Our new school principal PLG began in 2017 with the purpose of sharing and collaborating as we all move towards developing and opening our new schools. Tony Grey- Te Ao Marama School in Hamilton, Gen Fuller- Taumata School in Tauranga, Mel Bland- Te Uho O Te Nikau and myself decided to join forces and share insights, resources and challenges along the way.
In Term 4 of 2017 we had our first face to face meeting which Tony coordinated for us at Endeavour School with principal Marcus Freke. Endeavour opened the same year that Ormiston Primary (my previous school) did and he shared with us the journey that he, his leadership team, his teachers and his learners have been on to date. Focusing of course on issues pertinent with opening a new school, emphasising the establishment phase, staffing and lessons learned. We also toured his school, Stage 1 (2015) and Stage 2 (2016-2017). As Marcus guided us on the tour he discussed the furniture choices, how the spaces are used and the rationale behind the changes made between the two stages.In Term 1 of this year, on March 5th, I hosted our PLG at Hobsonville Point Primary School. Tony and Mel stayed at Chateau Wilkes the night before and we enjoyed getting to know each other a little better before the 'mega learning' ensued.
Daniel Birch, principal shared his highlights of opening a new school and provided sound advice on what to focus on and why. He suggested that we make sure that we take time for ourselves to do some learning- we won't this this time again, but not to re-invent the wheel. Focus on the two questions: what is powerful learning and what is powerful to learn with our foundation teams and gain clarity around what this means for us. He also shared their collaborative recruitment process, use of the Hermann's Brain model to develop an understanding of each other and the importance of what the vision is, means and ensure all own it! He also suggested some key thought leaders: Julia Atkin, Guy Claxton, Mere Berryman, Hattie etc. we could engage with and some stand out professional readings: enGauge 21st Century Skills, Literacy in the Digital Age https://pict.sdsu.edu/engauge21st.pdf . Lastly, he shared with us how his staff uses coaching. Ultimately, his big piece of advice is to be responsive to what's in front of us and get other principals (be careful of your advice Dan!) to come and speak to our teams. We then took a tour of the school (it amazes me how much 'new stuff' I notice about their approach each time I walk around) to showcase their lovely school and the diverse, yet cohesive, approaches they use to deliver their conceptual, learning values and dispositions based curriculum while discussing how they have evolved since they opened 6 years ago.
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