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.