The future for Saint Paul's

Modern Learning Environments
A Vision of the Future for Saint Paul's 

Saint Paul's is on a journey of change. Our students  live in the 21st century and will need to thrive in a digital environment that requires a unique set of skills. Our own teacher survey identified a lot of the attributes recommended by the meta analysis( in red) in the following graphic. The black text are the teachers responses. 

To foster these skills( some new and some old) we have moved toward the use of digital tools and the associated changes in teaching practice.   We are currently an optional BYOD school. Some teaching practice changes have been made to develop inquiring, independent and collaborative student learning.  I believe these can be further facilitated by physical changes in the classroom environment. There is a wealth of research about the effectiveness of changes that open up the classroom and allow children spaces for different ways to learn. Teachers also benefit hugely from a the collaborative approach needed in these spaces as well. The Ministry of Education insist on schools having a plan for making physical changes over the next ten years. ( see the 10 Year Plan) 

We are fortunate at Saint Paul's that the original architect had the development of 'Modern Learning Environments' in mind when he designed the building with a central 'break out' space ( or roost ). We have a keen advocate for M.L.E's in our Acting Deputy Principal. She is already running her classroom collaboratively during literacy time. She would like to start to continue with this by spilling out into the 'roost' through glass doors in Term 4. This would also give our junior students a consistent significant adult to bond with during their first two years at school.  This is also recommended practice for children of this age and brain development. I have asked one of our parents to come and give us a ball park figure for this work. 

With this all in mind I went with Sarah to have a look at Hampden Street School where they have created a modern learning environment in their senior block.  I would like to organise a visit during school time for our Board members to see for themselves. This is the right time for us because we are thinking about and planning for a performance/meeting space. It is important for us to use our limited funds wisely and with the best possible outcomes for teaching and learning.

Check out this link to give you a quick idea http://youtu.be/kRSJrN1h3as

The Power to Innovate: NZPF Conference 2013

The Power to Innovate: NZPF Conference 2013

The conference was a good mix of educational and personal inspiration. I have put aside the speakers who concentrated on the personal because the educational speakers have messages from which a wider audience will benefit.


The most powerful presentation was from James Nottingham about the notion of labeling and the negative impacts of even the positive labels. I was particularly struck with his argument that grouping on ability had negative impacts for both the top and bottom groups. Interestingly this argument is based on the work on effect size by John Hattie. I hadn't realized that children in the top group go backwards because of the idea that they are naturally talented.  When they find something difficult they think that it is not true and don't persevere.

This is a short video where he explains his argument. His thinking about the importance of the progress children make has important implications for our assessment and reporting.

Vivianne Robinson is a New Zealand educator who has been working in the area of leadership. Her overall message was to reinforce the idea that the Principal's key role is to develop a framework for school improvement which will engage the school in an action learning process.

School Google Calendar

Brain Ways Nathan Mikaere Wallis

In the 90's what we know about brain development grew by 300%.
The environment designs the architecture of the 70% of the brain, particularly while the brain is developing In the first three years. Once established it is VERY difficult to change!
The critical attribute for us in New Zealand is the development of the cortex which is home to higher thinking and empathy. A Prime Ministers report clearly identified SELF REGULATION as the key to solve our high delinquency rates as well
as obesity, suicide and prison rates.
A good nurturing relationship, physical activity, laughter and singing are the key attributes to grow the cortex and stimulate learning. Punishment, Inconsistency and love withdrawal are the enemies of behavior change.
Inappropriate behavior is a result of the background of the child. The best approach is calm the child, go down and use your face and calm voice, validate the emotion and exercise the cortex by stating clearly the behavior you expect.
Research is clear that children are best equipped for reading and writing from age 7 or 8 and the social dimension and love of story is the best way to go.
These new understandings have deep implications for our practice. It is amazing that educational change has worked against these new understandings. The question is how do we make change at Saint Paul's that will grow our children's brains.

Friends of Saint Paul's

Kia ora Team, I have attached the Friends of Saint Paul's( FoSP) meeting minutes from last evening. I want to let you know some of the background to one of the items. We had a good turnout from our core group, many of whom have done a fantastic 5 years service (and more) of really committed work. These guys are getting to the end of their time here at Saint Paul's and want to support the newer parents while they are still around. When the school was in a 'low' financially they raised a huge $25,000 and because of this and their continued efforts we are now in a stable position. However, we do need to continue to raise around $10,000 a year for the 'extra's' that aren't possible or appropriate from Government funding such as the planting we did at the recent working bee. A hall( arts space, gym, chapel, etc) is seen by the community in the yearly surveys as something needed and this will be our focus in the next five years. We need new blood. For a start our new chairperson is unable to continue because of work commitments.This role is the key to the groups success because they keep things moving along and work alongside helpers as an enthusiastic supporter and organiser. Some of the issues around the problem of attracting new members was discussed at the meeting: New parents are often both working and 'time poor'. They rightly prioritise time with each other and their families. Some of these parents might prefer to just pay a fee. Fundraising generally means your time and our money. New parents are unaware of the Friends group and perhaps don't appreciate the sense of belonging to the community that can come from this involvement. The Friends have a more important vital role in bringing the community together. There is a perception that the current group is a closed group. It is true they have a strong friendship because of their shared endeavour but they have been working hard to bring others on board and have even pulled away to allow room for new people. The meeting time may be difficult because of child care issues. This could be flexible and the first thing to consider for a new chairperson. The workload is seen as too demanding. We do have a very supportive community that always do and will continue to respond positively to being asked to help. The Friends wanted me to let you know the current situation to encourage involvement. The friends group is rewarding and vital for our school both socially and financially. If you have thoughts or ideas you want to share email me back, respond on the blog or facebook.

Our Soccer team!

Board Report Presentation

This is a presentation made for a Board of Trustees Meeting that gives a good summary of the thrust of our achievement goals and achievement results in 2011. It is useful to see

Effective Teaching Strategies by JBoy

Effective Teaching Strategies by JBoy

Enhancing the School Climate

ICT @ Saint Paul's- a reflection about the way forward

Scenario: The school developed a digital environment in Year’s 7 and 8 as a response to student losses to Intermediates in Year 6. We initially had 1 pod of 16 computer in use across the school. Funding was initially agreed to by the Friends of Saint Paul’s but the $11,000 commitment each year was too much for them to carry. The community were then asked to fund the pod and the cost was divided up amongst all families on a pay-for-use basis. Year 7/8 children has access during all their ‘academic’ time, so pay $150 a year. There has been an excellent response to date with up to 90% of parents paying this as part of their parent contribution. With additional support from the Parish we had two pods for three years. When the Parish funding stopped we moved to lease ipads for two years so that we could continue with the same number of machines at the same expense for the community. We are involved in a Ministry-funded contract over three years to develop home-school partnerships. Data projectors were purchased for most rooms with support from the Canterbury Community Trust. Students and teachers have come to rely on computers in a myriad of ways for teaching and learning. Anecdotally and in surveys we are seeing student engagement, particularly at a the Year 7/8 age where engagement rates usually fall away. 

The Issue

There is no doubt that there is change taking place on a huge scale because of the new technologies. A collapse of the manufacturing sector closely followed by retailing sector and with it loss of opportunities for employment. As a result the increasing requirement is for students with collaborative, creative, innovative and entrepreneurial skills to build a new economy.

The desire to develop these skills are expressed clearly in our strategic plan. 

We expect our students to be active, creative, engaged and inquiring learners

( Strategic Plan 2009)

There are two important parts to their development. The first and most important is a new way of teaching. The Ministry have funded a three year professional development project in the region. This has teachers currently creating class blogs to showcase the students learning to their communities and the world.

The school’s responsibility is to provide the best infrastructure we can for teachers to get on with connecting their students with a quickly changing world. 

Conclusion 

If our vision is to provide the best in the way of infrastructure I believe we have to make our goal 1 student to 1 device.  However there are conditions that are part of our Catholic Character: 

• The opportunities offered to some students must be offered to all ( including Year groups)
• We make provision for those who can’t pay

This is an ambitious goal that may take some time to achieve. If we agree that we want to give our children the best chance in an increasingly technological world we must aim high. A decile 1 school with a poor transient Polynesian population in Auckland is close to achieving this goal.  

There are many difficult issues to be resolved.  If we know where we are going our path will be easier to follow. 

Ideas for Implementation 

1. This document to be canvassed among teachers, board and if we agree on a clear vision, the community.
2. A public meeting to present our vision and what it might look like and get their feedback 
3. Start planning for new pedagogy. 

Comments and Ideas from the Management Team

1. We agree in principle.
2. We agree that the vision should dictate our decision making.
3. Professional Development around pedagogy is key to the process.  
4. What does it mean for the nature of schooling at Saint Paul’s?  ( Is it the end of the pencil and books? There will still be a need for the physical act of writing) 
5. It is happening. Could it be an optional item on the stationery list in 2012 ?
6. The staff need to discuss and develop their pedagogy in more depth, perhaps with the support of someone like e-time. 
7. Our community would need to be presented with a clear idea and vision of how it might look for their children. 
8. Year 5/6 need 5 computers available all the time in class now. 
9. There was a doubt expressed about the ability for a digital environment to retain Year 6 into Year 7. ( there is already talk of movement to other schools in the current Year 6) 
10. The need for access is greater from the senior end tailing off down into junior school. (Should this be the case?)

ICT Parent Response from 75 families:

We have just under 50% support for increased payment and the  purchasing option.  

Saint Paul's a Rubbish Free School?

It has been evident to me that packaging has been increasing on foodstuffs during the past two decades. This has increased the amount of litter around school grounds and the associated removal. This term we have been looking hard as a school community at our responsibility to be 'stewards' of our environment. The question inevitably arises 'What can we do?' One thing we have asked the children to do is work toward a 'rubbish free' lunch to try and cut down on the amount of non-biodegradeable waste coming into the school.

Everyone agrees that packaging is an escalating problem but individually we add to the problem; particularly in the use of glad wrap for biscuits and even fruit!

I believe that the change to halt or slow the growth mountain of rubbish ( One rugby field 30 stories high every month) will only come from the grass roots. Pushing from below will take time but is effective.
The school's problem is being moved into the home as families empty foodstuffs like packet chippies into reusable containers. This will cause some hassles at home but will hopefully steer people toward better options. Some people have started using paper as wrap. This is fantastic as we can it can be composted. Some families have started making their own muesli bars which is even more user friendly and also a healthy option! Buying in bulk could become an option when using the reusable container option.

If we all do what we can despite the inconveniences we will make a difference; just as the boy who donated his loaves and fishes made the impossible happen.

To illustrate the rubbish problem the school cleaned up the edge of Waimea Estuary. It was amazing how much litter is surrounding our water ways. I was impressed with the children's enthusiasm and commitment. There is hope for a better world

National Standards @ Saint Paul's

There have been two things that have shaped my thinking around National Standards over the past few months. The first was the New Zealand Principal's Conference just before the break.

They had  a number of international speakers from different countries with their views on educational trends and how this relates to student achievement. National standards has been a significant issue across the world with a lot of countries discarding them as detrimental to fruitful outcomes for children and the nation. Without too much in-depth explanation I have summarized the important points that I gleaned from these speakers:

1. Finland has the best achievement results and this is due to their drive to lower accountability and increased responsibility for teachers. They pay enough to attract the best candidates from their Universities to go teaching. 
2. Equal societies do better. The tail in New Zealand is almost exclusively made up of Maori and Polynesian students.
3. A mindful approach to technology is a feature of successful education systems. 
4. Diagnosis and Design are the keys to successful school improvement.
5. Other factors that drive school improvement are: encouragement of deep learning, reducing gaps within schools, providing high support alongside high expectations, providing enrichment for all students and early intervention with minimal labeling.
6. If you put global competitiveness up against literacy and numeracy results you will find that countries like the US, who are bottom of the academic results table are top of the GDP per capita table. A prosperous future will depend on citizens who can invent a job rather than get one. Creative and Entrepreneurial skills provide three million new jobs each year while existing enterprises are losing 1 million. China is working to develop these skills by a range of efforts including the banning of national testing!

 The other event that has made an impact is the recent Education Review Office visit to Saint Paul's. It was interesting to engage in debate about the use of National Standards and their use at the school. We had gone through the time consuming task of unpacking the standards, making Overall Teacher Judgements of our children's grades and moderating the results. Unfortunately we had learnt too late  grading at 40, 80 and 180 weeks at school in the first three years as these anniversaries had passed for a number of our children. Inthe New Entrant class the teacher had indicated that the students were below standard because they had yet to reach the standard. They had yet to reach their anniversary so this data was inaccurate.
The solution for us was to go back to the standardised tests. We analysed this data to set measurable goals for ourselves. The ERO team initially indicated that this was going to be a non-compliance as there were no 'grey' areas. Much like the standards themselves we were to be judged 'below' despite our efforts to make the changes required and falling short at the finish line.( because of the sped of implementation)
After discussion back at the office they decided that to downgrade this in the final report. As part of the my follow up to the visit  I have put a report together around National Standards that interestingly is at odds with what tests such as  asTTLe are saying about our student achievement. Remember that our results were marked downwards.
This raises questions for us about the relationship between our good norm-referenced test results and the national standards results. It also asks questions about the practicality of using the 'big picture' standards. In our school they are not lining up against norm-referenced testing.
It will  be rare for children to make the kind of significant change that would lift their result. Progress that is smaller and incremental will not be recognized. Reports and analysis will not be productive.
There are practical and philosophic questions about the standards that need to be worked through before we commit to more valuable teacher time and energy.

The value of student blogs

There has been an extensive English research study done around writing achievement and the benefits of blogs. We have known for a long time that writing for a 'real' audience is a powerful motivator for children to write. And edit their writing. So, not surprisingly the study found huge improvement in students achievement, particularly boys.

An important element in keeping the obvious enthusiasm our students have for this practical use of the internet will be parents committing to posting comments regularly. Adults lives are very busy and this is yet another chore.

Part of the requirements around National standards reporting has been the desire of parents to help their children succeed at school. Schools have been asked to give parents advice on what they can do to be partners in the learning process. I encourage them to make a time each week and post a positive comment on the class blog. Your child not only benefits but also knows that you are interested in their learning.

Student Achievement Results

2010 Achievement Report to Parents

In our annual planning over the past few years we have an ongoing target to improve students literacy achievement across the school. In 2010 it was decided that vocabulary would be the aspect of reading and writing we would concentrate on. This was identified as one of the gaps in literacy learning for our students. The following statistics show the shift made in vocabulary achievement from March to November 2010 in a reading test. 

Month	Below Expectation	At Expectation	Above Expectation
March 2010	20%	39%	41%
November 2010	4%	39%	57%

It is especially heartening that students achieving below the expectation were reduced by 16% and that student achieving above the expectation increased by 16% 

In the same test the results showed 94% of our Year 1 to 3’s and 83% of our Year 4 to 8 students are now reading at or above the expectation so we have good overall reading results at Saint Paul’s at the end of 2010.  

All the significant groups such as Maori, Boys and Girls are showing results consistent with the group. 

Swimming Sports

The organizations that promote swimming in New Zealand have been increasingly concerned about the standard of swimming among our children. Primary School pools were hand built by their communities in the 1960's. These have come to end of their shelf life and new regulations and expenses have meant that more and more schools are without adequate facilities to teach swimming.
We are fortunate that we have the Aquatic Centre within walking distance that is supported financially by our parent community through the parent contribution. The Pool works hard to keep the prices significantly lower than is available to the general public partly through application for government funding.
The professional tuition that Saint Paul's students get from trained instructors in the water for 10 sessions each year will give a basic skill level over the 5 years they are swimming. But most will  need more to realize the goal of getting all 12 year olds being able to swim 200 metres.
It certainly appears from the recent Saint Paul's swimming sports that there are a number who get to the point where they are swimming strongly and confidently over  50 metre length.  I suspect that these children have had additional lessons. There are still, however, a number of our older students choosing to swim the width. My advice is that parents supplement the basic tuition at school with further lessons. Our death toll from drowning has been on the increase. It is vital we reverse this trend and equip our children with the skills to survive.

The Beginning

Our school is developing blogs to share school stuff with you the wider community. This is my humble effort. An issue that arises around school use of the internet, particularly blogs, is the problem of using photos and names where they can be accessed by the wider world. If there is a reason why this might be a problem for you please let us know!