown was not working for all learners, reverting back to the status quo is not the answer as it was failing a significant portion of our learners. Dr Anne Miln in her video Colouring in the White Spaces: Reclaiming Cultural Identity in Whitestream Schools, states we cannot 'sit on the fence', we have to take a position and do something about it. Absolutely!

Challenging the status quo requires boldness, leadership and collective action. The status quo is easy, we don't have to do anything except keep reinforcing deficit theorising and blaming others which lets us off the hook. Let's take control and put ourselves at the centre of the problem and look for solutions, they are out there. Utilise our collective strength, support systems and expertise, and anything  is possible!

Hornby Primary will not be wasting this crisis, the pain and suffering endured by many dictates we have a moral responsibility to learn from Covid-19 and develop our practice to ensure we are providing the best possible learning environment for all of our learners so they reach their full potential and become positive contributing members of society. This is possible through leadership, collective action, coherence and challenging the status quo. No excuses, we can do this!

Note: the political views expressed by the author do not represent Hornby Primary, Uru Mānuka or Manaiakalani.

Authenticity

Authentic: the adjective authentic describes something that is real or genuine and not counterfeit ... something reliable, based on fact, and believable.

Whaea Heather teaches a Year 4-6 bilingual class (Level 2). Each year we have an Anzac Service at the Hornby War Memorial on the school grounds. Last year's service below.
                                                                   

Under lockdown this year, such a service was impossible ... but check out the video link below to see what this year's service looked like ... it was authentic!
Here is a short movie of our google hangout.

I found this learning creation inspiring! Why ... it included all the underlying principles of Learn Create Share, where the learning was
- authentic (culturally responsive practice)
- visible
- connected
- ubiquitous
- empowered

Our pupils were still able to Learn, Create and Share in lockdown without physically being at school. Arabella posted about her great grandfather who was a member of the 28th Maori Battalion and Mikaylah posted about her koro who served in WW11.

Side note: this learning experience was enriched by supporting roles from
- Matua Hector; reading the Ode in te reo Māori
- Arabella's mum sharing about great grandfather
- Whaea Christine our wonderful Resource Teacher of Māori (RTM)
This strengthened the authentic learning context further.

This was possible due to the affordances of the technology and Google Meet/Hangout. This is just another example of the learnings that are arising during Distance Learning. The challenge for us is to ensure we incorporate these learnings into our teaching and learning practices so that we engage and motivate all of our learners when we return to school and face-to-face.

Distance Learning - Term 2

Today is Day 1 of Term 2 and our first experience of Distance Learning thanks to Covid-19. Our last day of the term was 26 March, since then staff have been working tirelessly preparing as best we can for the first day of term today.

At 9.30 this morning we started off with a schoolwide karakia and waiata. It was wonderful seeing so many smiling faces! After this classes broke off into various learning activities, guided by teachers and support staff. I participated in 3 senior Google Hangouts. We often talk about the importance of relationships and connections. I witnessed the power of both in our Hangouts this morning! Dorothy Burt reinforces the importance of teacher-led learning and seeing our staff's face is a 'gift' for learners, your are dead right Dorothy!

How did we get to today?
1. The Manaiakalani Programme (TMP). We are in our 6th year of TMP - Learn Create Share and the affordances of digital technology. I cannot think of a better time for visible teaching and learning, and rewindable learning to be available to us all. A massive thank you to Pat Snedden, Dorothy and Russell Burt for your relentless support and pursuit of equity in our education system! There are many other unnamed people and organisations who make TMP so successful ... you know who you are ... thank you!
2. Hornby Primary staff who have worked through their holidays to have sites up to speed, learning activities and devices in homes.
3. Kelsey Morgan our wonderful Education Programme Leader (EPL) who has been supporting our staff and principals within the Uru Mānuka Cluster - thanks Kelsey!

Hornby Primary School and Uru Mānuka are well-placed to confidently take on this unique challenge we find ourselves in. I thank all the above and feel very privileged and proud to be leading such a professional and committed team!

Kia kaha
Gary

An example of a class site with a Home Learning link for our learners, and a links to our Morning 
Karakia and Google Hangout.

Sense Making and Professional Learning Groups

Our first Woolf Fisher sense making session  of the year at Hornby Primary last week. A great turnout of principals and leaders of learning analysing student achievement data and problem solving. A big thank you to Selena and Naomi for their wonderful facilitation!

This year our Uru Mānuka Cluster will have a relentless focus on reading ... teaching and learning practice that accelerates student progress and achievement.

High leverage practices (HLPs), as identified by by Woolf Fisher, provide the foci for our Teaching as Inquiries (TAIs) this year.

Teachers from our 7 schools have opted into one of 4 Professional Learning Groups (PLGs) based on the foci below. We have aligned our foci with Woolf Fisher classroom observations to provide us with an insight into our teaching practice.

This week we had our first cluster PLG with groups splitting off into their particular areas of interest. There was robust discussion and valuable connections established across the cluster. I am confident our relentless focus on reading will result in improved student outcomes and a better understanding of the high leverage practices that enable this to happen.

Leadership - 'Why'

Mandy O'Sullivan hosted last week's Convenors' meeting at Grey Main School in Greymouth. Mandy has recently returned from a Woolf Fisher study fellowship where she was investigating leadership. One of her significant findings was the importance of  'Why' and she referenced Simon Sinek and the 'Golden Circle' Ted Talk.

This got me to thinking about our 'Why' at Hornby Primary School (HPS). HPS vision statement ...
Our community will be adaptable lifelong learners who are digitally competent and are
- resilient
- critical thinkers
- participators
- communicators

I am very clear 'why' we are in The Manaiakalani Programme (TMP) and 'why' we continue to implement Learn Create Share and the affordances of digital technology. We must
- accelerate student achievement
- reduce the digital divide
- ensure fully engaged digital citizenship
- and in doing so, equip our learners to reach our vison statement

When you have a compelling 'why', it makes the 'how' and 'what' much easier. As Simon Sinek states, people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. I would like to think that the people and organisations who support the Uru Mānuka Education Trust buy into our 'why'.

The 2 graphics below illustrate why we implement and are totally committed to TMP.

Graph 1

Summer Learning Journey (SLJ): e-asTTle Writing Scores Term 1 2017 - Term 1 2018

Graph 1 demonstrates the impact of students who blogged over the December holiday break. Boys who blogged had a 12 months gain in e-asTTle writing scores and Māori and Pasifika had a 6.7 months gain.

Graph 2

Within TMP Cluster & Outside TMP Cluster

Graph 2 demonstrates the difference in e-asTTle Writing scores for Year 8 students within and outside of TMP cluster in Term 1 this year. TMP feeder schools students were 3.5 terms below the national norm while non-TMP feeder schools were more than 2 years below the norm. Although still achieving below the norm, TMP feeder schools are accelerating progress at a greater rate than non TMP feeder schools.

The evidence above is compelling. At HPS we are accelerating student achievement, reducing the digital divide and developing fully engaged digital citizenship. Are we there yet? Definitely not, but we are most certainly on the right bus and will not be getting off! This is why we do what we do ... pretty simple really!

Leadership is about communicating the 'Why' in a convincing authentic manner, backed up by leaders who lead, and as a result, people will follow, not because they have to, but because they want to, they get the 'Why'.

Four and a half years down the track

Uru Mānuka Cluster ( 7 schools including high school) has been in The Manaiakalani Programme (TMP) for the past 4.5 years and has been providing student achievement data to Woolf Fisher Research Centre (WFRC) for analysis for 3.5 years. So how are things looking, are we making a difference to student outcomes?

Last Thursday Marshlands School hosted our Manaiakalani Convenors' meeting - thank you Jacqui! Hannah from WFRC presented an analysis of individual clusters and overall TMP student achievement data.

The following graphs provide 7-point data for matched Uru Mānuka students - these students were in each data set from Term 1 2016 through until Term 1 2019.  In other words, they have had 3.5 years of 'Manaiakalani  medicine'.

Anything above zero in the MNormdiff Gain column indicates accelerated progress in comparison to the norm. What did we find, how are we going?

PAT Maths Results: although still below the norm at Term 1 2019 in terms of achievement (-4.59), Uru Mānuka has accelerated progress for the 263 students tracked from Term 1 2016 through to Term 1 2019.
2.67 points equates approximately to 1.5 terms of accelerated progress.

PAT Reading Results: accelerated progress for the 255 students of approximately 1.25 terms.

e-asTTle Writing Results: accelerated progress for the 232 students of approximately 5 terms.

So what does all of this mean? Are we achieving at the norms in Reading, Writing and Maths? No! But are we on the 'right track'? Absolutely!

Overall, Uru Mānuka is clearly accelerating progress in all 3 areas, this is wonderful news but it is still not enough. We need to do better for our learners in terms of overall achievement. We need to leverage off our positive writing achievement results and raise achievement in Reading and Maths. What are the successful teacher practices we can learn from in Writing that we can transfer to Reading and Maths. Watch this space!

A big thank you to the following, we would not be where we are today without your unrelenting support

• Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET)
• Woolf Fisher Research Centre (WFRC)
• Manaiakalani Outreach colleagues
• Russell Burt, Dorothy Burt and Pat Snedden

Otaki Convenors' Meeting

On Thursday 16 May Convenors met in Ōtaki and were hosted by the Te Reanga Ipurangi Ōtaki Education Trust. We had a warm greeting from Rachel and Jim (trustees) and it was interesting to see the great work the Trust is doing to support the local community

• Trust established under the mana of Ngāti Raukawa to serve the Ōtaki community - the Trust also sponsor the Central Pulse netball team.
• promote and lift educational achievement.
• contribute to the survival and prosperity of Māori as Māori.
• promote educational development of all people.
• promote the learning infrastructure for kura, schools and home learning.

I was impressed with Rachel's passion for the local community, and the infrastructure and opportunities the Trust is providing for all learners.

Takeaways from the day

• this kaupapa is about sharing PLD across schools and clusters. No one is telling us to do this, we have all agreed this is what we want to do.
• Blogger is the best platform for teaching Cybersmart. It enables us to engage outside of the community, for example, Summer Learning Journey. It enables children to make connections in a supported way and teach Digital Citizenship.

Data Collection

• important to include all children in data set. 
• we can advocate for them if we know who they are.
• once we have the evidence, we can advocate for these children ... difficult to do this if we only have anecdotal evidence. It requires visibility.

Junior Data
Why PM and not Ready to Read

• no one has figured out how to use Ready to Rewad consistently.
• PM is a better assessment tool - greater consistency.
• Why do we gather Junior data? Important to know if we are making a difference and we want to share good practice.

Board Forums
Russell also discussed the value of engaging our boards and holding board forums once a term. Some suggestions

• Get NZSTA to run a session
• Ministry of Education
• Other social agences; Police, OT, CDHB, ...

Another valuable opportunity to connect, collaborate and problem solve!

The Digital Inclusion Blueprint

On Friday 3 May The Hon Dr Megan Woods launched the Blueprint at Hornby Primary School.

Defining what it means to be digitally included
"A digitally included person is someone who has access to affordable and accessible digital devices and services at a time and place convenient to them, as well as the motivation, skills, and trust to use the internet to pursue and realise meaningful economic outcomes." (Digital Inclusion Research Group, 2017).

Hornby Primary School was privileged to host this event. I believe this was acknowledgement for the wonderful work Uru Mānuka has been doing in this digital/pedagogical space over the past 4.5 years, and we must also acknowledge the wonderful support of the Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET) and The Manaiakalani Programme (TMP) which has enabled us to get to where we are now.

TMP encapsulates the statement above defining what it means to be digitally included, our Uru Mānuka students and whanau:

• have access to affordable digital devices
• benefit from a proven pedagogical framework, including Cybersmart curriculum
• are empowered and display high levels of motivation and engagement

We have not reached The Holy Grail yet, but we are most certainly on the right bus!

Pat Snedden (MET Chair) was MC for the launch, once again recognition for Manaiakalani and TMP. As usual, Pat delivered a motivating compelling case for digital inclusion and left the Minister in no doubts that our tamariki were expecting big things from this commitment, and especially expected to see the Blueprint supported with plent of money - pūtea!

 I must congratulate Rūma Toru who welcomed our guests onto school grounds with a beautiful waiata.

Four of our pupils shared their learning with the Minister after the ceremony.

Term 1 Happenings

This is a brief summary of our teaching and learning journey this term. 

Manaiakalani Outreach Convenors' Meetings
February 28th Outreach Convenors met at the beautiful Paihia School for the day. We were joined by

Damian Edwards: Associate Deputy Secretary, Education Systems Policy

Rose Carpenter: Change and Implementation, Early Learning and Student Achievement

The Manaiakalani Clusters have a history of the convenors meeting together in each-other’s places.

This is something we’ve found extremely valuable as it enabled us to:

• Support one another
• Connect with Public Good Partners & Trusts
• Jointly problem solve
• Share the wins and the losses
• Enjoy one another’s company and have fun learning
• It’s also helping us greatly to be an effective “network of networks”

I acknowledge Russell Burt for the Manaiakalani history above.

As usual, the day was stimulating and informative, we shared our wins and losses, and left feeling positive about our next steps and knowing that we had someone to call on for support! Pat Snedden provided his usual rousing speech which was inspirational as usual!

Professional Learning Groups (PLGs)
We held our first cluster meeting at Wigram School. All 7 schools attended and teachers choose one of the 4 emerging findings from Woolf Fisher research that has a positive impact on student learning outcomes and were grouped accordingly.
1. Activating prior knowledge
2. Extended conversations
3. Critical literacy/thinking
4. Feedback

It was wonderful to observe the deep discussions around teaching and learning practice and the connections being developed across schools and primary/secondary. A big thank you to our Education Programme Leader (EPL) Kelsey for organising the groups, resources and structures for the meeting.

Media Team Day
Thursday 4 April we hosted Media Day at Hornby. All 7 cluster schools were represented and the focus was on videoing and commenting.
After morning tea we were joined by Kerry Du Pont from Whitebait Media who shared his digital and production experiences. It was a great day of connecting and collaborating.

Student Toolkits
Friday 5 April South Hornby hosted the Uru Mānuka Tookits. Our senior children presented workshops on particular Google apps, for example, coding and videoing. All 7 schools participated and it was great to see the collaboration and sharing of ideas.

A pleasing aspect was the confidence our children displayed and the growing agency/empowerment they are developing. Agency refers to the power to act and taking responsibility for one's learning and and therefore viewing yourself as a learner. Having agency is crucial if our children are going to be successful learners and lead successful lives after schooling.

Feedback from the day from Michaela and Draved

• I enjoyed meeting different people
• I enjoyed presenting Toolkits and seeing othr people learning from us
• I enjoyed learning from the Toolkits and how people did it step by step to make it easier
• I felt nervous to begin with but it got easier and I became more confident

And lastly but not least, a big thank you to Kelsey our Education Programme Leader. On top of supporting our digital teachers, Kelsey organised and facilitated the Media and Summit Days, along with her mother Sue who provided valuable support. Thank you Kelsey for providing valuable learning experiences for our students.

A great start to the year and a wonderful foundation to build on for the next 3 terms!

Summer Learning Journey (SLJ) Winner

Talisa participated in the SLJ over December 2018 and January 2019. Last year Talisa was in Year 4.

Today Talisa was presented with first prize for the Top Uru Mānuka Blogger by Emma the SLJ Coordinator.

Amongst other goodies, Talisa received an Acer Chromebook which she is absolutely thrilled with as she did not have her own device!

Talisa had thought about quitting the programme but her mother encouraged her to keep going, she said you don't want people calling you a quitter!

Talisa said the SLJ taught her lots of things, for example;
1. the dangers of river and water pollution
2. peserverance, "Keep going, you might achieve something very good."

Well Talisa, you certainly did achieve something very good!

A special thank you to the Wright Foundation, Next Foundation and Manaiakalani Education Trust for supplying the wonderful prizes. And thank you Emma for supporting our children throughout the programme!

                                                                     Emma & Talisa

Accessing Digital Devices for Families & Whānau

A great day for the Uru Mānuka Cluster and Education Trust today! We received our first shipment of 90 chromebooks from the Noel Leeming Group (NLG). Parents ordered the Acer C732 chromebook through the Uru Mānuka Education Trust, thanks to the Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET) who have a business deal with NLG.

A big thank you to:
Mark Maddren (Te Ara Tūhura Eduction Programme Leader)
Kelsey Morgan (Uru Mānuka Education Programme Leader)
Fraser Allen (Fusion Networks)
John Becker (Hornby caretaker)

These people worked through the day enrolling each device into various schools' domains ready for learning next week.

To get to this stage involved lots of people collaborating and cooperating,  phones calls, emails and txt messages. This was a wonderful example of people and organisations coming together to overcome the digital divide in our communities. Therefore, we must acknowledge the following also;

• Uru Mānuka Trust and dedicated trustees
• Dave Winter - Manaiakalani Operations Manager
• Jenny Oxley - Manaiakalani General Manager
• Pat Snedden - Manaiakalani Chair
• Fusion Networks
• Noel Leeming Group

Today's experience has provided valuable learnings for us as we develop and refine our procedures and systems around device procurement.

End of Year Assessment

Testing takes place in Week 4 - that means we have 14 days of teaching and learning before this takes place. This assessment is very important as it provides a 'picture' of each child's learning and direction for future teaching and learning.
What can teachers and children do between now and then to ensure we get the most accurate 'picture' of each child's progress and achievement over the year?
Below are the thoughts and ideas from last night's staff meeting.

Our DP Kate shared some of her thinking also

I must acknowledge Dot Apelu for her wonderful blog 'The Writing Plan for our junior school'. Dot's blog provided the inspiration for our assessment preparation.
Blog

Partnership

This is going to be short and sweet, but I have to share! Hornby High School (HHS) brought their Yr7-10s over to our gym for a performance by the 'Iamunbreakable' Hip Hop group. HHS are currently going through a complete rebuild and are short of space.
The group is promoting positive mental health and left the children with a box of tissues each and a website they can engage with if they need support Whoami

I thought this was a wonderful example of true partnership and collaboration between the 2 schools working in the best interests of our students. I also believe this is one of the reasons our students transition so smoothly into Year 7 each year. Tūmeke!

Manaiakalani Convenors Meeting

Hornby Primary had the pleasure of hosting our third Convenors meeting of the year on Thursday. Tier 2 Outreach started this year with 5 new clusters. One of the many enjoyable aspects of the gathering is the meal on the Wednesday evening before the meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, or on this occasion, meet new members of Outreach. We chatted over lovely food and beverages at the Old Government Building in the Square. These opportunities should not be undervalued, they form the foundation for positive lasting relationships.

As usual we covered a number of topics. I will touch on four
1. Assessment data. In order to link evidence to practice, we require valid, reliable, longitudinal data so we can identify the practices that are accelerating progress and achievement. At this point, we believe JAM is the most reliable Junior tool.
2. Student and whānau voice. Student voice is crucial, what is working for students and what can we do better? The same applies for whānau and families.
3. Digital Fluency Initiative (DFI) which runs each Friday for 9 weeks each term. The course has a transformational vision based on Learn Create Share and is for teachers. Teacher feedback has been extremely positive.
4. Preparing for 2019 - PR and communication is crucial.
- how many devices will we need for new 1:1 digital classes?
- when do we let whānau know?

Be prepared for the following questions/concerns from parents
- games
- screen time
- handwriting
- wifi/brainwaves

One useful strategy is to get children to present their learning to whānau. From our experience, our children are our greatest advocates in terms of promoting Learn Create Share and the affordances of digital technology.

By 3pm on the day, we had covered a lot of ground with possibly more questions than answers, but very certain in the direction we are heading ... linking evidence to practice and accelerating progress and achievement for all our learners. I'm not getting off this bus!

Student Engagement For Learning

The New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) Me & My School Survey measures 3 aspects of student engagement for learning
1. Behavioural: participation, positive conduct, persistence & involvement
2. Affective/Emotional: teachers, peers, learning & school - how they feel
3. Cognitive: taking riskes, learning challenges, self regulating learning

Aspects directly align with the Key Competencies in the NZ Curriculum.

We have been implementing the survey for the past 3 years at Hornby. The survey provides us with valuable insight into how our pupils view themselves as learners and how staff and the wider community contribute to positive learning outcomes.

There are 28 item questions. Summary of results for pupils who responded either with agree or strongly agree.

Year 6 (n=35)
Bettered NZ Norms on 27 of 28 questions.
Equal on the other question.

Examples
My teachers help me learn                                100%
Doing well at school is very important to me   100%
I feel like I am making progress at school        100%
I am proud to be at this school                          97%
At school I always try to do me best work         97%
I feel my culture is valued and respected           97%

Year 5 (n=30)
Bettered NZ Norms on 27 of 28 questions.
1% point below NZ Norm on the other question.

Year 4 (n=22)
Bettered NZ Norms on 27 of 28 questions.
Equal on the other question.

The results are outstanding and show a significant improvement from the first survey undertaken in Term 1 2016. The question one needs to ask is why? What has changed, what is different?

1. Learn Create Share and the affordances of digital technology have transformed our teaching and learning practice, which has resulted in engaged motivated learners.
2. Evidence-based findings from Woolf Fisher Research Centre which teachers then put into practice, eg. rewindable learning, multi modal texts, extended conversations, ...
3. Relationships, relationships and relationships. The relationship between the learner and the teacher is the most significant in-school factor in terms of achievement.

The diagram below represents our 2017 writing progress and achievement. Accelerated progress is evident in all year levels and pupils are above the norm by the end of Year 6. I firmly believe there is a causal link between Learn Create Share and the affordances of digital technology, and engaged motivated learners as the Me & My School data and student achievement data below clearly demonstrate. We will not be getting off this bus (Helsinki Bus Station Theory, more detail in another post)!

Community Engagement

We had a wonderful meeting on Saturday 7 April with our Filipino community. Brent, our board chair welcomed everyone followed by introductions.

The purpose of the meeting was to

• connect school and families
• connect families with families
• get an indication of what families wanted for their children, what they valued and what determined success for their children
• answer questions or queries

Parent feedback

• want children to have a good attitude towards learning (lifelong learner)
• develop the skills and attitudes to enable children to learn what they want (view themselves as learners)

A big thank you to Barb (AP) and Kate (DP) who gave up their Saturday morning to attend and provide much appreciated support. The parents were very positive about the meeting and would like to meet once a term.

A morning of learning, creating new knowledge and the opportunity for lots of sharing!

Education Programme Leader Feedback

This morning Kelsey (Education Programme Leader - EPL) and I met up to reflect on Term 1 and her role as EPL. Kelsey is employed by the Uru Mānuka Education Trust to support our digital 1:1 teachers and teachers new to Learn Create Share.
We discussed the following

• Learn Create Share - how to implement in the classroom
• digital immersion - device use/purpose
• whānau/community engagement
• blogging/Google+ (staff & students)
• our pupils are "doing an awesome job of sharing" their learning through blogs

Kelsey is booked in for a slot at our next board meeting where she can connect and share her role with our trustees.

Kelsey is doing a great job supporting teaching and learning, not only at Hornby Primary, but across the Uru Mānuka Cluster. Thank you Kelsey!!