Nice Surprise

I was most surprised last Thursday after we sent out the letter regarding school donations to have 2 people  arrive with cheques that afternoon and 2 others deposit straight into our account.  I understand that we all have a range of financial commitments and pressures and it is most appreciated when people realise the importance of school donations, your money makes a real difference and enables us to purchase key books and resources we would otherwise be unable to.  Thank you to those who have already paid and to those who still intend to.

One thing I am focussing on this term in the classroom is students taking responsibility for their own learning and I saw two wonderful examples of this today. In Karen's class Lockie was sharing his diary about his trip to England. Karen had given him a range of activities he could do while away and from this he has compiled a very interesting journal. Then I saw Ruby taking a PE lesson on soccer skills as part of her Learning Trail. These are great examples of students taking responsibility for their own learning.  They are not waiting to be 'taught' something, they are working on improving their knowledge in areas of their choosing and then imparting that knowledge to others.

Copy that

If anyone wants to know anything about photocopiers, just give me a yell. After spending 2 hours down at Sharp after work yesterday I’m a resident expert.

Dealing with separate companies all vying for our custom has been an interesting experience and has once again demonstrated the importance of what we do here at school. Relating to others is one of the most important skills that can be learnt and that is why we provide such interactive, collaborative classrooms. There is no better place to learn how to relate to others than the school environment.  You get to make friendships, deal with conflict and work with and along side each other on a daily basis. Throughout life these children will be involved in ‘selling’ something to others, be it a product or idea. I’m sure they try to ‘sell’ you something every day, unfortunately for them, most of the time parents aren’t buying.

Whether they are composing music on the computer, playing a game with friends, or working together with someone in a different age group, children are always developing the skills necessary to make it in life. We definitely have some real salesmen and women here and it’s pleasing to know that later in life people will choose their product, because they know how to sell it.

Another Skype

This morning, students in Kereru were happy to give up their morning tea break to video chat with a class at New Village Leadership Academy in California.  It was a grade one and two class and they asked a number of interesting questions and responded to ours with a variety of interesting answers. After telling us that they had to be aware of rattle-snakes, bears and coyotes when they go hiking, it seemed a bit average to say that our biggest concern was a possum!

It was another great opportunity our class to think of life outside of themselves and consider the way other people live on a daily basis. Much of it being a reminder of how lucky we are to live in New Zealand, and Governors Bay in particular. Although we were jealous when the teacher from NVLA showed us her year long Disneyland pass and told us the school is only 1 hour away from Disneyland and she lives only 15 minutes away!

 

Thanks to the PTA we are in a position to upgrade our photocopier and I will be heading to Sharp after school today to see if they can us a better deal than Konica Minolta.  We really appreciate the time and effort of the PTA and through them we are able to accomplish what would otherwise be unattainable.

There are currently some issues with our school email and some emails may not be getting out. Hence you may not have received the information below, or you may have received it 3 times! Apologies for this, we've got our best people working on it.

Limited tickets are available to the following PTA/Board fundraising  event:

Governors Bay School is organising an event to launch the ‘Free the Sea T Shirt’ and showcase the 2012 winter collection ‘All Creatures Great and Small.’

Hosted at the Governors Bay Hotel on 3rd May 2012, 7.00pm. There will be a ‘Free the Sea’ fashion show, complementary glass of Jules Taylor’s wine and a chance to win Miranda Brown fashion garments, plus there are other gift giveaways . The winter collection will be available for purchase.

Tickets will be $10, available through Rebecca at Governors Bay School, ph 3299854, secretary@governorsbay.school.nz.

You just never know

I was in Sarah's class during a writing lesson on recounts this morning. Sarah was doing a wonderful job of modeling a recount as the class co-constructed ideas based on the shared experience of going swimming yesterday. After an incident I saw this morning it led me to think about just how important it is to develop the skills of being able to retell an experience with accuracy. As I went out to my car on Papanui Road I saw a woman lying on the side of the road by a motor scooter with a number of people gathered around and an ambulance just arriving. The motorcyclist was not badly hurt but possibly had a broken foot. It turns out that she had been knocked off by someone in a 4 wheel drive. The connection to Sarah's lesson comes in the way in which people at the scene were retelling the events.
Everything at school is done with a purpose and you just never know when you are going to be called on to use the skills you have learnt. Not only the academic skills but the life skills and values we also cover at school. For example, the witnesses to the accident will need to draw on their compassion, resilience and social interaction skills to deal with what has just happened.
That's why we offer a fully rounded programme at Governors Bay. Why spending an afternoon discussing issues is just as important as an afternoon spent writing in books. Education these days can't be measured on how full your books are or how much homework you get, it's so much more than that.
At Governors Bay we are learning to live and living to learn and because of that the students will be well prepared for all facets of life in the years ahead.

In class this afternoon I put forward the idea that 'Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed to another form'. Everyone in the class thought this was a false statement. The ensuing discussion was a delight to behold, the thinking and reasoning that developed demonstrated why in education we have moved away from the days of learning and memorising facts in isolation. While I facilitated discussion, I worked on not influencing it. And the class still do not know if indeed the statement is true or false. I've asked them to think about it and to post any ideas or theories on Edmodo for the rest of us to see. I'm excited to see what develops as theories abound.

Welcome to term two

Day one term two is upon us and the students are excited to be back. An extra big welcome to Joel and Josh who have started in Moira's class this term and we are so pleased to have them. As always there are a variety of activities happening in the school, aside from the all important 3 Rs I've seen art, PE, classes heading to swimming, and music composition. These all work together to provide a balanced curriculum that continues to develop each student in their own journey.

In our staff meeting today we discussed a number of interesting topics, such as reports and interviews, winter sports and the development of the gardens. It is always good to have the time to sit and talk as a group of professionals and I am constantly impressed by the staff's dedication and enthusiasm for the school, not to mention their innovative ideas.

I had a very enjoyable break and found Merivale is very handy to everything. We were staying there while our house was repaired and we move back in to our own place today. Luckily my wife is still off this week, so she has spent all day sorting the house. I'm going to help her with anything there is left to do after the board meeting finishes tonight, around 9:30. :-)

And so endeth the term

My apologies for no blog yesterday, I was caught up in the wonderful event we had here. It was great to see so many people attend, my family and I really enjoyed it.   My thanks to everybody for a wonderful first term and I look forward to seeing everyone back for an exciting term 2.

Winners of the She Chocolat raffle were:
1st - Emily Wilton
2nd - Hamish Bain
Congratulations to our 2 winners. The eggs can be collected from school and you are allowed to share them with your favourite principal should you wish.

Piwakawka finished their technology unit with creating the healthy easter egg alternatives they have been working on over the last few weeks.  They also had to design and create packaging to put their creation in.

Easter

In Koromako today they finished off their maths session with some construction work. Carefully following the instructions they were able to turn a circular net into an Easter basket. 'Someone' suggested that they fill the baskets up with Easter eggs and give them to their Principal. I'm not sure who that was but I suggest they might like to keep them for themselves.

The reasons for being a teacher are many and varied, and I was reminded of one of the main ones when  my wife forwarded me the email below. It had come from a colleague of hers who teaches some of my past students.

‘Had some girls in my class the other day chatting as they worked and they were chatting about what a great teacher your husband is. Hope in his new role he still gets to do some teaching because they were so full of praise!’

I include this not to talk myself up (although it does do that nicely), but rather to illustrate the importance of teachers and the influence they have on children's lives.  To know that what I have done has had such an impact on someone's life that they are still talking about it once they have moved on is to have a treasure no money can buy. That is why we teach and that is what makes this job so rewarding and fulfilling. I count myself blessed every day to be able to work with the young minds of the future and have some influence, however small, on how that future is shaped. So, on behalf of all the teachers at Governors Bay School, thank you for allowing us to work with your children and I hope, in years to come, they chat about us in a similar way.

4 Wise Men

Thanks to Kate from Cashmere Hair Co. the Bay Shave Day went off without a hitch and as you can see from the photos the 4 wise men look resplendent. Mike Simmers was to have joined us but was unwell so he was shaved at home and Oskar represented for him at the shave. At last count our total raised was $4500 and there is still money coming in. Thank you to those who have supported us.

The Sunkist sticker promotion is over and just to be sure we went out on a bang, Mel Blake-Manson brought in 555 stickers today! A top weekend effort and it is due to people like her that we have so many. Out total will be entered today and the winner is to be announced the week of April 23rd. A big thank you to everyone who brought in stickers, win or lose, your efforts are most appreciated.

Thanks to She Cafe and the PTA we have an Easter raffle with stunning prizes. Tickets $1. Buy from the office.

It was great to see Ruby performing as I wandered around the Selwyn House Fair on Saturday. It's good to know that our students are out and about in the community involved in a variety of activities. Let me know if your child is involved in anything like this, we would love to celebrate it.

As we start the last week of term the classes are buzzing with activity.