blog use

Today I had to do a PMI on my year as part of my appraisal with my team leader. I did some writing but also printed out something from my blog which was about my reflections on my Rellco goals for 2009. However, the best part was being able to give my appraiser -D. the comments/questions that Lorraine (our ICT facilitator) had posted on my blog.

Next I thought why not go the whole hog and give D access to my blog (all 118 entries) so she can really see how much I reflect and how my learning journey with things like inquiry, new entrants, assessment etc has gone.

I hope she takes time to look at it - I know reflections are for me and my growth, but sometimes we are all too busy to stop and learn about each other and what we have been doing in our job.
I am glad I blog!

Week 8

We have a student from the Wananga -Whaea Janice working in room 2 until the end of the year. Already she looks like she'll be a real asset to our class.

We have a trip on friday to the Museum, where we will be looking at the Te Arawa display. Thanks to Whaea D. -what a wonderful story teller she is and her room 9 pupils were great chracters in the play. My kids were enthralled especially the part where the dog was howling in the man's tummy.
We will be travelling by bus and I hope lots of whanau will travel with us.

The last week before our school concert, so we have been having extra practices with Mr. P. Boy the junior kids sound great.
We are also keeping things as normal as possible with daily writing, reading and maths. The kids are enjoying the problem solving and there is some great thinking/strategies being used.

2010 again

Great news after our staff meeting tonight - I have new entrants next year and the R1/2 double room (with the walls down). Maybe we can give our room an interesting name next year? I will do it WITH the children

I will ask Pete to take the walls down in the holidays. I will probably keep them in the room and use as display walls by leaning them up by the non bench windows (if it can be done safely)? I can't wait to plan out the room and make it an exciting place for learning. I need to make sure I am really organised with the equipment we need/want.

We also had to put down what curriculum areas we are interested in - I picked e-learning/inquiry and science. I know literacy and numeracy (especially with the National Standards) are the most impotant , but I feel I am on track with them now and I want to learn new things. I am loving using inquiry and want to carry on with thhat and e learning is always going to a place to learn new things.

2010

More ramblings/brainstorming about 2010. Maybe I want to look at what some ECE centres do with ICT to help children's learning and build on that.

This time for my goal I am going to make sure that I keep the learning at the forefront. Also I know that to show any shifts in learning I must have good starting data so I will also need to factor that into my action plan.

2010

I want to start exploring my action inquiry/goal for 2010. What was written on the end of my 2009 sheet was me moaning about that because I couldn't prove what I had for goals this year actually helped my children's learning, I felt it was all a waste of my time----- so I want to be more ???? for the next one.

On second look at what I had put for my goal for 2010 (just a start), I already realise it is far too broad and once again unmeasurable. "HOW CAN I INFUSE ICT INTO MY NEW ENTRANT ROOM TO MAKE IT A MORE EFFECTIVE LEARNING PLACE." What does that actually mean and how on earth could I even show that to anyone?

I need to have another look at Lorraine's SMARTER Goals work and also consider what Jill H. said about it should be all about improving students learning (and I know that is the message I have been getting all along in this ICTPD we are in, but I think I just got it out of my view for a while.) Next time I might just brainstorm some ideas and try to put some 'measuring tools' alongside them.

Inquiry Conclusion and Teacher Reflection

I think we have finishe now - with a postive conclusion with some real action/change to happen and we have done a reflection. I would never have been 'brave' enough to ask for a double classroom for the new entrants if:
a) I had not gone to Wanganui and heard about Reggio Emilia (and got really interested in what pre-schools are doing) and seeing Kath Murdoch's Inquiry Model -this one works for me!!!
b) I did not have the 'power'of a classfull of 5 year olds with me on our inquiry journey - this was a real context not some pretend learning -so talk about this inquiry being rich, real and relevant.

What will be extra good is that (I think) some of 2009 young Yo will stay with me in 2010 so they will benefit from their inquiry work as well as new kids.

National Standards

We had an informative meeting with our literacy advisor Christine about NS. The more I learn about them the more I like them. I think they are ideal for NE especially with having good starting school data to inform next steps, letting the children know what they are learning, sharing with parents where their child is starting and looking at the ways parents can help.
I think this is the time to get the parents involved in their children's learning.
Next year I think I would like to meet with my parents after a month-6 weeks after the child starts school. Also on TKI there are helpful forms- but I had better wait and see what the school plans for 2010.

Soon the P. is meeting with us re 2010 and I am hoping I have NE but again I had better wait.
I am still thinking about what curriculum area(s) I want to be involved in.