Week 2 Term 4 - Priorities (October 26 - 29)

 During the lockdown the online assembly has been a time to reconnect with my school whanau. It is time for the Totara whanau to come together, to listen to a message, to have fun and participate in online quizzes, to look at the academic data and to see where we are at in our journey. It is an opportunity to come together, something that is important especially in a time when the physicality of togetherness is limited. 

The opportunity to provide appropriate, relevant and meaningful messaging to my whanau group during the lockdown has been important in my role as whanau leader. Over the course of the last 8 weeks, the messaging during whanau time has covered different topics from students and staff sharing their personal journey, to students talking about what and who their 'why' is to exploring the themes for the language weeks. I have made sure to write a reflection on each assembly and to document this as a way to keep a record of what has been done. There are some absolute gems that have come through our whanau time and I am so grateful to have this opportunity to create and foster a culture of sharing and talanoa in my whanau group. 

At our assembly this week, we looked at the term 'priorities'. The House leaders explored the priorities matrix and broke it down for Totara House. Check out the highlights below. 

Priority Matrix

The take away from the reflection today was all about making time to prioritize. Preparation is so important when working towards a goal and the leaders encouraged the students to use this time to prioritize, prepare and put their best food forward. We have many students from Year 12 and Year 13 who have been working during the lockdown, this message was an encouragement to them. The priority for many of our senior students has shifted since the lockdown - from school to working and family. This is OK. This is part of the 'new normal'. Regardless of where they are at - at work, online or on site - understanding what your priorities are helps to shift your focus and give you something to work towards. 

Week 2 Term 4 - Text Analysis: Sons For The Return Home by Albert Wendt - (October 26 - 29)

Albert Wendt's 'Son for the Return Home'

I have sat on this text for a while. I have read through it maybe twice. I can see how this story (especially when it was released) resonated so much with readers especially to the Pasefika audience. Albert Wendt is considered as one of an icon and pioneer in Pacific literature, where his stories have helped to highlight life for Pasefika in Aotearoa. 'Sons For The Return Home' follows the life of a Samoan family and their experience in migrating to Aotearoa. This is a story that highlights the hopes and dreams that all Samoan families had in immigrating to Aotearoa, a hope and dream that would see them thrive in the land of 'milk and honey', where they would be able to secure financial stability and a education for their children. The story is centered around the youngest son and the interracial relationship he has with a palagi girl. Set in the 1970s, the social backdrop where racism, discrimination, identity and relationships help to bring this story to life. 

The novel journeys through their relationship and the dynamic within an interracial relationship between a Samoan boy and a Palagi girl. They both come from completely different backgrounds with the Samoan boy coming from a newly migrated family in New Zealand, poor and trying to find their way in Aotearoa to the Palagi girl who comes from a wealthy family however the relationship between the girl and her family is broken. The Samoan boy is trying to find his place in Aotearoa and his sense of identity and place is somewhat lost. The Palagi girl, although she has privilege and comfort in terms of family's wealth, feels unwanted and not loved as a result of her strained relationship with her parents. Both characters experience a fractured sense of identity and find some type of closure and belonging in the relationship that they share. Through the relationship, the Samoan boy is able to see, explore, understand and experience Aotearoa through his love for her. The Palagi girl in turn is able to feel a sense of togetherness, something that is foreign to her. Their relationship is the catalyst for growth for both characters in the relationship helps to make her feel connected to love and gives him a sense of confidence and comfort in his new home. Unsurprisingly their families are not supportive of their relationship. In particular their mothers, who have both have strong opinions on the relationship and specifically critical (and judgmental) on the cultural differences. Personally this has made me question my own critique of cultural differences and how a lot of this is influenced by the cultural and social narratives that around me. The Samoan boy understands that he is the minority not just in the relationship but also in his new home, he understands with this comes the stereotype and discrimination placed on him as an immigrant. This novels explores the dilemma immigrants face when trying to find their identity in a new home. There are some good sequences in the text that are worth focusing on when doing a text study. 

• Road trip - When the Samoan boy and Palagi girl go on a road trip. He gets to experience Aotearoa through her, he gets to understand and appreciate his new home through their relationship. She shoots a hawk to protect the sheep and this (once you unpack it) highlights the influence of colonization in Aotearoa. 
• Rubbish Truck Driver - The Samoan boy and his brother help an old man who is being bullied. This is a telling moment in the text as both boys cannot believe that an elderly Palagi man can treated this way in their new home. A home that they feel belongs to Palagi. 
• The abortion - The Samoan boy and Palagi girl go through an abortion, this is a turning point in their relationship. The damage and hurt over the abortion breaks them apart. The reasoning behind the abortion is due the fact that their families are opposed to their relationship. They felt that it was necessary to go ahead with it as they knew that this would disappoint their parents and relatives. 

The major themes in this text are identity (personal and cultural), racism, family dynamics, parental control, prejudice, stereotypes and the complexity of relationships. I found myself reflecting on my journey and attitude as a New Zealand born Samoan growing up in Aotearoa. When a text encourages or prompts the reader to assess themselves against the story, character or themes - that is powerful. This is something that I hope my students can do whenever we do a text study, in that they can relate and connect with the text in level that helps them not only understand the text but have a stronger and/or new understanding of themselves. The title of the text is worth unpacking with students. It implies that home is a place that we return to, however throughout the text I see that the Samoan boy is longing to find 'home' - he feels out of place in Aotearoa, he finds some sense of comfort and 'home' in his relationship, even when he returns to Samoa he still feels dislocated. The 'return home' is the place where we long to be (whatever or wherever that it is). 

I would recommend this text for Level 2 English - it could easily be the focus text for 91104 (connections), 91106 (reading responses) or as a response text essay for 91101 (writing portfolio). 

Week 1 Term 4 - Derived Grade Assessments + Niuean Language Week (October 18 - 22)

DERIVED GRADE ASSESSMENTS

It is a difficult time for all students and teachers in Auckland right now. The lockdown (which started August 18) has extended itself into Term 4.  Completing assessments and getting prepared for NCEA externals is the focus this term but doing this from home, in a lockdown, can be difficult. At this stage all Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13 students are slated to return to school in Week 2 Tuesday October 26. This is important as our students can use this time to continue working on assessments and complete derived grade assessments. 

I have spent the day or so trying to figure how to offer a derived grade assessment that is relevant, meaningful and time efficient. The premise of the derived grade assessment is based on the NZQA NCEA English External Assessments. For both my Level 2 and Level 3 English classes, the study of written and visual texts was a priority in the learning program. We looked at a range of written and visual texts and explored each text through comprehensive text studies. I focused on 'knowing' and 'understanding' the text before we 'responded' to the text. Following the text studies my senior students worked on internal assessments and used the texts as a reference point for each internal. I am now planning on taking this as the basis for a derived grade assessment. 

For my Level 2 English students the two derived grade assessments that I will be offering are: 

• 91098 (Analyse specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence)
• 91099 (Analyse specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence)

For my Level 3 English students, the two derived grade assessments that I will be offering are: 

• 91472 (Response to written text essay)
• 91473 (Response to visual text essay)

Most of my students are working on their writing portfolio assessment (with many of them having already completed one written text) so the idea is that they complete this derived grade assessment and this will be assessed for both as a derived grade and as a second written text for their writing portfolio. I am hopeful that my students can engage with this and get it done over the next two weeks. Now more than ever, derived grade assessments are important as the nature of lockdown is proving to be something that can happen and make an impact on the learning. Derived grade assessments are important in that it acts as insurance for our students. Our department created derived grade assessment resources last year so that our students understood WHY they were doing it. I am going to use this again this term. 

TC English Department Derived Grade Assessment Presentation (click on the image to access the presentation)

With the return to school for senior students happening in Week 2, one thing that I am looking forward to reconnecting with the students. The pressure and work load on students to prepare for externals and complete internal assessments is at an all time high with the current lockdown forcing students to work independently from home for 7 weeks. Hopefully the time back in class will be a good opportunity to regroup and focus on finishing the work. 

NIUEAN LANGUAGE WEEK 2021

Kia Tupuolaola e moui e Tagata Niue | May the Tagata Niue thrive  

"Kia tupuolaola e moui he Tagata Niue, reminds us of the importance of our Pacific languages and cultures and how they contribute to spiritual, emotional, physical and social wellness for prosperity and wealth in the home, community and nation. This year’s theme reflects the overarching 2021 Pacific Language Week theme of Wellbeing, by linking the importance of language to overall wellbeing." (Ministry for Pacific Peoples) 

Celebrating languages is a beautiful thing to do. Over the duration of the lockdown, as a school, we have celebrated Tongan and Te Reo Maori language weeks online. As Term 4 has started, the Niuean Language week has helped kicked the term off. The theme for this year's NLW encompasses the importance of wellbeing - something that we hear about in the news especially with being in lockdown. 

Our first online assembly for Term 4 was focused on celebrating Niuean Language Week. The student leadership team shared some useful words and a prayer in the Niuean language. One of my senior mentor teachers, former student of Tamaki College and fellow colleague in the English Department, Ms Francis Kolo, shared her expereinces with her Niuean language and culture and how it is has impacted her personal journey. Here are some highlights below. 

Tau kupu Niue kua lata tonu ke fakaaoga | Useful/Everyday/Simple words

Tau kupu fakafeleveia | Useful words

Liogi | Prayer

Former student and current teacher of English at Tamaki College, Ms Francis Kolo, shared her journey and what 'Kia Tupuolaola e moui e Tagata Niue' means to her. Francis opened up to the students about how she has experienced criticism from elders for not being fluent in her own language. She shared that "Just because I don't know my language doesn't mean that I am not Niuean." This is something that definitely resonated with myself as I am sure with the students. She shared that the theme links in with well-being and here she explains how she has thrived and what keeps her grounded. 

Ms Kolo shares her journey with Totara House

Ms Kolo shares her interpretation of the NLW theme.