Week 3 Term 2 - Totara House - Foundation: Our House Values 2024 (May 13 - May 17)

Totara House Athletics Day 2024

With Term 1 finished, the beginning of Term 2 has presented an opportunity to reflect and start fresh. For Totara House Term 1 was a time for us to come together and get the ball rolling (with Athletics Day), we also spent Term 1 getting to know each other and understand what we want Totara House values to represent. With all that has been said and done in Term 1, I have used the first House assembly to talk about 'Foundation' and the importance of having a strong grounding. This message is one that I have used throughout the last four years and I am excited to share what I covered at our most recent House assembly for Totara House. 

FOUNDATION: The basis or groundwork of anything

Understanding, building and taking care of your foundation at school is important. Understanding, acknowledging and respecting what makes your foundation is important. For the students in my Whanau group, I want to encourage them to think about what their foundation is because the truth is that we all come into school with things that keep us centered and that keep us grounded.

Totara House Athletics Day 2024

Understanding what they are, acknowledging them and taking care of them will help to strengthen your foundation. GWS Masonry Services talk about the importance of strong foundations for home and that "Its primary purpose is to hold your house up. Without it, your house would quickly sink into the ground unevenly, resulting in cracks and damage to your home. A properly built foundation will keep the home even and supported, even during a flood or earthquake." 

FOUNDATION: What does this look like for Totara House?

9TRn going the House Values with the leadership team

Understanding the importance of having a strong foundation is one thing. Visualizing it and seeing what it looks like for your own journey is another thing. In this part of the presentation, I spoke to the House about what this will look for our Whanau group. I have listed the key elements that I believe will make your foundation strong. These elements are: 

Knowing your 'WHY'
Understanding your learning journey
Resilience
Communication Skills
Time management
Gratitude

For Term 2, especially now that we are the beginning of the journey, 'knowing your WHY' is important. This term we will focus on 'knowing your WHY' and how this is an integral part of building a strong foundation. Knowing your WHY is all about asking yourself what do you love doing? What are your strengths? Who inspires you and why? Asking this questions should help my students understand what their WHY is. Knowing your WHY is essential as it fuels your motivation, sharpens your focus and it is uniquely YOURS. 

FOUNDATION: Totara House Values 2024

In Term 1, the House Leaders started working with all of the students across the house to see what they wanted Totara House to represent. I documented this in my previous post (see Alby's Blog Post Entry - 10/03/24) Throughout Term 1 the leaders visited each class to get their feedback on what they wanted Totara House to represent. Near the end of the term they collated the feedback from all of the students and shortlisted the top values that were shared across all 8 classes in Totara House. It was here that the leaders decided which House values spoke to them as a leadership team and they chose the top three values from here. 

Totara House class feedback for House Values

The Totara House Values for 2024 are: 

Discipline
Commitment
Passion

This the foundation for our House and we will use these values when we are working together for the house events that we have coming up, when we meet for house assembly and in the more intimate situations when the leaders are working in their circle and with their peers one on one. 

Totara House Leaders going through the House Values with our whanau group in Term 2

A value centric approach is one that I have taken going into Term 2. This is an approach that I usually integrate into the Totara House program every year as I believe it gives us a sense of identity and something that is uniquely ours. Building a strong foundation on knowing why and knowing what our values are, I am hoping will be the right launching pad for Totara House 2024. I look forward to documenting our journey with our new values this year! 

Week 2 Term 2 - Teacher Practice - Pre Reading Exercise for NCEA Level 3 English Extended Text (May 6 - May 10)

Pre-reading exercises are an important part of a reading program. I believe that it helps to build prior knowledge, provide a context and help to pull the reader in. Fisher Digital Publications state that "Findings have shown that pre-reading strategies influence student motivation, increase the activation of prior knowledge and they can be used as a tool for increased comprehension." Over the last 4 years I have tried different types of pre reading exercises and activities to engage my NCEA Level 3 students with for our extended text study. This year I came across this pre reading activity online for the text study of Tim O'brien's 'The Things They Carried' and I loved it. Click on the image below to access a link to the pre reading activity. 

Joseph Carnevale's Pre Reading Exercise: The Things They Carried

I took the activity and modified it so that it made sense for myself and my students. I loved how the pre-reading activities looked at the key features of the text that I want my students to write about for their assessment. Carnevale's pre reading activity covered the following areas that I particularly focus on with my students, these areas are: 

Context around the text - Vietnam War and America in the 1960s

Visualizing the text - Looking at footage from Forrest Gump and images from the Vietnam War and reflecting on the imagery. 

History of the text - Understanding the history and timeline of the Vietnam War

Beyond the text - Unpacking the title 'The Things They Carried' and reflecting on the tangible and intangible things that we carry and then making connections. 

Context around the text and Visualizing the text

Context + visualizing the context

Understanding the context around the text is vital. Especially in a text like 'The Things They Carried' - there is a huge cultural difference that students are unfamiliar with. So understanding the social and political context around the stories can help them connect and understand the text. Here the students are able to look at the setting (a key feature in the text) and understand where it take place. They are also able to visualize the setting through an excerpt from Forrest Gump - where they can see the Vietnam terrain and what is was like for the soldiers. I like that the the students can visualize the setting in that the setting is such an important and integral part of the story, it acts as both the backdrop but also as another character in the text. 

History of the text

History of the text

This is part of the reading exercise is important - the students are given a simplified summary of the war. The video gives a crash course on the key events and parts of the war - enough for the students to understand what is going on. The war, the event itself, as a text - is an important part of the story and understanding the bones of it is beneficial for them when they start the reading of The Things They Carried. 

Their Voices

Vietnam War Veteran - their stories

This part of the pre reading activities is something that I have added in. I have used this text as a way of getting the students to hear the war veteran's personal accounts of the war. The Things They Carried is a text that is centered the voices of the war veterans and the experiences that they carried as a result of the war. These videos are a good resource in that it helps to showcase the reality (harsh and confronting reality) that the war veterans faced during the war and continue to live with post war. 

Beyond the text

Beyond the text

This was my favorite part of the pre reading activity. The Things They Carried highlights the tangible and intangible things that the soldiers carried during the war and after the war. This part of the activity asks students to unpack their bags and look at the tangible things that they carry. It also encourages them to reflect on the intangible things that they carry and then asks them to reflect on which one carries more weight - the tangible or intangible. The students from my NCEA Level 3 English class enjoyed sharing this in their groups. I also shared with them what I carry physically and also emotionally. 

305ENGLit sharing what they 'carry'

305ENGLit sharing what they 'carry'

Next Steps: 

• Finish the pre-reading exercise
• Start the reading of the first short story from The Things They Carried - Speaking of Courage
• Complete the reading log for Speaking of Courage 

Week 1 Term 2 - English Department - English Department Starter Pack Term 2 (April 29 - May 3)

English Department 2024

The first 11 weeks of our academic year were super full on and busy. We walked into 2024 with a new timetable working through Week A and Week B. We started our new NCEA Level 1 English Course (in line with the new curriculum refresh) and we have spent time setting our class routines, getting to know and building strong relationships with our students. I am extremely grateful for each and every single member of the English Department - for your work, commitment, love, care and support that you have shown to both our team and to our students - I thank you. Thank you for making this term an easy and enjoyable term for our students. To Pravina, Christine, Faiyaz, Jeremy, Anahina and Francis - thank you for your commitment to the team and everything that we were called to do for our students and the department. I would also like to acknowledge Ms Amber George, Mr Marc Milford and Ms Vivienne Jenson-Jones for their work and support for the English Department this term.

Some of the highlights for our English Department this term were:

NCEA Level 1 English Course - We kicked off Term 1 with the launch of our new NCEA Level 1 English Course ‘Our Stories, Our Histories and Our Voices’. We have spent Term 1 going through ‘Our Stories + Our Histories (through Film)’ specifically looking at our primary text (NZ Film - The Dark Horse) and we are currently working through the new internal assessment 1.2 91925.

Asttle Writing + PAT Reading Junior English - We completed our Asttle Writing and PAT Reading tests with our students. There are a few students who did not complete the Asttle Writing, we are hoping to see that number decrease with follow up/catch up sessions with Mr Milford.

Exploring new texts - We have enjoyed looking at new texts this term, in particular in our Junior English Program we have been looking at the text ‘Kura Toa’ by Tim Tipene. We have enjoyed going through new texts like this with our students especially as they are local texts and they link it with the Te Mataiaho Big Ideas in that we want our students to understand that “The stories of Aotearoa New Zealand are unique taonga tuku iho.”

We will now review our Term 1 Junior and Senior English program.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: TERM 1 JUNIOR ENGLISH REVIEW

Term 1 Junior English Program

Our focus for Year 9 and Year 10 English ‘Our Voices’. We looked at local texts and how the writer’s used their ‘voice’ through writing to write about their experiences. We also encouraged our students to write about themselves through freelance writing. Our primary text for Term 1 was Tim Tipene’s ‘Kura Toa’. A huge thank you Mr Spruyt for sharing this text with our department and for collating the novel study work for our students.

Tim Tipene's 'Kura Toa'

Following the novel study, our students worked on our CAT (Common Assessment Task) Formal Writing. The formal writing tasks varied - from response to text type essays to text review essays. The students were engaged with the formal writing CAT and we are pleased with what they have done. Here are some examples of their writing from Term 1.

English Dept: Term 1: Year 9 English 'All About Me' Writing

English Dept: Term 1: Year 9 English Formal Writing

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: TERM 1 SENIOR ENGLISH REVIEW

NCEA Level 1, 2 + 3 English Program Term 1

In Term 1 we launched our new NCEA Level 1 English program ‘Our Stories, Our Histories and Our Voices.’ The new NCEA Level 1 English course was designed in 2023 in preparation for the new curriculum refresh for NCEA Level 1 (Te Mataiaho). Our focus for Term 1 was ‘Our Stories and Our Histories’ through film. The primary text for this unit is James Napier’s ‘The Dark Horse’ - a New Zealand film released in 2014. We spent the first 7 weeks of Term 1 exploring and learning about our primary text (James Napier's film 'The Dark Horse'). Throughout this journey we were able to analyze the text and look at specific aspects of the text and see how they were developed. Specifically we looked at: Characterization - how character is developed in the film. Film Aspects (Techniques) - understanding and identifying key film techniques. Close Analysis - analyzing and close viewing of specific scenes in the text. Beyond the text - looking at the issues or context around 'The Dark Horse' and how this aligns with the film's overall message and the director's purpose.

This intensive period of learning was an important part of the learning as it helped to build a strong foundation for the students to launch off when they started the assessment. The students' response to the new internal assessment (91925) has been positive and we are excited by the work that they have produced so far. Our focus for Term 1 for our NCEA Level 2 and 3 students was the visual text study accompanied by the Close Viewing Assessment. For our NCEA Level 2 the visual text we studied was James Napier Robertson ‘The Dark Horse’ and for our NCEA Level 3 student’s we looked at Ron Howard’s ‘A Beautiful Mind’. We have enjoyed the 1 hour periods and the Week A/Week B timetable. We have had more time to explore the learning, get into the content and support our students through the learning and assessment phases.

We are looking forward to getting into the written text studies with our learners in Term 2. Please see some of our NCEA English student work below.

English Dept: Term 1: NCEA L1 Close Viewing Example

English Dept: Term 1: NCEA L3 Close Viewing Example

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: TERM 2 GOALS

As a department, we like to discuss what our priorities and goals are. Sometimes our priorities change as we journey through the term but we try to stick to our goals as best as we can.

Below are some of the goals that we would like to work towards in Term 2.

Literacy Co-Requisite - We are looking to prepare our students for this assessment (in May Term 2). We look at the students who achieved a High Level 4 to Level 5 of their PAT reading results in Term 1 2024 and hold after school classes in Week 1, 2, and 3 to prepare them for the assessment in Week 4. 

Redesign our NCEA Level 2 English Program - We have enjoyed working on our new NCEA Level 1 English program. In Term 2 I would like to work with the department in redesigning our NCEA Level 2 English Program. As the changes for the NCEA Level 2 Curriculum have yet to be confirmed, I want to use the opportunity to redesign it in a way that aligns with our new NCEA Level 1 English course.

Academic Push for NCEA Level 1, 2 + 3 English students - We want to continue pushing all of our senior students through the learning in our NCEA English courses so that they are getting the required credits, especially our Level 2 and Level 3 students in their quest to gain University Entrance. 

STEPSWeb - This is a great literacy initiative that has been introduced to us by our Learning Support Team (Mrs Mary-Anne Wyatt and Ms Vivienne Jensen-Jones). We are looking forward to working with this online tool with our Year 9 and Year 10 English students.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: PROGRAM FOR JUNIOR + SENIOR ENGLISH TERM 2

Junior English Program Term 2

NCEA Level 1, 2 + 3 English Program Term 2

I am looking forward to documenting our journey in Term 2 for the English Department! 

Week 11 Term 1 - Teacher Practice: New Assessment for NCEA Level 1 English - 1.2: 91925 (April 8 - April 12)

In Week 8 Term 1, I reflected on how Term 1 is going so far for our new NCEA Level 1 English course. As we have started this new journey with the curriculum refresh, I have felt both excited and nervous (but more excited) about how the new curriculum and our interpretation of it. I reflected on the journey so far which you can see in my earlier post (see Alby's Blog Post Entry - 17/03/24) In this post, I want to reflect on how the learning has gone and how the student's have applied the learning into the new assessment (1.1 - 91925). 

OUR STORIES + OUR HISTORIES (through film): AKO (Learning)

101ENG E Week 10 Term 1

We spent the first 7 weeks of Term 1 exploring and learning about our primary text (James Napier's film 'The Dark Horse'). Throughout this journey we were able to analyze the text and look at specific aspects of the text and see how they were developed. Specifically we looked at: 

• Characterization - how character is developed in the film. 
• Film Aspects (Techniques) - understanding and identify key film techniques
• Close Analysis - analyzing and close viewing of specific scenes in the text
• Beyond the text - looking at the issues or context around 'The Dark Horse' and how this aligns with the film's overall message and the director's purpose. 

As mentioned in my earlier post from Week 8, the students spent Week 6 and 7 in an intensive learning unit looking at the 3 major characters, focusing on 6 film aspects and learning and writing about the social issues that the film highlight (understanding the context) through persuasive writing. This intensive period of learning was an important part of the learning as it helped to build a strong foundation for the students to launch off when they started the assessment. 

OUR STORIES + OUR HISTORIES (through film): AROMATAWAI 91925 (Assessment)

We started the assessment mid way through Week 8. So far, the journey for the students and I has been positive. The response has been good and the students have settled in well with the assessment. The premise of the new assessment (1.1 - 91925) is for students to 'Demonstrate understanding of specific aspects of studied texts'. As a department, we have interpreted this as the students demonstrating and showing an understanding of the key elements in film which is why we looked at characterization, film aspects and the context as the specific aspects to focus on. 

With the new standard, we decided to use our current Close Viewing Assessment as the guide for 91925. This particular assessment (Close Viewing) is a strength for our department and we wanted to use as the structure and basis for 91925. With starting our new course in the new curriculum, we felt that starting with an assessment that is familiar would help us launch into the the new program easily. 

The students are currently working on the assessment and should finish anytime between the end of Week 11 to the end of Week 2 Term 2. We have given the assessment a 6 week period (Week 8 Term 1 - Week 2 Term 2) so that the students have the space and time to do it (even during the school holidays). The assessment is structured as: 

91925: Phase One

Phase One: 

• They choose a scene from the text (the scenes are selected and the students must choose ONE scene to focus on)
• They are to watch the scene and identify four film techniques that they want to focus on. 

91925: Phase Two Paragraph 1 + 2

Phase Two: 

In this phase they start writing their response to the Close Viewing. They can pull the learning from our film study and use it for the assessment. The Close Viewing is presented in an essay but the students have the option to present it via Google Presentation or as a Vlog (this is new territory for us so we are going to see how it goes for the students). 

• Introduction
• Paragraph 1 - Explaining how two techniques are used well in the scene. Linking to the Director's purpose and main message for the film. 
• Paragraph 2 - Explaining how two techniques are used well in the scene. Linking to the Director's purpose and main message for the film. 
• Paragraph 3 - Going beyond the text, the students will write about the social issue (one issue) that text has highlighted and how this helps them to understand the director's purpose and the film's message. The students again can pull the learning from their persuasive writing that they did in the film study for this paragraph. 
• Conclusion

91925: Phase Two Paragraph 3

The students are working through each phase and all of my students are in Phase two (with two having completed the entire assessment). Whilst the film study has been super helpful, especially the work they did on the social issues and persuasive writing they did, I have had to spend time going through: 

• Film Aspects
• Writing prompts

With some of my lower ability students to give them a head start. I am looking forward to seeing the final product from my class. 

Week 10 Term 1 - Teacher PLD: Talanoa Ako: Maori Success + Maori Engagement in our curriculum (April 1 - April 5)

Maori success and Maori engagement in our curriculum has been an important discussion over the last few years. Now even more so with the curriculum refresh with Te Mataiaho, how we as kaiako engage with our Maori learners can have an influence on their success in their learning. We are currently working through our workshops for the Talanoa Ako PLD program. The program is centered around supporting and building knowledge and confidence for both parents, whanau and kaiako and enabling them to champion their children's education and learning journeys. 

One of the ideas raised in our earlier discussions in February was the success of our Maori learners and what we are doing and what we need to do to support them as kaiako. We have prioritized the last two sessions in our Talanoa Ako PLD looking at Maori achievement and what it looks like for our learners in our classrooms and what we can do to support it and nurture it. 

In Week 7 in Session 5 we looked at 'The 5 themes of Pacific Culturally Safe Learning Spaces' and in particular looking at Maori success and Maori Engagement in our curriculum area. We discussed what this looked like and from the discussion we grouped our ideas onto themes or a set of values linked to Maori Success/Engagement. This was an interesting discussion to see what our spaces look like for our Maori and Pacific learners. 

English Department Feedback: Session 5: Talanoa Ako PLD

Theme One: Mana Enhancing Learning Experiences

Feedback: 'Mana expressing yourself  in your work and in your language', 'Engaging with texts in a meaningful way', 'Mana - seeing yourself in the learning and curriculum'. 

Next Steps: We have redesigned our NCEA Level 1 English Program to align with Te Mataiaho (curriculum refresh). The kaupapa behind the refresh is to use texts that are culturally and socially responsive to our learners and we want our learners to feel motivated and to see themselves in the texts that we study. This will have a positive impact in their learning and in how they achieve in NCEA Level 1 English. We are hoping to continue the 'Mana Enhancing Learning Experience' across our Junior English and Senior English program. We are currently revamping our Year 9 and Year 10 English program. 

Theme Two: Whakawhanaungatanga: Relationship Building and Power Sharing in the classroom

Feedback: 'Whakawhanaungatanga - student teaching teacher', 'Whakawhanaungatanga - students sharing their learning', 'Kaitiakitangi - mutually navigating the whakaaro and whakahua of Te Reo Maori'. 

Next Steps: With the new curriculum design, specifically with NCEA Level 1 - we are hoping that the new program will encourage our students and especially our Maori students to share in their learning, to use their strength in Te Reo Maori and Te Ao Maori to teach both our kaiako and akonga. How we manage that space is important and we would like to see more professional development to help us support this space for our learners.

Theme Three: Digging Deeper: Learning

Feedback: 'We enjoyed the PLD on Powhiri and Karakia with Hone Naunui Rapana - we want more of that' and 'Understanding each part of tikanaga behind Powhiri and other elements of Maori culture that we are exposed to in school'. 

Next Steps: This is clear for me as a HoLA that my team are open and willing to learn more about Te Reo and Te Ao Maori. I too am interested in learning about this so that I can be more in tune with the needs and strengths that my Maori learners bring to the classroom. 

I am looking forward to sharing and reflecting more on my take away from the Talanoa Ako PLD sessions. 

Week 9 Term 1 - ASB Polyfest 2024 - Samoan Group 2024 (March 25 - March 29)

Tamaki College Samoan Group 2024

This year marks my 14th year working with the Samoan Group for Tamaki College. I am extremely grateful for this year and journey that I had with the students, tutorship family, staff and our parents in our journey to Polyfest. 

Tamaki College Samoan Group/Tutorship Team + Band 2024

Our tutorship team this year is made up of family and former students who have been working with our Samoan Group collectively for 12 years. I would like to acknowledge our tutorship team and thank them for their contribution, their love and their gifts that they have shared and blessed us with for Samoan Group this year.

Mr Pene Ueta - who composed and taught the Pese o le Aso, Fuataimi\, Sasa and our Ulufafo. He is our lead tutor. 

Ms Millie Mara-Oti - who taught the choreography for Ulufale and our Ulufafo

Ms Alofa Vaifale - who taught the choreography for Mauluulu

Mr Roni Wright Kamu - who taught our ,choreography for Ulufale and Mauluulu

Ms Lani Filemoni - who taught the choreography for Mauluulu

Mr Malulu Faaui - who taught the choreography for Mauluulu

We are blessed to have our musicians - our band - who come in every year and bring the music to life. I would like to thank and acknowledge our awesome band for their contribution, love and gifts that they have shared and blessed us with for Samoan Group this year.

Mr Kevin Savili - Drums

Mr Simon Savili - Guitar

Mr Phillip Fepuleai - Guitar

Mr Norman Fogavai - Drums

We have our tutorship team and band come and work with our young people. They are talented creatives in their own right who across performing arts, music, dance and drama - have all contributed to not only our school community but also the wider community in Auckland. Thank you all for what you have blessed the young people with in Samoan Group 2024. Our tutorship team have been working together for over 10 years, with 6 of our core tutors being former students from the Samoan Group and alumni from Tamaki College. We are humbled by their service to their old school. 

Tamaki College Samoan Group Tutorship Team 2024

I would like to acknowledge the Samoan Group staff for their love, time and support for our campaign this year. I would like to thank and acknowledge:

 

Teacher in Charge: Ms Dorothy Apelu - Uniform, Fundraising, Administration

Support Staff: Mrs Makerita Lote-Fepuleai - MC for our Fia Fia Night

Support Staff: Mrs Taua Matavao - laulau for Fia Fia Night

Support Staff: Mr Utufiu Niko - laulau Fia Fia Night

Thank you for your commitment and your time in making sure that tonight was a success for our young people.

I would like to thank our parent helpers for having journeyed with us throughout the last 6 weeks. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Tukuafu for your love, time, food and support that you have shown and given to us. Thank you to Mrs Tangi Tawa for your love, support and for helping us organize our t-shirts for Saturday. Thank you Ms Ana Fa'amausili and Mrs Marry Tukuafu for making the kiki for our boy’s uniform. Thank you to all of our parents and families who contributed to our fundraising and who have been so supportive and patient with us. Thank you for entrusting us with your children.

Finally I would like to acknowledge our young people, the 54 strong team that will be representing Tamaki College on the Samoan Stage at Polyfest. Thank you to our students for your commitment, your service, your willingness and openness to learn more about your Samoan language, culture and values. I want to thank and acknowledge our young Tongan, Burmese, Cook Island and Maori students who joined Samoan Group this year and have shown so much love and respect in learning Gagana Samoa and Siva Samoa. You should be proud of what you have been able to do together, what you have done tonight and how you have grown over our time together. 

Tamaki College Samoan Group Leaders 2024

Rehearsal 2024

I would like to acknowledge our school leaders who have joined our group, I would like to acknowledge your contribution especially with the busy schedules that you have with school and leadership, thank you - We have our Head Boy and Co Head Boy for 2024, our Student Representative for 2024 and we have a total of 11 School Prefects and House Captains who part of the Samoan Group. I would like to thank and acknowledge our Samoan Group Leaders for 2024 for their leadership of the group this year - a big thank you to our leaders for this year Anaysha Puaga, AJ Pepe, Chris Tagaloa (Fuataimi), Daliz Betham (Taupou), Danielle Meredith and Mathew Tukuafu (Faaluma). Thank you for your service.

Fia Fia Night 2024

Thank you to our Principal Mrs Pamaka, Senior Management and the Board of Trustees for their continual support of the Samoan Group this year.

Rehearsal 2024

Polyfest 2024

Every year we enter the competition, we understand the assignment. We understand that there is time pressure to get our students through all the learning of the set, polishing what they have learnt and then to get them to a point where they can perform what they have learnt confidently. We understand that many of our students are new to Gagana Samoa, so we are teaching and nurturing our students to embrace their language. We understand that we have students who are not Samoan but who are willing to participate so we have to guide them through this cultural experience in way that is comfortable and meaningful for them. We understand that it is a competition, so we are training and conditioning our students to perform at competition level. We understand that we have been doing this for 12 years (this is our 12th season) and that we know how to execute our set, we know how to create a culture and learning environment that is inclusive, exciting and meaningful for both our faaiaoga, tutors and students. We understand that the competition is a vehicle for us to drive our cultural values and to bring excellence and discipline to the forefront through our culture. We understand and we are grateful for the legacy and history that we have created over our 12 seasons. 

Post performance with the team 2024

2010 - 1st Place Ulufale (Entrance)

2011 - 2nd Place Fuataimi (Conductor - Falaniko Liava'a)

2013 - 2nd Place Overall (Co-Ed Section) 1st Place Taupou (Solo performance - Nive Isaako), 1st Place Equal Sasa (Group Dance), 2nd Place Fuataimi (Conductor - John Tuilata Lemalie), 3rd Place Ulufale (Entrance), 3rd Place Ulufafo (Exit), 3rd Place Mauluulu (Group Dance), 3rd Place Togiga (Uniform), 3rd Place Taualuga (Group song)

2014 - 2nd Place Togiga (Uniform), 3rd Place Taupou (Solo performance - Laura I'u), 3rd Place Sasa (Group Dance), 3rd Place Maluulu (Group Dance)

2015 - 3rd Place Pese o le Aso (Songs), 3rd Place Fuataimi (Conductor - Norman Fogavai)

2016 - 3rd Place Pese o le Aso (Songs), 2nd Place Fuataimi (Conductor - Roni Kamu Wright), 2nd Place Taupou (Solo performance - Mui Niue)

2017 - 3rd Place Pese o le Aso (Songs), 2nd Place Fuataimi (Conductor - Tim Fatialofa)

2018 - 2nd Place Equal Pese o le Aso (Songs), 2nd Place Fuataimi (Conductor - Tim Fatialofa)

2021 - 3rd Place Taupou (Solo performance - May Sinfea), 2nd Place Equal Taualuga (Group song), 3rd Place Equal Togiga (Uniform)

2022 - 1st Place Year 13 Speech Competition - Samoan Stage (Maletina Niko)

2023 - 3rd Place Togiga (Uniform)

2024 - 3rd Place = Togiga (Uniform), 2nd Place Taupou (Solo performance - Daliz Betham), A'oga Amio Pulea (Tamaki College) 

Backstage @ Polyfest 2024

I am grateful and humbled to work alongside an team of teachers, tutors, students and families who understand the assignment and get the assignment done well. It is done! Blessings to all involved in the Tamaki College Samoan Group 2024. To GOD be the glory! 

Week 8 Term 1 - Teacher Practice: New Curriculum Refresh - NCEA Level 1 English Term 1 (March 18 - March 22)

 TERM 1: OUR VOICES & OUR STORIES (through Film)

In 2023, the English Department redesigned our NCEA Level 1 English curriculum to align with the Curriculum Refresh (Te Mataiaho). This was documented in my blog and it was enjoyable learning experience. You can see how the journey through our redesign of our English curriculum went here: 

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 16/05/22

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 24/08/22

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 13/11/22

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 30/04/23

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 27/08/23

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 15/10/23

Alby's Blog Entry Post - 29/10/23

The kaupapa behind our new curriculum is 'Our Stories, Our Histories and Our Voices'. This term for our NCEA Level 1 English students, the focus is 'Our Stories and Our Histories (through Film).' We have spent the first 7 weeks watching, unpacking and digging deeper into our primary text - James Napier's 'The Dark Horse.' Typically we spent 2 - 3 weeks watching the film and the teaching and learning is centered around the assessment. With the new curriculum refresh, we have decided to take the time to explore the 'story' behind the text and 'history' beyond the text. 

Te Mataiaho calls for teachers and students to treasure these stories and texts as taonga (treasure) and to engage with it in level where the student's can really embrace and understand the context around the story and the purpose behind the creator's choices that they have made in the crafting of the text. In this post I will outline what I have done with my Level 1 students with 'Our Stories and Our Histories (through Film)' for Term 1. 

UNDERSTANDING + UNPACKING FILM ASPECTS

We spent 2 weeks going through our first two viewings of the film. We had a few class discussions around characterization within the film - mainly looking at who are the characters and what are traits are made obvious in the film. From here we went through different film aspects (techniques) analyzing the techniques and understanding how it works and why it is used. 

Film Technique Activity for NCEA L1 English

This was set up as a Do Now activity at the beginning of the lesson and we spent time talking about the film aspect, to see what they know and then exploring it more by asking them how does this film technique influence or deepen their understanding of the film and character. We were able to cover and focus on 7 film techniques altogether. From here we spent time doing close analysis on a few scenes and talking about the film techniques that were used, with many of the students identifying the techniques that we discussed. The student's were able to apply what we discussed in the close viewing analysis that we did as a whole class. Taking the time to go through the film aspects, how they work together and what meaning they create - has been an enjoyable part of our new curriculum. We are making time to go through each one thoroughly and to talk about what meaning they create and how they influence how we see the film, characters and understand the director's purpose. 

BEYOND THE TEXT: DIGGING DEEPER

Looking beyond the text has been the latest venture in 'Our Stories and Our Histories (through Film).' As a class we spoke about the big issues, messages and themes that we have discovered or uncovered from the text. The two main ideas, issues and themes that the students found from 'The Dark Horse' were gang culture in Aotearoa and the impact it has on youth particularly Maori and Pacific Island youth. They also felt that mental illness and how it is viewed and treated in Aotearoa as whole and also within the Maori community, as another significant theme and issue. 

Articles for Level 1 English

After we discussed the issues, we spoke about the issues are reflected in our community. There was gems where the students were talking about mental illness and how the current government are proposing to make people with mental illness work without benefits. This became a springboard for the students to start seeing how vulnerable people and communities can be marginalized in society. From here I shared two articles for the students to choose from to read. The articles are inspired from the two issues/themes that they identified from the film. The articles that I chose were - Story: Gangs (Te Ara) and Experience of mental illness (Te Ara) - I got the students to choose ONE article to read and then they had to write a statement on what the main issue or idea is from the article. This is the base for their persuasive writing. 

Persuasive Writing outline

Persuasive Writing task

The students are currently writing their persuasive writing (500 words). The purpose behind this part of the program is to get the students to look at the context surrounding the film as an 'aspect' - not just the film techniques. Even more so, this encourages the students to think about this text - any text - but especially local texts like 'The Dark Horse' are a mirror to 'our stories' and 'our histories'. In preparation for our Term 1 assessment - 91925 - the students will be working on a final activity where they will pull all of the learning from the last 7 weeks and they will do their own: 

• Close Viewing Activity
• Character Study
• Complete their Persuasive Writing

The Dark Horse Prac Close Viewing Final

The Dark Horse Character Study

The learning from Week 1 - 7 will act as a strong foundation when they launch into the new assessment 91925 in Week 8. Understanding the key film aspects, character analysis and understanding the context around the text as a key aspect - are all key elements that the students should take into the assessment when they start. I look forward to documenting the second leg of our Term 1 journey through 'Our Stories and Our Histories (through Film)'. 

Next steps: 

• Review the 500 word persuasive writing
• Marry teaching from Week 1 - 7 to the assessment 91925 (Term 1 Assessment)