Haeata Week Ten

Took me a few weeks to get this finished, and then didn't post it, but here it is - the last of our planning journey blogs for Haeata. I started it in December but Christmas got in the road. Back into it now...

Here it is - the last week of our amazing journey, a term of developing ideas and planning. A time to get to know some amazing people and make some really great connections with staff, students and community. I feel very blessed to have been in this position and to have this opportunity. I know that next year is going to be full on and we won't have as much time to be able to ponder things and read and write as much as I have. But I am looking forward to being with the students and in our amazing new kura with the fantastic kaiako that I have the privilege of working with. My blogs will no doubt take a bit of a different flavour from here on in, but I am keen to keep tracking the journey we are on and sharing it with others.

Day One

We have had a few forums going over the last few weeks around some odds and ends like wearing hats - inside and out, staff dress code, duty, lots of every day issues. Today Andy went through these and pulled out the general consensus on what we are going to do next year. It's been good to have input on this as we all come from different angles and it's great to hear what others have to say. So, decision time and lots of these were nailed down. The Wonder Wall also got some answers, although many had been answered just in the course of time which was great.
Our Puna Ako time in our hapori was spent looking at NCEA yet again. It certainly has been the elephant in the room and still has us discussing how, why and what for. We are also aware of our own limitations as a hapori and how that might impact on our ākonga. How can we cover for areas of interest that we don't have expertise in? There are lots of options here and we will work through these once we have our students and identify their needs.
Mai time was time for some reading, and I had the opportunity to make a Chocolate Salami which I brought in to share on Tuesday. Well worth making - quick and easy, and delicious!

Day Two

A late start on Tuesday meant I had time to do some Christmas shopping bright and early - out of the Christmas rush. My lack of voice over the weekend meant I only felt like staying home and reading a book - probably a good idea - but I do feel a bit behind in the Christmas preparations!
The rest of the day was spent looking at our Learning process and NCEA, then preparing for a hui with our senior students. This was held after school and gave the students and their whanau the opportunity to come and talk about NCEA, the uniform and leadership in the school. It was a good afternoon and a great opportunity to get some student voice on all of those things.

Day Three

Starting the day with kapahaka practise is always a great energiser - except when you don't have a voice. Mine is only just coming back, so it was a mime session for me.
The last of this year's digital korowai were presented today with a few surprises, including the revealing of "Bad Fanta" among us. It's great to find out about people and one of our staff does roller derby in her spare time.
Wellbeing was a trip to the beach and I wandered collecting rubbish for a while then sat and chatted and relaxed. It was a beautiful day and nice to watch the surfers and all the people having a great day out. Mai time in the afternoon gave me the opportunity to finish my Week Nine blog! I also read this article which I enjoyed, talking about the move from child-centered to skill-centered learning and how play can help the move back to more child-centered.

Day Four

We started with some work on NCEA in our hapori, then a group of us went out to the University of Canterbury to support one of our kaiārahi who was being honoured at the Māori Graduation Ceremony. It was a fantastic morning and such an amazing feeling to watch and join in with the celebrations of all the graduands and whānau.
The afternoon was spent at one of the closing schools, packing up the Science gear ready for it to be moved to our new site in the new year.

Day Five

We had an extended kapahaka practise and learnt another waiata that we can practise over the holidays. A wonderful lunch was put on by the Senior Leadership team and the afternoon was relaxed as each hapori took the floor and danced, sang, played games and generally entertained each other. The evening had us enjoying some good food and drinks at The Bower as our year came to an official end.

Day Six

This day was very special as the new site was blessed and the carvings were brought in. It was a lovely morning and it was very

moving to be a part of it. Afterwards a couple of us went and packed up the Music equipment in preparation for it's move to Haeata. This was a very moving time for me as I was HOD Music at Aranui High School in the early 2000s and being there at the end of an era, packing up gear that I had purchased 15 years ago, was quite emotional. Watching the demolition going on around us as we packed gear was hard. It is the end of an era with the closing of the schools, but also the start of a new one at Haeata. It has been a difficult time for the community and all of those involved but also very exciting moving forward. I am pleased to see that there is a 3 part web series being made about the history of Aranui High School, called Te Tōnga ō Te Rā - you can watch the trailer here.

Day Seven

Just before Christmas the new kura was made available for the community to come and have a look around. Our staff took people on tours and showed them through the school. It was the first time many of us had been in some of the spaces, so it was very exciting for everyone. It is such an amazing space and I am looking forward to working in it. This article quotes a parent saying "It's like a resort".

It's been a term like no other. I feel like I have been at a conference every day for 10 weeks - full of learning, talking with people and reading and listening so much. It's been tiring but also very exciting. We have an amazing bunch of staff and amazing ideas. I am looking forward to meeting our students in a few weeks!