13 October 2023

School years definitely have a cyclic feel and natural rhythm. Term 4 is partly rooted in the present but starts to feel even more future focused than usual. The who, the what, the why and, very importantly, the how of the teaching and learning focus/intentions for 2024 need to be in place and understood as well as continuing to deliver the day to day - macro and micro.

By the end of November, the staff will have collated the achievement data from across the school. This will have been analysed, patterns and trends detected, no doubt some celebrating and some thoughtful next steps deliberated over....... one thing we do know is there won't be any surprises - for us or for yourselves! That's the aim of knowing the learners.

This year, we have had annual targets for Reading, Writing, Maths, Positive Education (aka Wellbeing) and Te Ao Māori. This is what we need to report on to the Ministry of Education by March. We like to get it all completed in November..... and this will mean we can share it with you in December too. It feels to me that the following year is just that..... I'm not one for loose ends, unless there has to be. 

Teachers have been drafting your child's end of year Progress and Achievement Report over the break. It seems early to make judgments as to progress in October when there is still plenty of weeks of learning to go..... but, realistically, especially as the children get older when learning is broader, we should be able to make accurate judgments against curriculum levels now. In the Junior School, especially in the early years, the levels tend to be narrower and so we will sometimes wait until the last possible couple of weeks before the reports need to be finalised. Once completed, these are moderated across spaces to check consistency of 'evidence' against the levels, including standardised testing and qualitative exemplars - the hard and soft data. Once collated and analysed, this all then feeds into the 2024 Annual Plan. Phew! 

Sitting above this is the Strategic Plan - we have tested our thinking by tapping into your heads and seeking input from children as to what success means for you/them. I'll be sorting this out over October so that will also form part of the picture for 2024 and beyond.

Next week, the 13 Principals from our Kāhui Ako will take this up a level higher to unpack what success means for all children in our community... aiming for alignment up and down and across the various layers.

There is a huge amount going on in Education 'out there' at the moment....... maybe we will find out something else in the following weeks. Let's watch this space, but, in the meantime, we look forward to future planning and playing in tune to the type of upbeat rhythm that we know Term 4 can bring.