Week 2 Term 1: English Department: Focus and Goals for 2025 (Feb 03 - Feb 07)

English Department @ Careers Expo 2024

It is important for any team and organization to review where they are at and where they want to go. I hope to use the school goals for 2025 as a focus point for our department going into the new year. I know that from here, our own department goals will spill out from here. Two goals that we did set on achieving in 2024 was developing a new curriculum for our NCEA Level 1 English program (to align with Te Mataiaho: The New Curriculum Refresh) which we have done and also developing our English Department publication of student work ‘Our Voices’ which we were also able to tick off. We hope to continue to work through these two new initiatives and give it the space, support and time it needs to flourish and grow.

Going into 2025 I would like the Department to focus on TWO on the School Goals. 

Goal 1 Māori Achievement

To raise Māori student achievement and cultural visibility.

That 85% of Māori students will achieve NCEA Level 2.

English Department @ Year 8 College Experience Day 2024

We will focus on tracking our Māori student achievement data for NCEA Level 2 English. We will look at both achievement and non achievement and identify what the key drivers are for achievement/non achievement. I hope that we can work closely with the Māori students in NCEA Level 2 English to see what is working and what we can do to better support them. 

Goal 3 Literacy and Numeracy

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.

By the end of Year 10, 70% of students are achieving in Mathematics at or above the expected Curriculum Level.

That 90% of Year 11 students will achieve NCEA Literacy.

That 90% of Year 11 students will achieve NCEA Numeracy.

Structured Literacy PLD with Dr Jannie

We will focus specifically on Literacy. Our priority will be focusing on the Structured Literacy program that we working on with our Literacy Expert (Dr Jannie) in conjunction with the Social Science and Science Department. We will also look at literacy and reading skill strategies and implementing this in our curriculum throughout Term 1, 2 and 3 with the support of our Literacy Coordinator (Mr Milford). The hope is that this will support and strengthen the literacy across our Year 9 and Year 10 English cohort. 

We will also continue to evolve and design our curriculum that fits our students. As mentioned in my earlier post from Term 4 2024 - "WHO we teach determines WHAT we teach" (Claudia Rozas - UoA). We want to ensure that our curriculum not only reflects the curriculum refresh but also the society, community and students that we work with. We are constantly growing and redesigning our curriculum to cater and serve our akonga, Te Mataiaho and our school's vision. Please see our Department landing site page for our curriculum for 2025 and our teacher sites here - Tamaki College English Department Sites. 

Week 1 Term 1: English Department: Review 2024 (Jan 27 - Jan 31)

Tamaki College English Department 2024

Firstly I want to give all thanks, glory and praise to our GOD for his covering, provision, protection and blessings over the English Department in 2024. 2024 was a year of new opportunities, growth, reconnection and affirmation. ‘New opportunities’ in our journey with the new curriculum refresh (Te Mataiaho) with our NCEA Level 1 English course, ‘growth’ in our journey through structured literacy with the online app StepsWeb and the new literacy co-requisite. ‘Reconnection’ with reconnecting with AATEL (Auckland Association of Teachers of English Literature) and ‘affirmation’ in the work that we have been given the privilege of doing with our young and gifted writers through our department’s second publication of ‘Our Voices.’ As a team we have worked together in making sure that we have provided a service and learning program that keeps our students from Year 9 to Year 13 - engaged, encouraged, enlightened and empowered through English literature.

Tamaki College English Department 2024

I am grateful, humbled and proud of the curriculum that we have built together, the achievement in our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English internal assessments and the space that we have created for our young readers and writers. The opportunities, growth, reconnection and affirmation that we have experienced as a collective has been a blessing and one that I hope we can continue to journey together in

I want to honor, acknowledge and celebrate the English Department. I want to thank the staff, the family, for the love and excellence that they bring to the department. To Ms Anahina Latu, Mrrs Christine Williams, Mr Jeremy Spruyt, Ms Francis Kolo, Mr Faiyaz Hoosein, Mrs Pravina Harde and Mrs Vivienne Jenson-Jones - thank you for your dedication, commitment, love, support, service and friendship to our department and to our students. It is an honor and privilege to journey through 2024 with you all. I am grateful for everything that you have poured into our department. I thank you, I am grateful for and I celebrate you. I am excited for what 2025 has in store for us and our department.

I would like to acknowledge Mrs Christine Williams and Mrs Vivienne Jenson-Jones who have finished at Tamaki College - thank you both for the life, love and joy that you have poured into your department and students. We will miss you dearly! We will now take a look at our self-review of our School Goals, Junior and Senior English program for 2024.

JUNIOR ENGLISH (Year 9 and Year 10) REVIEW 2024

Year 9 and Year 10 English @ Tamaki College 2024

The Junior English program and curriculum continues to evolve and grow each year. This year was no different where our curriculum and program went through a few changes. Our goal with the Year 9 and Year 10 Junior English program was to study relevant and rich texts, complete a Common Assessment Task each term and implement the literacy strategies and practices to support our student’s literacy journey. Our program for our Junior English program for 2024 was:

Term 1: Extended Text Study + Formal Writing (CAT)

Term 2: Short Text Study + Creative Writing (CAT) + Mid Year Examination

Term 3: Visual Text Study + Close Viewing (CAT)

Term 4: Speech (CAT) + Final Year Examination

We are excited to introduce new texts by some of Aotearoa’s Maori and Pacific writers such as Tim Tipene (Kura Toa) and Tusiata Avia in our Junior English curriculum. We also gave some of our Year 10 English students the opportunity to sit the Literacy Co-Requisite assessment in the September intake (Term 3). We selected students who are at curriculum Level 5 for PAT reading comprehension. The students used a period during their double period (during the Week A schedule) to go through the practice assessment using the previous Literacy Co-Requisite papers with their English teacher. In Term 4, a new curriculum for our Year 9 and Year 10 Junior English program was released. The new curriculum has been in the works for over 11 months and aligns itself with Te Mataiaho (the curriculum refresh). We are excited to roll this new program out in 2025. Some of the key features of the new course includes a reduced Common Assessment Task schedule, prioritized structured literacy activities throughout the year, a whole term dedicated to literacy intensives (term 1) and scheduling library periods for all of our Year 9 and Year 10 students focusing on reading for pleasure.

SENIOR ENGLISH (NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English) REVIEW 2024:

NCEA Level 1 English students @ Tamaki College 2024

Our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English results for 2024 were positive. Initially the credit shift was slow to start off across our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English classes. In Term 1 many of our senior students were starting assessments and it was not until half way of Term 2 did we start to see a positive shift with our NCEA achievement data. Specifically with our NCEA Level 1 cohort, our students were working through a new curriculum refresh and we knew that we had to be patient and trust our curriculum. At the beginning of Term 3 we had 96 students on 0 credits in our NCEA Level 1 English cohort. In Week 5 of Term 4 we had 14 students with 0 credits and 71% of our NCEA Level 1 English students with 5+ English credits. Our NCEA Level 2 and NCEA Level 3 English students gained the majority of their credits in Term 3. By the end of Week 3 Term 4 we had 19 students with 0 credits in our NCEA Level 2 English cohort and 14 students with 0 credits in our NCEA Level 3 English cohort. Our internal assessment schedule (although busy) kept to the deadline where we closed all internal assessments for our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English students at the end of Week 1 Term 4. We are pleased with our internal assessment results for 2024 and we are excited to improve, grow and strive for excellence with senior students in 2025.

NCEA English Examinations Term 4 2024

Our external assessment results highlight a range of concerns. Many of our students achieve NCEA through internal assessments and the priority around external assessments has wavered. When you partner this with ongoing absences, it is inevitable that the external results will hinder. Although the results for our external assessments were not the best in 2024, we are hopeful to create an opportunity for our students to feel confident and comfortable to do the external assessments, to see the importance in doing external assessments and prioritizing them as they are an integral part of one’s learning journey in secondary school. 

Week 8 Term 4: English Department: AATEL Big Day Out PLD: My takeaway (December 02 - December 06)

AATEL

In Week 5 Term 4, the English Department attended the AATEL Big Day Out held at Ormiston College. This was an opportunity for our team to attend workshops, see what other English teachers are doing with their junior and senior English literature students and share what we learnt. The workshops that I signed up for were: 

• Approaches to Scholarship English
• The Science of Learning from a Skeptic’s Point of View

I enjoyed the workshops that I registered for but I my main highlight was from the keynote speaker that we had the privilege of listening during our welcome and powhiri. 

Claudia Rozas @ AATEL Big Day Out November 15

Claudia Rozas (University of Auckland) was the keynote speaker and the title of her keynote was Wrestling with the Angel Empire English. In her keynote, she outlined the journey we have all been a part of with the changing curriculum and where our English literature curriculum has positioned itself now. Here are some notes I took from her presentation that resonated with me. The English curriculum focused on two key turns which originated in 2007 when the first curriculum refresh occured. 

The Competency Turn

• Current curriculum that sit broadly with trans-national union
• Outcome driven type of curriculum
• Assessment driven
• Self managing students
• Knowledge economy and society
• Curriculum choice and flexibility largely unchallenged.
• High degrees of curriculum variability
• Skills competencies
• Assessment framework that has choice and flexibility built into it.

The Knowledge Turn

• Look up Michael Young (2008)
• Potential for knowledge to be ‘emptied’ out of the curriculum
• Postmodernism and constructivism notions had potential for relativism
• Who we teach determines What we teach
• Knowledge ‘rich’ curriculum
• Capturing knowledge and curriculum in a particularly way
• The Knowledge turn is global. New Zealand is late to have a knowledge led curriculum.

Now the curriculum has evolved into one where identity, political, social and cultural sensitivity and awareness is more centralized. The 'turns' that define this are: 

The Activist Turn (Connected to the Identity Turn)

• #MeToo Movement
• Social Justice Studies + Masters of Social Justice introduced at tertiary studies in Aoteaora New Zealand
• Black Lives Matter Movement
• Hikoi
• Protests
• We are living in an activist moment
• Curriculum that supports activism
• All of these moments and ‘turns’ have created a curriculum collision.

2023 Te Mataiaho 1.0

• Addresses content and knowledge gaps and gives effect to Te Tiriti.
• Mana o rite matauranga Maori
• Shapes English in a particular way
• Establishes a relationship between knowledge and identity
• Focuses on ‘values’ (a ‘call’ to action)
• We cannot understand knowledge led curriculum in Aoteaora New Zealand if we do not understand matauranga Maori.
• The primary focus of English at Secondary school level in connection to Te Mataiaho is to AFFIRM IDENTITY
• It looks at culture, gender and sexuality in connection to Identity but does not focus on class (social class) - is this needed?
• The Understand/Do/Know is connected to WHO WE ARE (identity turn)
• Curriculum is always going to be a product of historical moments.

I was inspired by what was shared during Roza's presentation. She explained that WHO WE TEACH DETERMINES WHAT WE TEACH, that curriculum is shaped in particular ways and what does belong to us is to engage in conversations. Curriculum as an invitation to participate in an enduring conversation.

Week 7 Term 4: English Department: English Department Publication: Our Voices Vol.2 (November 25 - November 29)

"In tautua, lead our community
Lead through uniqueness, your diversity
Lead through leaning, lead through learning
Lead through others, lead by earning
Your own way in the world."
(Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh)

Some of our Y9 and Y10 writers for 'Our Voices' Vol.2

The voices of our young people are unique, diverse and important. The voices of our young people are the voices that will lead and tautua (serve) their families and wider communities in the future. In this second edition of ‘Our Voices’, the English Department is excited to celebrate our young writers who have crafted their texts with excellence, love and commitment. The new curriculum refresh states that “The stories of Aotearoa New Zealand are unique taonga tuku iho.” We believe and honor the stories, the ideas, the experiences, the creativity and the voices of our young people as taonga.

The launch of 'Our Voices' Vol.2

This edition of ‘Our Voices’ stands as a representation and testament to the creativity and courage of storytelling. It is through their storytelling - through their interpretation of a text or through an opinion essay - that we get the privilege of seeing the world through their lens. Through their storytelling, we have the privilege of understanding their experience and how they see themselves. It has been an absolute honor and joy for the English Department to work alongside our young writers this year and to see who they have grown in their writing.

Click on the image to access the digital version of 'Our Voices' Vol.2

‘Our Voices’ provides a platform for our young people to tell their stories and to create their own narratives. A narrative that is nurtured within the English Department but one needs to be shared beyond the classroom. I want to acknowledge the English Department staff for their commitment, aroha and work that they have poured into our students. Thank you to Mrs Pravina Harde, Mrs Christine Lukhelo Williams, Mr Faiyaz Hoosein, Mr Jeremy Spruyt, Ms Anahina Latu and Ms Francis Kolo. I would also like to acknowledge Mr Jeremy Spruyt for editing and producing this year’s publication. Finally I want to acknowledge and thank all of our young writers who have contributed to this year’s publication - thank you for your gift and voice in your writing. Your words resonate with such creativity, cultural richness and power. My hope is that our young writers continue to use their voices to lead, empower and serve their families, school and wider community.

Week 6 Term 4: English Department: Junior English Program 2025 PART TWO (November 18 - November 22)

 In my previous post, I reflected on the first steps that I have undertaken in redesigning our Junior English Curriculum for 2025. Please see my reflection post here - see Alby's Blog Post Entry: 11/11/24  In this post I outlined the heart of our Junior English Curriculum and the four key areas of Te Mataiaho that we are going to focus on which are: 

Te whakamahi rautaki ki te whai māramatanga | Comprehending and Creating Texts

Te tātari arohaehae | Critical analysis

Te pānui hei whakangahau, hei whakapārekareka | Reading for pleasure

Te tūhono mā te whakawhiti kōrero | Connecting through storytelling

In post this week I am going to outline what the calendar for both Year 9 and Year 10 English will look like in our new curriculum for Junior English 2025. The calendar outline is inspired from work that I have seen through the Papatoetoe High School English Department and Dilworth School English Department. A huge shout out to the teachers there who have created some awesome programs for their Year 9 and Year 10 English classes and akonga. 

YEAR 9 ENGLISH CALENDAR 2025

Year 9 English Calendar 2025

Each term will broken up into themes which all centered our primary theme of 'Our Stories, Our Voices' (which is in direct alignment with our NCEA Level 1 English theme). The themes are each term are as follows: 

Term 1: Who am I?

Term 2: I see myself in texts

Term 3: We are storytellers

Term 4: Using our voices

There will be a primary text for each term and a common assessment task that will connect directly to the learning of the text. Except for Term 1 where we will solely focus on literacy strategies through our structured literacy program and our library program where we will focus on reading for pleasure. We have reduced our common assessment tasks to three assessments (traditionally we cover 5 - 6 assessments for both Year 9 and Year 10 English) but we wanted to focus on less assessments and more on exploring texts and enjoying texts. The common assessment tasks that we are focusing on for both Year 9 and Year 10 English in 2025 are Formal Writing, Creative Writing and Speeches.

YEAR 10 ENGLISH CALENDAR 2025

Year 10 English Calendar 2025

In the same fashion as our Year 9 English calendar, the Year 10 English calendar for 2025 is broken up into themes. The themes for each term are: 

Term 1: Seeing Connections

Term 2: Exploring Voices and Language

Term 3: We are storytellers

Term 4: Using our voices

Like our Year 9 program, each term has a primary text and common assessment task attached. It follows the same formula that we have in our current curriculum except each term is driven by a theme. There is enough room for kaiako to choose texts that they are comfortable with and to dictate how they want to assess the common assessment task. The exception is that all of our Year 10 students will be expected to do the speech in Term 3 in preparation for the Year 10 speech competition in that we would like to run in Term 4. 

I am excited about this new venture and I look forward to documenting our progress and journey in 2025. 

Week 5 Term 4: English Department: Junior English Program 2025 (November 11 - November 15)

 One of the goals for the English Department this is term is: 

Redesign our Junior English Program 
Our hope is to redesign the Junior English program that it aligns to Te Mataiaho (Curriculum Refresh model) and allows the space for a deep dive into structured literacy.  We are aiming to work alongside our Library Department to ensure that we use the space in a meaningful way with our Year 9 and Year 10 students. We are wanting to encourage ‘reading for pleasure’ in our program next year.

The purpose of redesigning our Junior English Program is to ensure that it aligns to Te Mataiaho (Curriculum Refresh model and framework) and that it prioritizes a deep dive into structured literacy strategies. This is an important priority and goal for the English Department as we want to make sure that our Year 9, 10 and Year 11 English programs are connected and make sense. The main key that I want to focus on is 'engagement' - we want our students to engage with English through exploring different text types and crafting different text types. Learning, creating and sharing their texts that is mana enhancing. 

Junior English 2024

The heart of our Junior (Year 9 and Year 10) English Program (from Te Mataiaho: The Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum). The theme is Our Story + Our Voices

Language and literature give us insights into ourselves and others

The stories of Aotearoa New Zealand are unique taonga tuku iho

Stories are a source of joy and nourishment

Communication depends on shared codes and conventions

Literature, language, and texts embody power relationships

• We will look at Our Stories - we will look at the stories and experiences of others and you will write about your own story and experience.
• We will focus on Our Stories - we will look at the stories and experiences of those in our community. You will create a text that is a response to the stories we have studied from our own community.
• We will explore Our Stories - the stories and experiences of those inside and outside of our community. The stories of our community in Glen Innes, Aotearoa New Zealand and in the world are unique taonga tuku iho. 
• We will explore Our Voices - We will look at the stories and experiences of others. You will craft an oral text as a response.

Understand/Know/Do - Junior English Program 2025 (Draft)

Understand/Know/Do - Junior English Program 2025 (Draft)

The four key areas that Junior English curriculum is centered around are from Te Mataiaho (as seen in the image above and highlighted below). 

Te whakamahi rautaki ki te whai māramatanga | Comprehending and Creating Texts

Te tātari arohaehae | Critical analysis

Te pānui hei whakangahau, hei whakapārekareka | Reading for pleasure

Te tūhono mā te whakawhiti kōrero | Connecting through storytelling

In my next post, I will show the draft outline of the program that we will offer for Year 9 and Year 10 English and themes that we will focus for each term. 

Week 4 Term 4: Totara House: Thanksgiving Assembly (November 04 - November 08)

Totara House Thanksgiving Assembly 2024

*An excerpt from my Dean's message at Totara House Thanksgiving Assembly (Friday November 1 2024)

As we come to the final weeks of our academic year at school, I believe that it is important that we take time to reflect on the year that has been. Cambridge Insights defines that act of reflection and explains that “It allows us to create a pause between our thoughts and often emotional responses and actions. Reflection helps us gain perspective, come to terms with events, learn from our experiences and enjoy moments of gratitude. So, reflection is about our lived experience”

Today I want to encourage everyone in Totara House to meet me in this time of reflection. To be present with me in this time of reflection. To think about your year, your learning, your experiences at school (good or bad). Everything that you have done, accomplished, everything that you faced and that challenged. I encourage all of the students and staff in Totara House to think about these moments that are a part of our lives, that are a part of our year. As we sit here today and reflect on these moments, events and experiences - let us be grateful that we have made it through those challenges, that we survived those tests, that we walked through our own grief and loss, that we have been blessed with opportunities to learn and grow together.

Totara House Leadership Team 2025

‘Discipline’, ‘Commitment’ and ‘Passion’ are the Totara House values for 2024. This year Totara House have worked together in our strive for excellence towards being more disciplined in school, committed to achieving our goals in school and doing it all with aroha and passion. It has been an awesome, challenging and rewarding experience to journey through this with the House Leaders who have done an amazing job in leading their House this year. They have all led this house with integrity and mana and for that I am truly grateful and humbled.

Totara House Thanksgiving Assembly 2024

We have come together this year and collectively shown our house values on the field, on stage and in the classroom. I have enjoyed working with you and see you thrive in the Totara values of discipline, commitment and passion as we have shown in our Athletics Day, Samoan Language Week and Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori Language Week campaign for 2025. What I have learnt as your Dean from working closely with you is that something that we value and that we are committed to is togetherness. The spirit of togetherness in that we will all pull together and work together. I am grateful for this and I applaud each and every one of Totara House students for your contributions to our House this year. Thank you all!

I would like to acknowledge the Totara House Mentorship team:

Ms Ferguson - 9TFn

Mrs Rani - 9TRn

Mr Krishna - 10TKr

Ms Ngyuen - 11TNg

Mr Niko - 11TNi

Ms Kolo - 12TKl

Mr Koch - 13TKh

Ms Tuitupou - 13TTt

I thank you all for your commitment to the house, their mentor classes and our values. I am forever grateful to work alongside a great team of mentor teachers. 

Totara House Thanksgiving Assembly 2024

I am grateful for the Totara House Leadership team for 2024. I am thankful to have worked and journeyed alongside a team of gifted, talented, patient and understanding students who have led their house with compassion and dignity. I want to acknowledge Daliz Betham, Stephney Fifita, Anaysha Puaga, Feao Tameifuna and Troy Tuari. Thank you for your love, commitment and service to Totara House 2024. You have led from the front, the side and behind. Your leadership was wrapped around Totara House and you made this year an enjoyable, memorable and exciting year for the young people. You were called to serve and sometimes that service meant that you had to step out of your comfort zone. I am so proud of what you have accomplished and contributed to the House. You all worked together to make sure that each student in our House felt safe, that they matter and that they belong. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

As we close 2024, I want to wish all of the Year 13 students in 13TKh and 13TTt in Totara House the very best for this new season in your journey. Thank you for your contribution, service and love that you have poured into Totara House since 2021.