Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s a ten minute walk down to the beach from my school and how lucky we are to have this wonderful environment at our door step. Ben from the Dolphin Research Centre is passionate about our bay and his knowledge of the creatures that live there is amazing. Our students are very fortunate to have the opportunity to listen and explore with Ben. Ben introduces life in the rock pool, explains how to explore rock pools safely and how these amazing water spaces support small creatures. The children are totally engaged and have returned to school with many wonderings to explore and answer.

I’ll be following our rock pooling adventure with a Student Led Interactive Writing session. Our focus will be using adjectives and joining words. Keep visiting!

Cheers Nina

I am posting this news, because I’m just so thrilled for Jacinta Matheson, my 4^th Year Intern for ‘putting her hat in the ring’ and being a successful applicant for a teaching position. Jacinta will start her first teaching job at a school not too far away from mine in 2010.

Jacinta has been outstanding in every way and has featured in this blog numerous times. It has been such a pleasure working with her this year. This has been a relationship where learner and mentor have learnt together. I feel a bit like a mother bird here, but Jacinta is more than ready to leave the nest and fly on her own, infact I think she’ll soar.

My advice to Jacinta has been the same advice I’ve given to my Preps. That is, grab every opportunity you can, be a part of everything, contribute and learn. I’ve also given advice that I haven’t shared with my Preps and that is don’t make the mistakes I have. Jacinta has the capabilities and personality traits needed to be a school leader in the future. She may not want this for sometime, but it will happen…and I may have to go crawling to Jacinta for a job one day, so Jacinta when you read this, remember to be kind!

Cheers Nina

P.S I still expect you to read my blog next year. Ha!

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 11/11/2009

Reporter: Tony Jones

 ‘The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Julia Gillard, joins Lateline to discuss the Governments self-proclaimed education revolution.’

 ‘And Tony, of course, we’re also making profound reforms on the question of teacher quality and school leadership. We understand the most important thing to learning is the transaction between a teacher and a student, and if we can increase the quality of that, we can increase what’s happening quality-wise in our schools. That’s why, once again, we’re investing more than half a billion dollars in improving teacher quality and school leadership, including some reforms people thought this country would never see.’

 Now this is interesting! Julia Gillard has made a point here that I totally agree with and I think we’ve known for a long time. What makes a difference is the transaction between teacher and student. Improving teaching and learning in classrooms will ‘increase what’s happening quality –wise in our schools’. I agree!

 ‘Our new reforms for teacher quality have already started to deliver in NSW a system where a teacher can accredit as a leading or accomplished teacher, a teacher with special skills and they will be paid six figure salaries to go to disadvantaged schools to teach in those classrooms that need them the most because the kids are most at risk of falling behind – literacy and numeracy and the educational benchmarks we need them to attain.’

 Ok, so where am I going? To become a Leading Teacher in a Victorian school is near impossible. There just aren’t many positions, and if you want your speciality to be teaching and learning in a classroom, because that’s what you love to do, then it’s even harder. This  makes sense and I sincerely hope this happens. Lets value quality classroom teachers and give them access to promotion.

 I’m not so sure about other issues brought up in this interview, because I really need to know more, but I felt a ‘tinge’ of hope when I read this. All students, regardless of demographics have a right to reach their potential, to be literate and numerate. Australia is not third world, we have no excuse.

Cheers Nina  Come on, share your thoughts with me! Follow the link to read the full transcript – it’s interesting reading…

My Preps have been learning about patterns and symmetry in nature. Each child was given a butterfly outline and asked to create a pattern on one half of their butterfly. They had to plan their pattern in grey lead and then brightly color their design. When they had finished their side of the butterfly, it was named and passed to another child who had to match the existing pattern. The children loved this activity and the results are stunning. I’ve included photos of their work and one must remember this is the work of 5 & 6-year-old children. We’ll be visiting symmetry again, but ‘hey’, they’re beautiful anyway.

Cheers Nina

I have been reading an article written by Dr Patricia Edgar and I’ve decided to share what I believe are her key beliefs and what I found reaffirming. What caught my eye was this statement: ‘Media literacy education should not be seen as just another burden on an already crowded curriculum.’

I’ve been hearing this a bit lately and I’m beginning to think that many teachers feel so over whelmed by Web 2.0 that they don’t take that first step, asking someone for help.  I’m using the statement, ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow’ a lot lately, because it sums up my learning experience and one I’m now sharing with others.  Web 2.0 for me has been about baby steps and a mentor. I have immersed myself in everything, made mistakes along the way and grown professionally. I’m far more patient which has been an interesting outcome from my experience. I actually understand how hard that first step is.

The key points I have taken from this article are:

• ‘We now live in the information age with young digital natives accepting digital technology as casually as we did pencil and paper.
• Media literacy education should not be seen as just another burden on an already crowded curriculum, using technology effectively is fundamental to life today as traditional literacy skills.
• Experts are calling for media literacy in four main areas, covering children’s ability to: access the media; understand the media they access; create their own media content and learn through the media-
• Building on media content to enhance learning.
• As children are spending more and more time online, education policy needs to embrace the positive potential media offer
• Incorporating what students are doing into the school curriculum holds the promise of keeping students engaged in learning. ‘ 

Any statement relating to student engagement always grabs my attention because we all know students who aren’t engaged will not maximise their potential.

Dr Patricia Edgar’s latest book is The New Child: In search of smarter grown-ups.  

I’ts report writing time, but I’m still hoping to post regularly. Thanks for the comments and e-mails. I hope you find Dr Edgar’s ideas as  interesting as I have.

Cheers Nina

Yesterday I went to the DEEM briefing outlining how to read school survey data related to Drug Education and Student Wellbeing. I went last year and was wondering if this session would be a repeat of last year. However, this year we spent quite a bit of time looking at school leadership.  Leadership models were introduced and as I haven’t really done much leadership PD, it was all new. I actually found this aspect of the briefing really interesting.

When looking at the data, the key points highlighted for me was that everything goes back to quality teaching, engaging programs and effective leadership. You can have an ‘OK’ school, but when you have all three combined you’ll have a ‘great’ school. Research also says engaged students, quality programs, effective teachers and good leadership results in improved school learning data.

This is my notes from yesterday’s briefing. It shows three models of consultation/leadership. The first model shown has squiggly lines that go nowhere. This represents talking and never getting anywhere or making a decision. The second model represents following the steps 1-2-3… or just doing the process. The model represents change that is totally driven with no reflection. The third model displays learning. It’s a curving line that goes from a to b. Decisions are made and consultation has happened.

Sorry about the photo quality but I’ll explain each. These are consultation models. The first one shows a straight line from the leader to the staff members. This represents no consultation and is an autocratic leadership model. The second consultation model displays the leader in the centre and the staff around the outside. The leader basically goes off to different staff members indivdually and asks each their view on something and then reports what was said to the next staff member. Most staff in this model agree with the leader who can direct the responses. The third and most successful consultation model has the leader talking to a group of staff, brainstorming, discussing and asking for feedback. Throughout my career, I’ve seen each of these models in play and am familliar with all.

What have I learnt? I’ve learnt that quality leaders consult well and make informed decisions and that quality leadership is essential for a ‘great’ school. Thanks Lynne and Donna for an informing morning. And to all you leaders out there… What type of consultation model do you really use?

Cheers Nina