Digital Fluency Intensive cohort#3

Our third DFI cohort got underway yesterday at Bay of Islands College.  We were welcomed to the school in the school's marae with a whakatau and some beautiful waiata.  Hearing Manaiakalani's waiata (composed by Jasmine Maunsell and her whanau) being sung by the students was wonderful. Their harmonies filled my heart with emotion and brought tears to my eyes.

We are so blessed to have such diversity in our DFI cohort and there is something to be said for the wealth of experience that everyone brings to the group.  We have new entrant teachers right through to year 13 students, along with a couple of deputy principals and one principal.  Aside from their teaching professions we have a firefighter, many who love to travel, dance, surf, paint and sailors.

We were lucky to be hosted in one of the classrooms in the marae which has recently been refurbished.  The WIFI held up for our Google Hangout with Dorothy and all in all it was a very positive day.  I'm looking forward to working with everyone over the coming weeks. 

Unpacking the key principles of Hei Raukura Mō Te Iwi

For the past 6 months or so I've been working on my applying for accreditation with the Ministry of Education.  It's been quite a process and there have been a number of rewrites.  Firstly understanding what was required has taken some time especially as the requirements have changed within the last 8 months.   To help me understand the three strands within the I unpacked the specifications, rearranging the criteria visually.  I felt it gave me time to mull things over and see what I could share from my own practice that aligned with each objective.

Dimension 1 - Te reo me ngā tikanga mātauranga 

Demonstrates commitment to tangata whenuatanga and bicultural partnerships and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Dimension 2 - Te Mana o te kura me te whanaungatanga

Builds leadership and quality teaching that is responsive to context and culture to achieve greater equity and improved achievement and well being for all students

Dimension 3 - Kia matatau ki āna kaupapa

Exemplifies inquiry in action, using data, information and evidence to inform practice decisions- facilitator practice, knowledge and skills.