KPMG # 3

Aroha mai, I have not been very diligent with my posting, so will catch up as much as I can remember. I do recall that our last session at KPMG was quite frustrating for me, as my internet connection kept dropping off and I could not make much use of the free time session. I might need to just hotspot from my phone if it happens again. Shark Tank was a valuable experience, not only for the practise in public speaking but also for practise answering the gnarly questions that undoubtedly will come our way. Thinking on my feet is not always something I do well, so being thrown into the deep end is something I need more often than I would like to admit. It is also worcthwhile for me to hear the kinds of questions that I often hear when we meet up, in particular the 'why' - 'why are you doing this when it already exists on the internet', as it gives me the chance to prepare the answer. An update on the actual project: I have continued using Gemini Notebook to summarise the PDF versions of Rangaranga Reo ā-Tā (lesson by lesson). However, despite the fact that the slides Notebook produces are gorgeous, every single slide looks different, even within a single slide deck. Manaiakalani has always advised us that a website should have consistent colours, fonts, and themes, so I want to continue to do this. Therefore I have been uploading the Notebook slides into Gemini Canvas, which will produce the slides in a format that is consistent. However, Canvas will change the text and some of the content of the slides :( so it really is quite exhausting and frustrating at times. Thankfully Canvas produces slides that are editable but there's triple handling happening here at the moment, which is not very efficient. It could be that I just need to use Canvas, and not Notebook. We shall see.

Hui 1 @KPMG

 Once again the hospitality was next level. KPMG provided a gorgeous working space, beautiful food, and a stunning location overlooking the water. Thank you Justine Todd, and everyone at KPMG for looking after us during this hui.

Creating the prototype has been a useful experience because it's finally getting in to the nuts and bolts of the process, and deciding on how it might work efficiently and in a user-friendly way. My next step will be to talk to my principal and fellow teachers about how to make it seamless, and easy to navigate. My hypothesis is that teachers will need everything they need for their level at their fingertips, without lots of clicking and scrolling; however they may have different ideas regarding the level of extra information that is needed. While my number one goal is to keep it simple and streamlined, I also want it to be useful to beginning teachers who haven't had the necessary PLD yet, so need some guidance about scope and sequence, for example. While that kind of information does sit within the lessons themselves, does it need to sit somewhere else in the website as an important focal point? Something to consider and wānanga with my colleagues.

Presenting to this particular group is getting easier and easier, as I get to know everyone better. However, I am anxious about speaking in front of principals and other stakeholders at the wānanga, so I welcome the consistent and regular opportunities we will get to do this better. The feedback I receive is always valuable; however, I especially appreciated the feedback from Matt when I said that I'm open to platforms other than websites (mainly because a simple website seems quite boring in comparison to some of the other amazing things my MIT colleagues are doing!) He said that a website was probably the best option for my particular project - so I can put that particular dilemma/issue to the side now, and just focus on my website prototype.

Hei konā!

Kick Start Hui

 Kuaotunu is a beautiful slice of paradise in the Coromandel, and we were fortunate to be able to spend some time at Russell and Dorothy's gorgeous bach, surrounded by native birdsong, clear night skies for star-gazing, and the sounds and smells of the ocean. Heaven! The hospitality and generosity of the Burts and Jenny Oxley knows no bounds and I am so grateful to you all. 

If you were to ask me what my favourite part of the hui was, it was definitely the role play/skit. My inner drama queen definitely enjoys getting the opportunity to show herself off. It was fun to make yourself see things from the perspective of someone very different to you, and I especially enjoyed taking the anti-Māori position. Hātakēhi rawa!

The most challenging part was the reframing of my problem, and writing the 'How Might We' statement. The semantics of it did get quite difficult, and it also felt a little bit like I was taking attention away from the real problem (which is the system within which Rangaranga Reo ā-Tā currently sits) and focusing it on teachers instead. However, I see now that I can help teachers to become more competent by improving the system.

Crazy 8s was another new activity for me. While some of the ideas were just desperate last-minute ideas to make up the 8, it was good to see which of my sensible ideas people thought might work. It was also a wonderful opportunity to see other people's ideas, as some of them were truly creative, and I've put some of them in my back pocket to use in class (not in an MIT context).

Lastly, we identified our support networks in a poster format. I always tend to think of myself as a loner, and generally prefer to work that way, so this was an important activity for me to actually identify the people in my world that I will HAVE TO depend on this year. It was also fun to identify some dream team members that I would love to have working alongside me on my project (Ian Taylor, Te Taka Keegan, Steve Smith, and an as yet unknown person who is not only an expert platform developer but fluent in te reo Māori! Surely that person exists). 

These two days were a valuable retreat that we as teachers do not get to do often, and to be able to spend it focused on one issue (rather than an entire term's worth of every school issue) was gratifying. Thank you to Dorothy, Jenny, Matt, and my MIT whānau for this experience.

 

2026 MIT

 Kia ora koutou! Welcome to my Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher Project.

Adobe Express - Animate Characters

 Te pārekareka hoki, me te pīwari hoki! Anei taku tutu tuatahi ki roto o Animate Characters - Adobe Express. 

Google Videos

Anei taku tutu tuatahi ki roto i a Google Videos (Kiriata Kūkara??) He poto engari he pārekareka te mahi.

 

MPI 9

 Yippee! Kua tutuki, kua ea!

Happy and excited to have completed MPI 2024. It was not easy at all, and sometimes added extra pressure where it was definitely not needed (I recall the end of term 2 being particularly yuck). But nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. I also need to acknowledge my amazing colleagues here at kura, who have often taken on my class as well as their own; and my wonderful principal, who despite being overloaded with normal principal stuff, sometimes took them for English on MPI days. Ka nui te mihi aroha ki a koutou - mwah.

Biggest takeaways from the MPI:

- let the students use materials, even though they are "big kids". One of my most capable students had an important epiphany about fractions after being able to use foam fraction pieces. 

- rich tasks one day a week are an awesome way to get them working in different groups, taking on different roles, and challenging themselves beyond the normal daily maths grind. After five or so weeks of doing them, one student (same student as above, with the fraction pieces) asked if we were going to keep on doing them (and not in an "Ugh" kind of way, but an "Ooh!" kind of way). Implementing them with a new class next year, with Group Rules for Talk from day one, is something I am looking forward to. I also find the planning template really useful, as it helps me to get ahead of what the students might do, or misconceptions they might have, and what they need to be able to do to solve it.

- tip charts for vocabulary. Love them! I have used them a few times during the MPI, and it also helps me to remember important vocab myself. 

- ambitious outcomes. I think too often I keep children back in their maths progress because of gaps that need filling. But I think MPI has made me see that memorising facts (while important) is not EVERYTHING, and that they can continue to learn more complex strategies and build their knowledge at the same time. 

Thank you to all our amazing facilitators! You've all done a wonderful job. Ngā mihi!