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Highlights - The first week of school is filled with many highlights, ultimately being introduced to
my class on the first day of school and seeing them all so eager to be back into the school routine.
Secondly, interacting with staff and meeting new staff was beneficial for me to meet those who I
will be working closely with, especially as a group of beginning teachers. A warm welcome into
the school through a Mihi Whakatau allowed new staff, students and families to be united into the
Halswell School community. Expressing New Zealand cultural significance to international
families was very special to see.
Lowlights - Lowlights were few and far between this week, with systems running much more
smoothly than I could have hoped. Communication with parents was effective to ensure I was up
to date with student information. However with this communication I was informed about some
students social competencies and their ability to make friends. It is sad to hear that students are
nervous to come to school, carrying doubt that they will make friends. Although after seeing the
students interacting after the first couple of days, it doesn’t seem to be a visible issue at this stage,
but I will be proactive to check in and make sure students are fitting in.
Learning Curves - Entering a new workforce is sure to come with many learning curves, therefore
just to outline one would be the effectiveness of ensuring international students are fitting into
their new routines. Halswell School has a large international program, therefore it is probable to
have one of these students joining our class. With little English, I need to adopt effective
communication skills to be able to confidently interact with this student without causing too much
confusion for her.
Highlights: There were many activities and events this week that allowed an opportunity for
interaction with parents and the wider community. First up with swimming sports, interaction with
parent helps and those who attended as support. Meet the teacher night allowed for an
opportunity for the teachers to elaborate with the parents about what our day to day routine looks
like, and how each curriculum area unfolds within the class activities. After this, parents took the
opportunity to meet me and express and questions or concerns they had about their child. To
finish off the week the school picnic was held as an informal way of mixing with the wider Haswell
community.
Lowlights: Work avoidance of particular students is continuous low light from last week. In a
modern learning environment it is particularly hard to keep track of the work efficiency of particular
students. This will be an area to work on to ensure all students are able to be tracked effectively.
Learning Curve: I accompanied Yr 7 students to their first technology session of the year at
Hillmorton High School to ensure they settled in with the new environment. They are provided
with some interesting subjects e.g. digital tech, food tech, hard materials, science etc, which
allows them to grow their technological minds through the expertise of specialist teachers and
equipment. It was also interesting to note a change in behaviour of some students. As they were
surrounded by older high school students in the transition of classes, the behaviour of notable
students changed for the better. Having older students who demand authority set an expectation
of younger students behaviour.
Highlights: Heading out on my first school camp as a teacher was nerve wracking but exciting.
This was a definite highlight of the week, spending 3 days with the year 6s at Pudding Hill. Seeing
students out of the classroom environment was exciting and interesting, observing behaviours
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that may be out of the ordinary, whether it be an increase or decrease in confidence and
participation depending if they were in or out of their comfort zones.
Lowlights: The class started the week unsettled, disruptive and not on task. The excitement of
approaching camps may have been a contributing factor but still unacceptable attitudes were
shown at the start of the week. Some friendships throughout the class have been tested which
have needed assistance in overcoming the disagreements.
Learning Curve: Heading away for a camp is a huge learning curve. As it is the first camp I
attended as a teacher there were immense amounts of learning occurring at all times. Students
show different characteristics when in an unfamiliar environment, therefore it is important to react
to these and support them in an appropriate manner. For some students it was one of their first
times away from home therefore it is important to respect that they will be out of their comfort
zones.
Highlights: A highlight for this week is similar to last, attending a second camp where I was able
to interact with students outside of the classroom environment and see them tackle challenges
that puts them out of their comfort zone. This camp involved yr 7 and 8 students so was interesting
to see the difference in behaviours from the yr 6 camp. The year 7/8s really stepped up and
showed impressing levels of maturity at times which is satisfying to see.
Lowlights: Having to adapt to being back in the classroom after 6 days of camp for the rest of
the week was challenging. It was apparent that students were lacking in energy. This was not
only observed in the students, but in myself as well, getting back into routines was difficult and
remembering where we left off was tricky.
Learning Curve: Again on camp it was full of learning curves. This camp was full of activities that
pushed the students physically and mentally, therefore it was really important to gage how much
to push students to extend themselves out of their comfort zone, but not enough to upset them
and put them off the challenge altogether.
Highlights: Camp recounts was one of the follow up activities to be completed after camp. Some
of those finished were of good quality which was pleasing to see. It is also great to see the camp
experience through the eyes of the students as well as how much appreciation some of them did
show toward the parent helpers through the language they used in their thank you letters.
Lowlights: With such a short week it is difficult to fit everything in. Since returning from camp
students have a lot of finishing off of follow up activities which some seem unmotivated to
complete.
Learning Curve: Thursday was committed to a teacher only day in the SW Cluster. The focus
was to introduce the new digital curriculum in more depth to the schools in the area, showing us
the resources we have available. The first workshop was held at Te Hapua where they displayed
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all the resources they had on hand for schools to access when they chose. The afternoon session
was held back at school hosted by various digital technology teachers from around the area. They
were talking about the various activities and units they have trialled with their classes already to
give us more insight about how easy and fun digital activities are to implement.