Staff PD for Term 1

Using a mask as a symbol of self awareness and personal security such as "Mask on/ Mask off". Consider how the school year has been impacted by Omicron with students being absent with infection, self isolation due to family members or parents being cautious and not sending their children to school. What factors have been considered in the following scenarios? Consider a child's own well-being in how they might be feeling. What learning has taken place so far, due to the disruptions of being at home verses coming to school? How can teachers make the transition easier for children who are coping with an unusual schooling experience of face to face versus online learning from home? I feel that keeping daily routines and structures in place are key to this current environment we find ourselves in. I liken it to a divorce where the parents have separated and you need to keep things constant and familiar for the child to feel some form of normality and keep a safety net around them as much as possible to help them feel secure, even though things are strange and different from what they are used to...

Reflection - Part 1

As we enter the start of a new season (Spring), it brings me a sense of renewal...daffodils are flowering in my front garden, new rose buds are starting to appear, vegetables are ready to harvest and baby lambs are being born on farms around Aotearoa! My reflections this week come after two weeks of online teaching have passed as Auckland resumes being in Level 4 lockdown. It is so wonderful to be able to connect with my class twice a day! To see their smiley, happy faces brings so much shared joy and a continued sense of belonging. The content we have prepared as teachers is less structured on purpose, as to engage the children in their learning from home. We understand that there will be varying degrees of support as some families also juggle parenting and working from home. One parent may be an essential worker, so that leaves the other parent to multitask (parenting, working, feeding hungry mouths and maintaining housework) throughout the day! There are a number of children at home being cared for by their grandparents who are not familiar with computer technology. One advantage of Pasifika families is that there is usually one, two or three older siblings available to help with their learning or IT queries. Some children took a little while to navigate our Google Meets, learning how to mute and unmute their microphones to speak, clicking on the raise your hand button to speak and being sensible in front of the camera is all learned behaviour and the social ettiquite of "Google Manners for Google Meets" is practised daily. We have to remember that these digital natives are only 6 -7 years old, and already this has been engrained in their young lives. It is here that I feel greatful for being in a digital 1:1 school, as the expectations are laid from the junior school about of Kawa of Care. The children have been given their school iPads during this lockdown which has made a significant difference to their participation this time around. We remind the children to take care of their iPads during the day, keep them covered so that the screen is protected, leave them in a safe place and remember to charge them overnight. There is a combination of reading, writing, maths planned for their learning within a week. We have also included Inquiry with a focus on Healthy Mind and Body. Adding in some interactive activities also helps with engagement for the children to participate in some fun practical "learning through play" ideas which combine science and arts together. Creating short video clips is something which I have become well versed with. However, only by learning these skills at the reknowned "DFI" (Digital Fluency Intensive) course from the help of Manaiakalani facilitators and using the pedagogy taught on a regular basis have I become capable and gained confidence. My own class has become more confident in writing a sentence about how they feel and why as part of their daily journal entry throughout lockdown. Although this period of time is a different way of teaching and learning, who is to say that this will be become the norm? At least we are well prepared for these scenarios and have a range of expertise to gather knowlegde and skills from which I am also really thankful for. There is a plethora of teaching colleagues who can support and suggest alternative ways of sharing information and support with technology along the way. In amongst all the uncertainty of living in a worldwide pandemic, I feel truly blessed.

Level 4 lockdown!

So here we are again, back to teaching online as Auckland got the announcement that the Delta strain has hit our shores! Our Prime Minister Jacinda Adern put us into Level 4 lockdown and record numbers of Aucklanders began getting Covid tests. My own boys and I are awaiting our first vaccination scheduled for next month...In the meantime I am starting to miss my class, even though we have scheduled twice daily Google Meets. Our amazing admin team got Team 2's school iPads delivered earlier this week and as a result we have seen so many new faces online! It has been awesome to get emails from my supportive parents of their children's evidence of reading, writing and maths activities completed and submitted online. I am so proud of these families who are trying their best to make it work. Keep staying safe everyone and follow the rules to combat the virus.

Role play for our Inquiry/Healthy focus in Term 3!

Follow Coach Carter's bootcamp sessions as she attempts to encourage her clients to achieve their personal best in fitness and training, weigh in's and mindfulness...

Letter to your teacher!

One of my Year 2 students wrote this letter to me. Although I haven't seen her on our Hangouts, she has been doing online learning at home with support from her family during this second lockdown. Hi Mrs Carter i miss you very much I hope we Come back to school. I‘m learning how to roller skate the first day I fell over but I tried again the next day. I had a good birthday I have a lot of presents And I had a chocolate cake.

Update on my website!

Letters in lockdown from one of my students!

 Dear Mrs Carter Hi how are you and family. Hope you are okay. Me and our family are all fine. May God protect us from corona virus.

Making Cannelloni with Mrs Carter!

T2 Week 6: ENGAGE face to face!

My reflection looks at the impact of being in lockdown for 7 weeks that has had on our students. The high level of engagement of learning from our Year 2 learners returning to school has been incredible. The children have increased their knowledge and understanding of story writing for meaning and this has included sight words as well as using correct punctuation. Some of the children were participating in an online daily journal during the lockdown period which I think has contributed to their overall literacy skills and comprehension of writing sentences. This rapid increase of language accumulation is significant due to the fact that only some of the children were continuing to read books such as (Sunshine online) from our Team 2 site that was less structured than core curriculum school subject areas such as Reading, Writing and Maths... My main focus throughout Week 6 was to carry out daily ENGAGE games with all of our Year 2 learners as a whole (approximately 40 children aged 6 - 7 years old). The session began with a simple relaxation breathing exercise (Pick a pretend flower from the garden and smell it with your nose, now breath in and out 3 times...). Then I introduced an ENGAGE game such as "Simon Says" and outlined the instructions before it started. All the children joined in enthusiastically and had lots of fun! They didn't mind missing out, or not being the winner and there were no issues of non-compliance. We didn't have any incidents of emotional outbursts or tantrums, and there were no behaviour challenges. These children have shown how resilient they are despite all of the upheaval and changing circumstances they have found themselves in due to COVID - 19. They have adapted well and coped with a change to their inside environment such as being seated in a new and different place and not physically touching anyone else! I feel that having this in place as a consistent approach became an expectation that the children became used to and therefore did not reject. After about 10 minutes the children were verbally disappointed to stop the games and continue with other learning in the day. I know that there have been other Junior teachers doing ENGAGE games with their Year 1 students in single cell classrooms, which I would like to collate data and reflections from as soon as possible. My only regret is that I completely forgot to ask another teacher to record this, which is what I aim to do in Week 7 (next week). Our children have shown so much resilience and adaptability of their environment, due to the fact that our Team 2 roll was only 50%, we decided to plan and teach collaboratively every day. Writing in the morning, followed by Reading and Maths after morning tea. The afternoon block was scheduled for Art/Science/PE sessions. My final thoughts are that children in "Our Space" have been happy, engaged in their learning and kept safe in their first week back at school.

Visual storytelling about Floating!

Getting creative at home!

Catherine and her big sister Finau have been busy playing their own ENGAGE game at home called "Cops and Robbers" which is very similar to "The Giant's Treasure" ENGAGE game. This is a great way to stay active and keep fit during the lockdown...

Joining in daily Google Meets with Team 2!

It has been awesome watching the students confidence grow learning how to be Cybersmart online whilst enjoying each other's company and staying connected during the lockdown. Its hard to believe that 6 weeks has passed already! This snapshot is taken from the Blue Bubble to teachers and children's homes.

Someone else's words of wisdom about Hope...

My faith leads me to Hope...

Taken from the Bible found in the Old Testament: Psalm 62:5-8 "Yes my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress. I shall not be shaken. My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge." Hebrews 6:19 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." It is these messages of hope that can help us through these strange times of being in lockdown and help us to move forward each day.

Respect for each other in Level 3!

We have two children in Rm 24 who come from the Burmese culture and they speak different languages at home. So when I greet Myu San and Nadi I say "Minglabar" to them which means "may this day be filled with blessings". I think that this is such an appropriate greeting for this period of lockdown that we find ourselves in. Our school value is all about Hope and I hope that we can all continue to be kind and look after each other at home. So keep helping out with jobs around the house, clean your bedroom, do some baking or cooking and don't forget to do some Home learning each day and join in a Hangout with your teachers and friends! Take care and stay safe in your Bubbles. I do miss you all dearly. Arohanui from Mrs Carter.

Participation and feedback of an ENGAGE game!

Hey Miss Carter. Its me Finau and Catherine and I played your engage called Jack in the box. You told us to sit on the ground and start forming yourself into a little box. After that you told us to pop out. Catherine just started laughing and I was like what so funny and she said she laughed because of how you were jumping and how she was jumping.I think that was the best game for Catherine. What was your favourite engage game? Take care From Finau.

Participation feedback of ENGAGE during the lockdown!

Hi Miss Carter, its me Finau and just want to say what an amazing idea to do yoga during the lockdown. Me and my sister Catherine checked it out and we saw you doing yoga. We loved all the poses you did. My favourite yoga pose was V shape one and Catherine loved the Lion pose. What was your favourite pose? Stay safe in your bubble, From Finau.