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COL Connections - Issue 1, April 2019
 
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COL CONNECTIONS
 
Kia Ora and Welcome to the first e-dition of COL CONNECTIONS that aims to connect our CoL. 
This quarterly publication is sent to all schools each term to be disseminated to Boards of Trustees, staff, parents, whānau, and student communities in order to communicate the work of the Morrinsville Kāhui Ako - Community of Learning. I hope that you find this report informative and interesting. 

INTRODUCING THILO

It is both a pleasure and a privilege to serve the MKA-CoL. I was originally involved in the formation of the Kāhui Ako in 2016 and served on the Steering Committee last year. I applied for the position of Leader at the end of 2018, and after a rigorous interview process, I am delighted to assume this role until the end of 2020. My other role is as Deputy Principal of Morrinsville College. In both roles, I aim to deliver to the highest standards in the best interests of our students, staff and community. 
 

JOURNEYING INTO THE FUTURE

The MKA-CoL began its journey to establishment in 2016 and at the end of last year, the MoE accepted our Achievement Challenge document so that we could move into the implementation phase of the work. You can access a copy of this document here

We are currently updating this information, particularly around the formation of our logo, and Version 2 will be available next term.

Eleven schools including Morrinsville College, Morrinsville Intermediate, David Street School, Tatuanui School, Tauhei Combined School, Tahuna School, Kiwitahi School, Motumaoho School, St. Joseph’s Catholic School, Whitikahu School and Orini Combined School constitute the MKA-CoL. We are also very pleased to announce that five ECE’s from Morrinsville have joined our Kāhui Ako: Morrinsville Kids Ltd, Morrinsville Early Learning Centre, Central Kids Kindergartens - Rushton Road, Ezekiel Trust Community Kindergarten, and Central Kids Kindergartens - Morrinsville.
 
As the first appointed Leader of the MKA-CoL, I want to acknowledge Brian Harrop's experienced leadership and to thank him for his wise guidance in our partnership thus far. I also want to acknowledge all of the Principals from our founding schools who have contributed their time, experience and knowledge but most especially, for believing in the power of the collective to make our MKA-CoL a reality. My aim is to pick up from where Brian has left off and make strategic investments into relationships and partnerships with organisations in the Morrinsville area and beyond as we aspire to our vision: Empowering Learning for All.

I hope that we will be able to count on your support as we gain momentum to improve and enhance learning for our Morrinsville students and families.

FAREWELL, HAERE RĀ

It is with regret that we farewell three of our founding MKA-CoL Principals who are moving on to new adventures.

Jordan Palfrey, Principal of Kiwitahi School has won a new Principalship at Parawai School in Thames and begins his role next term. Emily Hargreaves, Principal of Orini Combined School, is moving to the South Island where she will be closer to her family. Trish Wilson, Principal of Whitikahu School, is retiring from her position and is looking forward to spending her time with her family. We also said goodbye to Justin Bertrand last year, ex-Principal of Motumaoho School, when he was appointed to Kaimai School in the Bay of Plenty. We want to wish Jordan, Emily, Trish and Justin all the best as they traverse new pathways and hope that they will keep in touch to let us know how they are doing.

I also want to acknowledge and thank Kathryn Hodson, our expert partner for our MKA-CoL, as her contract comes to an end. Kathryn is currently the Director of Waikato University’s Institute of Professional Learning and she has walked the long and exciting journey of the formation and establishment of our MKA-CoL and her expertise will be greatly missed.

HAERE MAI - WELCOME!

We are delighted to welcome three new Principals to our MKA-CoL this year.

Chris May, an ex-Morrinsville College student, has proudly taken up the leadership of Tuahei School. We also welcome Phillip Otto who was appointed as Principal at Motumaoho School, and our most recently appointed Principal to Orini Combined School is Chrissy Wakeman. We look forward to working alongside Chris, Phillip and Chrissy as Principals of our MKA-CoL.
 
As mentioned earlier, we are delighted to announce that our initial collaboration of 11 schools has grown to include five ECE’s and we are excited about the possibilities that exist as we work together. As part of our collaboration, we are partnering with ECEs to ensure that the transition from home to ECE to Primary School and onwards for our children will be as easy and smooth as possible. Our first step is to ensure that we apply for the ECE Collaboration fund from the MOE to enable ECE staff to engage with schools' staff to share best practice and communicate for understanding.

MKA-COL STUDENT LEARNING

Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust held their frist digital technology wananga “Hangarau for Hauā” on 29 March 2019 and partnered with OMGTech!, a nationwide charity dedicated to providing New Zealanders the opportunity to experience technology.

Some of our MKA-CoL schools participated in the activities and there was a buzz of excitement as students learned about robotics, artificial intelligence, coding, 3-D Printing, and other STEAM related projects.

MKA-COL STAFF APPOINTMENTS

Our schools have collectively generated several new positions of leadership within the MKA-CoL. Three new positions of Across School Leaders were established.

At the end of 2018, two Across-School Leaders were appointed to our MKA-CoL. Vicky Marshall, from David Street School, and Samantha Farook, from Morrinsville College, will be working with staff across the 11 schools and 5 ECEs in our Kāhui Ako to support teachers’ professional learning and the achievement challenges outlined on our MKA-CoL document. I have had the pleasure of working with both Vicky and Samantha, and believe that their knowledge and support will be a great asset to all our schools. A third position will be advertised in the near future.

Schools in the Kāhui Ako also made appointments to the Within-School Leader positions:

Morrinsville College – Rochelle Johns; Kevin Rae, Mere Nock and Nikki Paton
David Street School – Laura Robinson and Nicola Soffe
Morrinsville Intermediate School – Brendon Fiebig
Orini Combined, Whitikahu School, Tauhei School, Tahuna School, Tatuanui School, Kiwitahi School and Motumaoho School – Carol Thomas and Rob Haddock [Itinerant positions]
 
We had a successful meeting in March to discuss how we can build networks and collaborate to support our own learning in these new roles at each of our schools and across the seven rural schools that are serviced by Rob and Carol.

PARTNERING WITH IWI

In early March, we invited Lisa Gardiner, General Manager of the Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust, to present at our MKA-CoL Leadership Meeting and she outlined the vision of the Iwi and educational plans that are being developed.

She also explained about educational pathways that are in existence in our area and discussed the expectations of the Iwi for their people. We look forward to further strengthening our partnership with Ngāti Hauā so that together we can all work for the best outcomes of our students, families and whānau. For more information about the Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust, have a look through their website

NATHAN WALLACE 

On 1 July from 8.15am to 3.30pm, Nathan Wallace, a Neuroscience Educator, will deliver  professional learning to our MKA-CoL staff reflecting the latest neuroscience discoveries and their practical implications for everyday practice. 

Nathan has generously sponsored two free tickets for each school and ECE which will be distributed at the discretion of principals. We are most grateful for the support of Community House Morrinsville who have sponsored our Kāhui Ako $3500 towards the costs of hosting Nathan. Please support our parent evening component on the same night from 7.30pm to 9.00pm at the College Hall. You can book here

EVERY DAY MATTERS

Keeping kids in education is vital for their success at school and later in life. The research tells us that the fewer days students are at school, the less chance they have of achieving. Missing school isn't just about missing learning, it's also about all the other opportunities that are missed - every day matters!

All schools in our MKA-CoL are now signed up to Every Day Matters [EDM], a MoE initiative and we have been accepted as a pilot study with tracking attendance across all our schools This will give us important information about the broad trends of student attendance in our Kāhui  Ako so that we can address a second lever of Change through Hauora – Health and Well-being. More information on this will follow.

TEACHERS' LEARNING

With the support of the MoE, we have secured the expertise of University of Auckland Centre for Educational Leadership and Tabitha Leonard from Learning Architects to support the professional learning of our staff in our MKA-CoL.

One Achievement Challenge that we have identified is to enhance Teacher Efficacy and this will be addressed through teachers’ professional learning. Through these external contracts, staff from all schools will be able to access tailor-made, personalised and general professional learning that support their professional practice in the classroom.

At the beginning of the year, John Inger, Principal of Morrinsville College, and Brian Harrop organised two programmes to support building our staffs’ knowledge and understanding of the history and background of our Māori students who belong to Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Wairere. Those schools who did the Ngāti Hauā tour reported that it was a fascinating discovery of places, people and culture in our backyard. Those of us who went to Tauhei Marae to learn about the history of Ngāti Wairere were visibly moved by the sentiments expressed about the power of inclusion and acceptance through education. We also did the Pukemokemoke Bush Reserve walk, learned about traditional flora in the area and enjoyed a picnic lunch under the trees as we shared stories and food, getting to know each other better.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Two more whole MKA-CoL Professional Learning Days have been planned in Term 2.

There will be a full staff meeting for all schools, held at Morrinsville College Hall from 3.30pm to 5.00pm on 27 May 2019, where staff will engage with our Achievement Challenge Document.

Then, on 1 July 2019 from 8.15 to 3.30pm, Nathan Wallace, a Neuroscience Educator, will deliver professional learning reflecting the latest neuroscience discoveries and their practical implications for everyday practice in the Morrinsville College Hall.

IN CONCLUSION

While it has been a very busy start to the year, I am enthused by the fantastic support that we have enjoyed by the staff at all our schools and ECEs. There is great potential for us to accomplish wonderful things if we can work together positively. If you have any queries, thoughts, or ideas on how we can forge strong partnerships to empower learning for all, please get in touch. I wish you all the very best for Term 1 School holidays.


Best Regards, Ngā Mihi
Thilo Govender | MKA-CoL Leader

ADDRESS:  c/o Morrinsville College, PO Box 325, Morrinsville, 3340, NZ 
PHONE: 07 8898308

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Morrinsville College · Alexandra Avenue · Morrinsville · Hamilton, Waikato 3214 · New Zealand

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