FEBRUARY 1st!
Wow, 1/12th of the year has rushed by and I have spent it reading, thinking, learning and being challenged.  A great start to my year that I look forward to sharing with staff, students and whanau throughout the year.  (Term 1 starts for Turaki School students on 4th February).

Reading and thinking.  Over the break I have read Helen Timperley's "Realising the Power of Professional Learning", Ben Levin's "How to Change 5000 Schools"and am working my way through Chait et al's "Governance as Leadership".  I have also used the audible app to listen to Michael Fullan's "Leading in a Culture of Change" and his "The Six Secrets of Change" and Fullan and Hargreaves' "Professional Capital".  I am currently listening to Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers". Yes, geeky, I know, but this professional reading has me hooked and is making me rethink what I think.

None of these writers espouse any silver-bullet theory or practice, but, in a nut shell for me, they speak of the how much power we have as individuals, but more particularly as members of collaborative teams, to make a difference in anything we do. When I put my Turaki School principal's lens over this, it confirms the direction we are moving towards as one that will support learners and outcomes for learners.  I also think of the systems and processes we have in plane and how they need to change at the principal-staff member(s) level to ensure I am supporting their learning and outcomes more strongly as well.  I have not crystallised this into actions yet, but my thinking is becoming less foggy - and that is exciting too.

Thanks you for taking the time to read this, feel free to challenge me on my thinking.
I look forward to sharing more with you later.

Just thinking

I just looked at Maurie Abraham's blog and it reminded me of the time we spent at PDPC in Wellington where he spoke of collecting the top 500 albums as listed by Rolling Stone magazine.  Bet that is hard to do now Maurie!

If he does that though, then he has been successful. It set me to wondering about how we define success.  Is it Pisa rankings? Is it a kapa haka group performing on stage? Is it a child reading at a higher level than last week? Is it a teacher who has developed an understanding of using evidence to support their teaching and learners' learning?  Is it a student who, after many attempts, finally overcomes their fear and completes their run on a flying fox? Personally, I get satisfaction out of all of these things, but the more personalised for the learner, the more it rings true for me.  I absolute love watching learners, young and not so young, achieving and being successful.  It is what normally brings a tear to my eye.
Just thinking.

This blog is my opportunity to share the great things happening at Turaki School.  I look forward to posting photos, activities, quotes from across the school community, and snippets of my thinking as the blog develops.  I look forward to challenging you, and you challenging me as well.  

My first link is to our school's web page: www.turakiprimaryschool.co.nz
Enjoy!