Manawatu Standard Newspaper Article

The Manawatu Standard printed a News Feature article on March 25th title "Moving in Leaps and Bounds" by John McCrone. This article was very relevant on education in today's schools.

"What is the capital of Ethiopia? Which year was the Flagstaff war? What is the chemical formula for sulphuric acid? A generation ago, we might have expected educated people to carry such facts around in their heads. Now we would say forget it, just Google it!"

"The world is not merely changing, but changing at an accelerating rate. Information is growing exponentially."

This reinforces what the Ministry are accepting with the introduction of the New Curriculum.

Getting the hang of blogging

This exercise has certainly helped us understand the meaning of blogging and what is involved. We are working hard to keep up to date with new technologies and teaching and learning models and advancements with in mind to use within our school

Learning at Schools Conference

The Learning at Schools Conference was attended by Kathy, Col and Janine in Week 3 Term 1 2008. We attended a variety of break-outs, with foci on inquiry teaching and learning; interactive whiteboards and questioning. These were mostly beneficial towards supporting and developing our knowledge and skills for use both in the classroom and wider school development.
Using our experiences from past conferences and professional development, we were able to be more discerning about which break-outs would benefit our school and community the most. We have held professional development workshops for staff, using some of the knowledge and skills we aquired from the Learning at Schools Conference. We have also used those skills and knowledge in our own teaching.

Hooked on Thinking PD Visit

On February 8th 2008, Pam Hook and Julie Mills visited our school for a full day Professional Development on Inquiry Learning. All staff were involved including key relieving staff and teacher aides. Pam and Julie went through the process that they have used for Inquiry Learning in the morning. This looked at different thinking tools that can be used for Inquiry and suggested tools that can be used for different levels. They showed us some examples of Inquiry Units that they have taught and went through the achievements and obstacles associated with Inquiry. In the afternoon Pam and Julie, along with the staff went through the planning process for creating a whole school Inquiry Unit with staff breaking into groups and working on different curriculum areas. An Inquiry Model Unit was created as a reference to adapt and use at a later date.