10 August 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principals supporting Principals… Principals supporting Principles!

Kia Ora

Please find this week’s Monday Mailing below.

Welcome to week 4.

So Parliament has shut up shop till the election. If you are to believe the valedictory speeches, what a septic place it must be to work in. You have to wonder if the policies we are expected to develop and abide by for the health and wellbeing of our staff and students apply to them.

We now look forward to hearing policy announcements around education.

Registration is now open for the Term 3 Connection Day, see the outline for the day below, go to the website to register.

Have a great week.

Kia kaha

Remember this is your newsletter. Again if you would like to share a reading, opinion or an event feel free to contact me.

Kind regrds
Tony Mangan
Glenview School

WPA Dates

From our President

Kia Ora Kotou

There seems to be a lot on the go in education at the moment. I went to meeting last week where we explored six major initiatives in progress that we as principals need to keep abreast of. Things like the Teacher Aide pay agreement and the vagueness around how it will be funded, the changes at the Teachers Council and registration as well as the confusion relating appraisal requirements, and the formation of the Education Support Agencies and how they will work with schools. They are all important but they can also be a distraction from what is most important, our schools and our children. I expect there will be a lot more interesting and exciting promises as the election draws closer. I think we need to always ask ourselves the question ‘how will it make learning better for my children’ before we invest too much time in these new things.

Don’t forget about the meeting with Phil Cowie from ERO on Monday 17th August at Fairfield Intermediate School. Phil will be sharing the proposed new process for school reviews. I had a preview of the new model last week and it is a genuine transformation of how reviews happen. Phil is seeking feedback on the proposed review model and assures me that principals views will be taken into consideration as they further refine the approach.

I was honoured to be invited to Paula Rawiri’s farewell on Friday. All those who spoke about talked what a positive person she is and how hard she worked to build relationships with all the stake holders. I endorse this view. It is a difficult job balancing the wants and needs of the sector with the demands and policy made in Wellington. I thought Paula did a lot to strengthen the relationship between the Ministry and the sector. I wish her well in her new role at Te Puni Kokiri.

My understanding is places are filling fast for our Connection Day on the 3rd of September. I encourage to register you and leadership team for what will a fascinating day with Marshall Diggs. See you all there.

Marcus Freke
WPA President

Term 3 Connection Day Outline

Please find below further information in regards to our upcoming Connections Day In Term 3, we look forward to hosting a gathering of Senior School Leaders from across our Ropu on Thursday 3rd September. Register by clicking here

We look forward to having Marshall Diggs share his thoughts around Leading in a Changing World unpacking the following themes.

Sessions 1 - Leadership DNA in the 21st Century (Blurb)

With the death of the expert, and charismatic leadership now seen as a liability to an organisation, the question is only getting louder: What is the DNA of today’s best leaders? Leadership DNA takes an in-depth look at emerging requisites of 21st Century leadership and it unpacks what Emotional Intelligent Leadership entails in a school context.

Leadership DNA in the 21st Century can be challenging and juxtaposed to some of the traditional understandings and ideas about effective leadership. We will explore leadership trends since before the post-modernism era and share some of the most up-to-date and emerging leadership research from Dr Brene Brown's work: Strong Back, Soft Front, and a Wild Heart.

Session 2 - Across Generational Leadership (Blurb)

Across Generational Leadership - Building Generational IQ is an interactive workshop designed to empower collaboration and break-down generational tensions and misunderstandings. Across Generational Leadership - Building Generational IQ will equip you with leadership techniques that connects and unifies you and your team. When we are born shapes how we see the world and how we interact with the world. When we understand the “why” other generations see and think the way they do, we are much more likely to appreciate their differences and beginning listening and speaking in a language they can understand.

Today, educational leaders need to find the balance between appreciating the unique contributions of each team member and owning the capacity as a leader. By embracing the multi-generational teacher workforce and preparing your leaders appropriately, you will not only produce higher engagement and performance, but you will also begin to attract the best teachers of all ages. We will unpack the keys to winning across generations: Communication, Decision Making, Language, Loyalty, Relationships, Employment, Expectations and much more…

Session 3 - Leading High Performing Teams (Blurb)

As a leader, your job is to enable your team to thrive. Building and leading a high performing team demands that you know the nuances, personality styles, leadership styles and strengths of each of your team members. Leading High Performing Teams is a workshop designed to equip you with the keys to unlocking and building your own dream team by profiling you and your team against the leadership styles and requisites of other high performing teams.

To many leadership teams are created by default, not design. This workshop will share with you the art of knowing and positioning your team members in the right places, with the right tools, to enable you and your team(s) to reach their full potential.

Marshall Diggs (Blurb)

To go above and beyond so that people feel cared for as a whole person.

Marshall has a background as a teacher mentor, principal, community leader and keynote speaker. Marshall’s role as Director at the Growth Culture Leadership Academy perfectly combines his passion for teaching and inspiring educators, with his strengths in leadership, coaching and mentoring.

He has a wealth of experience providing transformative education training in the areas of effective leadership, culture-building, innovation, strategy and solutions for leaders, and innovative teaching practice. His strengths include effective communication, creating positive relationships, building relational trust, and developing effective teams.

Marshall is deeply committed to supporting schools in crafting leadership pathways as well as training and equipping leaders, to enable them to create cultures where everyone can thrive. Marshall enjoys reading widely, keeping up to date with the latest trends and developments in education, as well as story-time and adventures his wife and his four spirited children.

The MOE Sustainability Contestable Fund

Hello,

We are writing to draw your attention to the second round of the Ministry of Education Sustainability Contestable Fund which we think would be beneficial for your School. The fund is now open and closes on 3 August. This fund is intended to provide schools with infrastructure to improve their sustainability and one of the specific items covered by the fund is composting systems so schools can compost their own food/garden/grounds/ organic waste so as to prevent that organic waste going to landfill and generating methane emissions. A co-benefit of the compost produced is that it is then available if needed to grow food at the school, or made available for families and community to do so. For more information on the fund, check the information on the Ministry of Education website here:

We manufacture a patented composting system that is specifically designed for composting in the schools and community. We assisted a number of schools who successfully applied for the installation of our CarbonCycle Composters during the first round of funding and these systems have now been installed and are in use. The system is functional, attractive and pest-proof. We have added some photos below and here is a short video of on installation day at one of the schools.

If you wish to make an application to the fund for our composting system, here is an updated template for your use, and we would be very happy to assist you in completing the application in a way that is appropriate to your school’s sustainability objectives. Obviously the primary benefit in composting food/organic/grounds waste on site in the school has a large sustainability impact because a lot of that material would otherwise end up in landfill generating methane emissions. You will see we have highlighted the response areas in blue, and you will need to customise the form to give greater details of your specific vision for composting in your school. Please note that it is necessary to submit the endorsement of your Property Officer, so it may be a good idea to get his endorsement sooner rather than later.

Here is a general quote for our three box system - please come back to us if you need a specific quote or want to make any adjustments to it. The quote includes cost of the composters and installation, an overview workshop of composting as well as ancillary products you many need to make your composting easier at the school. Again, you may choose to make adjustments to these.

There are additional co-benefits if the school chooses to use the compost produced in kitchen gardens to produce nutritious food for the students and their families. This is one of the benefits that David Shearer referred to in an article he wrote to the NZ Herald in January 2014 in which he emphasises the need to address the issues of nutrition and encourage self-reliance: “we have lost the basic skills of how to garden and provide for ourselves” [and the need to] “put resources into schools to help teach those simple skills and enable kids to eat the food they grow themselves and understand a healthy diet.”

We are happy to discuss any questions you may have about our composting system, or composting in general, and if you need any help with your specific requirements, please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards,
Teresa

M: +64 21 627 477
carboncyclecompost.com

The uLearn is online!.

uLearn20 is online!

For the first time ever, uLearn will be delivered online, 7-8 October 2020. Two days, two themes and four keynotes, all for $200 (even less for groups!).

Explore the themes – Pohewatia te angitu | Reimagine success and Pohewatia te ako | Reimagine learning – alongside keynotes Janelle Riki-Waaka, Dr Lucy Hone, Pedro Noguera and Professor Peter O’Connor. Plus customise your learning with an extensive range of workshops. Registrations open now.

Ngā mihi nui,
Bryleigh

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Bryleigh Kingston-Rodgers · Communications Coordinator
CORE Education Ltd, Christchurch
M: 021 915 681 · W: 03 972 5456 · E: bryleigh.kingston-rodgers@core-ed.ac.nz
W: http://www.core-ed.org FB: http://www.facebook.com/coreeducation
eCommunity: edSpace · Free online PD: Connected Educator NZ

Request: Can you help?

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions of PLD providers for Digital Fluency/Digital Tech for 2021.

Contact Rodney Montford Principal@glenmassey.school.nz

Regards
Rodney

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Rodney Montford / Principal
Glen Massey School
897 Waingaro Road / RD 1 Ngaruawahia
07 8248423

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