Principals Today #129

Issue 129 Term 1 | 2021

Filling the gaps

Reframing the teacher shortage

don’t count out the ‘Grey hairs’

Older teaching professional numbers on the rise

UNPLUGGING

SCAN TO CONTINUE READING ONLINE!

Less screen time and more green time

CREATING A SAFE PLACE

moving house

A case study in social and emotional learning

The challenges of moving to a new campus

Eat your heart out

What you need to know about digital transformation ISSN 1170-4071

HAVE THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE SEEN THIS?

Expanded free healthy lunches programme doesn’t cut it rP incipal

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6 How to bring your strategic vision to life

39 How to manage asbestos safely

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Getting commitment from your team

10 Filling the gaps

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13 The rising tide of school suspensions

MAGAZINES TODAY MANAGEMENT

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DISCLAIMER This publication is provided on the basis that A-Mark Publishing is not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in these articles, nor for any error or omission from these articles and that the firm is not hereby engaged in rendering advice or services. A-Mark Publishing expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done, by any such a person in reliance, whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication. Advertising feature articles are classified as advertising content and as such, information contained in them is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice.

Contents Copyright 2013 by A-Mark Publishing (NZ) Ltd. All rights reserved. No article or advertisement may be reproduced without written permission.

Reframing the teacher shortage

Is online learning the answer?

IDEAS 7 Moving house

Shirley Boys’ High School headmaster Tim Grocott on the challenges of changing location

12 Eat your heart out

Expanded free healthy lunches programme doesn’t cut it as child poverty rises due to COVID-19

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Identification and management of a pesky problem

43 It takes a village

Mt Pleasant School property upgrades a huge win for the school and the wider community

50 The school property journey

School property management has become more complex

15 Getting back up again

56 Let them play

Supporting students through their Year 14 experience

17 Don’t count out the ‘grey hairs’

CONTENTS

Older teaching professional numbers on the rise

Forty two percent of young Kiwis don’t meet the minimum amount of physical activity per week

60 School sports and play

The biggest competitor is the sun

21 Inclusivity is key

64 Out and into it

Sense of belonging at school key to LGBT students’ success

Education outside the classroom it’s in our nature

22 Unplugging

68 Creating a safe place

Less screen time and more green time

A case study in social and emotional learning

27 Getting a head start

Crucial factors to children’s early learning outcomes

30 Understanding redefinition

What you need to know about digital transformation

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News | Viewpoints

How to bring your strategic vision to life Rob Clarke

CEO of Learning Architects

Looking back at 2020 (and I know, I know, there are probably plenty of reasons not to), how well did you go with implementing your annual plan? And more importantly, how well do you think you’ll do with it in 2021?

Whether you’ve got a highly engaged, high performing staff, a group of people who are totally lacking in commitment or – as is often the case – a bit of a mix across the spectrum, effectively sharing your vision with the people who will help you implement it is the best way to get traction; enabling them to collaborate with each other to make it happen.

Make it visible to everyone You may be familiar with the saying “those closest to the problem are closest to the solution, but furthest from resources and power”.

It’s an adage coined by Glenn E. Martin, a US national criminal justice reform advocate. And while his context is certainly different from many of us in NZ schools, it’s a good reminder that leadership is about building collective agency to achieve our goals.

This then begs the question: how might you help those we work with to implement decisions more effectively, by involving them more closely?

An often talked about and great way to get started with this is of course, to share your vision, your strategy and annual plan, and review progress of these collaboratively throughout the year.

We all know how the school year gets away from us so quickly, so scheduling in time early on in the year also provides a chance to revisit the blockers and celebrate the wins along the way. This is a tangible example of shared collaborative inquiry, which is one of the four high impact practices the Ministry of Education wants you to develop in your school That said, often the bigger challenge is to find practical ways to make visions come to life with those around them.

Here are some great ways to help with this and improve communication and collaboration throughout your school.

Help your leaders understand how different people on the team respond to change Another challenge we often face when bringing strategy to life is figuring out how to structure changes so they get transferred into practice and impact on staff and student learning.

So how do you help your middle and

senior leaders understand how the change is going for their people?

Certainly a big part of this is helping them understand that change is a process that is undertaken by individuals, not groups. Therefore, it is important to take into account the particular needs of all the individuals involved.

Tools that help facilitate change One of the best tools I’ve come across for helping leadership teams understand and design school change initiatives is the Concerns-based Adoption Model (CBAM), which attunes leaders to the needs of staff so they can customise their leadership accordingly.

There are three main phases of the CBAM model (there are six phases overall) each with distinct steps: • Self - the pre-implementation phase. At this point, individuals will be gathering information and considering whether they will commit to the change based on how it might affect them personally.

• Task - this phase is the start of the implementation. individuals will be caught up with the challenges of learning something new. This is often characterised by emotions and possibly stress.

• Impact - this phase is about consideration. It involves people identifying how the change might create a better future. It is at this point that they will identify how the innovation might make things better for students.

In my last article about high impact practices (Term 4 2020), I talked about the link between teacher agency and learner agency.

One of my key takeaways from using CBAM is that often as leaders we are a number of cognitive and emotional steps ahead of our staff when we have decided to implement a change; and we need to help our teams ‘catch up’ with us!

So how might you help your leadership team scaffold the process for staff so their stance gradually moves from buyin to being more committed, rather than resistant? When you can do this as a leadership team, you’ll be improving teacher agency by really customising the leadership support your team provides for staff.

Check which areas of focus are important at different times As busy leaders, it can be difficult to prioritise different tasks that demand our attention. One tool I’ve found useful in helping prioritise annual focus areas is the ‘impact vs effort matrix’ which helps leadership teams prioritise their energies.

6 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

It is particularly useful when conducting strategic planning sessions where there are lots of ideas around the table and varying views of which ideas are most important.

have a tool like this doesn’t mean immediate success. You have to teach the team to use it and then help them create habits and routines to ensure they do so, on a regular basis.

To create an impact vs effort matrix, simply draw a vertical and horizontal axis (where one is impact, and the other is effort), on a whiteboard or piece of paper. Then create a 4 X 4 grid within it.

Review action plans together

Discuss ideas with your team and in turn, plot each idea on the matrix to indicate where each sits on the grid to determine levels of impact vs effort.

When used with a team, this tool stimulates healthy debate as to which ideas might take more/less work, and the relative impact each could have on student learning, or organisational improvement. It also helps you prioritise your resources against your goals.

Connect your people to the big picture Another useful tool I’ve used is a GANTT chart, which is a tool for visualising projects. A GANTT chart has a timeline for the horizontal axis, and a list of goals, actions, who is responsible and deadlines as the vertical access.

There are many packages you can use to do this, but a simple cost-effective way is to use a Google Sheet and place out the actions and responsibilities down the left-hand side, with dates across the top.

You are quite likely to be all over this one already. But if not, why not try putting a link to your annual plan on your staff portal and give everyone comment access to it.

And why not take this a step further and allow those who have responsibilities to lead different areas of focus to edit and report onto the document directly? Or get team leaders to gather information about a particular focus area at team meetings, then summarise this at leadership meetings.

An approach I’ve used before with principals is to create a section for review in your annual plan which those people with responsibility complete at key times of the year.

These review points are calendared and put onto meeting agendas for these leaders to report back on. That way your team members know the deadline they are expected to report back (and you don’t have to remind them, right?).

Cultivate collective ownership and agency

If you create a colour code for people to use to show progress toward their goal, then that gives a quick visual indicator of possible risks, or areas that might need further support. And if you want to get really fancy, you can even create a visual completion checklist against each task that ticks them off as you go.

And there will be other approaches or tools that you might find useful when activating your plan. But however you do it, the key thing is to make sure that you cultivate that sense of collective ownership and agency, and give people the support they need to help bring your strategy to life. Remember, realising visions is so much easier when you share them!

The key to using a tool like a GANTT chart is to ensure you revisit it regularly and don’t leave progress toward your goals to chance – just because you

So, what will you do differently with your team this year so that they can help you bring your strategic plan to life?

News | Principal Q&A

Principal Q&A

moving house

By Polly Nichols

The Christchurch earthquakes shook the city’s education system in way that is still felt today. A decade later, many schools are still in recovery or only just transitioning into new facilities or arrangements.

In 2019, Shirley Boys’ High School moved into its new campus with another high school, Avonside Girls High School. Unlike a school merger, this set-up is unique because both schools function independently of each other.

It didn’t allow a school with a 60-year history to carry on and do what it was trying to do. That was a number of the challenges we faced.

Along with being the school’s first full year at the new site, 2020 welcomed Tim Grocott as Shirley Boys’ High School’s new headmaster after the previous headmaster, John Laurenson, fulfilled his promise of rebuilding the school and retired.

In essence, we really only ever share it with Avonside Girls’ High School.

While we do have Ferndale School here, it’s only a small, satellite unit with a total of 16 students. But sharing it with Avonside, has a positive aspect because it has allowed us to gain some facilities that we may not have if we had been just built separately.

It was a new year, new campus and new role – Tim was ready to hit the ground running. However, with only months as headmaster, the pandemic arrived in New Zealand and the country went into lockdown.

Principals Today talks with Headmaster Tim Grocott, looking at the school’s recent challenges which frame the Shirley Boys’ High School rebuild and it’s move into the new campus.

What issues did Shirley Boys’ High School face after the Christchurch Earthquakes?

I wasn’t working at Shirley Boys immediately after the earthquakes, but what I understand is that the school was significantly damaged with liquefaction and associated issues; unsafe buildings and buildings that needed to come down.

Physically, the actual campus was badly damaged and the school went off site for two terms, co-sharing with Papanui High School.

The other impact the earthquakes had was that a lot of the zone was then ‘red-zoned’. The actual number of students living in the enrollment zone decreased. That also presented some challenges.

At the time, the Ministry of Education thought that an option was to close the school and all the boys could go to another school in Christchurch if they wanted to – maybe Christchurch Boys’ High School – which seemed to be a very poor idea really.

What is it like to share the same campus with other schools?

As a Minister of Education, I would really be emphasising that. Let’s work with people rather than just do things that suit people.

For instance, we’ve got a 750-seat theatre, which is fantastic and we probably wouldn’t have been able to get some of those sorts of facilities [if it wasn’t for co-location].

We’ve shared our resources, our space and our financial resources to actually build a bigger facility. That actually has been really positive.

But at times it does have challenges.

The layout of the school means that the two schools cannot remain separate and I think that is probably something I personally would have preferred.

their identity as a school. They need to make sure that if it’s a building design issue or an operational aspect, that the schools are able to retain their own identities.

That hasn’t been possible because of the design. That’s probably one of those things I think if we had done it again, I probably would have pushed more clearly around that.

The other thing I would recommend is really that the sharing of staff, which we chose to do – we didn’t necessarily need to do that – I’m not sure if that works necessarily as much as we’d both like. That’s probably something that would need to be considered further.

That would be the advice I would give and have given other schools as well.

But it’s good to have another principal down the corridor to talk to and ask questions and seek advice. Also, the ability to work closely on some areas where we might share some classes.

Would you suggest co-location to other schools in similar circumstances?

I wouldn’t say that I love co-location, but I understand from a functional perspective it does have some merits.

Certainly, the ability to get better buildings or resources than you might be able to [alone] – there are some benefits in that regard.

But what I think is that people need to make sure that they don’t lose

2020 was the school’s first full year at the new campus and your first year as its headmaster. What is your hope for 2021?

For us, over the last two years, it’s been challenging. In 2019 we shifted from our old site to our new site and that interrupted the progress of learning and physically shifting was stressful on the staff.

With the interruption of Covid and the added pressure on staff of teaching from home over a period of weeks, it’s just unsettling. I think for next year, my hope is that life is going to be much simpler.

Certainly, for me, I would like to try and narrow our focus as a school.

I’ve probably taken a little bit of an eager-beaver approach as the new headmaster and set lots of goals and targets and all the rest of it, but I think we are just stretching ourselves too thin.

much more calming for the teaching and support staff, allowing us to focus on the things that matter rather than trying to do everything.

What would you change if you were the Minister of Education?

We saw during the lockdown that we can actually teach from home and that students could be learning from all hours of the day. They could be learning from home on Zoom and teachers can be teaching from here, there and everywhere.

To me, that is actually devaluing education because I think one of the crucial aspects of education is the face to face interactions, the kanohi ki te kanohi learning. The relationships that we have are hugely important. I get worried that we are looking at options like digital, online, and home learning because it will suit someone’s budget.

Whereas we actually need to be looking after our young people and spending time building relationships with them, talking to them, finding out about their lives and helping grow them as people – not just providing learning for them through a Zoom call.

As a Minister of Education, I would really be emphasising that. Let’s work with people rather than just do things that suit people.

That’s one of the big things is working collaboratively, working collegially, and working with people to get the best out of them and grow I think we need to look at that and our young people because they are look at narrowing the focus in more our future and we need to make sure detail and focusing on a smaller that we have given them the best number of areas rather than trying to do everything. I think that will be possible opportunity. www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 7

Feature | Fundraising

New online fundraising platform seeks to transform schools with everyday grocery essentials Schools embrace innovative online platform to raise funds while reducing burden on the community.

An innovative solution GoodGive is an innovative platform that empowers schools to fundraise online with everyday grocery essentials – brands that Kiwi’s already know, love and purchase as part of their regular supermarket shop.

“We believe that families shouldn’t be asked to dig deep into their pockets to purchase items they don’t want, they don’t need or that will end up in a landfill,” says Angela Wong, mother of two and Founder of GoodGive.

“Schools are the absolute bedrock of our country and our economy. Our teachers and administrators play such an important role in our future and we strongly believe that we shouldn’t be asking for any more of their precious time and energy than we already do,” she says.

“The solution is not about asking for more – It’s about making things easier for schools. It’s about changing where families purchase the items they already love, in a way that benefits everyone.”

Impressive results from pilot schools This idea of raising funds online with everyday grocery items immediately resonated with schools across Auckland.

“It was a no brainer,” says Gareth Kruyen of Murray Bay Intermediate.

“We all buy items like sunscreen every summer, so we didn’t have any worries in asking our students to get their friends and family to buy their sunscreen on our digital fundraising site.

“Our students could fundraise without having to handle cash or manage stock,” she says.

“GoodGive was completely free to use and at the end of the campaign the money showed up in our account.”

excited to partner with the exciting range of brands that GoodGive is bringing on board.”

Simplicity and ease of use Alongside Murrays Bay and Rutherford Primary, pilot schools included: Parnell District School, Mt Albert Primary School, Mt Eden Normal Primary, Wellsford School, Baverstock Oak Primary School, Pigeon Mountain School and Warkworth School, who all saw quick success and raised much needed funds for their schools through the platform.

“A clear and consistent thread emerged from all participating schools.” says Shelley Liefting, community manager at GoodGive.

“The ease of use was the biggest appeal as administrators and PTA volunteers often had their hands full with other responsibilities.

“The fact that the logistics of each campaign were already looked after on their behalf was a massive factor from all our partner schools. We’re always looking to make things as easy as possible for everyone.”

Karyn Hollister, volunteer PTA mum and fundraising co-ordinator at Mt Eden Normal Primary School, echoed Liefting’s sentiment.

“This was a very easy fundraiser,” Karyn beamed enthusiastically. “Everything was organized, fast and easy for us!

“We loved the compostable packaging, and the order label on the front preempted any queries about whether people got the right order.”

Juanita Oldfield, the fundraising organiser at Wellsford School, put it even more simply: “This is the way all schools should be fundraising”.

“It’s a real joy knowing that students and families can feel a sense of pride and contribution for their school, without making any unnecessary sacrifices.”

“This is the way all schools should be fundraising.”

Transform your school’s fundraising with GoodGive With the impressive results from their pilot campaigns, GoodGive is extending an invitation to schools throughout New Zealand in 2021 and continues to partner with brands across many different essential grocery categories.

Others like Rutherford Primary School were so enthusiastic about the platform that they’ve already run multiple campaigns and have planned for GoodGive to be a regular source of income throughout 2021.

The future of fundraising The feedback we’ve received from families and the wider school community really has exceeded all of our expectations,” Shelley says.

“Our overall experience was fantastic,” says Rutherford Primary School administrator Michelle Kelly.

“We were always confident that we were meeting a very real and practical need. But to have this affirmed by the results of each campaign and the volume of feedback we’ve received from parents has been super rewarding for our team.

“We loved the graphs, updates and fast delivery,” she says. “We can’t wait to run our next one in Term 1 and we’re

Taika Dewes, Year 2 Student, Wellsford School. Champion fundraiser for his school, raising the highest amount of funds with the highest number of supporters.

8 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

“It’s our mission to create the greatest possible impact in schools throughout New Zealand,” Angela says.

“Ultimately, the reason why we do what we do is because regardless of a family’s financial situation, we want every student in New Zealand to have access to the best education in the World.”

Benefits of GoodGive: • No extra demand on household spending • There’s no need for parents or staff to give up their precious personal time to organize a fundraiser • Cash handling and paperwork are eliminated • All funds raised are collected securely online • No need for schools to buy stock • 100% digital and supported by the GoodGive team.

GoodGive is now accepting enquiries for Term 1, 2021 at info@goodgive.co.nz. The online platform and campaigns is free to use for all schools and requires no upfront or ongoing costs.

ENQUIRE NOW for Term 1, 2021

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 9

News | Life in the Classroom

Filling the gaps

By Polly Nichols

COVID-19, a virus invisible to the naked eye, has disrupted supply chains worldwide – including New Zealand’s supply of teachers and the Government’s efforts to recruit teachers from overseas.

Before the pandemic, New Zealand was already confronted with a teacher shortage.

The Ministry of Education’s Teacher Demand and Supply Planning Tool (often referred to as ‘the Tool’) originally projected that secondary schools would experience a shortage of 520 teachers in 2021. However, the Tool couldn’t predict Covid and its effects on the supply of teachers in New Zealand.

There are numerous ways Covid affected the number of teachers in New Zealand. First, the Government’s recruitment efforts before Covid were primarily focused overseas.

Nevertheless, border restrictions made international recruitment infeasible and the Government’s efforts were redirected to domestic recruitment.

With teachers from overseas unable to enter New Zealand, one would think that circumstances would exacerbate the issue. On the contrary, according to the Tool’s 2021 projections of teacher supply and demand released last November, 2021 is expected to be short 80 secondary school teachers – only a fraction of what was predicted before Covid.

Actually, the Tool predicts that the primary sector will experience a surplus of teachers starting in 2021 which has its own advantages and drawbacks.

Still, there is a gap in the secondary sector and it is mostly felt in traditionally hard-to-fill roles including teaching positions in remote areas and roles which require a background in STEM or languages. As long as borders

stay closed, international recruitment is not an option.

Rolling with the punches, the Government’s efforts shifted from recruiting internationally to retaining and recruiting teachers domestically. In order to quickly address New Zealand’s supply of teachers, the Government’s recruitment efforts include training programmes for former teachers and new teachers.

Different avenues for recruitment The programmes on offer have existed since before the pandemic and engage people of various educational and professional backgrounds.

One programme is The Teacher Education Refresh (TER) programme which allows previously qualified teachers who have stepped away from teaching for five years or more to reenter the education sector.

On the other hand, the Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) authorisation differs from TER because LAT allows for specialists to fill hard-to-employ teaching roles without teaching credentials. As the Tool highlights, the teacher shortage will mostly be felt in teaching roles relating to STEM and language subjects.

However, LAT is not a long-term solution for schools looking to fill a permanent teaching position. Those employed through an LAT are on fixed term contracts and are not permanent employees. Essentially, the main purpose of an LAT is that it buys schools more time to find a qualified teacher to fill the role.

10 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Taking a different approach, new employment-based teaching allows student teachers to earn money while studying to become a fully qualified teacher. Teach First NZ is the only approved, new employment-based teaching organisaiton in New Zealand.

Initially, the organisation was established to address the inequalities in learning students are often experience. Yet, in the context of an education recovering from the effects of the pandemic, it also seems to be one of the ways New Zealand will close the gap in teacher supply.

After completing the summer intensive, student teachers are paired with partner schools to continue their practical experience and to earn a Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching.

Unlike the LAT programme, Teach First NZ provides a long-term solution to the lack of STEM and language teachers currently available. Professionals and top graduates within such disciplines are encouraged to apply so that they can meet the need.

Streamlined or rushed?

Although Covid provided unexpected outcomes in regard to the teacher shortage, some wonder if these measures are enough to prepare new recruits for teaching and to close the gap.

For example, despite the numerous requirements that must be met before attaining an LAT, the initiative is specifically geared towards specialists with no teaching qualification.

Also, TER programmes can require

Based on the Tool’s projections, the Ministry of Education expects the secondary sector to experience a deficit of 80 teachers in 2021, 30 teachers in 2022 and 100 teachers in 2023. When compared to previous projections, the current numbers are only a fraction of the previously projected deficit.

In contrast, the primary sector is expected to have enough teachers to meet demand for 2021 through to 2023.

Provided the uncertainty of Covid, both sectors are anticipating higher teacher retention rates and greater interest in teaching roles in general.

as little as 12 weeks to complete.

Lastly, Teach First NZ holds a summer intensive before sending programme participants into classrooms.

In a paper prepared by the NZCER, it suggested that a weakness of Teach First NZ includes inconsistent support of programme participants in school placements. This idea is applicable to other programmes or initiatives.

Covid has had unanticipated effects on the teacher shortage. At present, the Tool predicts teacher retention will increase starting in 2021. Be that as it may, Covid’s erratic nature suggests that we should be prepared for the unexpeted.

Borders will eventually reopen for teachers overseas and also for international students – potentially increasing the demand and exacerbating the teacher shortage.

That’s why we must ensure the success of new recruits by providing them the support they need.

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News | Issues

Eat your heart out Expanded free healthy lunches programme doesn’t cut it as child poverty rises due to COVID-19

By Claire Wright

According to the latest Child Poverty Monitor, 20.8 percent of New Zealand’s children live in low-income households – that’s 235,400 children.

The households these children live in have less than 50 percent of the median equivalised disposable household income based off the 2017/2018 financial year after housing costs.

It’s not getting any better, despite lofty goals set by the Government.

The Government has committed itself to reduce the number of children in low-income households by 10 percent by 2028. Pre-Covid, all was on track to meet this 10-year target, as well as the three-year child poverty reduction target.

As Covid has done with everything over the past year, it threw that goal in the bin. Now, in order to help mitigate this, the Government decided to expand the healthy school lunches programme.

Last year, the Government announced an additional $200 million in funding for the school lunches programme over the next two years to feed 200,000 children here in New Zealand. This is up from 8,000 and is set to increase to 200,000 by end of Term 3 this year.

How the Child Poverty Monitor believes we should move forward “Poverty continues to unfairly constrain the lives of too many tamariki and their whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand. COVID-19 has highlighted existing inequalities in AotearoaNew Zealand, sometimes making them worse.

“Poverty limits opportunities and choices and creates toxic stress that can make daily life unbearable. It fractures relationships, undermines health and education, and can make it almost impossible to get out of survival mode.

“We can choose to solve poverty and set a better course for the future of all tamariki.”

food to eat; this is compared to the 12 percent of children whose family doesn’t receive financial assistance.

Even with New Zealand in the eye of the storm of the pandemic, many families – specifically low-income families – are getting hit hard.

Material hardship is expected to rise “strongly”, according to the briefing released end of last year to Child Poverty Reduction Minister Jacinda Ardern. Material hardship is defined by

In a statement released by the Beehive when the announcement was first made in May of last year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, “Providing a free and healthy lunch at school is one way to help make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child and to make that difference immediately.”

This is inextricably linked to the latest available data on food insecurity.

According to the Child Poverty Monitor, 56 percent of children whose family received financial assistance live in households where there isn’t always enough healthy 12 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

the Child Poverty Monitor as being unable to afford six or more items that most people regard as essentials.

Over 150,000 thousand, or 13.4 percent, of children, currently live in households experiencing material hardship. Almost half of these children – six percent, adding up to 66,100 children – experience extreme material hardship, or being unable to afford nine or more items most people regard as essentials.

Work and Income experienced an increase in the number of hardship grants, from 1.5 million in the year up to March 2019 to 2.2 million in the year up to March 2020. This number is expected to rise with ongoing impacts of Covid increasing demands further.

The Child Poverty Action Group’s analysis of the 2020 budget reveals that “the 2020 Budget offers little in additional spending which will reduce rates of child poverty outside of credible efforts to expand the construction of public housing. This large unallocated fund may at some time be directed toward programmes which more directly address child poverty, however.”

In regards to education, the Child Poverty Action Group states, “Total expenditure on early childhood education and compulsory education

Last year, the Government announced an additional $200 million in funding for the school lunches programme over the next two years to feed 200,000 children here in New Zealand. This is up from 8,000 and is set to increase to 200,000 by end of Term 3 this year.

is forecast to increase by $900 million between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 or by 7.6 percent to $13.9 billion.

“Beyond 2021 spending is forecast to remain at around $14 billion which in inflation adjusted terms represents a small real decline of about 5 percent through to 2024.”

In the long term, the latest analysis by the group also finds that in regards to per-capita terms and a share of GDP, public education spending fades in later years.

“As a share of GDP, education spending is at 4.1 percent in 2019-20 and grows to 5.1 percent in 2020-2021 on the back of an expected contracting economy.

Beyond this as a share of GDP, the education spend shrinks to 3.8 percent by 2024.”

The Government understandably wants to keep money aside in the Covid war chest; however, the anticipated decrease in education spending relative to GDP isn’t the answer. It doesn’t align with child poverty reduction targets, and it leaves New Zealand’s children ill-prepared for the ever-changing future.

For the latest data from the Child Poverty Monitor, visit www.childpoverty.org.nz

News | School Life

The rising tide of school suspensions Recent Ministry of Education figures, released under the Official Information Act, reveal the number of school students suspended increased by 25.4 percent - from 2,618 students in 2015 to 3,283 in 2019.

up about 50 percent of a secondary school students’ education time. He says many students are discovering that part-time online study, in addition to their current school, is a good way to accelerate and get ahead.

Crimson Education CEO Jamie Beaton says “Not only are suspensions negatively affecting over 3,000 New Zealand families, but their impact on other school students is profound.

“It’s an alarming level of disruption and an unacceptable cost on wider student achievement.

“Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Cabinet now need to urgently investigate how schools can improve the learning environment and achievement opportunities for most students who want to do well,” Jamie says.

“I would argue, the time is ripe for greater access to online schooling, something COVID-19 has shown can actually work better for many,” he says.

In its official release of the numbers, the Ministry notes that a suspension is the formal removal of a student from a state or state-integrated school on a

temporary basis until the school board of trustees decides the final outcome: Lifting or extending the suspension, or excluding or expelling the student.

The number of students suspended in Waikato schools increased by 29 percent when comparing just the last two full years of Ministry records – from 346 in 2018 to 447 in 2019. In Auckland, suspensions rose by 10 percent - from 767 in 2018 to 844 in 2019.

Jamie says growing behavioural issues in schools has been a contributing factor to more students and parents investigating and engaging online education providers, including Crimson

Global Academy, which opened earlier this year as New Zealand’s first registered online high school.

“It’s easy to dismiss the thousands of suspensions in schools every year as something only involving bad kids.

However, this has a ripple effect right through any school, impacting the high achievers and academically ambitious as well.

“When everyone’s focus is knocked, the best and brightest students often take their foot off the pedal too,” he says.

The education entrepreneur believes by 2030 online learning will make

“In-person learning will always play a critical role in education, as will ‘bricks and mortar’ schools particularly when you consider the need for activities like sport, art, and music.

However, physical schools come with incredible distractions, and often big classrooms. These are things you can avoid with online schooling when students are sitting quietly at home.

My guess is we will see a blend of both in the coming years, but given the dominance of our state schools, a lot will depend on the Government’s view on the future of education.”

He says the Labour Government has done well in recent years ramping up the capital expenditure programme to improve New Zealand’s school campuses.

“COVID-19 has already accelerated schools’ digital enablement. When you consider this alongside rising behavioural issues, now is the time for students, teachers and parents to have more choice around what learning environment best serves them.”

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 13

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News | School Life

Getting back up again Supporting students through their Year 14 experience

By Polly Nichols

This time last year, many Year 13 students thought they were embarking on their last first day of school. However, COVID-19 has changed many of our plans and Covid’s aftermath is seeping into 2021 as some of those same

Some key questions Carol thinks educators should consider when recovering a Covid-shaken education system includes: • How do we recognize and encourage students’ active contributions so that they continue these efforts into their adult lives?

students begin Year 14.

As lockdowns commenced throughout New Zealand, educators across the country rose to the occasion and quickly implemented online learning strategies. In spite of such admirable efforts, some of 2020’s Year 13 students will still need to attend high school in 2021.

Carol Mutch, a professor in Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland, is currently researching the roles schools play in disaster response and recovery and also how children and young people respond to disasters.

Some of Carol’s work involves following schools’ responses and recovery processes after major events like the Canterbury earthquakes and now the COVID-19 pandemic.

Challenges Year 14 students overcame Every school year there’s a small number of Year 14 students making up credits. However, this year there is an increase in Year 14 students as a result of how disruptive lockdown was for students overall.

The number of Year 14 students varies among schools. Factors to consider include a school’s ability to adapt during the lockdown and the students’ homelives – the responsibilities students took on in addition to their school work.

“My current research has found that many students in low-decile communities, either left school to get a job to support their families or continued working as essential workers through the lockdowns and caught up with their schoolwork at night.

“These challenges and sacrifices need to be acknowledged and used as a strengths-based way to move forward.”

Along similar lines, even though New Zealand went into Level 4 on 25 March 2020, the Ministry of Education only started reporting school attendance during the Covid pandemic on 25 May 2020.

On 25 May, New Zealand was in Level 2 but schools in deciles one through five had attendance rates as low as 64 percent and as high as 86.4 percent.

On the same day, schools in deciles six through 10 reported at least 88.6 percent attendance and as high as 93.3 percent. Lower decile schools continue to report lower attendance rates than higher decile schools.

• How can the bonds between schools, families and communities continue as schools return to their campuses?

“These challenges and sacrifices need to be acknowledged and used as a strengths-based way to move forward.”

- Dr Carol Mutch, professor in Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland.

Although these numbers don’t reveal attendance during the lockdown in March, they demonstrate how far reaching the effects of the pandemic are on the education of students overall.

The disruption in attendance is likely the result of responding to other pressures and needs households encountered including students taking up work to support their families or looking after younger family members.

Despite the numbers and the realities of the pandemic, many students will feel like they failed their supporters and themselves.

Furthermore, it’s important to remember that grief is not only a response to the loss of a loved one, but the perceived loss of an opportunity – like the opportunities students missed during the pandemic and the opportunities they will miss as a Year 14 student.

The pandemic disrupted many of our plans, including students’ plans after high school. Therefore, the resulting grief and sense of loss are real and understandable.

and says, “Despite what COVID-19 threw at us, you have made the choice to not let it stop your learning and your chances to achieve your goals.

“What is more important than always succeeding is being able to pick yourself up after setbacks or disappointments and give it another go. You have shown that you can live through these unprecedented times and come out with increased determination and resilience.

“Second, there will undoubtedly be more ups-and-downs but you have shown that you can overcome challenges and with focus and support you can do so again. It’s ok to feel overwhelmed and have down days.

What is important is to recognise when this is happening and ask for help.”

Likewise, Carol says her advice for Year 14 students is just as applicable to teachers and other educational professionals. Teachers and educational professionals need to show themselves the same care that they gave their students and their surrounding

• Are there systems or processes that were used for principals to communicate between schools and families that can be used or adapted for future planning and operations?

• What learning can be carried forward into regular classroom programmes from this experience?

By answering these questions, schools can equip themselves for recovery and the unexpected.

communities so that they don’t burn out – often easier said than done.

Carol says, “The other advice I would give is to try not to do this alone. In what ways can teachers across different curriculum areas and different schools find commonalities so that they are not all duplicating what needs to be done?

How can they pool their efforts?

“What expertise, resources and support materials are out there that could lighten the load?”

Because of the varying numbers of Year 14 students at different schools, schools are approaching the matter differently. Some schools are providing separate courses for Year 14 students while others are integrating Year 14 students already existing courses. Still, now is the time to lean on one another to achieve the best outcomes for students and staff.

How we move forward The solution to supporting Year 14 students isn’t sweeping how they might feel under the rug but addressing them directly with compassion while also highlighting their achievements during the pandemic; readjusting perspectives so that students can show themselves kindness.

Carol says that providing strategies for recognising and coping with current circumstances is crucial for students to regain the focus necessary to complete their credits.

Setting an example, Carol gives two pieces of advice to Year 14 students www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 15

Flexible & Flipped Professional Learning in the Covid Era and Beyond

By Brooke Trenwith, director of Potential to Performance and president of the NZ Association for Gifted Children

“Just in time and just for me” is a catchphrase with PLD and it has never had more meaning than in 2020.

Our lives have been flipped upside down with uncertainty, change, fear and rising stress levels. In the midst of this, Aotearoa’s teachers have become more confident with online platforms.

A story that I am hearing from teachers is that they want to keep learning “their way”. 2020 has confirmed the importance of discovering effective, engaging and adaptable ways of working.

The ‘lolly scramble’ staff meeting Whole staff meetings are like a lolly scramble. Some staff get lots and walk away happy. Others get thrown lollies that they have eaten enough of in the past, so they leave annoyed. For a few, those lollies would have been useful last year, but not so much today.

What if you could change that ‘lolly scramble’ to a lolly jar?

A jar filled with lollies to meet different tastes. A jar hungry staff help themselves to and you see how many lollies are eaten. A jar that gives a new option every month. A jar of lollies that meets your teachers’ needs but does not break the budget.

Flexible Learning about students with additional learning needs (like gifted or ODD) is most effective when you have them in your class.

If eight-year-old Mike throws a chair across the room when you ask him to change from writing to maths, then you want

support on that day.

Not in a term’s time, not when a staff meeting is scheduled. You want to sit down in some non-contact time and learn why Mike threw the chair and how you can manage the situation to prevent it happening again.

In essence, teachers want their lollies now and they need to be a particular brand.

By having my professionally filmed staff meetings online, in short, accessible and practical videos, teachers can “pick and mix”. Using the latest research, proven strategies and feedback from schools around the country, this yearly digital subscription helps turn intent into impact.

Each course provides teachers with the tools they need to improve the academic and emotional wellbeing of students in their classroom.

Schools are able to purchase a yearly subscription that allows ALL staff to access any course on the menu - when they need them and where they need them, with no other costs.

I add new content each month so the Subscription continues to add value to teachers’ professional learning. The comment section in the videos allow teachers to ask questions or share ideas with me and teachers across the country.

Teachers can, and do, go back and re-watch sessions as the needs of their classes change. All this for no additional cost.

Flipped As Principal, you want all staff to receive the same message and use meeting

times to discuss how you put these ideas into practice in your context.

Flipped learning can do just that. You pick the course that meets your strategic goals (for example, Introduction to Differentiation). Teachers complete watching this course, taking notes on the provided workbook.

At the staff meeting, you then use your choice of provided whole staff activities and facilitate the meeting.

Worried about accountability? By contacting our administration, we are able to tell you who watched the videos (and which parts they re-watched).

The flipped approach is also excellent for teams or departments that are working on a particular goal. They could all do the same video course or could mix ‘n’ match and teach each other key learnings.

Financial freedom PLD prices and teacher relief costs are rising. A yearly subscription cost for all your teachers to access will have you paying less than what you would for face to face delivery and relievers for one hour.

Whatever year you join, stays as your yearly rate for the future. With additional content being added, Foundation Subscribers have the chance to secure a cost effective PLD solution for years to come, with resources always at your teachers’ fingertips.

The yearly Conscious Inclusion subscription is available at https:// potential-to-performance.teachable.com/ for $1980 plus GST per school per year.

www.potentialtoperformance.co.nz

16 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

News | Issues

Top tips for reporting ageism from the Ministry of Social Development 1. Keep a record of incidents you find offensive.

2. Speak to someone you trust.

3. Approach the person who’s making the discriminatory comments or practices. This can be done via a union representative or a person from Human Resources.

4. If no resolution, contact the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for advice.

5. HRC will work with you to try and resolve the issue through informal methods, like phoning the other party, giving information or through mediation.

Don’t count out the ‘grey hairs’ Older teaching professionals’ numbers growing despite societal attitudes

By Claire Wright

Age discrimination is nothing new, especially as the expectation remains that people retire at age 65, even though New Zealand has no compulsory retirement age.

The teaching profession isn’t immune from the common misconception. As teachers inch ever-closer to 65, they experience pressure to retire, whether overt or covert. This may be to make room for a ‘new school of thought’ or to align with expectations of how long someone should be in the workforce.

In New Zealand, the Human Rights Act (HRA) came into effect in 1999 – it forbids employers discriminating from qualified job applicant on a number of

grounds, including age. Just because the law forbids it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, though.

Victoria University of Wellington senior associate, Dr Judith Davey says, “Critics of anti-age discrimination legislation believe that it does not change employers’ behaviour, simply leads to more subtle ways of discriminating. It may just send ageism underground.

“Often there is a higher prevalence of discrimination found in population-based surveys than among formal complaints.

“Even where there is no compulsory retirement, pressure may be put on older workers to leave. General attitudes, as well as inter-staff action such as bullying and exclusion from

social activities, can also disadvantage older workers.

“Age discrimination is noted particularly in recruitment, especially when older workers seek to re-enter the workforce after redundancy or an absence for other reasons, such as caring responsibilities.”

Judith believes that the more people say that the retirement age is 65-yearsold, the more people feel obligated to retire even though they have more working life left in them.

Shifting language to ‘pension age’ or ‘age of pension eligibility’, Judith says, will help subtly shift attitudes towards older workers.

Judith’s personal research focuses on the ageing population and policy implications. Previously, Judith was director of the New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing (NZIRA) and is now a senior associate of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

Older teachers’ numbers on the rise Despite these covert expectations, more and more teachers 65-plus continue to teach, extending their teaching careers. In 2019, there were 7,516 active teachers aged 65 and up compared to 3,781 in 2010, according to Ministry of Education data.

The largest teacher age group in both 2010 and 2019 was age 45-54, remaining stable at 17,413 and 17,313 teachers nationwide, respectively.

6. If a complaint isn’t resolved through HRC processes, you can take your complaint to the Human Rights Review Tribunal. This is an independent judicial body that makes decisions on claims brought before it. It’s administered by the Ministry of Justice and is completely separate from the Human Rights Commission.

7. You may also be able to request free representation from the Office of Human Rights Proceedings to take a case to the Tribunal.

Freephone: 0800 496 877 Email: infoline@hrc.co.nz Text: 0800 496 877 For more information from the Ministry of Social Development, visit www.superseniors.msd.govt.nz.

“There is a lot of discussion these days about diversity in the workforce – in gender, ethnicity, language, levels of ability. When well-managed, diversity can pay a dividend in productivity and profit. Age is an important aspect of diversity and becoming more so,” Judith says.

Older teachers have more experience, while younger ones have bright ideas.

Younger people can bring in new technologies to integrate into the classroom, helping to upskill older staff.

With these different age groups, teaching staff can come up with different ideas and come to wellrounded conclusions of what’s best for New Zealand’s children.

Like most of the world, we’re an ageing population. At the end of 2016, 711,200 people were aged 65-plus, according to the Ministry of Social Development.

This number is expected to roughly double from 711,200 in 2016 to 1.3-1.5 million in 2046 – people aged 65-plus will account for almost a quarter of the population.

In the teaching profession, traits such as energy, youth and enthusiasm are sought-after. While these are admirable As more and more of us head towards pension eligibility, lets hope our traits, it’s best to have people with a attitudes towards older teachers and range of experience to bring more to the table. workers alike evolve with the times. www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 17

Feature | First Security

SCHOOL SECURITY

Frequent patrols keep the criminals away If you haven’t yet done so, now is a smart time to start assessing your school’s security needs for the summer holidays and into 2021.

Selecting a guarding and patrol service that understands the specific security challenges faced by schools can make all the difference.

The annual reality is that schools become an attractive target for criminal activity during the summer holidays, but simple measures can go a long way to deterring arsonists, thieves, vandals and anti-social behaviour.

Vacation means ‘vacant’ From a security perspective, securing schools over holiday periods shares similarities to the securing of vacant premises.

Without the daily influx of students and teachers, school properties appear empty and unwatched, thus becoming easy targets for unauthorised visitors such as vandals, trespassers and temporary ‘lodgers’.

And it’s not just over the holidays when schools are targeted. Once classrooms are emptied at the end of each day and at the end of each school week, nights and weekends become windows of opportunity for those of ill intent.

Simple deterrents, such as good perimeter fencing, security signage, CCTV cameras and security patrols are effective in letting a potential trespasser know that although school’s out there are definitely ‘eyes on’.

Just like vacant premises, graffiti, rubbish or waste present on school grounds are all signs that the property is vulnerable to trespass and abuse.

Identification and prompt removal of these is important, as are regular checks to confirm that fencing and other security measures are in good order.

For this reason, in addition to having ‘eyes on’ campus, optimal security requires a ‘hands on’ approach.

Security patrols provide both.

“Our philosophy of protecting people first and fostering genuine client relationships has seen FIRST Security evolve into a partner rather than simply a service provider.”

effective way identifying any signs of entry, damage or theft.

Patrol officers can check that fencing and security equipment is in working order, report on rubbish, dumped waste or suspicious behaviour, and challenge anyone who appears to have gained unauthorised access to the site.

This is where a trusted security patrol partner, like FIRST Security, comes in.

Hands on: security patrols

Celebrating its 21st anniversary, FIRST Security has a long-held commitment to protecting New Zealand’s communities.

Daily security patrolling at regular yet randomised intervals are a highly visible deterrent as well as a highly

“Our philosophy of protecting people first and fostering genuine client relationships has seen FIRST Security

18 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

evolve into a partner rather than simply a service provider,” says CEO Tim Covic.

Each member of its 2000-strong staff embodies the same values, operating 24/7, including 160 patrol vehicles, 365 days a year, in communities across the length and breadth of New Zealand.

Tim believes that it is this extensive coverage and commitment to providing the services that businesses both large and small need that has seen FIRST Security go from strength to strength over the past 21 years.

Having developed considerable expertise across virtually every key sector, FIRST Security’s human resources and state-of-the-art systems and equipment enable the security leader to provide protection for organisations over multiple levels.

The company offers randomised mobile patrols, alarm response, permanent and ad hoc static guarding, electronic surveillance, regulatory enforcement and event security in addition to consultation and education.

Its clientele include central and local Government, district health boards, shopping centres, and organisations across all sectors of the economy.

School security specialists Education is a sector in which the company has developed significant

expertise, having protected many of New Zealand’s universities and polytechnics and dozens of schools across the country.

Importantly, as an audited member of the New Zealand Security Association, FIRST Security adheres to strict industry Codes of Ethics and Codes of Practice.

As a licensed operator, its security officers undergo robust vetting processes, and as an employer of choice it attracts security officers committed to what they do.

FIRST Security’s mobile patrols are backed up by a 24/7 national operations centre, and are monitored via the latest GPS tracking technology.

With these processes and systems in place comes peace of mind that the randomised mobile patrols, site security checks and alarm responses that you’ve requested are delivered to the highest standards every time.

That’s the FIRST Security difference.

“We know that behind the best protection, is intelligence. The more we know about our customers unique needs, the better we can protect what matters to them most.

“It’s our commitment to personalised service over the past 21 years that sees thousands of customers choose us to protect their wellbeing and livelihood every day.”

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www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 19

Tools and strategies for today’s classrooms Why edtech is at the heart of modern learning strategies The role of technology in the classroom has truly come to the fore this past year, with more schools than ever relying on edtech to meet all kinds of learning requirements – but do we know which tech solutions are most widely available, or how they are really being used?

Recognising that no research to date has attempted to track the development of edtech usage in New Zealand, global education technology provider, Promethean, launched a nationwide survey giving educators the chance to share their thoughts, opinions and experiences on key topics within the education agenda – and the country’s first ever State of Technology in Education Report is now available.

How is technology being used in the classroom?

The 2020 State of Technology in Education Report, which invited teachers, school leaders, IT managers and professionals from across the sector to participate, revealed that over 95 percent of respondents see technology as a necessary part of everyday life and believe that this should be reflected during lessons.

There is widespread recognition that technology has a place within education – and opinions towards edtech are generally positive.

For example, 89 percent of teachers and Senior Management Team (SMT) members indicated that technology helps them to do their job better.

On the other hand, just eight percent of teachers suggested that they receive full training and support when it comes to using edtech.

Where technology is available, but not being used, 38 percent of respondents expressed that it is because the technology doesn’t always work and isn’t reliable.

The State of Technology in Education Report also shows that teachers are beginning to consider technology usage in more depth, with applications going beyond purely curricular targets.

it is crucial that teachers can access effective and reliable edtech solutions.

In fact, classroom technology solutions are essential for equipping teachers with the right tools to deliver lessons no matter where they will take place.

Adopting a modern learning approach Education is a fundamentally social experience, and students will build a wide array of ‘soft’ skills on top of their curricular knowledge when they can communicate and collaborate naturally in the classroom – and while it’s important to recognise that there may be times at which individuals or groups of students have to learn from home temporarily, the priority is keeping students in school.

New Zealand has been a global leader in this regard, ensuring a safe return to the classroom earlier than most.

Over half of teachers suggested that using technology improves behaviour, and the vast majority (86 percent) agreed that technology is a great way to engage students.

Schools must, however, make sure that they remain prepared in case the situation changes on short notice.

This is where a ‘modern learning’ approach comes in – that is, taking a flexible stance towards the learning environment and ensuring that education can continue no matter what the circumstances.

With technology more embedded than ever in teaching and learning,

Remote learning was successfully kept to a minimum in New Zealand, but the

changing perceptions of edtech and lessons learnt during the COVID-19 outbreak will remain relevant long after the pandemic.

Tech solutions which enable remote learning can also be used situationally to support students that have been absent due to illness, for example, or allow t eachers to be more flexible with activities in lessons.

Next generation interactive flat panel displays (IFPDs) like Promethean’s ActivPanel Elements Series, are capable of supporting social learning whether students are in the classroom or learning from home.

The ActivPanel is compatible with popular videoconferencing solutions like Zoom and Microsoft Teams so that present and distant learners can communicate with ease, and even give teachers the ability to record live lessons so that they can be shared at a later date.

For Elizabeth Lupton, Lead Teacher at Northcote Baptist Community Preschool in Auckland, the ActivPanel provides students with “the opportunity to talk to their peers, share ideas, and understand and hear each other’s input”.

20 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Level up your edtech in time for the new school year Responding to the need for safe and convenient edtech demonstrations, Promethean is offering both on-site and virtual demonstrations to give schools flexibility in seeing the ActivPanel Elements Series in action.

Whether the demonstration takes place on-site or virtually, it will be tailored to each school’s requirements, with an experienced, Promethean-certified partner showcasing the ActivPanel and answering questions in a bespoke onehour session.

Schools can book a demonstration at a date and time of their choosing, to ensure that everyone has the chance to take part and a decision can be made in full confidence.

The ActivPanel Elements Series has been designed by teachers, for teachers, to deliver an intuitive user experience and ensure that educators have access to a wide range of tools and resources that support modern learning – no matter what form it takes.

To book your tailored ActivPanel demonstration with Promethean, please visit: www.prometheanworld.com/nz/ how-to-buy/request-a-demo.

News | Student Welfare

Inclusivity is key Sense of belonging at school key to LGBT students’ success Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) are more likely to achieve at school if they feel a sense of belonging, regardless of whether or not they report being bullied.

This was the key finding from a project which looked at the connection between the school experience and LGBT students’ academic achievement.

Led by Dr John Fenaughty at the University of Auckland, the research also showed that these students are more resistant to the negative effects of bullying on achievement than their heterosexual peers.

“We presumed that the high levels of bullying reported by this group would impact achievement, but we now know that if they’re at a supportive

school, ideally one with high teacher expectations, this minimises the impact,” John says.

The research also found differences between LGB and transgender students in relation to factors that support achievement.

“LGB students are more than three times more likely to achieve academically if the principal agrees they have created a supportive environment for them. Supportive structures can include gay and straight alliances, inclusive curriculum content and professional development for teachers on working well with these students.”

At the time, the research didn’t ask about supportive structures for transgender students, but John says it’s a known fact that teacher expectation is critical to all students’ academic

Dr John Fenaughty.

achievement, and this research is the first globally to show that it’s even more important for LGBT students.

“In fact, LGBT students’ odds of achieving are at least three times higher than those who don’t have teachers with high expectations of them. It is critical that teachers recognise that not all students are the same, and ensure that all are valued and respected.”

Other unexpected findings related to parental support and deprivation.

“Unlike heterosexual students, we found that high levels of parental support for LGBT students wasn’t able to reduce the negative effects of discrimination for these students,” he says.

“Rather, achievement for these students relies on an inclusive school environment and this is an urgent reminder for schools to take action on behalf of these students and their whānau.”

John says factors like poverty further disadvantage these students, more so than their heterosexual counterparts; but again, these challenges can also be reduced by improving the school environment.

He believes research is needed on how to support schools to do this effectively.

About John Fenaughty Dr John Fenaughty has a background in community psychology focused on youth wellbeing, particularly the effects of victimisation, harassment and/ or LGBT student experiences within school and education settings. He is an associate investigator with portfolios on educational settings and wellbeing, and sexual and gender minority young people on Youth ‘19 Rangitahi Smart Survey.

“Increasing students’ sense of belonging and teacher expectations are vital for all students, particularly those who are LGBT, but a one-size-fitsall approach won’t work.

“Transgender and minority students are often neglected in inclusive approaches. Schools committed to supporting achievement must have structures in place for all students.”

The project used nationally representative datasets from the Youth2000 survey of 8,500 high school students that included around 668 LGBT students.

The results of this project have been recently published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Reach Education The Reaching Competence programme is a series of activity books designed to enable parents to mentor their own children at home in the New Zealand Mathematics Curriculum.

We even have licenses allowing limitless reproduction for the classroom!

Books are available as PDF e-copies emailed immediately or printed and posted loose A4.

Available at: www.reacheducation.co.nz.

Helping parents help their children with maths

Our beautifully designed, full-colour books include a range of get-upand-do activities; physical, board and card games; suggested Apple or Android apps to try; and print-andcut paper resources.

Books cover Stages 0 to 6 and come in a linear series or collated into subject groups, like fractions.

www.reacheducation.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 21

News | Outside the Classroom

Unplugging

By Jagrut Lallu

Giving children less time on devices and more outdoor time this summer, plus more frequent breaks from screens, is an area that we now have the opportunity to improve.

An increasingly digital world Screen time has unavoidably become a big part of everyday learning and interaction. It has had huge benefits in helping us to communicate and stay in touch.

The eyes grow from birth through to adulthood. If parents can start to instill good visual habits, like they do dental habits, it may help in the long term to reduce the growing rate of myopia globally.

However, parents are often not aware of the association with low levels of outdoor activity and associated factors including low levels of light exposure and prolonged near tasks such as reading and screen time, which may influence the development of myopia.

The importance of outdoor play Lifestyle factors including low levels of outdoor activity may influence the development of myopia.

What is myopia?

Myopia, also commonly referred to as ‘short-sightedness’, is a common eye condition that causes blurred distance vision which usually starts during childhood and typically progresses until a child stops growing.

Myopia is rapidly becoming a serious public health concern in Australia, yet research shows that 65 percent of Australian parents (with children up to 17 years old) do not know what myopia is, and only 12 percent of parents recognise the eye health conditions that their children might develop later in life from child myopia.

More research is needed to determine if it is to do with the intensity or brightness of the light or the distances that children focus on, but what is proven is that there is a link between outdoor time and its benefit to a child’s myopia development.

Given that outdoor play is free, “more green time less screen time” is a timely reminder for moderation in an increasingly digital world.

What can parents do to help reduce the likelihood of their child developing myopia?

There are two main factors which can mean your child is more at risk of developing myopia: lifestyle and family history.

The likelihood of developing myopia, particularly high myopia increases when one or both parents are myopic.

However, the exact link between a family history of myopia and development of childhood myopia remains uncertain.

You can’t influence genetics but parents can feel empowered when it comes to lifestyle factors.

Top three myopia busting tips: 1. More green time – less screen time.

2. Build in regular breaks from devices – every twenty minutes remind your child to have a break for at least twenty seconds and look out a window to something at least 6 metres away.

3. Talk to your local optometrist about all of the options to stop your child from having to change glasses prescriptions as frequently.

By 2050, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of the world’s populaton will have myopia and 10 percent, or almost one billion, will have high myopia.

If we all encourage daily play time outdoors we have an opportunity to halve that. However action can be taken to manage myopia and starting a conversation with your local optometrist is a positive first step.

Jagrut Lallu, an NZ Optometrist, is a founding member of the Australia and New Zealand Child Myopia Working Group.

Fashion and design is going through a resurgence in New Zealand schools, and BERNINA is committed to helping schools meet the demands of today’s students.

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Technology in the sewing world has moved greatly in the last 15 years, however, many schools still have fleets of machines in need of replacement.

that teachers, and students, have loved and trusted for decades but with a brain that is advanced enough to keep students engaged during class.

BERNINA, as a platinum sponsor of HETTANZ, offer special school prices on a full range of machines suited to the demands of the modern classroom.

Sewing is such an important skill for the future and students deserve the best tools to learn with.

We do not sacrifice on the quality or robustness of our machines, we believe that a machine that lasts is the right investment to make in schools.

The BERNINA 3 Series is small but powerful enough to stitch through your toughest materials and ideas!

Machines in classrooms need to be robust, durable and user friendly but also suitable for all students from Year 7 through to Year 13.

We still have the heart of the BERNINA machines

Through our association with HETTANZ, BERNINA offer training to help your teachers get the most from their machines and we have a nationwide network of trained BERNINA Service Centres to ensure your machines are kept in the best condition and last.

To discuss your schools sewing needs, or for more information contact your local BERNINA Sewing Centre or call BERNINA NZ on 0800 70 18 18 or email info@bernina.co.nz

22 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz PrincipalsToday.indd 1

17/12/2020 1:55:47 p.m.

News | Early Learning Services

Regulatory change to ensure the safety and wellbeing of tamariki To minimise the risk of children choking while eating, licensing criteria for early learning services are being amended.

“We’re taking a broad look at the regulations and licensing standards for this diverse sector, to make sure they are clear and fit-for-purpose.

“The proposals we are starting consultation on today target parts of the regulatory system that cover risk to children’s health, safety and wellbeing, and where further clarification is needed.

These changes coincide with the start of a wider review of the regulations for the early learning sector.

Ministry of Education deputy secretary of Sector Enablement and Support, Katrina Casey, says the amendments, for centre-based services, kōhanga reo and home-based services, are designed to keep our young children safe - by minimising the risk of choking.

“We know early learning services take the health and safety of the children in their care very seriously, and we thank the sector for its participation and support during this review of requirements around the planning and preparation of food, and supervision of learners while eating.

“Prior to this change, early learning services were encouraged to follow the Ministry of Health guidance on provision of food. Now it will be compulsory.”

This means that from January 25, 2021, children will be required to be seated

“This review is aimed at ensuring our youngest learners get the best possible start to their education. It’s the first of three tranches planned over the next three years.” and supervised while eating, and early learning services that provide food must ensure it is prepared in accordance with the Ministry of Health guidance.

Services that do not provide food are required to promote the MoH guidance to all parents.

“Food choices must also meet the nutritional and developmental needs of each child,” Katrina says.

For up to every 25 children who are attending, an adult with a current first aid qualification must be present at

all times from April 8 this year. This is a reduction on the current limit of up to 50 children.

“We will also be providing guidance and support to early learning services in the new year on their practices and policies around food preparation.”

Katrina says these changes follow an indepth process of consultation.

They are being followed up by a wider review of the regulatory system for early learning, with the first tranche of proposals to tighten and clarify parts of the regulations now available for feedback.

Katrina says the sector has changed significantly since the current regulations took effect in 2008.

“There are many more licensed services, with a lot more of our tamariki participating in early learning, and at a younger age and for longer hours.”

The regulatory review includes actions in the Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029.

The first tranche includes proposals relating to the licensing of services, such as what happens if there are repeated breaches of minimum standards.

EDUCATION SOLUTIONS NEW ZEALAND We offer an independent, comprehensive service to support boards, principals and senior leaders in the many challenges they face. Our key focus is to provide strategic advice to schools in the professional growth of leaders and leadership teams, reviews and principal recruitment.

• Principal appraisal • Principal appointments • Professional growth plans for senior leaders • Team building • Department and administration reviews • Investigations Michael Leach - 027 273 2596 / michael@edsolnz.co.nz Peter Gall - 021 936 753 / petergall@edsolnz.co.nz

www.edsolnz.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 23

Transforming Year 10 Today’s young adolescents are often seen to have little resilience, have difficulty relating to the adults around them, and can tend to avoid taking responsibility. Parents can unintentionally disempower students with ‘helicopter’ parenting and a tendency to step in for their adolescent rather than enabling them to step up.

Adolescence is a unique time when students are developing physically, mentally, socially, ethically and cognitively. Combine this with the pressures of social media and technology and it is no surprise that year 10 students are struggling.

The Rite Journey uses a contemporary rite of passage process to address these issues by transforming Year 10 students from dependence to responsibility. The program aims to give students a positive pathway into adulthood and is the ideal year long program to prepare them for Year 11 and beyond.

Over 120 Principals in New Zealand, Australia and further afield, are making Year 10 a unique transition point - using research and best practice adolescent engagement pedagogies to empower their teachers and create a school culture of responsibility and resilience.

There are several defining elements of The Rite Journey program: • An empowering and practical two day teacher training. “The best PD I have been on, without a doubt. Not only will I feel more competent as a Rite Journey teacher but I believe the things I’ve

learned over the course of these two days will benefit my teaching as a whole.”

Kevin O’Sullivan, former Rector, Timaru Boys’ High School

• A challenge program, embedded into the learning outcomes, where teachable moments are capitalised on. Through experiencing low stakes failure, students develop resilience, awareness and self modification.

“The Rite Journey is the most stunning educational initiative I have seen in my 35 years of teaching.”

• A mentoring program, encouraging community links and helping students develop meaningful relationships with other adults, broadening their support network and learning from elders.

“St Andrew’s College has been using “The Rite Journey” programme as a framework for our year 10 Te Waka Programme. Single sex groups meet three times a week with a tutor to explore issues and challenges experienced through adolescence. The positive and empowering ceremonies are moments of celebration and over the years have created special memories. In our coeducational culture, this programme allows time and space for important messaging, reflections and long lasting relationships. A fantastic way to help our young people grow into well balanced, thoughtful, self-aware, compassionate young adults.”

• Parent/Carer education and involvement, encouraging both home and school approaches to student development are aligned.

Marcus Cooper, Principal, East Otago High School “The Rite Journey programme has given our school a great platform to forge positive relationships with our students and staff.

Having the flexibility to use the extensive range of resources provided as well as our own teaching tools allows us to create a programme fit for purpose in our school and community. Exploring the four themes (Who am I really? How do I get along with others?

Is there something more? What do I have to give?) at our pace and with our students allows us to tailor the experience for each group uniquely. I strongly recommend this values based exploration into becoming a young adult for any school who strives to develop empathetic young people who care for others in their community.”

Christine Laughton, Rector, St Andrews College, Christchurch

Diana Patchett, Executive Principal, St Margaret’s College Christchurch “It is tempting to judge a school on its academic results or the number of trophies in the cabinet, but I would argue that the true measure of a school might better be judged on the social presence of the students, their confidence, their empathy, their positive energy.

It is these character strengths that will set her up for success, whatever that looks like for her. It is these attributes that the Rite Journey programme supports for our girls, offering them the opportunity to develop a strength of character that will stay with them for a lifetime.”

For information on how you can introduce this Year 10 program to your school: andrew@theritejourney.com.au | www.theritejourney.com

24 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 25

Powerful workshops improve student

confidence and critical-thinking skills Bricks 4 Kidz® brings inspiring LEGO® workshops to New Zealand Classrooms Innovative STEAM Programming Workshops The Bricks 4 Kidz In-School STEAM Workshops, utilises the love students have for LEGO® to deliver hands-on lessons related to cross-disciplinary curriculum objectives. Screened and trained Bricks 4 Kidz instructors work closely with teachers to bring STEAM concepts into the classroom. The proprietary models and lesson plans are designed to harness the power of intrinsic motivation within students by ensuring learning is multi-sensory, imaginative, and fun.

The curriculum has been adapted from the global curriculum to focus on the New Zealand curriculum key competencies and core values.

The programme includes an introduction to coding fundamentals using LEGO® WeDo 2.0 and MINDSTORMS® EV3 to teach important criticalthinking skills that will inspire future problem-solvers.

A variety of tailored themes are available to match with the current school curriculum: • Architecture & Engineering • Forces & Motion • Interesting Inventions • Natural Resources & Energy • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle • Simple Machines The benefits of In-School STEAM workshops seek to build problem-solving skills whilst providing an opportunity for creative expression and fostering an appreciation of how things work. The programme develops critical-thinking skills through a design thinking process as well works to develop social and emotional skills, with a focus on patience, teamwork and communication. The process captivates the imagination of students by completing a project in a non-competitive setting.

Building Bricks 4 Kidz models improves fine-motor skills as

students manipulate small components and objects.

Different children learn in different ways and using LEGO® to engage visual, kinaesthetic and auditory learning styles offers a unique way to explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concepts.

LEGO® Serious Play® for Classrooms Using the LEGO® Serious Play® for Education methodology, workshops will lead students through a series of challenges which promotes expression, critical-thinking and problemsolving amongst peers.

Using a creative LEGO® building process as a visual and kinesthetic communication tool, each student will have a chance to express ideas and share perspectives with the group.

The workshop facilitator will guide students through the process and ensure they feel confident in presenting their ideas and contributions.

The Bricks 4 Kidz LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator works with teachers to engage students in topics such as gratitude, integrity, growth mindset, or bullying. Topics may also form part of the student’s larger learning inquiry.

Students will leave the workshops with an increased sense of confidence in their ability to communicate ideas and an awareness of the power of shared understanding.

26 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

LEGO® Serious Play® workshops are available for teachers too, designed to improve inter-team communication and address challenges facing teaching staff.

After-School Enrichment Programme Bricks 4 Kidz weekly afterschool classes builds on the universal popularity of LEGO® to deliver high quality, educational play.

Every class is fun and builds on

their learning from previous lessons to ensure an enriching experience for students.

Bricks 4 Kidz aims to make STEAM education accessible to all Tamariki of New Zealand; Join us and more than 50 other schools nationwide in offering Bricks 4 Kidz after-school classes at your school.

To enquire about the workshops or after-school classes, please contact nz@bricks4kidz.com or visit www.bricks4kidz.co.nz

News | Early Learning

Getting a head start New research using information collected from longitudinal child development study Growing Up in New Zealand has identified several factors which are crucial to children’s early learning outcomes.

The research, funded by the Ministry of Social Development’s Children and Families Research Fund, found that shared book reading and parents teaching early literacy and numeracy skills to children were important contributors to early learning outcomes.

The University of Auckland, University of Otago and Ministry of Education research is the first in New Zealand to look at a range of factors which can impact early learning success.

This is important research because discovering what contributes to successful early learning across ethnic and sociodemographic groups helps us provide equitable and optimal early learning environments for all children in Aotearoa New Zealand

University of Auckland senior lecturer in education and lead researcher, Dr Kane Meissel, says it’s also the first New Zealand study to explore whether there are ethnic differences in the determinants of early learning success.

“This is important research because discovering what contributes to successful early learning across ethnic and socio-demographic groups helps us provide equitable and optimal early learning environments for all children in Aotearoa New Zealand,” he says.

The research used modelling to explore factors which predict early learning success in the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort of more than 6,000 children. Early learning outcomes were determined by looking at oral language, letter recognition, and writing skills at four-and-a-half years of age.

Dr Meissel says a key contributor to early learning success was parents reading, writing and counting with their children.

Key findings from the Factors of the Early Learning Environment that promote Early Learning Outcomes in Aotearoa / New Zealand report: • Parental teaching of early literacy and numeracy skills (e.g., encouraging their child to print or read letters) at 54 months was an important contributor to better early learning outcomes • A child’s oral language at age two is an important mediator of early learning, and shared book reading in the first two years is the best predictor of oral language • Most factors explored in the models remained important predictors across ethnicities.

However, there was considerable variation within groups • Mothers from all ethnic groups reported engaging in teaching behaviours to similar extents, indicating that a broadly similar value is placed on teaching activities across all groups • Children whose mothers reported some concerns about their child’s conduct (temper tantrums, disobedience etc) at 24 months tended to have poorer early learning outcomes at 4.5 years. Further, the mothers of these children tended to report engaging in fewer teaching behaviours at 4.5 years

“It suggests that earlier intervention to support parents who have concerns about their child’s conduct may be warranted and may assist with improvements in early learning outcomes.”

A greater number of children’s books in the home seemed to be associated with fewer concerns about emotional and hyperactivity difficulties at two years old.

Dr Meissel says the research has clear policy implications for government to provide support for parents to help

develop their children’s oral language, early literacy and numeracy skills.

The Ministry of Education’s Director of Early Learning, Nancy Bell, says they supported the research to better understand what assists children’s early learning.

“This research confirms that reading with children from an early age has long lasting benefits for children, particularly in the development of foundational oral language skills.

This is helpful information for both parents and for early learning services,” she says.

• Mothers of children living in homes with more children’s books reported fewer concerns about emotional and hyperactivity difficulties at 24 months.

“This demonstrates the importance of ‘parents as first teachers’ and we need to look at how we can support parents to ensure they have the skills and resources necessary to help extend their child’s early learning,” he says.

Parents across all ethnic groups demonstrated a similar commitment to teaching early literacy and numeracy skills, which suggests widespread acceptance of the importance of teaching activities.

He says shared book reading was important. It was a predictor of better oral language at two years old and in turn, a child’s vocabulary at two was a strong predictor of early learning success. The research also explored associations between children’s behavioural issues and early learning outcomes.

Dr Meissel says mothers who reported concerns about a child’s conduct aged two, such as temper tantrums and disobedience, were less likely to engage in teaching activities when the child was four and a half.

“This is an important finding given the role of parental teaching for early learning outcomes. www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 27

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28 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

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Feature | Technology

Lab in a pocket Researchers have created a low cost ‘lab in the pocket’ for schoolchildren— a technology to spark and nurture a scientifically inquiring mind, allowing them to take scientific measurements of the world around, such as the quality of the water they drink, the air they breathe, or the pace of their beating hearts.

It’s called the Kiwrious kit, and was designed by Associate Professor Suranga Nanayakkara and his team at the Augmented Human Lab (AHL) at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI), University of Auckland, in collaboration with Associate Professor Dawn Garbett from the Faculty of Education and Social Work.

The kit is comprised of eight sensors, which school children can use to take real-world measurements using scientific parameters, such as air quality, ambient temperature, humidity, light level, sound level, the rate of their own heartbeat and more.

Professor Suranga Nanayakkara

observations, to represent findings in creative ways and share and discuss them with their peers.

Dr Nanayakkara says “The Kiwrious kit aligns with curriculum goals, and offers students a fun and engaging learning experience that could transform their understanding of the world in which they live, and ignite scientific curiosity that they will carry through life.

“We hope that in the long run it will help inspire a generation of fearless problem solvers.”

The students can then plug the sensors into a computer (Chromebook or any other laptop), and launch the Kiwrious Learning Platform on a Chrome browser.

Importantly, Kiwrious gives school children access to scientific tools that would, for many, be out of economic reach. It also allows them to use the kit spontaneously outside the classroom, in their own time, when something about the world piques their interest.

This learning platform focuses on encouraging students to make multiple

The kit was trialled last year at five schools in Auckland; Panmure Bridge

School, Epsom Girls Grammar, Mount Albert Grammar, Kings Primary and Kowhai Intermediate.

Dr Nanayakarra and his team introduced the kit to students with hands-on workshops, and have developed an online platform to go with it. They have an overriding philosophy – to develop technologies that support and enhance our lives, which can be used in an intuitive and empathic way, to put more “humanity” into technologies.

“Kiwrious aims to help reduce the digital divide. Our work will have a direct impact on New Zealand's scientific future and our ability to develop the next generation of critical thinkers and innovators, ultimately leading to an impact on the nation's economic future.

“We hope it will equip them to take an interest in, and address some of the problems of the world in which we live.”

Interested schools can contact Kiwrious team via: hello@kiwrious.com.

THRIVE ON KIDS READING AND WRITING PROGRAMME: SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR STRUGGLING READERS AND WRITERS A programme specifically designed to teach struggling readers and writers the foundations for encoding and decoding the English language, presented in an easy-to-use instruction manual that will guide and support teachers with their classroom literacy instruction.

The four-part programme focuses on the systematic teaching of reading foundations, including phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, and English orthography, as well as reading strategies and vocabulary development.

The programme includes teacher training, manual complete with photocopiable posters, games, templates and ongoing professional support.

Programme rolls out May 2021.

Information pack available at www.thriveoneducation.com | Email: info@thriveoneducation.com www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 29

Feature Education [Running Magazine Titles] Outdoors| |Online Sun Smart Schools

Understanding Redefinition It always pays to be sun safe This article discusses the SAMR model and its relationship to a story about digital transformation.

Even with the onset of winter, it’s never a bad time for principals and teachers to review their school’s sun protection policy.

Schools throughout Aotearoa have a ‘digital Schoolsexperienced play an important part in sun protection for kids, as New Zealand transformation’. Students has one of the highest rates of skin and have needed cancerTeachers in the world and excessive exposure to UVways radiation in childhood to find new to learn. and adolescence increases the risk School Leaders have surfed of skin cancer. a wave to sweeping change Shade is one of the key components and simply had to ride it out. the of being sun smart and decreasing risk of getting skin cancer.

Looking back on the last In the ‘Slip, slop, slap, wrap’ message twelve months, what is shade the as it is suggested you ‘slip’ into mucheffect as possible to protect from high net of these changes? summer ultraviolet radiation (UVR) Have Students experienced levels. This is especially important more authentic when the ultravioletlearning? index (UVI) is ‘very high’ at eight or above.

This tends be during Terms 4 and The SAMRtoModel 1 at the very time school students arecase lunching, or enjoying outdoor In you missed it, Ruben activities such as sport and outdoor R. Puentedura’s SAMR model classroom activities. describes what usually happens Maximum protection from solar when technology is introduced UVR the can be achieved(as through into classroom detailed a combination of personal and in the diagram below). environmental strategies. The most effective personal protection strategy He observed that, at the start, is to minimise sun exposure between technology as a substitute 11am to 4pmacts (daylight saving time) with no functional change. during summer.

Kristoffer Marshall (https://twitter. com/CrunkComputing) wondered When people are outdoors it is what made a $13 digital pregnancy important that they protect test different from 20cby cardboard themselves from theasun wearing protective clothing, sunhats, one. The marketing impliedsunscreen that the and digital sunglasses, as well as using $13 test was ‘more accurate’. available shade.

His partner wanted to be sure she was pregnant, so he pulled a test Why shade is needed apart to figure outthat how it worked.

Research confirms clothing, hats and sunscreen are not 100 percent Kris found that inside the plastic in effective because of inadequacies case of the digital test a and the shading of hats and was clothing, cardboard from the cheaper in applying strip sunscreen.

Shade can compensate and cantoalso make test.

There was an LED light up more comfortable the area where theenvironments ‘+’ appears, and creating shelter, reducing ainlight sensor to detect theglare ‘+’. An and/or providing relief from the LCD screen displays ‘pregnant’ or heat of the sun. ‘not pregnant’, and batteries and a How muchmade shadeallisthis needed processor happen. and works At start,Society we hadofan Thethe Cancer NZeffective recommends and cheap solution. was portable, a minimum of 2.5sqmItper student. reliable, and easy to use. The While outdoors, we receive direct UVR final 50UVR times from product sunshinewas and over diffuse which the cost, and had no functional is reflected from the atmosphere improvement.

It an wasopen slightly (the open sky). In fieldbulkier approximately 50 percent of UVR (to fit all the circuits).

It had a nice would come from each source.

LCD screen—which gives the illusion of accuracy and authority.

High protective shade must use an excellent UVR barrier shading material

Next, technology is used to augment learning, and there are some functional changes.

Learning is transformed when technology is used to modify the environment by redesigning tasks.

How Does it Relate to the Classroom?

Finally, when students are working on previously inconceivable tasks, learning is redefined.

An Unorthodox Application

How can we work out whether our schools have digitally transformed by changing the process of learning, or are they simply wrapping some technology around existing practices?

Several months ago I read a discussion about a digital pregnancy tool.

During the national lockdown, some classroom teachers endured an awkward hybrid of endless

This is an effective analogy to help understand digital transformation within schools.

All Weather Protection

Zoom meetings with students and colleagues. Time spent faceto-face was the main objective.

This was exhausting for teachers, and stressful for students and their families. Parents were asked to keep students on task.

There was no change to learning activities. Technology was wrapped around existing modes. Worksheets were just turned into pdfs.

Simply repackaging a day in the classroom as ‘Distance Learning’ is worse than pointless: it is harmful.

Many in our communities have suffered from to theshade pandemic. and be placed the users as Students, parents, the sun-path movesteachers across the sky. and leaders have struggled.

The view of the open sky should Effective programmes that also be restricted.

This can be done value the key by keeping thecompetencies edges low. Adjacent landscape, buildings, trees and and their impacts onfences, well being planting canthe bemost used to further reduce have been effective. this ‘sky view’.

The crisis created an amazing Design shadefor forsome its expected use opportunity classrooms.

It is important tohad consider the duration These teachers the freedom of expected use and also whether to reimagine learning. For example, users are likely to be wearing hats some took advantage of the home environment by getting students to use kitchen utensils to share their learning. Students collected objects found in their house to illustrate measurement, colour, shape, character, letter and material.

Teachers brought parents into the picture by involving them in discussions. Students had the unique opportunity to talk to their teachers one-on-one or in a small groups. There are many things that are only possible while everyone is at home.

is 15 years old now, yet it continues to provide meaningful ways to discuss teaching practice. It comes into relevance when stories like the digital pregnancy test come up.

Schools that took the opportunity to transform their learning and who made the most of Professional Learning and Development for Distance Learning maintained engagement and ensured learning was not compromised. Students returned to school without any disruption to their learning.

Many schools are now reviewing their programmes, and using Professional Learning and students and sunscreen.

As sun smart will be wearingresources hats and sunscreen Development to redefine for lunch-time play, shade over learning, enabling teachers to create play equipment is providing extra new, previously inconceivable tasks. protection and therefore a lower protection factor may be acceptable.

“You never let a serious crisis Conversely, hatsAnd and sunscreen are go to waste. what I mean unlikely to be applied before an hourby is it’s opportunity longthat art class on an a classroom veranda.

In this case, the veranda should to do things you think yoube carefully designed to give more could not do before.” protection e.g. shield the diffuse UVR from the open sky.

Rahm Emanuel, ex-Chief of Staff

to former US President, Barack Obama

This article comes from Steve Voisey, an experienced music and technology teacher, father of five, cycling enthusiast, and PLD facilitator at TTS. To view links and resources related to this article or explore similair topics, visit: tts.co.nz/blog

Ruben R. Puentedura’s SAMR model

E N HAN CE M E NT

TR ANSFO R M ATI O N

Substitution

Augmentation

Modification

Redefinition

Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change

Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement

Technology allows for significant task redesign

Technology allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable

Have fun outside whether it’s hot or raining

• Extend your usable space • Shade and shelter for students all year round

An Intro to the SAMR Method: The Two-Pass Ladder, Ruben R. Puentedura,•As We May Teach: Educational Technology, From Theory Into Practice. (2009) Keep classrooms cooler in summer and increase

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| pl@tts.co.nz | 0800 877 700 | tts.co.nz 30 32 || Term Term 1, 3, 2021 2020 www.principalstoday.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz

Feature | Online Outdoors |Magazine Sun SmartEducation Schools [Running Titles]

NOWNZHIRING: DIRECTOR DISTANCE LEARNING Why is a special case whenOFit comes to being SunSmart Introducing the epitomy of Distance Learning do? for the burn’ was Jane Fonda’s Yes, winter has only just of job titles from 2020. The questions is: what exactly would a Director‘Going catch phrase back then, but it was arrived and at present we’re also highly prized amongst teenage teachers sunbathers. and students would School Leaders: What has it and resources required to do a In late 2020, Facebook generally more concerned backyard Now we need numerous accounts and been like for them? Who are job. Let’s break this down a bit know that it is this very sunburn advertised a new position: about keeping warm than we passwords to be setand up.adolescents Students they turning to for support? further and look at what a DDL received as children Director of Remote Working. could sent laptops andof would be responsible for: about getting sun burnt. that hasbeincreased our risk I did not ideaby But time hasapply, a funnybut waythe of flying and won’t benew longtype beforeofdaylight of ait brand job hours are increasing and our thoughts did intrigue me. It got me turn to warm and sunny days.

thinking about the effects of As warmer weather, leading to long 2020 and Distance hot days, becomes moreLearning. of a certainty, the automatic response of many New Zealanders will be to take off most of Students: How have they their clothes and head outside to work coped with the demands of on their tan. distance learning? What do However, New Zealanders have more they need in place to thrive? reason than most to make sure we Teachers: How have they coped enjoy the sun safely. with the demands of working from The dangers ofdo ultraviolet radiation home?

What they need to help (UVR) are well but manage theirdocumented, work-life balance? do we Kiwis take those dangers seriously enough?

Wearing not much and migrating en masse to the beach, pool or favourite picnic spot to lap up the sun is a risky activity anywhere in the world.

It makes sense that an entirely new role would be created to address these needs.

Defining a Director of Distance Learning (DDL)

A DDL would be a gifted organiser and an effective communicator.

They would understand what is required of teachers and students when they are in lockdown, and know how to get the best outcomes within these constraints. Most importantly, a DDL would have a deep understanding workflow. melanoma rates in Newof Zealand are worryingly high – four times that of Workflow the setthe of UK. tasks Canada, theisUS and New Zealanders are more susceptible to skin cancer for several reasons.

We have higher UVR levels than Four Key Areas to Support countries in the Northern Hemisphere because in the Southern Hemisphere Distance Learning Workflows summer, UV rays have a shorter But in New Zealand the consequences can be particularly serious.

Delegate your password workload.

Resetting passwords Around 300 Kiwis die from skin cancer every Melanoma is the is really not year. rocket science and most seriousbe type of skin can easily taken carecancer of by and someone else. You might have a number of accounts (Google, Microsoft, etc.) and it may be possible to consolidate these so that students use one account to access other apps. This is what Single Sign-On (SSO) means.

Delegating password management to an IT support company is an easy way to ensure the task gets done without requiring more of your staff resources. An IT support company would be able to help with teacher password issues, and enable teachers to work with students to get them online.

This all falls under Managed ICT Services and is just one of the many ways that hiring an IT company can bring you peace of mind.

Have someone do your IT laundry. Providing a consistent experience on school-owned devices is important. They need to be intuitive, simple and easy to maintain. Device management tools funded by the MoE can provide restrictions to the operating system’s ‘back end’ to ensure your devices are tidy and support costs are minimised and known. When configured correctly, a device

distance to travel to earth than they do can be secure, safe and reliable, in the Northern Hemisphere summer. with the freedom for the user to Atmospheric over New experience aprotection ‘front end’ similar Zealand also starts to decline to a non-managed device. in early

These factors, combined with a mostly fair skinned population, mean Kiwis have to be extremely vigilant to keep the risks of skin cancer at bay.

mobile internet connections. melanoma as adults.

Hard packs may still be sent.

We can’t turn the clock back, but we Frankly, this is a lot dealnow. with. can start to protect ourtoskins It is no wonder so many of us And it’s notintoo late for our children. stuggled lockdown—we By making an effort them didn’t have a DDL to toprotect manage from sunburn, we canand greatly reduce our task allocation resource their risk of developing managment.

Instead,melanoma it became in later life. the responsibility of leaders, and, in some cases, teachers.

Everyone knows individual the drill – between the months of September to March, In the absense a Director of to especially withinof the hours of 11am Distance there are four 4pm whenLearning, UV radiation is most fierce, keyinto areas schools should slip protective clothingget likeoutside shirts support to manage digital workflows. with collars and longer sleeves; slap These are described hat below. on a broad-brimmed or cap with flaps; slop on a broad spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen; wrap on a pair of close fitting sunglasses that reduce at least 90 percent of the sun’s UV radiation.

And in the middle of the day, try and slip into some shade.

Add into the mix our history of questionable tanning activities. Those a little longer in the tooth may recall drawn-out summer days frying in the sun with baby oil, while using tinfoil to intensify the sun’s rays.

The vast majority of skin cancer deaths are preventable if we are SunSmart. We can enjoy New Zealand’s natural beauty during summertime, and stay safe from sunburn.

1. Task allocation What is required daily from each teacher? What is required of students and whānau?

All schools would be required to complete roll returns during lockdowns. Most students would have curriculum specific challenges to complete— generally on a weekly basis.

2. Resource management Does everyone have access to everything need? summer as thethey ozone hole breaks up and drifts our way, letting through UVR. During national lockdown, And our aunpolluted skies give the rays a clear passage through to Earth.

Utilise digital learning tools and platforms. Use technology specifically designed to help schools easily and safely manage their online learning environments.

TTS Launchpad is an example of a bookmark manager and landing page that everyone at school uses as their homepage. It has been designed specifically for education, with features and collaborative tools tailored to meet schools’ needs.

School leaders can build an individualised experience for students and staff members with curated app catalogues and links specifically assigned to each.

Students get to engage in digital learning with directed access to internet content.

Launchpad minimises digital distractions and makes it safer and easier for a school to manage their digital environment.

Teachers have links to their SMS, policies and procedures, calendars, and other administrative matters.

Launchpad also provides analytics so teachers can see if students have accessed specific resources.

Influenced by our in-house PLD department, TTS Managed Services (IT Support and Design) focuses beyond its qualified technical capabilities. Our priority is a user experience that offers measurable outcomes through productivity and reliability.

TTS Launchpad: a bookmark manager designed specifically for education

School leaders are able to set up and update bookmarks across all school devices instantly. Launchpad enables schools to maintain a direct connection with all members of thier community and ensure that rain, shine or lockdown, they are always one click away.

Do your technical due diligence.

Technical audits are an MoE recommended, in-depth review encompassing all areas of a school’s technology, including infrastructure, devices, services and software. The primary functions are to evaluate the systems that are in place and ensure they are fit to keep on performing how and when needed.

ensure peace of mind. An expert can make sure that a school’s technology is reliable and can be trusted.

Schools should schedule a technical audit every one-to-three years and insist that their in-house tech team or IT provider is qualified to perform it.

This article comes from James McPherson, a car enthusaist, father of three, and senior systems engineer and team lead at TTS. To view links and resources related to this article or explore similair topics, visit: tts.co.nz/blog

Performing regularly scheduled technical audits is the best way to

Not sure if your IT team is performing regular technical audits?

Our team can help. Schedule a time to talk to one of our IT experts: | info@tts.co.nz | 0800 877 700 | tts.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term Term 1, 3, 2021 2020 | 31 | 33

A collaborative online teaching and learning community for New Zealand secondary schools Access to a wide variety of courses through the Virtual Learning Network (VLN) Quality teaching via video conference and digitally curated learning environments

CURRENT COURSES: Visit our website to view our courses for 2021: www.olc.school.nz/ Courses

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• Schools affiliate to the Online Learning Community (OLC) and provide a teacher to deliver a course online.

• A successful alternative to traditional faceto-face learning

• Students from other affiliated schools from around New Zealand enrol into OLC courses.

• Widens curriculum opportunities for students and schools • Provides access to specialist subject teachers

• Teachers use video conferencing along with their digitally curated coursework to enable the learning success of students enrolled in their online class.

• Supports timetable flexibility within schools

• Proactively supporting teachers’ and learners’ success

• Develops learning relationships beyond their local environment

Student Voice

• Develops future-focused digital and communication competencies

It has meant that I was able to find my true passion and calling in life. I am hoping to be doing this course again next year.

This opportunity has been amazing, I’ve really enjoyed being able to have more control in my learning but have good support. My teacher is awesome and I love his style and how interested he is in what we have to say and who we are.

Overall I have really loved having the chance to take a subject my school doesn’t offer.

“Learning online was not a barrier for me. I developed some important skills in managing myself to meet deadlines. I am proud that I passed all my assessments and exams in my online subject”

Learning online helped me grow more confident as it pushed me out of my comfort zone so that I had to speak up more. I was able to work independently and in a quiet environment which I preferred.

For further information www.olc.school.nz 021 027 85296

32 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Email one of our OLC ePrincipals: Amanda King - Northland/Taranaki: amanda@farnet.school.nz Sue McCarthny - Auckland Region: s.mccarthny@gmail.com Sara Field - Central North Island: sara@volcanics.school.nz Andrew McKnight - Wellington/Wairarapa: amcknight@tararuacollege.school.nz

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 33

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For more information call 0800 835 367 or visit www.sit.ac.nz/Telford 34 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

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News | In Brief

Regulatory change to ensure the safety and wellbeing of tamariki To minimise the risk of children choking while eating, licensing criteria for early learning services are being amended.

These changes coincide with the start of a wider review of the regulations for the early learning sector.

Ministry of Education deputy secretary of Sector Enablement and Support, Katrina Casey says the amendments, for centre-based services, kōhanga reo and home-based services, are designed to keep our young children safe – by minimising the risk of choking.

“We know early learning services take the health and safety of the children in their care very seriously, and we thank the sector for its participation and support during this review of requirements around the planning and preparation of food, and supervision of learners while eating.

“Prior to this change, early learning services were encouraged to follow the Ministry of Health

• • • • • •

guidance on provision of food.

Now it will be compulsory.”

This means that from January 25 2021, children will be required to be seated and supervised while eating, and early learning services that provide food must ensure it is prepared in accordance with the Ministry of Health guidance.

Services that do not provide food are required to promote the MoH guidance to all parents.

“Food choices must also meet the nutritional and developmental needs of each child.”

For up to every 25 children who are attending, an adult with a current first aid qualification must be present at all times from April 8 next year. This is a reduction on the current limit of up to 50 children.

“The proposals we are starting consultation on target parts of the regulatory system that cover risk to children’s health, safety and wellbeing, and where further clarification is needed.”

- Ministry of Education deputy secretary of Sector Enablement and Support, Katrina Casey

They are being followed up by a wider review of the regulatory system for early learning, with the first tranche of proposals to tighten and clarify parts of the regulations now available for feedback.

“We’re taking a broad look at the regulations and licensing standards for this diverse sector, to make sure they are clear and fit-for-purpose.

“We will also be providing guidance and support to early learning services in the new year on their practices and policies around food preparation.”

“The proposals we are starting consultation on target parts of the regulatory system that cover risk to children’s health, safety and wellbeing, and where further clarification is needed.

Katrina says these changes follow an in-depth process of consultation.

“This review is aimed at ensuring our youngest learners get the best

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possible start to their education. It’s the first of three tranches planned over the next three years.”

She says the sector has changed significantly since the current regulations took effect in 2008.

“There are many more licensed services, with a lot more of our tamariki participating in early learning, and at a younger age and for longer hours.”

The regulatory review includes actions in the Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029.

The first tranche includes proposals relating to the licensing of services, such as what happens if there are repeated breaches of minimum standards.

News | Working Life

Helping hand for the class of 2020 Newly qualified teachers whose classroom experience was cut short because of last year’s Covid lockdowns can now apply for extra mentoring support.

“The scheme provides another avenue for universities, schools and centres to deepen the partnership we all rely on to produce excellent New Zealand teachers.”

All first-year registered teachers employed in a teaching role in 2021 who weren’t able to complete up to 25 percent of their practical requirements in 2020 are eligible for a place on the free Enhanced Induction and Mentoring programme.

The $4.7 million government programme could potentially support as many as 1,700 new teachers around the country this year and will be delivered nationwide by the University of Auckland, in partnership with six universities and the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.

After signing up, new teachers will be assigned a mentor from the university nearest to them, who will visit them in their workplace for two half days, followed up by two meetings with the teacher and their school-based mentor.

These will focus on constructive feedback, reflections and goal-setting, says Dr Camilla Highfield, Associate Dean in the University’s Faculty of Education and Social Work, who designed the programme alongside faculty colleagues.

- Faculty Dean and Chair of the NZ Council of Education Deans, Mark Barrow

“Many teachers who graduated in 2020 fell short of the expected time on practicum when schools were closed, so mentors will be working with teachers in a practical classroom context to give feedback and support on a range of aspects such as planning, communication and student engagement,” she says.

“This programme will give those new teachers some additional support and targeted expertise to set them up to be exceptional teachers.

“School and centre leaders will of course be supporting their new graduates, but this provides ‘top up’

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mentoring for those first few months when they are really new to the job.”

Associate Professor Mark Barrow, Faculty Dean and Chair of the NZ Council of Education Deans, is delighted the University has been resourced to deliver this support to new teachers around Aotearoa.

“The universities are pleased to be able to work with beginning teachers and their experienced colleagues in schools and early childhood settings to continue the development of our new teaching colleagues,” he says.

“The scheme provides another avenue for universities, schools and

centres to deepen the partnership we all rely on to produce excellent New Zealand teachers.”

To be eligible, beginning teachers must have completed their initial teacher education (ITE) qualification in 2020; have completed their ITE qualification using the Teaching Council’s temporary reduced practical experience requirements and be a registered teacher employed in a permanent or long-term teaching role in an early learning service, school or kura.

Find out more at: Enhanced Induction and Mentoring Programme – University of Auckland.

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Did you know that blood and blood products can’t be manufactured so we rely on the generosity of everyday New Zealanders to help us. This makes the act of donating blood an extra special gift to those who need it.

New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) is responsible for the collection, processing and distribution of blood and blood products for the whole of New Zealand. They rely on the generosity of 112,000 donors (aka lifesavers) to make sure there is always enough blood when and where it’s needed.

That’s why teaching our children about blood and blood donation in the classroom is a vital part of growing our next generation of blood donors. To help start the conversation NZBS has put together a series of educational material. All the teaching material is curriculum-aligned, and a great way to get your class talking about the positive impact giving blood has on your community.

The resources are aimed at promoting blood donation in New Zealand by: • encouraging and supporting teachers in developing their students’ knowledge and depth of understanding of blood topics • promoting the blood donor messages and the various services of NZBS to a broad group of secondary school students • raising awareness of the importance of blood donation in the community.

All our resources can be found online at www.nzblood.co.nz/ education/, and include teaching units and teaching resources.

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education@nzblood.co.nz | www.nzblood.co.nz 38 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Health & Safety | Asbestos

How to manage asbestos safely It’s no secret that asbestos is present in schools with buildings constructed in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s. Where confusion exists is how to manage asbestos in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016.

With the regulations in mind, there are three significant areas which require attention: identification, management, and what to do during refurbishment and demolition.

IDENTIFICATION Asbestos hazards cannot be overlooked or ignored. To best identify hazards, you should have an asbestos management survey completed. This will ensure a trained professional will look at all accessible areas, collect samples for testing where appropriate, and determine the risk of fibre release.

By doing a thorough identification process you also will be able to identify current risks to students. For example, in one school we found friable (easily crumbled) pipe lagging under a building which had been broken apart and clearly students had tampered with it.

There is provision under the regulations to assume asbestos is present rather than identify using testing. However, materials which are assumed to contain

asbestos still need to be documented as being assumed. You shouldn’t have a blanket assumption that all materials on site contain asbestos.

MANAGEMENT For asbestos containing materials which have been identified or assumed to contain asbestos, you need to prepare an asbestos management plan (AMP).

The AMP needs to state where the asbestos has been found, assess the risk to people, outline the management process and controls used (i.e. managing in situ vs removing), lay out emergency procedures, and describe how the AMP will be communicated.

An AMP also delegates the administration and management of the plan to specific people like school board members, principals and other staff so that roles and responsibilities are clear.

Further, the AMP is a living document.

As material is removed, the risk assessment changes, the controls to

Asbestos removal and clearance require licensed asbestos removalists and assessors.

Licensed asbestos removalists can be found through the Worksafe register and FAMANZ and licensed asbestos assessors can be found through the Worksafe register, the HASANZ register or by contacting FAMANZ. Although licensed professionals aren’t required to generate asbestos management plan or to conduct asbestos surveys, industry professionals can be found through the HASANZ register or by contacting FAMANZ.

manage the risk change, and if new material is identified the AMP should be updated and as a minimum must be updated every five years.

cannot use your existing asbestos management survey or AMP to determine what needs to be removed.

Instead, you must commission a refurbishment or demolition level survey. This level of survey is destructive so it identifies previously unidentified and inaccessible materials. The buildings cannot be in use when this is done as wall and floor linings are removed.

When removal is needed you then must engage a licensed asbestos removalist and a licensed asbestos assessor. The removalist removes the asbestos and the assessor does checks before, during, and after removal to deem the area safe for re-occupation.

Article kindly provided by Bridgette Jennings, managing director at Chemsafety, licensed asbestos assessor, a member of HASANZ and Director of FAMANZ.

REFURBISHMENT AND DEMOLITION

Article kindly provided by Bridgette Jennings, managing director at Chemsafety, licensed asbestos assessor, a member of HASANZ and Director of FAMANZ.

If you are planning to refurbish or demolish buildings on campus, you must remove all asbestos that is going to be disturbed prior to work. You

Chemsafety 0800 366 370 info@chemsafety.co.nz www.chemsafety.co.nz

Workplace wellbeing – mindfulness takeaways What does it mean to be mindful?

Merriam-Webster defines mindfulness as “the practice of maintaining a non-judgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.” Basically, mindfulness means being aware of and controlling your experiences rather than letting them control you.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of each moment of your day as it happens. Becoming more mindful helps reduce tension, stress and anxiety. It also helps you notice what supports your wellbeing.

Mindfulness is maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future. There’s mounting research evidence that mindfulness helps to build wellbeing by improving our ability to manage stress and our emotions while improving our concentration

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

If greater wellbeing isn’t enough of an incentive, research has found that mindfulness techniques help improve physical health in a number of ways.

Mindfulness can: relieve stress, improve heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.

Mindfulness also helps you notice other people. You’ll become more aware of the effect other people have on you – who helps build you up and who brings you down. You’ll also notice other people’s experiences, needs and emotions, which makes your relationships better.

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Ways of being more mindful: • Slow down • Breathe slowly and calmly • Do one thing at a time • Take time to smell the roses – stroke a pet, stroll on a beach – or look at the stars • Write a journal or draw a picture • Develop a daily mindfulness practice. www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 39

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School Property | Upgrades

It takes a village

What’s in store for the future of Mt Pleasant School?

Located in the rolling hills of Mt Pleasant, Te Kura O Pearaki | Mt Pleasant School prides itself on its role as a community school.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the school received some serious upgrades – this included a new library, hall and classroom block.

The architects on the contract – WSP, previously trading as WSP Opus – have worked on other major school upgrades such as Wellington East Girls School and Clearview Primary School. The firm focuses on sustainable academic infrastructure and 21stcentury learning environments.

Mt Pleasant School principal, Chris Nord says, “The significant part of it has been completed. The final stage includes the demolition of three classrooms, and the EQ repair of one of the newish blocks, Block 11.

“That was a five-classroom block with the library attached, which had some structural damage from the earthquakes.

“This also includes the completion of landscaping works where the three rooms were demolished using the money provided by the Ministry of Education through the School Investment Package announced in 2019.

“It’s been amazing. We haven’t got to enjoy the fruits of our labours yet because we’ve had to shift classes into that hall and the new library space to empty Block 11 for the EQ repairs. We look forward to the beginning of this year when all works will be completed.”

While property upgrades are important and needed, it is only one side of the equation – there’s a need for materials and equipment to enhance the programming.

And thus, this is how the Māhuri Collective was born. ‘Māhuri’ means from small beginnings grow something great. Māhuri Collective has allowed the community to connect with something and support the school in whatever ways they can.

Originally an innovation from the Board of Trustees, the idea was born while looking for creative ways of engaging

whānau to raise the funds to make the new facility great without just asking for money.

“One of the challenges schools face during major developments is that there’s a lot of stuff outside of that scope that they want to be able to add to the buildings to enhance the delivery of the curriculum,” Chris says.

“People might be cash poor but time rich, or have a skill or service they can contribute. That was the purpose behind that [Māhuri Collective].”

That means the community can provide a range of things to the school – from donating plants to helping with landscaping, among other things.

This is only the start in the latest in a series of planned upgrades for Mt Pleasant School.

“The dream for the Māhuri Collective now that the building side of it is finished will be in collaboration with our PTA. That will continue into something where we put up our school needs, and what we’re looking for, that will be contributed to by the Parent-Teacher Association as well.”

One example of this is a group of Mt Pleasant School parents that spearheaded a basketball programme.

Some parents had experience in higher-level basketball within Canterbury. Now that Mt Pleasant School had a hall, it was time to get some basketball equipment and set up a programme.

• Completing property upgrades, mainly around the rebuild of classrooms • Returning the hockey turf back onsite • Implementing the 10-year landscaping plan.

From there, the PTA contributed all of the equipment. Now, with over 130 students participating in the basketball programme, it’s considered high impact. Chris emphasised the importance of the school’s involved parent community and their support to uplift what the school is working on achieving.

The community loves the new facilities, Chris says, and some of the next big plans include returning the hockey turf onsite. The school contracted Kamo Marsh Landscape Architects to develop a 10-year property development plan which sets out the school’s strategic property goals over this time.

“We’re really looking to enhance our school site for the community.

We are a community school, and we welcome the community in to use our fantastic facilities. That’s the next direction – to look at other things we can do for the school and wider community,” Chris says.

For more information on how you can donate or be a part of the Māhuri Collective, visit www.mahuri.co.nz

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 43

• • • • • • •

44 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 45

Sports | TigerTurf

Superb surfaces all year round Whether it’s a children’s playground in a backyard, a school, or a public park, the surface under the playground equipment is one of the most important features.

• We can colour-code the playground surface area or customise the markings to delineate different zones and inspire additional modes of play • Once installed, it is easy to clean – which is a huge advantage to anything that children are playing on or with.

The playground surface determines safety, in terms of the soft fall impact under and around the playground equipment; it determines the drainage capabilities after rain; it determines how clean and tidy the playground is and it determines how much time and money is required to maintain it.

There are several different options when it comes to choosing the best surface for your playground. Bark, rubber, wet pour and synthetic turf are all options that come to mind.

Synthetic turf is fast becoming the most preferred option for many reasons.

1. It is easily installed around existing playground equipment and meets all soft fall requirements determined by the types of equipment present.

2. It is built complete with drainage suitable for the site meaning water moves away from the surface efficiently and effectively.

Synthetic turf needs to be considered when surfacing children’s playgrounds.

It offers control over impact, design, maintenance, and is safe for children to play on all year long.

3. It looks fantastic for years, is tidy, hardwearing, and easy to maintain.

install the surface that meets your vision.

4. The performance of turf remains constant over the whole surface and cannot move or be displaced the same way bark can.

How does a TigerTurf System work?

5. Turf comes in a choice of colours and types – from natural looking grass to coloured short pile turfs to foster creative, imaginative play.

TigerTurf’s playground systems are uniquely designed and manufactured to meet your specific requirements.

Whatever the size, shape, playground equipment, style, colours and safety requirement; TigerTurf will design and

For our future apprentices…

We offer opportunities in over 30 industries. Head to our job board at competenz.org.nz/jobseekers to find the right fit for your students.

46 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

• We prepare the base with the correct drainage properties to ensure the children are able to get on the surface quickly after rain • We use different layers of shock pad with varying degrees of impact absorption according to the height of the equipment and risk of injury from falls

It’s easy to clean and as long as it’s properly installed, it will last for many happy years of play.

There are a great deal of factors to consider when you’re surfacing a playground, and many regulations to take into account for public ones.

It’s good to know that synthetic grass is capable of ticking all of the boxes.

If you’re considering options for a playground surface, why not get in touch?

TigerTurf has been surfacing playgrounds for thousands of kids and hundreds of playground facilities, and • We offer a range of turf with varying we’d be happy to share what we know tractions according to whether kids with you. | tigerturf.com | 0800 804 134 need to land, scoot, or run on the area | NZinfo@tigerturf.com.

6 Reasons synthetic turf is a cleaner, safer, more versatile cushion fall alternative to bark in children’s playgrounds

Synthetic Turf vs Bark 1

Absorbs impact

2

Like bark, artificial turf is great for absorbing the impact of accidental falls and deliberate jumps. But unlike bark, it achieves this through its base layer, in which softness and springiness can be controlled for maximum bounce and minimal tears.

3

Low Maintenance

Synthetic turf doesn’t require any lawn care chemicals. Unlike bark, it isn’t treated with anything that may be toxic. And unlike both real grass and bark, synthetic turf doesn’t contain any potential allergens.

4

Bark needs to be continuously topped up, respread, and picked up around the playground perimeter where it spills over. Synthetic Turf stays in place and requires very little ongoing maintenance.

5

Resilient and long-life For a children’s playground, you need a surface that can stand up to consistent use. Artificial turf is durable and will last for many years before it needs replacing or repairs. Artificial turf also stands up to the elements much better than bark, and doesn’t degrade with changes in the weather.

No harmful chemicals or allergens

Accessible for mobility devices Synthetic turf ensures a smooth, level surface for mobility devices, enabling all children and parents access to the playground.

6

Versatile, beautiful, and design-friendly Not only can it aesthetically mimic real grass, an artificial turf surface gives you control of the playground. Different base layers of impact absorption reduces the risk of injury for falls.

You can colour-code the playground surface area, or customise the markings to delineate different zones.

Our playground specialist, Sean Rogers, is Level 2 RPII Operational Inspection of Children’s Playgrounds certified.

Read more on our blog – tigerturf.com/nz/playground-safetyregulations-and-tigerturf/ Call today – 0800 804 134 or visit tigerturf.com/nz/sports/ playgrounds/ for more information.

TigerTurf New Zealand Ltd Freephone 0800 804 134 // NZinfo@tigerturf.com // tigerturf.com

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 2021 FOR1,OVER 40 | 47 YEARS

School Property | Finance & Planning

Site extensions for schools The Ministry may fund an extension to your school grounds if your site is small relative to the number of students on your roll. Such decisions are made on a caseby-case basis.

If the Ministry decides to buy the land, it will negotiate for it and pay for it using Ministry funding.

You’re not automatically entitled to this funding and the Ministry treats all requests on a case-by-case basis and make the final decision.

Applying for site extension funding

Ministry’s recommended size for school sites

In the past, the Ministry often had to take what was available in an area when it needed land for a new school.

As a result, the size of school sites varies significantly throughout the country.

The Ministry uses the following site size guidelines when considering sites to buy for new schools or to extend an existing school’s site:

If your school is struggling to cope on a site that’s small given the number of students on your roll, the Ministry may pay for an extension to your site.

If you hear about suitable land coming up for sale, contact your property advisor.

Before committing to buy the land, the Ministry will look at whether it gives you enough space for: • Buildings • Playing areas

• 14m² per student + 1 hectare for primary schools • 15m² per student + 2.4 hectares for intermediate schools • 18m² per student + 4 hectares for secondary schools.

This is a guide, not an entitlement, and many schools successfully operate on smaller sites.

These schools often use community facilities, like sports complexes and reserves, to help deliver the curriculum.

• Parking.

Under consideration will be the site’s safety, access and infrastructure requirements, like drainage and retaining walls.

Provided courtesy of the Ministry of Education. For further information, visit: www.education.govt.nz.

The reasons for using and benefits of a Burgess Wetpour system are varied. This great playground surface enables your matting to be installed as a continuous installation, flowing around equipment and poles, leaving no gaps, rolling over mounds and following contoured surfaces.

Some of the key features for using this system are: • Continuous installation, flowing around equipment and poles, leaving no gaps, rolling over mounds and following contoured surfaces • Fabulous coloured options and you can join these with a pattern or design of your choice and you have your own unique playground • 100 percent recycled rubber.

Wetpour is installed onsite in a similar way to pouring concrete. The resulting surface is dry and ready to play on the following day. One sqm shockpads are laid over a compacted base and then 15mm of rubber is laid on top (In line with safety standards). The thickness of the rubber applied is dependant on the required fall heights and substates.

Unique patterns and designs can easily be incorporated into this flexible system. It is the most economic of systems for larger installations and can be contoured and moulded over existing mounds etc.

We have a choice of seven standard colours: Marigold (Auburn), Tan, Sage, Light Grey, Black, Forest Green and Terracotta Red.

Matting and surfacing products made to your specifications Impact Pads for areas where a softer landing is needed, scuff pads, DIY modular long run and tiles, deck and ramp matting are also BMS specialties. The benefits of these products include: • Make it non slip and safe • Avoid tile joins • Wetpour requires minimal maintenance – forget the days of topping up bark • Will last for many years as it’s very durable • Base preparation prior to the matting installation is of the utmost importance and can add years to your playground surface.

Burgess Matting offers a free, no obligation measure and quote. A sales representative can meet with you to discuss the matting systems which are suitable for your requirements.

Invest in BMS Wetpour Playground Matting and provide your children with a safe and enjoyable environment and give yourself the benefit of reduced maintenance.

Burgess Matting T 0800 80 85 70 E admin@burgessmatting.co.nz www.burgessmatting.co.nz

48 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

You’re not automatically entitled to this funding and the Ministry treats all requests on a case-by-case basis and make the final decision.

Walking hand in hand with schools Schools can be eligible for community funding through annual grant funding not covered by the Ministry of Education, to put towards essential resources such as technology, sports gear, playground equipment, shade sails, classroom upgrades, camp fees, vehicles, transportation costs, Bikes in Schools’ projects (includes track, obstacles, bikes, helmets and container for storage) and more. The funding is available to assist in getting equipment and projects for the school and wider community to benefit from.

Gofund was established in 2015 by director Yvonne LeitchHeggie to help schools access these funds and better position themselves to give their students what they need for their learning today.

The Auckland-based education enterprise has worked with an estimated 850 schools, 150 kindergartens and other NFP organisations nationwide since its inception. It claims a more than 80 percent success rate, for an average $1.3 million in grant funding every year, and charges a set application fee of $650.00 plus GST. “The whole point of the business is to make schools’ input as minimal as possible, for maximum return on their investment,” Yvonne says. “For me, it’s not about making lots of money but making things happen; helping as many schools as I can to get their kids what they need.”

A recent trip to her first principals’ meeting in Wellington, where more than 800 delegates were in attendance, confirmed this is a service that schools are desperate for.

“Typically, when it comes to grant funding, schools are expecting

Manurewa South School – Shade Canopy

their teachers or PAs to take the time to do it – and they don’t have the time,” Yvonne says.

“Teachers should be teachers, principals should be principals, and therefore this is something completely separate.”

A complicated process made easy Gofund walks hand in hand with schools to fill the gaps that require filling.

“Every year trusts must give out 90 percent of their earnings in funding – they can’t retain it – and schools need to be tapping into this,” Yvonne says.

Funding is available to every decile of school in New Zealand but for many, the anticipated bother of the funding application process outweighs the perceived need to access funding.

Yvonne encourages schools to step away from the thinking that, “It’s only $5,000, we’ll just pay for it ourselves”, because if that happens ten times over it quickly adds up. Majority are not aware of grant funding or are overwhelmed of the process to apply, so they don’t.

Marlborough School – Playground surface

Manchester Street School Turf Project – completed 2020.

Funding contribution of $75,000.00 for a one off application fee of $650.00 plus GST.

“Some schools put projects off for years and I have to say to them, ‘Why are you doing this? These kids need this now, let’s get a grant in and get some money to make it happen,” she says.

Yvonne first sits down with a schools’ key personnel and asks for a 2-year priority list of their needs. She then makes her way through the list, identifying eligible trusts and targeting streams of revenue for that school’s particular wish list.

By engaging Gofund, schools have privileged access to Yvonne’s specific set of skills as well as the network of contractors and suppliers she’s worked hard to build and maintain positive strategic relationships with over the years.

A particular highlight in Yvonne’s line of work is hearing schools consistently remark how much easier and more pleasant the process is than expected – it can even be as simple as telling Gofund what they want or need and signing on the dotted line.

Knowing just how great a difference successful grant funding can make to students’ individual growth, Yvonne works determinedly to ensure every single project Gofund helps gain the funding for is completed and able to deliver on its intended benefits.

In its commitment to helping all schools nationwide, Gofund can consult via email, Skype, conference meetings and phone calls, which for many takes the pressure off and gets the ball rolling.

Case studies 1. Kaitaia College engaged Gofund when it was $200,000 short on a $1 million project.

Yvonne was able to acquire $150,000 through one application within 10 days (and before deadline); all for the set application fee of $450 + GST – a few less zeros than Kaitaia College was expecting!

2. In another case, Yvonne was approached by a Decile 1 school with a quote for a $120,000 playground for 200 students. Yvonne commended the school’s long-term ambition but their playground was simply too big and their budget too high; they were able to scale back their vision to being realistic for the trust and the school, which better ensured the success of their application and allowed a playground to be installed, which the community and students are now using.

Gofund at a glance: • Established 2015 • Application success rate of 80% + • Averages $1.3million in grant funding every year • Minimum set application fee (not a percentage rate) = maximum ROI for schools • Funding for deciles 1-10 • Funding for schools nationwide.

About Yvonne Yvonne has more than 20 years’ experience with grant funding including on Boards of Trustees as the Property Executive (which involved 5YA and 10YP), for schools and the PTA. She is able to not only identify what trust funding is available, but also provide a strategic plan to incorporate all avenues of revenue such as PTA Funds, Trust Funds, Capital budgets and 5YA budgets to get projects over the line.

This experience has made her acutely aware of how complex schools’ budgets are and how demanding the grant funding process can be.

Using her understanding of the requirements of the process, Yvonne is able to be extremely competitive in her role of identifying strategic funding plans and revenues on schools’ behalf’s.

Gofund Community Funding & Development Services PO Box, 428 Kumeu, Auckland 0881 Phone: 021 425 799 Email: yvonne@gofund.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 49

School Property | Finance & Planning

The school property journey Over time, school property management has become more complex.

Before the establishment of the national education system under the Education Act 1877, providing educational facilities was largely the concern of churches and private secular organisations.

In the 1950s, large building programmes were carried out to meet the needs of the post-war baby boomers.

During the 1980s, further major demographic changes resulted in many prefabricated buildings being moved onto school sites. Changes in teaching and learning practice saw some new schools move to open plan teaching.

Following the introduction of Tomorrow’s Schools in 1989, schools became self-managing, autonomous entities.

The result was a mix of centralised funding by the Ministry and localised management by individual school boards of trustees.

The responsibility for making propertyrelated management decisions, specifically on capital renewal and operational maintenance, fell to individual schools.

Funding was provided on a roll or area entitlement basis, along with a high degree of school-level independence over management and spending decisions and limited oversight or control from the Ministry.

The model relied on the capability of school staff and boards of trustees to understand property management.

Since then, there has been variability in the way school property has been managed. Some schools with greater capability and/or fewer challenges have managed well, while others have increasingly struggled.

Over time, school property management has become more complex. This is because of changes in legislative requirements in areas such as health and safety, as well as in design considerations, technologies and supplier markets.

Over time, school property management has become more complex. This is because of changes in legislative requirements in areas such as health and safety, as well as in design considerations, technologies and supplier markets.

Since about 2010, a series of large events and emerging issues have further challenged the management of school property, and the teachers, learners/ākonga and communities who use these assets, including:

• Population growth, and changes in the pattern and nature of demand, with roll growth concentrated in urban areas and roll decline affecting rural areas • Systemic weathertightness failure due to poor design, materials used and/or the construction of buildings from 1994 onwards • Property damage and redistribution of demand caused by the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

The Ministry responded by developing the School Property Strategy 2011– 2021 and setting up the Education Infrastructure Service (EIS).

The establishment of EIS in 2013 signalled a shift in school property management towards a more strategic, portfolio-wide focus.

EIS introduced better support and information for schools to help with their property planning, and took responsibility for running capital projects where this was likely to better manage risk and deliver value.

Currently, the Ministry manages all large and complex projects, which amounts to about 70 percent of projects by value, up from about 25 percent in 2010. Schools continue to deliver most projects by volume, but they are smaller value and less complex.

In 2017, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) published a report, Managing the School Property Portfolio.

The report noted that EIS had improved the way the Ministry managed the portfolio and interacted with schools, particularly in planning and directing major work programmes, providing high-quality technical guidance to those offering professional services to the sector, and communicating more clearly with schools.

The OAG also noted areas for improvement. Appendix B — OAG recommendations sets out the OAG’s recommendations and outlines the Ministry’s responses through this strategy.

In 2019 following the review of Tomorrow’s Schools, the Government announced its approach to the reform of governance, management and administration of the schooling system.

This included the need for a better balance between local and national responsibilities for school property.

A programme is now in place to implement changes to reform the schooling system.

The insights gained since the formation of EIS, the significant changes that have occurred, the findings and recommendations from the OAG’s report and the initiatives developed to reform the schooling system have informed this School Property Strategy.

The copyright for this information belongs to the Ministry of Education. For more information about Te Rautaki Rawa Kura 2030 NZ School Property Strategy 2030, visit www.education.govt.nz

50 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Save time, save money, reduce risk – why wouldn’t you outsource your financial administration?

Principals have a huge workload and a wide range of responsibilities – so why wouldn’t you take every opportunity to save some time, save some money, and reduce the risk of fraud and misappropriation?

Peter McBreen, the managing director of Education Services Limited (ESL), shares his thoughts on school finances.

Education Services completes the Financial Administration for almost 700 schools - the largest such provider in New Zealand.

ESL has been around since the advent of Tomorrow’s Schools.

There isn’t much Peter and his team haven’t seen with regard to school finances over the last 29 years.

Peter has also worked auditing schools for three years (“working on the dark side” as he refers to it) so is well placed to comment on the various types of service and reporting that are available to schools.

“For the life of me I just don’t know why a busy principal

would want to have all their finances in-house. It is just so costly – and risky,” he says.

“Ninety percent of all school fraud happens when accounting and creditor payments are handled in-house.

“Often, when we do a marketing presentation to a school we get the response that ‘yes that looks great, but we get very good reports etc from our in-house person who has been doing it for years, things are fine. But if things change, or someone leaves, we will contact you’.

“And perhaps a year or two down the track they do contact us because someone has left or something changes and we pick up where they left off, and I can tell you things were not fine!

“But as a principal how could you tell for sure? You trust the reports put in front of you.

You trust that the amount shown on the report is the bank balance as shown, you trust that all transactions are included, you assume that the correct accounting treatment has been used so there are no nasty surprises at year-end.

Unless you are both a principal and accountant and also have

the extra time it takes to check everything thoroughly, it can be very hard to tell.

“I do acknowledge there are some very, very capable and skilled EOs working in schools.

Not all prepare poor reports by any means, but the point is that often the principal will not be able to tell if there’s a problem with the reporting until it is too late.

“There are many good school accounting service providers.

They specialise in school accounting – day in and day out that is all they do. Their knowledge, experience and skill are a wonderful asset to schools.

“And there is also the fallacy that hiring an EO to facilitate school finances in-house is cheaper than outsourcing.”

Peter acknowledges it can be difficult for a principal to put a cost on doing the job in-house, and therefore when confronted with the cost of outsourcing it can appear expensive at first glance. But when a detailed comparison is done the in-house option is more expensive.

Some obvious benefits to using a service provider are: 1. Significantly decreased hours spent on finance in the admin office.

2. Service providers perform all year-end accounting functions, meaning the school does not need to employ someone with accounting skills to work in the school office.

3. Significantly reduced risk of fraud and misappropriation.

4. Access to school financial experts.

5. Timeliness - have everything (annual financial statements, board reports, GST returns) done on time, every time, without having to worry.

6. Accounting software and data backup costs are included in the service provider’s fees.

7. Using a service provider can result in a reduced audit fee.

We call it ‘peace of mind’.

Can you afford to not outsource your accounting functions?

We provide peace of mind financial care for schools Education Services is the market leader with superb reporting and a very satisfied clientele throughout the North Island.

Accounting services We call it peace of mind financial care.

We provide your school with a professional, cost-effective service.

Property services We have a dedicated team of specialists experienced in all matters of education property management. Our knowledge and performance is highly regarded by school trustees.

Whangarei: (09) 438 2337 Auckland: (09) 585 1671 Hamilton: (07) 847 2672 Rotorua: (07) 349 4106

New Plymouth: (06) 757 5489 Wanganui: (06) 349 0903 Lower Hutt: (04) 589 5533

www.educationservices.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 51

Working Space | Curriculum Resources

Improving learning and teaching The New Zealand Curriculum describes the learning all young people should experience no matter what school or kura they go to and the progress and expectations associated with this learning.

Inquiry Building students’ financial capability works well using an inquiry approach.

This approach enables students to ask and find answers to their own questions, make links to contexts which are meaningful and relevant, recognise choices they can make, and the potential consequences. A social inquiry approach to building financial capability considers the impact of financial decision making on the community and wider society.

It provides the framework for schools and kura to use in their local curriculum design.

Within this there is also support for school and curriculum leaders, and professional learning and development providers.

At www.nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz you’ll find resources to aid the process of curriculum design and review.

It includes information, research, tools, suggested areas of focus, and inspirational stories to help schools make decisions about how to give effect to the national curriculum.

As an example, let’s look at financial capability.

Financial capability is highlighted in The New Zealand Curriculum as an example of the type of theme that schools could use for effective cross-curricular teaching and learning programmes.

Developing financial capability supports ākonga to: • Participate in economic life • Gain the knowledge, skills, and competencies to make good money management decisions across a range of financial contexts • Improve the financial well-being of individuals and society.

In becoming financially capable, students will develop: • Knowledge and understanding of financial information and processes • Personal financial management competencies • Recognition and development of their personal values, which make

it possible for them to achieve their personal goals • An awareness of others’ values and priorities, which will enable them to participate meaningfully in the community.

Teaching and learning approaches Cross curricular or thematic approach Financial capability provides an authentic context for linking or integrating learning areas via abroad theme. Key competencies and values can be developed through the learning experiences.

Enterprise Financial learning and enterprise learning can happen simultaneously – one context reinforcing the other.

Financial capabilities enhance students’ engagement in enterprise learning, and enterprise learning enhances students’ engagement in building their financial capability.

Inclusion Different cultures and families/ whānau may have very different values and approaches to financial decision making. An inclusive approach to financial capability involves exploring the diverse values that people have about money.

Content sourced from www.nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz.

Mātauranga Parakore

How Zero Waste Education works

Paper4trees is a waste minimisation and tree planting programme for schools and preschools.

The Zero Waste Education (ZWE) programme has been educating children about the topic of sustainable resource use since 1993. This award- winning programme is now offered to over 500 schools throughout New Zealand to students in years 1-8 each year.

Additionally there are three units for preschools. Visit our website to see if the programme is available in your district.

We offer 10 Waste Minimisation Education Units from Pre School to Year 8; funded by local councils All units are supported by workbooks/ worksheets, interactive games and activities, resources, relevant photos and website references.

Pre School – ZERO “The No Rubbish Hero” Year 1 & 2 – Is That Really Rubbish & The Litterless Lunch Box Year 3 & 4 – Reducing & Reusing

Year 5 & 6 – Recycling & Composting

Year 7 & 8 – Resource Sustainability & Water Year 5 To 8 – Rural Waste Unit

We encourage schools to recycle their paper and cardboard by providing classroom recycling bins (free of charge) for every room that generates paper and cardboard waste. When these bins are full, the contents then need to be emptied into the schools main commercial recycling collection bin, or taken to the local recycling centre. We are not a recycling collection company.

As an incentive to divert as much paper and cardboard from landfill as possible, we reward each school with one native tree/plant for every two cubic metres of paper and cardboard recycled. Trees are dependant on funding grants. Although we do our best to supply trees each year, we cannot guarantee we will be successful with sponsorship or grants. The native trees are sourced from 30 different native tree nurseries around the country so we can ensure that trees are sourced locally.

Email office@zerowasteeducation.co.nz

www.zerowasteeducation.co.nz 52 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

paper4trees@eerst.co.nz | www.paper4trees.co.nz

It’s illegal to drive if you’re impaired

RESEARCH SHOWS

2 OUT OF 3 DRIVERS USED MEDICATION THAT MAY IMPAIR DRIVING

ARE YOU SAFE TO DRIVE?

Health, Driving and Substance Impairment has been developed to raise awareness of how medication can impair driving.

This is a sizeable and serious problem in New Zealand, affecting drivers of all ages.

UNIT DETAILS

ACCESSING THE RESOURCE

Five credit NCEA Level 3 resource.

The curriculum resource is freely available at education.nzta.govt.nz/health-ncea-l3/

Students examine the relevant determinants of health, and the implications for the wellbeing of people and society. From this analysis, they recommend health-enhancing strategies.

Background information available at www.nzta.govt.nz/medication

High quality data is provided along with resources designed using SOLO Taxonomy.

Unit supports assessment for Achievement Standard 91461: Analyse a New Zealand health issue.

Thank you Haley Charles, Upper Hutt College, for developing this resource.

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 53

Why SmartGrass is a smart choice Hundreds of NZ education providers are using their SIP funding to upgrade outdoor spaces with weather-proof, durable synthetic grass. SmartGrass is the popular choice because it looks like the real thing with none of the pitfalls of real grass.

Artificial grass has been a trending topic amongst schools over the past few years. We sat down with Jack Kennedy of SmartGrass to discover what all the fuss is about.

Why are so many schools investing their SIP funding in artificial grass?

“Artificial grass makes a functional and aesthetic difference that the school can feel. Hornby Primary School in Christchurch, for example, used a small portion of their SIP funding to replace a dry patchy grassed area with SmartGrass.

“The problem they had was that there was a large tree in the middle of their grassed area.

“The tree created so much shade during winter months that the grass was always muddy, and that mud was tracked inside classrooms making for an unpleasant learning environment.

“In summer the tree absorbed all the moisture out of the soil. Mud turned to dry, hard dirt that wouldn’t grow any grass.

“No matter the season, the area was unusable, wasted space. They used SmartGrass to solve the problem and now they have an appealing place for children to play and eat lunch.

“It’s also a simple and cost-effective solution for covering old or damaged asphalt and concrete.

“In a matter of days, our installers can transform the look and atmosphere of your school by covering the existing surfaces.

The project usually takes days (not weeks) meaning there’s little to no disruption.

“More than just upgrading and improving unsightly areas around schools, artificial turf has been a popular maintenance buster, saving on maintenance costs with no mowing, and saving cleaning costs with no mud.”

What types of artificial grass are there and how are they different to the old ‘Astroturf’?

Jack begins by explaining that there are two different types of artificial grass: LANDSCAPING GRASS “This has come a long way – it’s now made to look and feel like real grass.

This is suitable for all those areas that struggle to grow real grass – this alternative looks better than the real thing.”

SPORTS TURF “This is an artificial surface much shorter than landscaping grass, and is filled with sand. There are a variety of products for different sports such as tennis, cricket and hockey.

“Best of all it comes in customisable colours and logo options to suit your school. SmartGrass offers a multisport court design service so you get the most out of your space.

“With school rolls growing and more classrooms being built, land-locked schools are experiencing a more intensive use of common areas.

“Wet weather leaves fields out of bounds, but artificial grass is allowing other areas around the school to become of use.”

What are the most common applications for artificial grass in schools?

• Playground overhaul – convert bark to SmartGrass with a soft fall underlay • Cover damaged asphalt and concrete • Convert existing grass areas that struggle to grow • Soften lunch and common areas • Tennis, netball and multisport courts • Hockey fields and cricket wickets • Indoor sports and gymnasiums.

SmartGrass provides schools with a market leading 10-year full replacement warranty.

“Board members love the sustainability of their artificial grass unlike others, SmartGrass Education Series is 100 percent recyclable. Best of all, with installations starting at $60sqm, a grass installation project will usually take up only a small portion of a school’s SIP funding.

“It’s very quick and easy to get SmartGrass in your school. Jack explains the process: “We schedule a 30-minute appointment, onsite at your school, and we look at your problem areas and go through our SmartGrass products.

“Then we’ll email you a proposal with a solution, designs and costs. If you’re happy with our proposal, we get the installation booked in at a convenient time for the school.”

“Our school is extremely happy with the SmartGrass, and the team who completed it were fantastic.”

- John Becker (caretaker)

54 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 55

Working Space | School Sports

Let them play Whether it’s club or school sport, sports provide a broad range of benefits to children and adolescents which they can take into their adult lives.

Sports allow children and adolescents to get the physical activity they need to stay healthy while also giving them opportunities to practise soft skills they can take into adulthood.

Still, in spite of the benefits associated with sport participation, 42 percent of young people in New Zealand don’t meet the minimum amount of physical activity per week.

Similar to how young people can carry the benefits of sports participation into adulthood, inactivity can also have long-term effects.

Wide ranging benefits It’s easy to see the physical benefits of sports. Children and adolescents can get rid of pent-up energy from sitting in the classroom all day while also having fun.

In a single game, a sports participant can utilise multiple muscle groups.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends children and teenagers ages five to 17 do an average of at least one hour of physical activity a day.

Additionally, the WHO suggests that physical activity should mainly be aerobic but also incorporate muscle and bone strengthening activities at least three days a week. With regular practise and competitions, this is easy to do when you’re a member of a sports team.

Proper muscle development and strengthening exercises are crucial for the prevention of future injures as a young person and as an adult.

Low muscle tone can actually be indicative of a lack of spatial awareness, a soft skill heavily relied on in sports.

Although it’s easy to overlook in the heat of competition, young people also learn and exercise soft skills when participating in sports which are vital on and off the field. Just as muscles, lungs and the heart benefit from regular exercise, so do soft skills.

Why do young people play sport?

To have fun • To be challenged • To develop and improve To be part of a team or group • To enjoy time with friends Sport Canterbury’s approach to youth sport focuses on maximising participation and skill development. It’s about quality experiences and a lifelong love of being active.

FIND OUT MORE www.sportcanterbury.org.nz www.balanceisbetter.org.nz

TENNIS JUST FOR KIDS! Tennis NZ are proud to offer Tennis Hots Shots in over 200 venues around the country, this world-leading participation programme is perfect for kids of all ages and abilities.

Serving, rallying and scoring is made easy because of the smaller courts, slower balls and shorter racquets. Sessions are made up of tactical, technical, fun and social elements which create developmental readiness in children.

Kids move through stages that suit their age and stage of development. As players improve, the balls get a bit bouncier, the racquets a bit longer and the court a bit bigger.

Tennis Hot Shots can be delivered in schools across NZ by qualified coaches, visit www.tennis.kiwi/play to find out more!

56 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Working Space | School Sports Furthermore, playing sports allows young people to practise resilience by providing the opportunity for young people to fail – and realise that it’s not the end of the world.

It’s natural to want to hide our mistakes. However, the visibility of the playing field makes it difficult for mistakes to go unseen.

Although the competitive nature of the game increases tensions, it’s still a safe place for young people to make mistakes and even lose.

Whether young people are playing at a competition or during recess, sports

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends children and teenagers ages five to 17 should do an average of at least one hour of physical activity a day.

The WHO suggests that physical activity should mainly be aerobic but also incorporate muscle and bone strengthening activities at least three days a week.

One of the key soft skills exercised in team sports includes teamwork and conflict resolution.

provide young people the chance to work on skills relating to their choice of sport and soft skills which will serve them well into the future.

Barriers to sports participation According to the University of Otago’s report on the Active Young People NZ Survey, 58 percent of young people ages 5–17 meet the guideline of at least seven hours of physical activity a week.

Groups that were less likely to meet guidelines include girls, secondary school students and individuals living in low-socioeconomic areas.

Both prepare young people for real world situations, teamwork necessitating working with others toward a common goal and conflict resolution involves settling discrepancies in a fair manner; a difficult task when everyone wants to win.

Sports also utilise self-awareness by requiring young people to recognise their own strengths and weaknesses.

By doing this, young people are able to grow in their chosen sport and appreciate the efforts they made in reaching their goals.

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 57

Working Space | School Sports

When compared to other OECD and EU countries, UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children shows that New Zealand has the second highest percentage of overweight children with nearly 40 percent of children being overweight.

Along with nutrition and diet, physical activity also plays a crucial role in the matter.

For all of the benefits that sports provide children and adolescents, there are still barriers to sport participation.

According to the New Zealand Participation Survey 2019, the three largest barriers for children and adolescents when it comes to increasing sport participation includes preferring other activities instead sport, lack of energy and being too busy.

Changing young people’s idea of a good time is an uphill battle many

caregivers and educators are all too familiar with.

More and more, screens compete for our attention. According to the New Zealand Health Survey 2019/20, nearly 80 percent of children aged 2–14 watched screens for two hours or more a day.

2021 Aon Maadi Cup

Nonetheless, of all the barriers listed in the survey, busyness was the number one barrier preventing children from increasing sport participation.

Even so, this is one barrier caregivers and educators can help students with the most.

Considering the far-reaching benefits of sports participation and the roles caregivers and educators have in the lives of their students, it’s important that adults in charge of young people’s schedules prioritise sport and clear some time for it on a regular basis.

Make this the year YOUR students try something new!

Try Smallbore Target Shooting to: • build confidence, responsibility, concentration and resilience • join a sport for the whole family • start on the pathway to being a NZ sporting Representative

06 353 0609 | targetshootingnz@xtra.co.nz | tsnz.nz

Are you aged 17-24?

On the LSV Course, you will:

• Increase your confidence • Earn NZQA credits • Get fit and healthy • Take part in adventurous activities • Make friends that become family • Get news skills that will help you find a job or further training

LSV is a free 6 week live-in course based in Canterbury where youth from across New Zealand attend.

029 210 6800 | missy.limu-franklin002@msd.govt.nz | facebook.com/LSVCanterbury

Ph 03 366 9183

Safe, fun, rain or shine entertainment for the whole family!

• Learn to Skate • Ice Sports • Parties & Functions • School Groups

495 Brougham St, Opawa, Christchurch 8023, NZ office@alpineice.co.nz | www.alpineice.co.nz 58 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Image kindly provided courtesy of Rowing NZ.

Due to Covid restrictions, 2020 was the first year that the Aon Maadi Cup was cancelled in its history. The only other time it came close to being cancelled was when the event moved from its original date to November as a result of the 1948 polio epidemic.

Rowing provides students the opportunity to carry on the tradition by participating in New Zealand history. According to the History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand’s first rowing club was the Canterbury Rowing Club which was established in 1861.

As clubs formed throughout the country, secondary school participation in the sport also increased. Leading the way, Wanganui Collegiate School was the first school to row in New Zealand which would eventually encompass the Maadi Cup and the following we see today.

The journey from Egypt to New Zealand Demonstrating the widespread popularity of rowing, the Maadi Cup itself originated from Egypt with the Second NZEF playing a large part in the prize’s journey to New Zealand.

The Second NZEF unit was stationed at Maadi Camp during WWII and was also referred to as the Maadi Camp Rowing Club. During that time, members of the Maadi Camp Rowing Club often compete with local rowing clubs like the Cairo Rowing Club.

The inscription on the Maadi Cup notes that the cup was gifted to the Maadi Camp Rowing Club by Dr Youssef Bahgat of the Cairo Rowing

Even though the race has taken place annually since 1947, only 16 schools have ever walked away with the Maadi Cup. The top three schools with the most wins are Hamilton Boys’ High School with 10 wins, Christ’s College with 12 wins and Wanganui Collegiate with 17 wins.

Club after the Maadi Camp Rowing Club won the regatta on the Nile on 20 November 1943.

At the end of WWII, the Maadi Camp Rowing Club gave the cup to the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association to be used as a prize for annual competition; in the hope of encouraging inter-schoolboy, eightoared rowing.

Soon after, the first Maadi Cup took place in 1947 in Wanganui with Mt Albert Grammar as the first Maadi Cup winner. Presently, the event has grown to include about 2000 competitors from over 100 schools making it New Zealand’s largest rowing regatta.

2021 Aon Maadi Cup The Maadi Cup alternates each year between Lake Ruataniwha and Lake Karapiro with the 2021 Aon Maadi Cup taking place in Lake Karapiro on 20-27 March 2021; you can find more information regarding the event on the Rowing NZ website.

Along with the Maadi Cup, schools will be competing for 48 other trophies such as the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup, Springbok Shield and the Dawn Cup. Although not everyone will walk away from the event a winner, the main goal is to nurture a love for rowing in students so that they can carry the sport and its history into the future.

Rowing NZ (07) 823 4587 info@rowingnz.kiwi www.maadi.co.nz

Laszlo Boats NZ Mollie Gibson | Ashburton College Winner of the U17 Aon Maadi Cup Legacy Single

Helping schools as the ultimate principal and guarantee for success The sudden liquidation of New Zealand’s dominant rowing skiff manufacturer drastically changed the face and the course of the world-renowned kiwi rowing skiff manufacturing industry, leaving many questions and uncertainties behind. For three decades Kiwi International Rowing Skiff (KIRS) had been famous for building world fastest time holder, Olympic and world championship medal winning, high performance rowing skiffs for elite athletes and schools and clubs around the world. Financial problems forced the KIRS management to pull the plug in October 2015 risking many rowing programs to lose their annual budgets allocated for new boats that the schools paid deposits for. Craighead Diocesan School, Whanganui Collegiate School, Christchurch Girls’ High School, Auckland Diocesan School for Girls, Hillcrest High School were among the many that were heavily affected by the stress of the liquidation.

official boat supplier for the World Masters Games, a first for any New Zealand boat manufacturer. Laszlo successfully teamed up with Aon, New Zealand’s leading insurance broker, to sponsor the Aon Maadi Cup Legacy Program gifting a single scull to the winner of the U17 single category.

2019 had been a particularly good year as not only they made their international debut in the form a World Cup gold and a World Championship silver medal; even more significantly, in the realm of New Zealand rowing, at the last Aon Maadi Cup they accomplished something that has been unheard of in the modern times. All the prestigious Under 18 Cups had been won

Christchurch Boys’ High School reigning champion of the Maadi Cup

“The main idea was to salvage the company at least to the level where we could help the schools out by finishing their boats, even if this meant in some cases, building them from scratch. We were talking about over a hundred-thousand dollars, and it was heartbreaking to see how much this potential loss could affect the work of affiliated athletes and coaches.”

After successfully completing this mission in the same season, the newly formed Laszlo Boats NZ team had been looking for new goals. In 2017 the small team became the

“This Covid-affected year has been particularly challenging for everyone in rowing. Focus is on helping schools to bring their fleet up-to-speed for the coming regatta season, as well as completing new orders. We are extremely fortunate to have signed our first big contract into the EU for 29 boats before lockdown. This could keep us busy immediately after resuming work on Level 3. Looking after our existing clientele will always be priority. We also have brand new goals that we would like to reach this year and a couple of very exciting opportunities on the horizon.”

When asking Laszlo if generously helping schools was financially the right decision for the fledgling business, the answer is not what you might think, and it speaks volumes.

“My first thought was that we must help these programs get their boats so they can continue training and so they are not losing their deposits in the liquidation process.” - Laszlo Kertesz Former chief boat builder at KIRS, Laszlo Kertesz has always had great appreciation for building the highest quality boats and supporting the rowing community.

incredible goals within only just five years into our existence. I can’t even remember if there was ever a time when all the major under 18 cups have been using the same boat manufacturers boats to win. The fact that this could be one of the New Zealand manufacturers makes this success all the more precious to us.”

in a Laszlo shape including ‘the’ Maadi Cup for the Under 18 Boys and the Levin Jubilee Cup for the Under 18 Girls, and every single one of the other U18 rowing categories.

The well-known attribute of the business being fastest time holder is also being revived thanks to premier crews racing fastest times at the National Championship and an unexpected world fastest time (recorded but officially not registered). Laszlo also started developing new shapes and moulds and invested into brand new spray booth to guarantee increasing quality to their product.

“We never dreamt of reaching all of these

“Well, you know, that is a very interesting question. Some of those schools that we helped are purchasing boats from another supplier which is disappointing.

But you know what? We far surpassed everything we believed was possible in this short amount of time.

“We’re particularly proud because we did all this, after arriving to New Zealand with only two suitcases and in the complete absence of the umbilical safety net of the family, all we could rely on was our commitment, dedicated hard work and our passion for the sport. We believe that we received so much love from the rowing community that in the end, and in the big picture, our efforts and the sacrifice was definitely worth it. What goes around, comes around.”

info@laszloboatsnz.com +64 21 023 00423 www.laszloboatsnz.com

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 59

Sunsmart | Cancer Society

School sports and play - the biggest competitor is the sun School sports and play are a big part of children and young people’s education and brain development. But it’s easy to forget during terms 1 and 4, that the biggest competitor can be the sun.

Sunburn and the cumulative damage to skin and eyes from UV radiation causes skin cancer and eye damage.

It’s easy to focus school safety plans on the immediate safety risks. WorkSafe NZ has classified UV radiation as a workplace hazard.

Schools and Early Learning Centres have a duty of care and legal responsibility to minimise exposure to UV radiation for staff and students during school sports or play.

Environments that promote sun protection help to reduce skin cancer for generations.

School sports and play can be a challenge for the education sector in terms of UV radiation protection.

It is often hard to avoid the peak UV radiation hours of 10am to 4pm and many activities take place where there is very little or no shade. And different age groups have different needs.

THE EARLY YEARS Good role modelling is important in the early years. Having a culture of no hat-no play can be quickly established (excluding children who may not wear hats for cultural reasons).

Make the most of the available shade or set up play areas under temporary shade. Visit our website for an Early Childhood Professional Development module to help staff understand Aotearoa’s unique UV radiation environment and how to implement a SunSmart culture.

PRIMARY AND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

A whole-of-school comprehensive approach to sun protection is the most effective way to minimise harm from UV radiation.

The Cancer Society SunSmart Schools Programme is a best-practice model based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations.

Visit www.sunsmartschools.org.nz for more information.

SECONDARY SCHOOL • Teenagers get sunburnt more than any other age group and are least likely to adopt sun protection practices. Peer-based approaches to

STAY UNDER COVER YEAR-ROUND WITH A COLA CANOPY®

Otago Girls High School at their School Sports day.

sun protection are more important for this group. For example, wearing uniforms, or allowing sunglasses and protective hats • Teenagers in outdoor sports and activities often wear clothing which isn’t designed for sun protection. When replacing school sports uniforms keep the balance between reasonable skin coverage without hindering performance or acceptability • Bucket hats offer better protection than caps. But if the sport has caps as part of the uniform provide sunscreen for the back of the neck, ears and cheeks which remain exposed. These are all common sites for skin cancers

• Take portable shade with you to events. Research shows that teenagers will use shade if it’s provided.

WHOLE-OF-WHĀNAU/EVERY AGE Spectators are often caught out with changes in weather and can be poorly prepared for a long period of sun exposure.

This year, the Cancer Society’s SunSmart social media campaign is whānau-focused. It encourages side line supporters to make sure t hey are also protecting themselves from the sun.

If your school would like some free resources for social media or newsletters, please contact your local Division.

About Shade Systems As a team, we are very passionate around the need to educate children and young adults about the importance of being sunsmart.

Over the years Shade Systems has sponsored Melanoma New Zealand, who hold the “Get Spotted” competition for schools to promote sun-safety.

Here, schools win a StarShade® Structure to provide extra shade for their students. We also generously support Melanoma NZ through donations – we believe in their mission too.

What we offer – Complete Project Management • Design ideas and suggestions • Turn-key solution - leave it to us • Concept drawings prior to any groundwork beginning • Fabrication and delivery of entire structure • Obtain the necessary permits, resource consents • Complete installation from our highly experienced team • Recommendations for “add-on extra’s” e.g. lighting and sound • Site tidy after installation is complete • Look the best for years with our care and maintenance program.

• Hire it out after hours for some ROI

CONTACT US TODAY 0800 166 722 www.shadesystems.co.nz

Shade Systems are a family-owned company, with over 150 years’ combined experience in industrial fabrics and supporting structures.

Our aim is simple: Create healthy spaces to protect and improve the well-being of current and future generations whatever the weather.

We provide shade and shelter structures that also aesthetically enhance the appearance of outdoor spaces. These products include: • COLA® Court Canopies (full sport/court covers) • Tensile Membrane Bespoke Structures • Shade Sails (Sun Shades) • StarShade® Structures • HipShade® Structures

60 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

• SolaGola® Canopies • Covered Walkways.

As part of the package, we offer design, manufacturing, installation and servicing of shade, shelter and fabric structures.

Our dedicated team can oversee the complete project, from design and planning through to installation and sign-off of your structure.

In short, we have a large range of innovative shading products, custom-made to suit schools and meet council requirements.

Read more about Shade Systems and what we offer at www.shadesystems. co.nz, or contact us today to discuss your next shade project! 0800 166 722

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 61

Sport and Recreation | Water Safety

Repaint with EPOTEC NT EPOXY

Saving our school pools Due to funding issues and ongoing costs, some of New Zealand’s school pools have been forced to shut their gates. The problem is that it affects one of the groups that need pools most – Kiwi kids that need to learn how to swim.

When you think of New Zealand, one of the first things that comes to mind is our stunning oceans and clear rivers.

With the tenth longest coastline in the world, spanning around 14,000 kilometres, it’s no wonder that the quintessential Kiwi summer is of kids running around in togs and jumping off the local wharf, the sweltering heat beckoning them to the water.

Approximately two thirds of New Zealanders live within five kilometres of the coast, according to the census. This figure is growing over time, with more people moving towards the coast.

But did you know that our school pools are under threat, where most children first dip their toes and learn the fundamentals that keep them safe in the water?

Advise on preparation and repair Supply of the most appropriate paint system

The biggest barriers for an aquatic education are transportation, cost and access to facilities.

Latest Epoxy and Acrylic technologies to suit your needs

Call our technical experts on

09 837 0897 x 3 or find your local EPOTEC Approved Applicator at

www.cotec.co.nz 62 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Swimming is not currently compulsory in the school curriculum, yet it is such a fundamental life skill, especially as most Kiwis live in near proximity to the water.

According to Water Safety New Zealand, only 55 percent of all primary schools have pools, around 1,100 schools. Schools that don’t have pools use community or council swimming pools, but rural children are often left behind.

Kiwi kids are losing their ability to swim, one of the direct effects of school pool closures – a study of eight Dunedin schools done in 2017 by University of Otago found that two thirds of kids are unable to swim 100 metres.

Last year, 82 preventable drowning deaths occurred in New Zealand. New Zealand also has one of the highest fatal drowning rates in the OECD. A readily available and accessible aquatic education, targeted at young

children to give them the water skills needed for the rest of their lives, is essential in combating preventable deaths in the water.

School pools provide valuable access to an aquatic education for New Zealand children, but the cost of running them is too high for a lot of schools. Not only are pools expensive to build, but the costs to maintain them can pile up.

Schools have to make sure there are proper safety arrangements, such as developing rules and procedures, installing and maintain fencing and gates, and ensuring the water quality is up to scratch so it’s safe to swim in.

On top of that, there’s other ongoing remedial work like changing room upgrades, painting and other ongoing upgrades.

The costs become insurmountable for many schools, specifically for those in lower income or rural areas.

For schools that can’t afford their own lessons, the responsibility is passed back onto the parents – unfortunately, it’s a reality that many lower income families can’t afford the extra expense, so a lot of children miss out.

Swimming is not currently compulsory in the school curriculum, yet it is such a fundamental life skill, especially as most Kiwis live in near proximity to the water.

Water safety has been acknowledged in the 2020 budget by the Government. $60.5 million has been allocated over the next four years to frontline rescue services, carried out by Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) and Coastguard New Zealand (CGNZ).

Water Safety New Zealand has also been allocated $2.1 million to support the wider water safety sector.

Keeping our school pools open until we have a viable alternative option is vital so that all New Zealand children can learn the swimming and water safety skills that can literally save their lives. The water isn’t going anywhere – and neither should our school pools.

Parkhouse Truck Wash We are situated in a great location near Mainfreight, Daily Freight & Owens in Sockburn, Christchurch.

As a business that specialises in truck and trailer washing, we know that the industry has some very good options to choose from in Christchurch.

That’s why we are primarily focused on what we can do for you – the customer.

Our goal is to see you happy when you drive away in your truck!

We also offer a FREE Wash after 10 Washes per Vehicle as a Loyalty Programme. Your business is appreciated and we recognise that you should be rewarded for choosing to use us.

Pad Foreman) has been in his role for six years and he just couldn’t believe the difference with the new soap!

We know that our Iteco Washing Systems machine, working together with the Nerta Soap, creates an exceptional wash and finish.

Nerta has been life changing in our daily work here and we are very proud to now be the Christchurch Distributor for Nerta working closely with Powerwash Ltd.

for the last 32 years and says his time there taught him about how to treat customers and staff.

and trailers, and we don’t

Although Lee is new in business, he says he is learning as he goes. “But I have strong beliefs that guide how I do business.

need to call Lee two or

“Do a great job, charge an honest price, treat customers with respect and build a good relationship with them. For the seven months since starting this has been my strength.”

Parkhouse Truck Wash doesn’t only wash trucks: “If you drive it, we can wash it”.

Large vans, camper vans, buses are things we often wash.

OUR PRODUCTS

Lee Young purchased and rebranded the truck wash last December.

We can also wash small excavators (on trailers) and Scissor Lifts, boats etc. can also be washed on trailers.

And we can wash tip trucks and trailers.

We changed to Nerta Soap during March. Dave (Wash

Lee worked for the Kotzikas Family at United Fisheries

Booking is essential as we wash a lot of large truck

ABOUT US

have room on the street for

parking – so we work with a booking system – you only three hours ahead to plan a wash.

We offer a Loyalty

Programme so you pay for 10 washes and the 11th wash is FREE

(for that vehicle).

Please don’t hesitate to call for a price depending on

what it is you need washed.

OUR SERVICES Wash Services

We wash trucks and

trailers, vans, buses, boats and more.

Detailing Services

We provide new truck predelivery and used truck detailing services.

De Tar Services

De tar services are also available – call us for a quote.

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 63

Learning Space | ETOC

Out and into it

Education outside the classroom – it’s in our nature In New Zealand we’re taught from a young age to love the outdoors, to explore our country’s natural beauty and connect with the land.

Research by Ara Institute of Canterbury academics Dr. Allen Hill (Principal Lecturer, Sustainability and Outdoor Education), Dr. David Irwin (ManagerSustainability and Outdoor Education) – authored alongside colleagues from Otago University, University of Waikato and University of Canterbury – demonstrates that ‘Education Outside the Classroom’ (EOTC) is very much part of the fabric of schools within Aotearoa New Zealand.

This significant research, funded by Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ) and Ministry of Education, is part of a newly-published national study, Education Outside the Classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand – A Comprehensive National Study: Final Report.

Dr Allen Hill says, “The purpose of this study was to gather an up-to-date sense of the nature of the EOTC that’s occurring in schools across Aotearoa New Zealand, the value that schools place upon it and the challenges they have in providing equitable, quality EOTC.”

A survey of 523 school leaders and EOTC coordinators found that 96 percent of questionnaire respondents felt that EOTC was extremely or very important to their school; a finding that was reflected in students’ and teachers’ interview responses.

“Providing students with the opportunity for ‘real-world’, applied, hands-on learning is crucial for not only improving student engagement but also for meeting the needs of 21st century learning and a rapidly-changing future of work, especially in a post-COVID-19 world.”

The description ‘EOTC brings the curriculum alive’ was a familiar catch‐phrase used by many teachers to describe how EOTC experiences enriched their students’ learning.

Offers 27 acres of gorgeous New Zealand bush and parkland, thriving with native bird life, just 45 minutes from downtown Auckland. It overlooks the stunning waters and islands of Mahurangi and accesses a secluded rocky shore and large sandy beach. It’s the perfect spot to host a group whether large or small since we have two independent facilities.

Phone: 09 424 7633 • Email: office@psyv.org.nz • Web: www.psyv.org.nz

“The key value propositions from schools related to EOTC were that it enriches curriculum, provides authentic ‘real-world’ learning, increases student engagement, and provides significant opportunity for students to develop better learning relationships between each other and their teachers,” Allen says.

“Providing students with the opportunity for ‘real-world’, applied, hands-on learning is crucial for not only improving student engagement

but also for meeting the needs of 21st century learning and a rapidlychanging future of work, especially in a post-COVID-19 world.”

Health and physical education stood out as the learning area where EOTC was most prevalent, with 92 percent of respondent schools indicating EOTC experiences took place in this subject at least once a term.

EOTC learning experiences in social sciences, science, and the arts were also common, with over half of respondent schools indicating that students took curriculum enrichment trips once a term to places such as museums, art galleries and historical sites.

Perfect for groups of any size, we have separate areas just for you!

On the waterfront in downtown Tauranga, 3 large kitchens and lounges with waterviews.

0508 926 337 | HELLO@WANDERLUSTNZ.CO.NZ | WWW.WANDERLUSTNZ.CO.NZ

64 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

@WANDERLUSTNZ

WANDERLUST.NEWZEALAND

Learning Space | ETOC What’s next?

This study is the most comprehensive research ever undertaken into EOTC in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr. Hill said, “It has been more than a decade since previous research was done on EOTC in New Zealand and the study on which this report is based is by far the most comprehensive ever completed.

“There has been much anticipation and expectation from individuals and groups such as EONZ looking forward to the release of this report.”

Allen says, “In the interviews students talked to us about how engaging EOTC is and how it gives them more ownership and investment in their learning. They also spoke positively about developing better relationships with each other and their teachers, and the opportunity to have new experiences.”

The study found that despite schools placing a high value upon EOTC experiences, there were several challenges facing effective and equitable EOTC provision.

The main obstacles were cost and resourcing shortfalls, time constraints and teacher workloads, health and safety considerations and a lack of experienced teachers and parents to lead or assist with EOTC trips.

The research found that most of the challenges related to underfunding of the sector – an important finding which reveals the social, political, and economic context in which EOTC is envisioned and enacted.

Dr Hill and his research team plan to use the findings in the study to continue to write articles on the subject which will reach national and international outdoor and environmental learning sectors.

The study found that despite schools placing a high value upon EOTC experiences, there were several challenges facing effective and equitable EOTC provision.

“We do see potential for further research with Māori educators looking at a more detailed investigation of the role of EOTC in kura kaupapa. There are also more opportunities to document examples of good EOTC practice through a series of case studies across different schools.”

An extract taken from the report reads, “Teachers value EOTC highly but also strongly felt budgetary and other pressures compromised student learning.

“EOTC came with considerable costs to teachers and often overloaded their working and personal lives.

A lack of curriculum support signposted the fragility of the area and positive political will from the Ministry and Government was seen to be sorely needed.”

2021

2021

07 332 3510 | TUIRIDGEPARK.CO.NZ | BOOKINGS@TUIRIDGEPARK.CO.NZ www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 65

Learning Space | ETOC

Camp Raglan Camp Raglan is packed full of adventure for seven to 14 year-old boys and girls; there’s always so much to do.

Our aim is that your child comes away with lasting memories of what they have experienced, explored and enjoyed at our camp.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AT CAMP? Air rifles, archery, BMX track, sports field, flying fox, indoor climbing wall, bush and stream walking, beach and rock pools, giant hammock, swimming pool, confidence course, low ropes, team building activities, playground area and two trampolines. Plus our brand new waterslides where you can race your mates or your teacher down our twin water slides.

A WONDERFUL SPOT The beautiful 14-acre Camp Raglan campsite is pleasantly situated on the slopes of Mt Karioi overlooking

the panoramic view of Raglan and the Tasman Sea. Camp Raglan offers a fully catered camp for a total of 150 children and adults in dormitory style accommodation which is particularly suited to primary and intermediate school children.

All the main facilities are under one roof.

The resident chef cook’s excellent meals and special dietary needs can be catered for. Camp Raglan is known for its good food and excellent hospitality. Our team will offer you a very warm welcome and we are happy to discuss your individual needs.

Bethel House is an independent building available for hire separately from the main camp buildings. It has five twin share rooms and one double room as well as a kitchen, lounge room and two separate showers and toilets. It overlooks the breath-taking view of the Tasman Sea.

An information pack to help you with your planning is available from the camp and gives full details of facilities, accommodation and what you need to know to make your booking.

The gymnasium has equipment for basketball, volleyball, badminton, and hockey and is a great space to use for many activities if the weather is not at its best. There is also a sound system available in the gym.

The main hall has a stage area, with two large TV monitors and a large screen at the back which is excellent for showing movies etc. in an evening. The Hall has a sound system for your use.

Camp Raglan, 578 Wainui Road Raglan, T (07) 825 8068, campraglan@cbm.org.nz, www. campraglan.org.nz.

Ph: (07) 825 8068 Email: campraglan@cbm.org.nz Website: www.cbm.org.nz Camp Raglan is a beautiful campsite situated on the bush-clad slopes of Mt Karioi and has breath taking, panoramic views of the Tasman Sea and beach.

It’s a 7-minute drive from the artsy Raglan township. Sleeping Accommodation is essentially under one roof, which provides easy and secure supervision.

There is also, on-site, 5 twin rooms and a double room available in Bethel House. Camp Raglan has a resident cook who provides excellent meals, and with prior arrangements and a small additional fee, special dietary needs such as DF, GF, and Vegetarian, can be catered.

OUR CAMP ACTIVITIES: Paintball | Climbing Wall | Low Ropes Course | Team Building Activities | Confidence Course | Swimming Pool | Archery | Air-Rifles | Orienteering Flying Fox | Table Tennis | BMX Bikes | Volleyball | Trampoline | A Developed Playground Area | Beach And Bush Walks | 6-Person Hammock Camping Area on a Stream Edge | Sports Playing Field | Large Gymnasium | Brand New Water Slides

DISCOVER

the JOURNEY

School & Youth Group Camps Discover CYC Waihola as your awesome camp destination. Our camp-site has kids in mind - with amazing outdoor activities to fill your program.

D

isc fo oun r t ts ARCHERYTAG™ PAINTBALL ZIPLINE AND MORE e GEOCACHING a ca rm va m 2 ila & 15061, b P OpsBox Waihola 9243 • Phone: 03 417 7120 • Email: bookings@cycwaihola.org.nz • www.cycwaihola.org.nz 3 le 66 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Learning Space | ETOC

3 checklist

School camp

One year before camp 1. Select the camp location. Useful resources include the Directory of Residential Camps and the CCNZ web page: www.cci.org.nz 2. Take a tour of the camp facility before booking. Camps always have staff available to meet with camp coordinators and go over their plans. Any difficulties can be discussed and other options can be presented at this point. Careful planning at this stage eliminates confusion and worries later.

3. Sign a booking contract. Be aware of financial penalties and minimum charges should you have to cancel.

4. Place the camp dates on the school calendar.

Six months before camp 1. Carefully think through the ultimate goal or purpose of your camp.

2. Consider all the costs and work out a camp budget. Remember camp fees, camp activity charges, bus cost, costs of visiting out-ofcamp venues, special costs like hireage of equipment, prizes etc.

3. Consider fund raising activities if necessary.

Three months before camp 1. Send letters out requesting fees and permission slips. Mention it in the school newsletter.

2. Consider arrangements for parent help and include in permission notice. Arrange this if it is needed.

3. Start to plan out the camp programme activities (possibly with students on a ‘camp committee’) and create a detailed camp schedule.

4. Touch base with the camp to make sure all plans are confirmed.

Discuss activities with camp staff. (Some camps need to arrange extra instructors or have more than one group in at a time, so the earlier you are on to this, the better).

5. Request risk management sheets from camp or outdoor provider.

6. If you haven’t visited the camp, do it now.

One month before camp 1. Get aggressive on gathering permission slips and payment for camp. Ask about special needs, diets etc.

2. Finalise the programme, including some contingencies for bad weather. Forward the programme to camp staff.

3. Create a detailed ‘requirements’ checklists.

4. Develop your camp workbook for students.

One week before camp 1. Finalise details with camp staff, e.g. final numbers, special diets.

2. Gather up materials, prizes, games, musical instruments, sound gear, food etc.

On Camp

HAVE YOUR NEXT

CAMP AT OUR

PLACE Whether you want to be busy and active, or quiet and relaxed, we can help you make great memories here at CYC! Give the kids some fun after lockdown. Let them be kids again and also rebuild that team spirit amongst the children and the staff.

1. Enjoy the experience with your children.

2. Delegate whatever you can to reliable parent helpers and responsible students.

3. Arrange a night roster for adults settling children after lights out.

The teacher does not need to be up late every night! (The first night is usually the latest.)

Information supplied by Christian Camping New Zealand

An OutdoorsMark certification shows that our camp has met the highest standard of safety in the adventure activities industry.

148 Waingarao Road, Ngaruawahia p. 07 824 8495 | e. info@cyc.org.nz | cyc.org.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 67

Learning Space | Wellbeing

Creating a safe place A case study in social and emotional learning Learning here happens through a trauma informed lens where social and emotional learning is at the heart of everything we do.

up to lead this project, in a large part due to their love of Te Ao Māori, environmental sustainability, and trauma informed approach/social and emotional learning.

Both Lisa and Sam have spent countless hours planning, designing, creating and implementing each and every element within the space and in collaboration with the rest of our team, kids and community, have created an amazing learning environment which now can be enjoyed by everyone.

Hauora: Mental health and well being is incredibly important to us. We know that for many of our kids we are their constant, consistent, safe place, so we wanted to ensure our physical environment provided this same korowai or cloak of awhi, wellbeing, self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Around 10 years ago a number of native plants and trees were established and have now grown taller, stronger, resilient – much like our kids do in their six years here with us.

We know that starting each day with yoga in classes helps our team to reset and focus on the day and learning ahead. For our kids it provides them with an opportunity to be present in the moment and enjoy a more equitable start to the day – with the ultimate outcome being that these skills and strategies being used to help calm, centre, and regulate them across various situations and scenarios outside of school.

This space would provide us with the perfect backdrop for Te Āhuru Mōwai (which translates in English to a calm place or safe haven) which is what we have named our sensory space.

All of the sensory elements within Te Āhuru Mōwai have been recycled, reused and repurposed, and all of our kids and team have had a hand in creating the elements from hanging bird feeders and windchimes, through to a bug hotel.

During the COVID-19 lockdown we found many of our kids used yoga at home with their whanau to begin each day in a calming manner.

We even have a sensation path where users walk the pathway in bare feet stimulating pressure points and massaging the feet to improve health based around ancient reflexology practices.

We’ve had whānau engagement in providing us with many of the recycled materials and we’ve had whānau come in to help in classes with some of the sawing, hammering and drilling of the sensory elements created.

During the COVID-19 lockdown we found many of our kids used yoga at home with their whānau to begin each day in a calming manner.

In fact, the entire project was planned, designed, created and implemented by our kids, team, and community.

We did away with a traditional school bell years ago in order to reduce anxiety and stress.

It’s great to have another space in the school where our kids can explore, experiment, learn and interact with the natural environment, all whilst engaging their senses.

There are also regulatory breaks inserted into the day’s learning. We even have a service dog at different times! Our charter and curriculum are living, breathing documents here and happen in an authentic, organic, and empathetic way.

We have a strong hands-on based curriculum here where kids learn through doing and are immersed in rich experiences, so wanted to replicate and weave this philosophy into our physical learning spaces throughout the school.

We already had a quiet, calm tranquil garden space where kids would sit and read books, play cards, play guitar/ ukelele, or just sit and chat and hang out with their friends.

There’s a space where kids can construct and build with wooden pallets, planks of wood, and wooden cable reels.

But we wanted to develop a new space where our kids could explore their senses in a peaceful space geared towards exploration, experimentation and interaction with the environment.

A few years ago I travelled to Melbourne to visit a number of schools that had similar views to us in regards to social and emotional learning, and in particular sensory garden spaces.

68 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

This left me inspired and motivated to create a similar space in our school.

Our school’s Board of Trustees were incredibly supportive of this initiative and the creation of a sensory space became part of our strategic planning and this year was a major focus of our annual plan.

Two of our learning facilitators, Lisa Morton and Sam Johnstone, stepped

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 1, 2021 | 69

Technology disrupts ‘normal’ start to school year Disruptive technology often creates a plethora of downstream effects, but for schools using the new Payables functionality from school payments platform, Kindo, it looks like a good news story.

Kindo is simplifying the traditionally stressful period at the start of the year for school admin teams dealing with new students settling in, Student Management Systems to update, and camp and sports team forms and payments to chase up.

We talked to a number of schools using Kindo Payables to find out what the term one rush looks like – before and after Kindo.

Camille Lamond, office administrator at Paparoa Street Primary in Christchurch, admits to being ‘a little nervous’ at the thought of introducing a new system but her fears were soon put to rest.

The ability to easily invoice items to an individual class or year and set up groups for specific payments like sports team transport has really cut down the usual start of year admin burden.

Increased visibility over what has been paid and what is owing has been a plus at Te Ra Waldorf School

“What start of year stress?”

Said no school administrator, EVER.

“Personally, Kindo saves me around an hour and a half every day during busy weeks.

Stress levels in the office have reduced and staff now complete work without taking it home.”

Jackie Corbett, Finance Manager Raumati Beach School

Want the year to start a little more smoothly?

Call 05084KINDO.

kindo.co.nz Making school payments simple 70 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz

in Paraparaumu. Executive officer, Rhonda Huntley, feels that providing school families with the ability to part pay larger sums like camp fees, with Kindo continuously displaying the updated balance, offers a practical way to support parents and caregivers.

“In 2019, for the first time we had 100 percent of our swimming bill paid before the due date and camp was fully paid before the students set off.

Kindo also makes it really easy to have an empathetic conversation about amounts owing with parents because everything is so transparent,” Rhonda says.

During 2020, the benefits of Kindo became even more pronounced in two areas. In terms of communication, having school families directly linked into Payables for both the school and its Proprietor Trust was very helpful.

“We were able to clearly communicate with families around their payables and make adjustments as required for individual family situations affected by job losses due to COVID.” More surprisingly, Te Ra has hit its 2020 budget targets despite COVID, exceeding budget for donations by a massive 12.5 percent.

For school admin teams, Kindo Payables has meant an end to counting and banking cash – and hours spent poring over spreadsheets correctly matching money to the right family and activity.

Jackie Corbett, finance manager at Raumati Beach School, says Kindo has also reduced teacher admin. Processing touch rugby registrations and creating teams each season used to take one teacher out of the classroom for two to three days.

“This year our touch coordinator only needed a couple of half days’ to

sort out teams because we’d put registrations online on Kindo – she didn’t need to type up information from paper forms into excel,” Jackie says. “We just emailed her the spreadsheet and off she went.”

At Belmont Intermediate School, the introduction of Kindo means no more chasing up signed paper permission slips or dealing with cash for sports manager, Alice Browning.

“All our sports payments and permissions are done through the online Kindo system – it makes everything so much more efficient.

We have a ‘pay before you play’ policy at Belmont Intermediate and have hundreds of students participating in after school sports and zone days throughout the year.

“With Kindo, everything is organised and finalised before the event, including payment, parent permissions and even the option for parents to indicate help with transport, coaching, or managing teams.

“No more chasing signed paper permission slips or dealing with cash.

Everything is in one place with Kindo and an up-to-date report is available to you at the press of a button. It really makes coordinating our sports events and start of year sign ups a whole lot easier.”

Shannon McNaughton, both school administrator and parent at Vauxhall School on Auckland’s North Shore, is a convert to Kindo Payables.

When asked what she would say to other schools, she doesn’t hesitate: “Just get it – from a paperwork and admin perspective Kindo takes away all the pressure.”

agridustrial@gmail.com

Teaching that shows others the way The Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards recognise inspiring work from across New Zealand. Teaching that benefits children and young people, whānau and entire communities.

Teaching that changes us all.

ENTRIES OPEN FEBRUARY 2021

Share your team’s best practice.

Enter the 2021 Awards at pmawards.education.govt.nz 72 | Term 1, 2021 www.principalstoday.co.nz