7 May 2021

Post date: May 07, 2021 1:52:30 AM

I love this whakatauki and its emphasis on listening, understanding and wisdom supporting wellbeing. It reminds me of one of my favoured sayings "We have 2 ears to listen and one mouth to speak".

I also recognise how listening to each other - whether it's parent/child/staff or any combination of the 'people' - can sometimes be challenging, especially when we are on the hop and the 'to do' list is growing exponentially.

Active listening is not easy but it's a constant and considered staff goal that is never fully achieved it seems. I shared this short TED TALK with the staff last year - Julian Treasure (great name!) is a bit of an expert at sound/listening. He believes we are losing our ability to listen. In his Talk, "5 ways to listen better", he shares five techniques to help people improve their listening skills.

SILENCE: Spending three minutes a day in absolute silence in order to recalibrate the mind.

THE MIXER: Paying attention to the different sounds you can hear in any situation.

SAVOURING: Enjoying mundane sounds, such as the tumble dryer.

LISTENING POSITIONS: Consciously listening through different ‘filters’.

RASA: A Sanskrit word for "essence" or "juice" and I think it's a helpful little tool

Receive

Appreciate

Summarise

Ask

Teachers have been studiously tapping away over the holiday break writing your child's Interim Progress Report based on their first term's progress and achievement. (This cycle looks a little different for Autahi.)

Progress and Achievement Meetings will occur early June, so please look out in following Newsletters for when the interview booking system opens.

But, back to the listening - these meetings are 15 minutes max. They are rather swift. If teachers or parents have bigger questions to ask and answer, then please contact each other and make an appointment outside of the usual calendar of reporting.

We are so looking forward to a new term of learning together. Each school term has a particular flavour. I always feel that Term 2 is about energy and grit and building up our reservoirs, and we take steps up that mighty maunga!

Forwards we go....