Week 8 Term 4 - Review, Reflect, Refocus + Ready - English Department Planning Week (December 6 - 9)

 "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new" (Socrates)

This last week has been an awesome time of reviewing, reflecting, shifting the focus and preparing for 2022 for the English Department. Over the last four days we have been able to evaluate how 2021 was for us and what we need to do but more importantly look forward to for 2022. Having this time and space to review our year and to regroup was beneficial for our Department. Post lockdown, we went straight into damage control trying to get students over the line with internal and derived grade assessments. We did not have time to reconnect, so this week has been a blessing in that we could really connect and get on the same page. 

For the planning week, there were 8 areas that we focused on which were: 

• Review of School Goals for 2021
• Action plan for Schools for 2022
• Department Goals for 2022
• Review of our Junior Program
• Review of our Senior Program
• Refining our NCEA Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 English Assessment Schedule for 2022
• Refining our Text selections for Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, Year 12 + Year 13 English
• Meet our new Department member - Jeremy S.
• Our team also had time to update and organize their Google sites, update their tracking sheets, organize their classrooms + the bookroom.

SCHOOL GOALS 2021 (Review)

School Goals are something for teachers to aspire to. I think that it is safe to say that 2021 was a year where a lot of our goals were put on pause due to the disruptions of the lockdowns. It was important that in our evaluation of the School Goals, that we as a department were honest about it. We looked at the 4 goals for this year and spoke about what we did and how it went. Here are some excerpts from our discussions. 

Eng Dept Program for Week 8 + School Goal 2021 review

SCHOOL GOAL 1: To raise Maori student achievement and cultural visibility. That 85% of Maori students will achieve NCEA Level 2

• English Department summary of review: There is a deliberate attempt in making sure that Maori culture and visibility is in our teaching and classes. We believe that we have exhausted effort and time in supporting our Maori students especially in Level 2. We know that we can do more and do better. Attempts to find relevant Maori texts is an on-going mission, including Maori texts is something that we enjoy doing in our programs.

SCHOOL GOAL 2: By the end of Year 10, 80% of students will be reading at or above the expected level. By the end of Year 10, 70% of students are writing at or above the expected Curriculum Level.  That 90% of Year 11 students will achieve NCEA Literacy.

• English Department summary of review: There is a mutual understanding that our Year 10 students are not at the expected level. Whilst the practice of reading is evident in our classes we agree that we can do better. The recent lockdown has had a negative impact on reading levels and we understand that there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the coming year to support our students. We are pleased with the progress and achievement of our NCEA Level 1 students, across the board the students have achieved literacy credits in English (L1) and we will continue to drive this next year. The department is confident with how they manage NCEA Level 1 English.

SCHOOL GOAL 3: Increasing Student, Family and Community Engagement with Schools Student Support Network.

• English Department summary of review: Student well-being has and always will be an integral part of our department’s pastoral care. As leaders in our subject areas we understand the pressure and the time restraints that with our subject program. During the lockdown the department used online learning and gave students the space to talk and reflect on their experiences in lockdown, this coincided with the online learning that was going on too. The department understood that the students wanted to talk to their teachers and did not necessarily want to do work. Our staff made time and space for this, creating rewindable lessons online and sharing it with the kids so that they could access it at their own leisure.

SCHOOL GOAL 4: Staff at Tamaki College will be well supported so that their practice meets the needs of our students.

• English Department summary of review: Collegiality within the department is a priority for Gg + St. Attempts to build positive relationships and partnerships within the department are regularly discussed with plans for department dinners. The staff enjoy the one-on-one meetings where they can check in and talk to Gg + St about how things are going for them. They have requested for this to continue to happen in 2022.

It was great to reflect on this and see where our gaps for opportunity are with taking these goals into the new year. We were able to discuss and come up with an action plan for the school goals for 2022. Again, the time to talk about this is appreciated because we do not normally get the time to deep dive into the school's goals and vision as we typically get straight into the learning at the beginning of the year. 

DEPARTMENT GOALS 2022

It is important for any team and organization to review where they are at and where do they want to go. This part of our program was an opportunity for all of us to dream and hope for what we want in our program. Two questions were tabled to the department - 'What are the essential components/assessments in our English program?' and 'If you could design your own English program what assessments would part of it?' The purpose of this review was to get the department to think beyond what we are already doing (which we do well across Junior and Senior English) and to think of how we can make our subject area one where the students will not only learn and achieve but also experience English literature in a meaningful and engaging way. Here is some of the feedback from our discussions. 

Department Goals for 2022

We used the priority matrix as our guide - with four sections (1): MUST (our essential/non-negotiable assessments/tasks) (2): SHOULD (High impact assessments + opportunities that require low effort) (3 + 4): COULD + WOULD. 'SHOULD' is the sweet spot that we want to really tap into, the ideas shared here are all about elevating the English classroom experience. It is all about making our subject relevant, fun, engaging, challenging and meaningful. 

JUNIOR + SENIOR ENGLISH PROGRAM 2021 REVIEW

Reviewing our Junior English Program and where we want to take it next year was the next step. After spending time looking at the big picture (Schools  Goals + Department Goals) it was time to bring back to the core, the heart of the matter, our students and their learning. 

Junior English Review

Here is some excerpts from our department discussion regarding what works well:  "Reading to the students. The students really enjoyed this (this may be what they are used to from their previous school) Gives them the courage to read. Chapter questions + summaries help to measure students following the texts." Regarding on what we can improve on with the Junior English Program, here some feedback from the team: "One way to keep students focused is to give them a written copy and pencil and they can underline or tick key points/certain depending on what the focus is" and "Using the data, knowing the learning (make time to do this) and form a meaningful action plan for this student (low level), Reading Groups" The discussion was an opportunity for us to share good practice and also to talk about what WE can improve on. 

Senior English Review

In the same light, we spoke about our Senior English Program and what was good about it and what we would like to work on. Here is some feedback from the team on what worked well: "What worked was the Formal Writing + Creative Writing + Personal Responses" and "Our students respond really well to our Visual text studies, that is a strength of our department". With what we can work on the conversation was geared more around the concerns we have for our senior students and the impact that COVID has on their achievement, "Unsure at how Covid will affect our program next year. Really nervous about it" From here we went through our NCEA Assessment Schedule - the point of this was to ensure that our team are all working on the same assessment and text so we can all manage student achievement as a collective. Typically the assessments rollout is dependent on teacher planning but the approach next year is to drive the assessments and text studies together. Here is a look at our assessment schedule. 

NCEA Assessment Schedule for 2022

REFINNING + READY FOR 2022

From here we were able to review and refine our text selection for our English Department - from Year 9 - Year 13. This initial part of the planning week was a deliberate attempt to review, scrutinize and re-shift our focus for 2022. Some other highlights from our planning week were the slam sessions led by our department members - sharing what they do with the online tools they use for their classes.

Ms Kolo taking us through her Google site and how she has used it in a meaningful way during online learning.

Mrs Harde going through Workspace with us and how it has helped her with managing her NCEA Level 1 and Level 2 English students and their assessments. 

Every morning we checked in with each other asking 'what is your priority for today?' and 'what support do you need?' - On Monday the priority lists for all of us were long + by the end of today when we checked in with them again, the staff had completed almost everything that they set out to do on top of the whole department review. We feel better and refreshed (dare I say it, excited) for 2022 because we have clarity on what our vision is for English at Tamaki College. 

English Department 2021 at the end of Planning Week. 

Week 8 Term 4 - Celebrating 2021 with Totara House (December 6 - 9)

This year has had its fair share of challenges. As a school, we introduced the new House system. The purpose of the House system is was to try a different approach in bringing the students together in academic, sporting and cultural celebrations. Ultimately the House system was to unite the students across the levels. Starting anything new is challenging and getting this new system has definitely been challenging. I am not alone. Led by Executive Dean, Ms Amber George, Mr Mansell (Puriri House), Mrs Geraldine Corray (Rata House), Mrs Carol Heka (Kowhai House) and myself (Totara House) have collectively driven this new initiative. It has been challenging that we were trying to figure it out as it was happening but it has also been rewarding in that we were doing something new (together) and we were experiencing it in real time (together). I am extremely grateful for Ms George and House Dean team and what we have been able to do this year. Of course, this is a collective effort and the staff and students we have been able to work with have helped to make this year memorable for us. 

I started the year off with Totara reflecting on 'what do we represent?' Now I finish the year off reflecting and evaluating how it has gone for myself and team Totara. Our House values (as determined by the students) are Teamwork, Confidence and Unity. The House Leaders spent time with the students in Term 1 to discuss what they (students) want Totara House to represent. The values that the students came up with became our guide as to how we (the students leaders and I) would lead this house as a team. 

TEAMWORK: the combined action of a group especially when effective and efficient

Over the year we have had several opportunities to work as a team. From the annual Athletics Day competition (house chants and athletic activities) to the various language week competitions (Samoan, Tonga, Te Wiki o Te Reo + Niuean Language week) to celebrating and acknowledging Mental Health Awareness Week and Staff Appreciation Week - teamwork has been something that we have tried to foster and take care of through each event. The most recent lockdown was a turning point for myself and both the mentorship and House leadership team. We used this time to really refocus and regroup, we knew that we had to have a presence online and to really try and reach out to our house in creative ways. I am so grateful for this time as I was able to work with the House leaders in a positive way, meet with them regularly and collaborate with them. 

Totara House @ Athletics Day 2021

Totara House @ Tug-o-war Athletics Day 2021

Totara House: Tongan Language Week online

Totara House: Samoan Language Week 2021

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CONFIDENCE: the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something

The House system is student centered. It needs to be driven by the students for the students. If the students can see themselves in what we are doing, then they are comfortable. One way I have tried to strengthen the confidence of the students in this House is through public speaking. Since Term 2 right up to Term 4 students across all year levels and had an opportunity to share at assembly (both online and onsite). The students have the opportunity to share their story or open our assembly in prayer, it has been a great chance for students to grow in confidence. Some have been hesitant but still stepped up to the challenge and gave it a go. I could talk forever but I think the real impact when it comes to sharing is with our young people, I am more than happy to guide them and give them direction. This is something that I hope to continue with Totara in 2022. 

Daliz Betham (10TTt) presenting at the Totara House Assembly

Seini Misa (12TBk) presenting at the Totara House online Assembly

UNITY: the state of being united or joined as a whole

Unity is something that happens naturally, well it should at least. I know that in order to get everyone on the same page, I had to be honest and up front from the beginning. I had to express my intention for the House and what direction I believe we should head in. The mentorship team were awesome to work with because they were supportive from the beginning. They also understood that we were all learning how to be a House (together) and that we had to put in time before we could see any results. From the get-go I understood (very quickly) that Totara House's strength was in academics. We were not necessairly the loudest or most vibrant group when it came to inter-house performances (we tried :D) but I knew that the strength lay in the learning. I used this as our directive, as a way to unite. Every assembly we acknowledged our academic success for our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 students. We spent time during Term 2 and Term 3 talking about our priorities at school and the mentor teachers continued this during mentoring sessions. Tracking student achievement was a focus for us as weekly updates on their NCEA progress was shared (every Friday). I knew that this House was all about the learning and that is why I am not surprised but also equally proud and humbled that they were named Academic House of the Year. All of the students Totara worked hard and tried (which is all I asked for). I am proud that the two of the top three Level 3 Academic students are from Totara House with the Dux of Tamaki College 2021 (Alexia Ramos) being one of them. When you have a vision or a goal it is important to share this with whoever you think will support it and value it with you. In leadership, having a vision or an idea of a finish line is key to giving your team a purpose and drive. I hope to continue this legacy of learning with Totara House in 2022. I am very proud of the students and what they have achieved. 

Totara House mentorship team 2021

Totara House student leadership team 2021

I am extremely grateful and humbled by everyone who has contributed to Totara House 2021. It has been a challenging year especially for our students with having to do online learning for the most part of Term 3 and 4. I think that at some stage during the lockdown, being with the House and doing all the online house competitions, check in meetings and online assembly preparation was a nice distraction from some the realities that we had to face at the time. A verse that I shared at our final House assembly from Colossians 2:7 says "Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving." I look forward to 2022 with Totara House, working on what keeps up grounded and rooted, growing and becoming stronger (individually + collectively) and showing gratitude in everything that we do. But for now, I am going to enjoy the journey I have had with the team this year. Totara 2021!