Newsletter Term 2 - 2024

Welcome
Term 2 | 2024

Ngā mihi from the ASL team.

Kia ora koutou,

Thank you to all kaiako who attended the Week 6 Workshops. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive with many requests to see similar workshops ran again in the future.

We hope the focus on Hauora, for these workshops, became an opportunity for all kaiako to fill their cups and find a moment of peace and learning during the business of Term 2.

Kaiako feedback from the Term 2 Hauora workshops:

"Very calm and clear thank you. I felt a sense of belonging and equipped for future teaching experiences".

"Good place to visit with class didn’t realise it existed" (Koru Sanctuary)

"Thank you for providing this experience!"

"Great workshop ideas! Please do more like this. They’re so good for wellbeing".

"I like that we have access to the information outside of course so we can refer back to it".

What was your biggest take away from your workshop.......

" The document - Aromatawai and the Principles of Assessment. Didn't even know it existed. Am looking forward to unpacking it as a classroom teacher and with senior leadership. The 5 key mātapono-principals- Putting the lens over assessment with these. Great koro in regard to the changes that the colleges are trying to implement ".

"Practical ideas to help regulate children's behaviour".

"I learnt heaps and feel like this was a super valuable workshop to support teacher workload. I also found that copilot might be a great tool to help boost writing engagement. Lastly I loved that I could take a photo of a students writing and then the AI could turn it into text in a word doc".

"Fun and energising games that you can play in your class, with limited resources".

"Connection with other teachers. Resources in our community".

"The format for having restorative conversations. It is something we can start tomorrow in the classroom......and don’t have to wait for a school wide approach. Good reminder to get the IYT bible back out!" 

"Would like to use yoga and breathing to help calm kids down.........We thought that yoga might be a nice way to start the morning at school".

"Think about what I am actually getting my children to do on a device or how I am getting them to use them, try some of the tools suggested".

If you missed the opportunity to provide feedback, please click the link here. 

ASL mahi

So far throughout 2024, some of the mahi our ASL have supported our Marlborough kura with include: 

....... supporting with structure literacy, supporting with the science of learning PLD, setting up PGC/teacher inquiries, assist with technical side of setting up ipads, making links school mahi with Ngā Kawatau me ngā Tūmanakotanga o Te Tauihu, providing workshops for kaiako, writing moderation support, developing local curriculum resources, gathering baseline writing data, support with staff PD - digital technology, supporting WSL with planning PLD for their kura, enhancing math pedagogy, providing WSL hui, setting up E-asTTle assessments, supporting WSL with culturally responsive pedagogy PLD. 


Dates of Interest


Niho Taniwha:


Piritahi Workshops: for Term 3 - Wednesday Week 6 (28th August)


WSL Rūnanga:


These are open to all teachers being paid any WSL allowance in their salary. These rūnanga will support WSL to extend their leadership capabilities.

Please book this now! Some refreshments will be provided.

Workshops
Term 2 - 2024

Niho Taniwha WSL Workshops

Many WSL's attended the Niho Taniwha workshops run by Lynette and Doreen in Week 1 of Term 2. Lynette discussed in detail, the Culture Tree and the importance of culturally responsive assessment. Lynette made some valuable links to Ngā Kawatau me ngā Tūmanakotanga o Te Tauihu, also. She discussed the importance of genuine, learning-focused relationships in the classroom - students who understand and are involved in their learning, are more likely to have accelerated rates of achievement. 

Growing niu perspectives - NZAI presentation.pdf

Writing Moderation Workshops
Week 7

Ngā mihi to all the kaiako who brought their wealth of knowledge and expertise to the writing moderation workshop that was held at Witherlea School in Week 7. 

The outcome requested for this workshop by the schools involved, was to provide an opportunity to compare our schools examples of writing at each level with other schools examples at the same level (comparing "apples with apples"). We hope that each school will be able to use this mahi, and the resources ASL will provide in the future, to support your kura to assess writing with confidence and consistency.

Some of the reflections from Kaiako on the day......

......“We are so used to what we are seeing in our own schools and it was really helpful to see and hear other points of view”. 

......“ We were consistent as a group and the levels we gave were close to the level the school gave the piece of writing”. 

Springlands School
Collaboration with Whitney Street

Four kotiro from Whitney Street School spent some time with our Springlands whānau, teaching them the actions | waiata ringa for the waiata Ngā iwi e waru - the waiata about the iwi of Te Tauihu. The tautoko was greatly received by the Springlands tamariki. Ngā kotiro o Witini are available to travel to other kura should they wish to also learn the waiata ringa. A link to the waiata is here.

Te Kāreti Taitama o Wairau / Marlborough Boys College
Embracing Tuākana – Tēina

At MBC, Tuākana tēina principles are being embedded into school life and this has allowed us to develop a better understanding of the importance of Tuākana – Tēina.  Firstly, we have been blessed to have had two kaiāwhina, Kaiziah Maru and Adam Cairns, both recent MBC ākonga, with us for the first half of the year.  They act as tuākana in our classes, mentor younger ākonga, support kapa haka, and help us reflect on how we can improve outcomes for ākonga Māori.  Adam and Kaiziah were also brilliant MCs at our Ngā Manu Kōrero school competition recently.

Another way Tuākana Tēina is active in our kura is via the vertical house groups, where ākonga from all year levels make up a whānau class, enabling the fostering of tuākana tēina relationships.   


Recently the benefits of Tuākana Tēina were evident at our inter-House Haka competition.  All Houses performed to a very high standard - the tēina kapa haka ākonga (students) paired up with our prefects to teach them the school haka and the mau rākau as shared by Hawaiki Kura.  The prefects then taught their Houses - Tau ana!

Te Kāreti Taitama o Wairau / Marlborough Boys College
Embracing Iwi Aspirations


Each MBC Faculty is embracing the Iwi aspirations in Ngā Kawatau me ngā Tūmanakotanga o Te Tauihu and Ngā Kōrero Tukuiho (Tātoru o Wairau).  Kaiako are also preparing a unit of work celebrating Matariki in every subject area and in junior and senior classes.  

Here are some examples:

Pūtaiao - Science

BCS1 Microbes - In this T1 course students are given opportunities to build knowledge about the rivers and coastline of the Te Tauihu-o-te-waka / Marlborough region.​

We aim to show the interconnectedness of ourselves and our environment. We hope that students will gain our passion for learning for the sake of understanding the world around us and be as excited to understand and learn about our region as we are. We link to our local area, specifically Te Hoiere (Pelorus), the Ōpaoa and the East Coast of Marlborough as well as the pūrākau of our local iwi through the Ngā kōrero tukuiho taonga, focussing on Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairau.

Junior English

Ko Wai Koe focus including texts by Māori authors  -​  Who are we?​ What is our place in the world


Senior English

​Utilising he arotahi Māori lens to deconstruct texts by a variety of authors - ​How do we see ourselves?​ How do we want others to see us?

Te Ao Haka

Ākonga have enjoyed working with Matua Ihaka Griffin-Matthews creating choreography for a haka he composed, and in Term 1  welcomed visiting Brazilian students with a mihi whakatau. Adam and Kaiziah have been valued kaiāwhina, both being part of the inaugural Te Ao Haka class in 2022, which was run from Marlborough Girls’ College by Whaea Louisa King. Tānenuiarangi Norton entranced the audience and judges when he led his House in the school haka and claimed the kaitātaki award. He also competed at Ngā Manu Kōrero in Senior English winning third place.

Pangarau - Mathematics

Kei hopu tōu ringa ki te aka tāepa, engari kia mau ki te aka matua. Cling to the main vine, not the loose one.​

The pūrākau helps to illustrate that knowledge, as in te kete o ngā mātauranga, is a taonga, and to show the need for hard work and problem-solving to gain solid knowledge.​

The Big Ideas of wānanga, hononga, and tāiringa kōrero highlight the importance of Aotearoa New Zealand’s identity in how ākonga conceptualise the world and solve problems. Mātauranga Māori recognises the importance of socio-cultural context when learning and applying mathematical and statistical skills. The content of mathematics is universal, but it will be accessed, and engaged with, by different cultures in distinct ways.

Te Reo Māori

We have had a busy year with our first reo Māori wānanga in Term 1 with kaiako from Te Ātaarangi, a visit to see the bilingual film The Convert,  and recently we had the huge excitement of Manaia Huntley gaining a place to compete at Ngā Manu Kōrero Nationals for Te Tauihu in junior te reo Māori and English.  Rangatira Smith also gave a stunning kōrero for the senior reo Māori section. Our next event will be attending the two day reo Māori symposium Te Kaiaotanga o te Reo Māori in Wairau.

Te Waharoa

Term 1 saw ākonga participate in a ruku kaimoana, dive trip, with Blenheim Dive Centre, in the Marlborough Sounds.  They then brought their catch back  to cook and share with whānau.  Matua Bob Bickerton visited in Term 2 to demonstrate taonga pūoro.

Waikāripi Māori Canals Project (Maths)

The Waikāripi Māori canals project is a teaching and learning unit designed to consolidate students' learning in measurement and increase their cultural awareness.  Assisted by Matua Dr Peter Meihana who shared with ākonga a Māori world view of the relationship between Māori and the land,  of whakapapa and the people who built the Maōri canals over generations, Rangitāne, the unit will be offered again this year.

Social Sciences

Senior History


Senior Geography


Senior Economics

Kapa Haka

At the beginning of the year two ākonga, Adam Cairns and Asher Gotty, were part of Te Kuru Maratea, a Te Tauihu kapa haka, who won a place in Te Matatini 2025. Over Term 1 MBC Kapa Haka supported the Multicultural Day, a pōwhiri for Australia, Boston USA, & New Zealand Over 50s cricket, a Graeme Dingle event, and are currently preparing to support Te Tauihu pōwhiri for Te Huinga Whetū Secondary Schools National Kapa Haka competition in Whakatū / Nelson

Renwick School
School Values Day

Renwick school dived head first into their new school values, marking the day with a whole-school values day. Cadets from the local Airforce joined the kura to help bring to life the school values: Respect, Resourceful and Resilience. Tamariki joined in with many fun activities whilst embodying each of the three values. It was a valuable opportunity to see Respect, Resourceful and Resilience in action. 

This is an example from Ngā Kawatau me ngā Tūmanakotanga o Te Tauihu of Quality Teaching: we recognise the importance of language, culture, identity, values, and prior knowledge of our students and whānau to strengthen learning and achievement.

Springlands School
Room 16 explores - I te Timatanga/In the Beginning

"In term 1 we used I te Timatanga to help us unpack our new school values with a focus on manawanuitanga - perseverance and giving things a go. One of the activities we used for this was creating a piece of artwork where the ākonga saw themselves as Tāne and persevered to separate Rangi and Papatūānuku to let the light in.


This term we are using the same pūrākau to inform our class performance. We have ensured that we are familiar with the different ideas and opinions of the ātua - the ākonga had to match the idea to the ātua using the laminated cards. We will now match our dance movements and music to how the ātua felt about separating their parents." 

Local  Sites of Significance | Helpful resources

The Koru Sanctuary

We had the privilege of visiting Ellen at the Koru Sanctuary in Grovetown. Ellen is passionate about all things conservation and is excited to work with Marlborough schools.


Come and meet the Creepy, Crawly and the Sassy

Visit us at our Grovetown base for a rare chance to see our fascinating creepy Giant Weta, crawly Geckos and sassy brightly coloured Yellow Crowned Kākāriki. See them up close and learn more about them.

Alternatively, if it is too difficult to visit, we can also visit your kura with either the Giant Weta or some of the geckos. More information can be provided.

Book your visit to learn fascinating facts about our native animals and find out about the efforts to restore their natural habitats, in a friendly and relaxed setting.

Koru Native Wildlife Centre is operated by the charitable Tui Nature Wildlife Trust. Your host, Ellen Plaisier, has a long history of involvement in restoring native habitat in Marlborough, and more recently in native animal husbandry.

As many may know, TKI has moved its site to Tāhūrangi and will eventually be replaced by it. Tāhūrangi will be the new, online hub for curriculum content, teaching materials and news. TKI is making this move to ensure that finding teaching resources suitable for your classroom will be much quicker and easier. It is important to know, that you will need your Education Service Logon to access Tāhūrangi. You can apply for one here.

Click the link above to watch a short introductory video shared by the Ministry for TOD.

Looking for some Matariki resources?......

Below are a few links to useful websites:

Matariki celebrations in Te Tau Ihu


Click the photo to visit "The Wairau".

   "The Wairau"

This site has been designed by ASL's as a gift for all teachers to inspire learning about, within and through the Wairau. 

Often as kaiako we a keen to explore places outside of our kura that we know can be amazing learning opportunities for our ākonga, but it is challenging and time consuming to know where to begin. This site will hopefully both inspire you and save you time when planning for learning within the Wairau.

We have begun this mahi with The Grovetown Lagoon and will add other significant places within the Wairau that are a place of inspiration for learning for our ākonga. 

Kōrero Tuku Iho | Pūrākau of Significance

Local Iwi and Te Kāhui Mātauranga* have been working hard to discover and develop kōrero tuku iho (narratives of significance) for local kura and whānau.

(click bottom right of screen to turn the pages of the book)

Copy of Nuku's Toki.pdf

*Te Kāhui Mātauranga is a committee made up of representatives from each of the eight Iwi in Te Tauihu.