Section
Practice
Practical guidance for the day-to-day work of leading a New Zealand school.
About this section
Articles in this section share how-to advice on the operational and relational aspects of principalship: navigating employment law, writing letters of expectation, talking to parents about ERO reports, enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi in school life, mentoring future leaders, and supporting equity in the classroom. Contributors are working principals, sector specialists, employment lawyers, and education consultants drawing on lived experience in New Zealand schools. Use this section to find tested approaches to common challenges, build your professional toolkit, and learn from the practice of colleagues across the country — from country schools to large urban primaries.
Anxious Kids: A call to Action
ANXIOUS KIDS: A CALL TO ACTION Anne Giles Direction Worx Ltd Stephanie Geddes The University of Waikato Anne Giles ‘Anxious kids have really good strengths in humility, love, honesty, kindness and social intelligence, but they need to dial up their strengths in leadership and bravery, perspective, judgment and curiosity.’ The Listener – Feb 2018 This […]
Westbridge Residential School
EDITOR Earlier this year, I joined President, Whetu Cormick, on a trip to the South Island. This trip had one specific purpose – to visit two Residential Schools, Halswell in Christchurch and Salisbury in Nelson. Whetu wanted to experience first hand the programmes in action at these schools. He wanted to meet the residents, their […]
‘Play is the way’…to independence, self-management and self-motivation
‘PLAY IS THE WAY’ . . . TO INDEPENDENCE, SELF-MANAGEMENT and SELF-MOTIVATION Liz Hawes EDITOR The virtues of play have been elevated lately, as new-entrant teachers report the growing number of children arriving at school without the necessary skills for formal learning. It is well known that through play, young children make sense of their […]
Edutech Conference, ICC Sydney 2018
EDITOR ‘Massive’ takes on new meaning when you attend an There was no shortage of Australian politicians amongst the EduTECH Conference. Ten thousand delegates are about nine presenters either. Star amongst them was former Prime Minister thousand more than you normally expect at a conference – but of Australia, the Hon Julia Gillard. With obvious […]
Kahukura Community of Practice (COP)
Kahukura Community of Practice (CoP) Trudy Heath Principal Addington Te Kura Taumatua Gavin Burn Principal Cashmere Primary Te Pae Kererū Ross Hastings Principal Christchurch South Intermediate Denise Torrey Principal Somerfield Te Kura Wairepo Frank McManus Principal Sacred Heart School Christine Harris Principal Thorrington Primary Marriene Langton Principal West Spreydon School This article is submitted by […]
Far not fast says Finnish Expert
EDITOR Pasi Sahlberg, Professor of Education Policy at reforms of different countries and analysing their effects. In June this year, as a guest of the University of Auckland, the University of New South Wales, is a world authority on educational reforms. His home country, Finland, came to the Sahlberg addressed an audience of New Zealand […]
Special Schools for Special Young People
HALSWELL WESTBRIDGE AND SALISBUR SCHOOLS TELL THEIR STORIES Liz Hawes EDITOR Living is learning in the residential school environment. These are 24/7 schools where teaching and learning never stops. The social and emotional sit right alongside the educational when it comes to teaching the very special residents of these very special schools. When you visit […]
A return to assessment for Learning: Back to the future
NZCER Manager Assessment & Reporting Over the last 30 years or so teachers have increasingly been asked to play a key role in our assessment systems. For the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), secondary school teachers are expected to design and implement internal assessment systems that can be used to determine how well students […]
Sir Ken Robinson comes to New Zealand
EDITOR Practitioners travel the world to hear Sir Ken Robinson, ever since his TED talks went viral. Until recently, the closest he’d been to our part of the world was Singapore, when hundreds of New Zealand and Australian academics, teachers and school principals, eager to share in his philosophy of learning, flew the long-haul trip […]
The Power of Expectations
“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.” Having great expectations and high standards are proven to help raise achievement in the classroom. Recognising that our beliefs also shape behaviour is a vital key to success. Do you and your teachers believe all students can succeed? Does the language and […]