12 August 2022

I've been thinking about relationships and the nature of our school. I've been thinking about how on any given day there are teachers on the phone chatting to a parent, maybe in the Meeting Room face-to-face or on Zoom with whånau or in or outside the classroom catching up. They may be writing a quick email update or planning a catch up or they may be writing a card to send home or letting parents know their child is up for an award.


We, as staff, aim to be connected and proactive - that's my wish that we, as.a school community, can all make this happen. The attribute this term is 'I am connected' after all!


I've been thinking that so much of our communication is informal, incidental, day to day... sure, there are all of our regular planned and more formal opportunities for parent and teacher catch ups but it's the day-to-day that builds the relationship.


When we look at how our teachers teach and their relationships - it's close when you share the space and share the tamariki. It needs to be. It's trusting, it's about reciprocity, about seeking perspective and 2 or 3 heads better than one philosophy, it's about playing to strengths and sharing the load...... it's also about modelling good adult communication. Once a teacher has worked all day with another adult in the room, the thought of the ratio of one adult to a large number of children often feels a new version of 'lonely'! (Not that we don't love the children!)


Our collaborative model has so many advantages.... and, again, it's all about relationships and camaraderie and after many years working in and leading all sorts of teams in different workplaces - nowhere has been as tight as Worser Bay. I think it runs deep in our rocky hillside.... and we have to keep our special culture buoyant and thriving.


Next week, Friday after the Assembly in Tautoru at 9.05am (yes, this will now be the 8th Assembly in 2.5 years!), please pop by the staffroom for a tea/coffee and catch up with other parents to hear more about the upcoming School Fair in November and how you could get more connected. This will be our first School Fair for quite some time... so it's something else (and big) to celebrate but it takes us all to give something to make it happen.