Culturally Responsive: Changes to our names of spaces

2018 has brought about Change to Gilberthorpe School and has made us more culturally responsive. We have renamed all off our spaces within school grounds that represent the skills and attributes that we want our children to have.

Our school is known as Ara Tū Whakata - Gilberthorpe School.

Our topic focus for term one - has been on implementing the new changes and learning how to pronounce the names so they become everyday language for all.

I have been working really hard with making sure I use Te Ara Whakatau (Junior Hub) as much as possible and using the homebase names as often as I can so I can get familiar with these quicker. I have told the children how we are all on the same learning journey and are all trying to pronounce the names correctly.

I feel really confident with the names of spaces within Te Ara Whakatau, I now need to work on learning the names of spaces in Te Ara Takitini.

My homebase is called Te Rōpū Kura Pounamu - Means wee treasures. We are at the beginning of our learning journey who need to be looked after and nurtured.

We have been working hard on learning our name and what it means. We have also been learning a waiata for our class.

Te Rōpū Kura Pounamu Waiata:

He kākano ahau ( I am a seed)

I ruia mai i Rangiatea (From a special place)

I will never be lost

I am a seed born for greatness

Descended from a line of chiefs

He kākano ahau (  I am a seed)

He kura pounamu ahau (I am a wee treasure)

Murray Gadd teaches my wee ones!

Today I had the opportunity to observe Murray Gadd in action! 

It was great to see him work with my class. I felt really good about what I have been doing within my writing programme.

Murray was impressed with our writing on the wall and our list of things that good writers do. 


I have been implementing a lot of what Murray did with my kids, however I was missing  two key things and this is what I want to work on:

• Using Think Alouds
• The use of Finger Modelling of their ideas before they leave the mat.

Having Self belief that you are doing the right thing, can be hard at times and hearing from a guru that you are doing well and are on the right track with your learners makes you feel good.

I can't wait to delve deeper into Writing with my wee treasures!

Notes : Murray Gadd Modelling in Kura Pounamu

Teaching

Teach and respond to learners in a knowledgeable and adaptive way to

progress their learning at an appropriate depth and pace.

 

• Teach in ways that ensure all learners are making sufficient progress, and monitor the extent and pace of learning, focussing on equity and excellence for all. 

• Specifically support the educational aspirations for Māori learners, taking shared responsibility for these learners to achieve educational success as Māori. 

• Use an increasing repertoire of teaching strategies, approaches, learning activities, technologies and assessment for learning strategies and modify these in response to the needs of individuals and groups of learners. 

• Provide opportunities and support for learners to engage with, practise and apply learning to different contexts and make connections with prior learning. 

• Teach in ways that enable learners to learn from one another, to collaborate, to self-regulate and to develop agency over their learning. 

• Ensure learners receive ongoing feedback and assessment information and support them to use this information to guide further learning. 

Design For Learning

Design for Learning

Design learning based on curriculum and pedagogical knowledge, assessment information and
an understanding of each learner’s strengths, interests, needs, identities, languages and cultures.

• Select teaching approaches, resources, and learning and assessment activities based on a thorough knowledge of curriculum content, pedagogy, progressions in learning and the learners. 

• Gather, analyse and use appropriate assessment information, identifying progress and needs of learners to design clear next steps in learning and to identify additional supports or adaptations that may be required. 

• Design and plan culturally responsive, evidence-based approaches that reflect the local community and Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership in New Zealand. 

• Harness the rich capital that learners bring by providing culturally responsive and engaging contexts for learners. 

• Design learning that is informed by national policies and priorities.

Learning Focused Culture

Learning-Focused Culture

Develop a culture that is focused on learning, and is characterised by respect,
inclusion, empathy, collaboration and safety.

                  

• Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning. 

• Foster trust, respect and cooperation with and among learners so that they experience an environment in which it is safe to take risks. 

• Demonstrate high expectations for the learning outcomes of all learners, including for those learners with disabilities or learning support needs. 

• Manage the learning setting to ensure access to learning for all and to maximise learners’ physical, social, cultural and emotional safety. 

• Create an environment where learners can be confident in their identities, languages, cultures and abilities. 

• Develop an environment where the diversity and uniqueness of all learners are accepted and valued. 

• Meet relevant regulatory, statutory and professional requirements.

Professional Relationships

Professional Relationships

Establish and maintain professional relationships and behaviours focused on the learning
and wellbeing of each learner.

• Engage in reciprocal, collaborative learning-focused relationships with: – learners, families and whānau – teaching colleagues, support staff and other professionals – agencies, groups and individuals in the community. 
• Communicate effectively with others. 
• Actively contribute, and work collegially, in the pursuit of improving my own and organisational practice, showing leadership, particularly in areas of responsibility. 
• Communicate clear and accurate assessment for learning and achievement information. 

Professional Learning

Professional Learning

Use inquiry, collaborative problem solving and professional learning to improve
professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of all learners.

    

• Inquire into and reflect on the effectiveness of practice in an ongoing way, using evidence from a range of sources. 
• Critically examine how my own assumptions and beliefs, including cultural beliefs, impact on practice and the achievement of learners with different abilities and needs, backgrounds, genders, identities, languages and cultures. 
• Engage in professional learning and adaptively apply this learning in practice. 
• Be informed by research and innovations related to: content disciplines; pedagogy; teaching for diverse learners, including learners with disabilities and learning support needs; and wider education matters. 
• Seek and respond to feedback from learners, colleagues and other education professionals, and engage in collaborative problem solving and learning focused collegial discussions. 

Treaty of Waitangi

Te Tiriti o Waitangi Partnership

Demonstrate commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership

in Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Understand and recognise the unique status of tangata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand. 
• Understand and acknowledge the histories, heritages, languages and cultures of partners to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 
• Practise and develop the use of te reo and tikanga Māori. 

Our Standards

Standards for the Teaching Profession

THESE ARE OUR STANDARDS

The Standards for the Teaching Profession are made up of six standards that provide holistic
descriptions of what high-quality teaching practice looks like and what it means to be a
teacher in Aotearoa New Zealand. The additional detail contained in the elaborations
provides depth and context to the Standards themselves and supports teachers to identify and
develop high quality practices in their settings. The Standards are purposely designed at a high
level so every practitioner can apply them to suit the context they are working in.

The Purposes of the STANDARDS  for the Teaching Profession are to:

• Describe the essential professional knowledge in practice and professional relationships and values required for effective teaching.
• Promote high-quality teaching and leadership for all learners across all education settings
• Set the standard expected for teachers to be issued with a practicing certificate
• Provide a framework to guide our career-long professional learning and development as a teacher
• Promote the status of the teaching profession through making explicit the complex nature of teacher's work
• Strengthen public confidence in the teaching profession

Our Code

The Code of Professional Responsibility

This Code has been developed with our profession for our profession. It reflects the expectations of conduct and
integrity that we all share; what we expect of each other and what our learners, their families and whānau, their
communities and the public can expect of us.

As teachers, we understand the influence we have on shaping futures, and the contribution we make to society by
supporting children and young people to realise their potential and prepare them for their future. We understand
that families and whānau and the wider community trust us to guide their children and young people on their
learning journey and to keep them safe. By acting with integrity and professionalism in all that we do, we maintain
this trust and confidence. Upholding the expectations set out in the Code is the responsibility of each and every one
of us. It also connects us as a profession. If one of us breaches the Code, it can affect us all, changing how others see
us and how the profession is valued. So we also have a responsibility to each other, to make sure we all understand
these expectations and make the right decisions each and every day. We can all be proud to be part of the teaching
profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The CODE of PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY has been developed to:

• Set out the high standards of ethical behaviour expected of all members of the teaching profession
• Provide learners, their families and whānau, their communities and the public with trust and confidence in teachers and the profession
• Honour teaching as a profession of high trust and integrity

There are four parts to the code of Professional Responsibility.