A packed term ahead.

Two days in and already term 4 is shaping up to be a big one. Reports, class placements, interviewing for teaching positions and solving some of our property headaches just for starters. Should be good fun!

We are hoping to open the swimming pool in a few weeks time and, if the good weather continues, it should be nice and warm for the first few classes taking a dip.

We are working hard on plans for seating and shade areas in the playground and I am hoping that we will have something to display in the next couple of weeks. Then we can start to get feedback from the whole community on the ideas. The project is the focus of our Summer Carnival fundraising efforts so fingers crossed for plenty of sunshine on the 9th of November.

Summer's back

The sun joined us today as we ended Term 3 on a high. The children and staff love having the warm weather back and let's hope that it is a good omen for Term 4. I'm heading away to Australia during the 2 week break, which I'm very excited about.

Voting is now open for our Photography Competition and everyone and anyone is welcome to vote for their favourite snap. The children have been using their creative energies to take some inspired shots over the last few weeks and you can see the photos they have taken on the main school website. It is really simple to vote so please do!

Happy Holidays!

Arts Week

The real sun is back this week, but last week the school was lit up in other ways, by the children's art work!

Arts Week was an unqualified success. Highlights included the senior school performance at the Ngai Marsh theatre on the Monday; a magical night of musical talent on Thursday; buskers in the playground every day; and the marvellous art gallery created with the children's work in the village all week.

The focus of the week was dance, drama and music as well as the visual arts. A photography competition was held through the week and we have some children with an amazing eye for what makes a good picture.

The children in Room 19 have been reflecting on the week and you can
read their thoughts here.

Student Led Conferences

It is approaching a year since I started as Principal of Fendalton School and I am about to experience Student Led Conferences for the first time. I just missed these last year but I have been told that they are remarkable, a real insight into how our children learn. The idea behind the conference is that the children lead their parents or carers through their learning, explaining their successes and their goals while the teachers are present to add clarification on the very rare occasion where it is necessary.

I have spent time in the middle school this week, chatting with the children about Student Led Conferences and their preparations for them. It is great to witness how proud the children are of their work and how well some of them know what their next steps are. I look forward to seeing how the actual conferences run and talking to parents about the system.

Olympic Games and Elephant Birds

Last Thursday, we held our very own Olympic Games! All the children took part in an opening and closing ceremony and, sandwiched in between, they competed in a wide array of sports from Welly Wanging (gumboot throwing) to Synchronised Swimming on dry land. Everyone had a fab day and I even got to dress up as a Greek God for my role in the opening ceremony.

This week is book week and it started with a bang this morning as children performed scenes from their favourite books in assembly. Miranda, Rob and I then performed our unique take on the Dr Seuss story, Horton Hatches the Egg. As you can see from the photo I became an elephant bird for the climax of the story!

Book week is an opportunity for our children to read even more than usual, to try out new genres and to share their favourite stories with each other. The staff are swopping classes to read their favourite books and tomorrow we will all be dressing up as characters from some of those books. Other highights of the week will include several DEAR moments where we will all stop whatever we are doing to Drop Everything And Read.

Dragons, Lambs and an Enchanted Forest!

Last week was the first week that I was able to meet my new target of spending two days a week in the classrooms. I spent all day on Tuesday and Friday in the Junior team, working alongside the teachers and children, talking about their work and sharing in their successes. It was certainly an interesting week, which included meeting a couple of new born lambs with room 4, witnessing the creation of an enchanted forest in room 3 and learning all about the Olympic mascots in room 5.

The variety of learning experiences that our youngest children are being exposed to is truly remarkable. Our children were able to show me how they use laptops in class, how phonics work for them and they even explained what a unicorn's horn is for (apparently it is a bit like a steering wheel). Rooms 1 and 2 showed me how their topic based approach to literacy was making a difference to them and room 21 shared their impressive letter recognition and reading progress.

It was great to see how quickly our youngest children have adopted the Key Competencies as their own. I witnessed children being great team players as they shared the excitement of two lambs being fed; communicators as they taught each other how to use sign language in room 13; great thinkers in room 12 shared their peer assessments of each other's work; dream makers in room 6 told about their ideas for improving the junior play areas.

There was sparkle everywhere!

It's on to the middle team next for me and I can't wait to find out what they will teach me!

New Learning for me!

Since I started in the position of Principal at Fendalton School nearly a year ago I have had one frustration that I have been unable to overcome. My mentor would tell you that I have consistantly complained about one thing in our sessions, that he has offered several very good solutions to this disatisfaction, but that I have still not been able to shake it. One single question, which seems simple enough, remains unanswered after 11 months in the job.

How can I spend less time in the office and more time where the real action is, in the classrooms?

I may have found an answer......

At the end of last term, Miranda, Rob and I attended the New Zealand Principals' Federation Annual conference here in Christchurch. It proved to be a breakthrough experience which may well change the way that I work.

One of the Keynote speakers at the conference was Malachi Pancoast from a consulting firm in the US called "The Breakthrough Coach." He spoke three times at the conference about how to apply effective management practice to the running of school front offices – practices that free Principals up from technical front office work and instead allow them to spend two full days a week in classrooms. It was as if he had felt my frustrations and flown over to answer them directly!

Much of what Malachi had to say was common sense and obvious when you think about it but he was able to clarify ideas in a way which made me question the way I work and the kind of jobs that I have been doing. It is little wonder that I haven't been able to get into the classrooms.

So I will be making some changes to the way I work. These changes may well take a while to fully implement and probably a year or two to perfect but they will have an impact and put me where I need to be, where the learning is! These changes will mean that it becomes harder to make an immediate meeting with me but we will work hard on the system to make sure that it works for everyone.

Marvellous Music

Last night our school choir performed in front of a packed audience at Burnside High School's Aurora Centre. The event was the North West Schools Music Festival and was outstanding. Our children were up first but showed no signs of any nerves as they performed two pieces. The choir were buzzing all day in anticipation and they certainly worked incredibly hard in the days and weeks leading up to the big event.

Speaking as someone with zero musical talent, I was hugely impressed by the talent on show, not only from the children but from the teachers who helped bring it all together and accompany the choir. Special thanks to Maggie, Letesha and Kirsty for making it such a special occasion for our children, one I'm sure they will never forget.

Terrifying Tuesday

Today was Terrifying Tuesday at Fendalton School. All the children came to school in mufti to raise money for Marchar Sarita, an Indian girl who the school sponsors.

We had everything from witches and pirates through to mummies and the grim reaper as the children attempted to find the most imaginative way to live up to the name "Terrifying Tuesday". More photos are available here...

Dyslexia Awareness Week

This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week, this also marks the high point of Team 14's inquiry on dyslexia.
The children in room 14 have spent the last few weeks researching dyslexia, talking with the dyslexic children in their own class and putting together a roadshow for this week.

All week the children are presenting their roadshow to groups from all across the school, explaining about dyslexia and making suggestions as to how we can all help to make a difference. Not only is their work helping to remove some of the stigma attached to dyslexia, it is also helping us teachers to understand more about what life is like for these children. The dyslexic children from room 14 were able to, very eloquently, explain what it is like, but also what helps to make reading and writing easier for them.
The message from room 14 is:
"It's not a disease, it's a different way of thinking!"
Well done room 14.

Kidnapped by Pirates

Last Friday I was kidnapped by pirates!
There I was, working away in my office, quietly, not bothering anyone, when I was jumped on by a large gang of enormous pirates and dragged away. I tried to fight them off but they were just too strong for me.
As it turned out these vicious pirates were part of a gang calling themselves the Fendalton Junior School. They had a wicked plan to turn me into a pirate too and set about training me in their pirate ways. They taught me how to make treasure, sing sea shanties and use a treasure map. I had a fantastic time and by the end of the day I was transformed into Captain Sibson.
Thank you to all the pirate trainers (teachers) and the Junior team for all their hard work on Friday, it was certainly an experience. It took me most of the long weekend to get my voice back but it was well worth it!

The joy of teaching

Ah, the smell of the wet grass, the sound of leather on leather and the joy of a goal.
It's winter sports season and today I was out on the field, in the rain, with our year 5 and 6 children to help them prepare for the games ahead. Friday sport is an institution at Fendalton school at I'm very excited to be taking the A and B football teams to Hagley every Friday this term. It is great to be working directly with the children again.
This Principalship lark is all very well but there is nothing like being with the kids! It reminds me why I became a teacher in the first place, watching children have fun, learn and work together as a team. It is very easy in my job to find yourself knee deep in paper work, finances and systems and lose touch with what it is really all about, the children.
So roll on next Friday and the start of the season!