Reflection Term 1 2018

-

What?
Term 1 has been challenging.
I enjoyed camp again, this is such a great opportunity to get to know your students outside the classroom and they love to see you in another environment as well. They realise you are a real person. 
We used our learning at camp to create our Year 5 production. This was quite different this year having new staff helping to develop this. It was also a really quick turn around with 2 short weeks as well. This meant the students had to work really hard in a short time to get the show to performance level. But once again the kids pulled it together and produced a wonderful reflection of their learning.

 My class did some ANZAC writing using the School Kit box of artifacts. This was such a great opportunity and the class really enjoyed researching real NZ soldiers and linking that information with videos and other data we gathered to write some wonderful poetry. I was so proud of what they produced, once again in a short space of time. I have shared this with School Kit and they were so impressed with what they read they want to find a wider audience. I am still in contact with them now and have shared more of the kids work with them.

 I know I haven't looked after my Wellbeing this term as well as I could have so I need to make some changes and decisions to enable me to take care of myself better.

So What?
Term 1 is always challenging so I need to learn to accept that I can't do everything and to not beat myself up if things don't get completed. I set myself and my class very high expectations and sometimes I struggle when I don't meet these. I think taking care of my well being will help me to not be so hard on myself and know that I am doing a good job and providing my kids with a safe and happy classroom environment. 
I have met with several parents to discuss their child's social and academic needs. This has been beneficial and already I can see some positive changes. 

 One of the most precious developments from the Year 5 production was seeing a Maori student embrace her culture and have the opportunity to be a leader. This student is hearing impaired. This made no difference to her or anyone else and she was so proud of what she had achieved. Her whanau were also incredibly proud. I believe this student has grown in confidence and I am hoping we will see a big change in her attitude next term. I hope she now realises that she can do anything if she puts her mind to it.

Now What?
I need to make a decision about what exercise I am going to do in Term 2 to keep myself active.
I need to celebrate my students successes.
I need to believe in myself as a teacher and not wait for affirmation from others.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recognising a Commitment to Tangata Whenuatanga

-
Image
What? We need to embrace Te Reo Maori at Southwell School and celebrate how unique New Zealand is to have its own national language. Our Year 5 Production was a reflection of our Camp in Rotorua. The students learnt about the Tarawera eruption and the times and lives of those involved. This gave them a great opportunity to learn about Maori culture.                               The Buried Village Waimangu Valley         The Buried Village So What? When we came back the Year 5's scripted their own production to share with the rest of the school. They showed the interactions between the Maori and Pakeha during this time.  Each class was responsible for a particular event and within that groups made their own portrayal of these. The creation of these was student driven with support from me as their classroom teacher.  In music the students learnt a Maori song Etu Ka...
Read more

Professional Development in Physical Education

-
Image
What? We had someone come in from NZ Football to take us through the 11+ KIDS warm up programme developed by FIFA. The 11+ Kids warm up is designed to be fun and effective for younger players to learn to move well and build upon their fundamental movement patterns for sport. So What? The  11+ KIDS  is a brand new programme that has been proven to reduce injuries in our junior players (from 5-12 years old) up to 50%, as well as develop fundamental movements that form the basis of every athletic movement we do. The 11+ is suitable for youth players up and is the most researched and validated programme in existence, book a refresher course to check up on technique and to develop a further understanding of the importance of keeping your players injury free, fast, fit and strong. Hopefully using this programme will help build the fundamental movements for our athletes and also help reduce injury. Now What? Now that I have the knowledge of this programme I wi...
Read more

Writing PLD

-
Image
What? After camp we did some PLD on writing within Southwell school. Thinking critically about our practice in the classroom and the effect this has on our students. So What? Key messages on pages 8 and 9 of Effective Literacy Practice 1-4 Teachers matter - and what they do matters Teaching practice can be described as truly effective only when it has a positive and measurable impact on student achievement Students may take many different pathways on their literacy learning we as teachers should have appropriate tools for different students. The quality of our teaching is imperative to achieve results in the classroom. Your teaching practice matters Evidence based teaching practice can make a major difference.   What happens in classrooms through quality teaching and through the quality of the learning environment generated by the teacher and students is key Goal directed literacy instruction. Evidence based. Progra...
Read more