Kia ora In my previous newsletter from February earlier this year, I talked about being ‘in uncertain times’ but also being ‘determined to make 2022 as normal as I can.’ Well, Term One was anything but normal for me, with probably more days postponed or deferred during the term than I actually worked. I’ve never had a term like this. … Read More
Kia ora tatou I want to say welcome to the 2022 school year but I suspect that most of you are ‘well into it’ now. Although we are in uncertain times – in terms of Covid – I am determined to make 2022 as normal as I can. I have already undertaken six beginning-of-year courses for teachers as well as several … Read More
Stratford School is a reasonably large, decile 5, full primary school in provincial Taranaki where I have been leading a PLD project in writing since the beginning of this year. As part of this project, I have been demonstrating the launch of writing topics as well as shared writing across several diverse classrooms. In one of the Year 5-6 classrooms, … Read More
In Term 4 2021, teachers from the two Year 5-6 teams at Golden Sands School (a decile 9 school in Papamoa, Tauranga) shared some writing that super-impressed me. It particularly bowled me over because much of it was written by students who could generally be described as ‘reluctant writers’. Some had specific learning disabilities; others were just disengaged with school … Read More
Kia ora koutou colleagues, This will be my final newsletter of 2021 and I hope it finds you all well. Probably a bit stressed – particularly if you’re an Auckland teacher – but even if you’re not, you’ve undoubtedly got end-of-year ‘requirements’ looming up fast. All’s good with me, and I’m about to undertake my first face-to-face visit to a … Read More
Most of us would agree on the importance of listening to student voice when developing and implementing a classroom programme. In the context of an instructional writing programme, this means finding out: How do my students feel about writing? How do they feel about themselves as writers? How do they feel about the writing instruction they receive at school? Finding … Read More
Nicola Blight’s Year 1 classroom at Newton Central School (a multi-cultural inner Auckland school) is a wonderfully creative and vibrant space in which colour, movement, shape and wonderings abound. Nicola – who has been teaching for more than 20 years – continually seeks artifacts and experiences that will challenge her students, deepen their natural curiosity and enable them to express … Read More
Kia ora koutou katoa Updated Oct 26th 2021. I do hope that you are doing OK out there in lock-down. We have had several enquiries on how to share videos with students. As a result of the lockdown, we have decided to make some of the videos easier to share with your tamariki. About Working With Video Lessons As a … Read More
Online security is important to us and we will shortly be enhancing our website login security for Membership Subscribers. From 10th November 2021, we will be introducing a technology known as Two Factor Authentication (abbreviated to 2FA). What Is Two Factor Authentication (2FA) When you log in to an account online, you mostly use a simple ‘username and password’ combination to … Read More
One of the picture books I use for story writing in my on-line subscription resource (Building Excitement, Engagement and Achievement in Writing with Dr Murray Gadd is Handa’s Hen by Eileen Browne Set in a village in Kenya, it is the story of Handa and her friend Akeyo searching for Handa’s grandmother’s lost hen and it outlines what they discover … Read More