Teacher Appraisal

Working with those who are Over-Sensitised Friday 19th July 2019 What did I learn? Complex behaviour requires simple interventions because we need to work with the lower parts of the brain. This includes the four R's; Relationships, Repetition, Routine, and Rhythm. The lower brain needs to be happy and safe to allow the upper brain to engage.  Lower Brain = Brainstem/Limbic (Survival/Emotional) -Survival tasks -Impulsive -Irrational -Selfish -"Two year old" capacity -Doesn't think of how things will affect others. Upper Brain = Cortex (Managing) -Over-rides impulses -Plans -Sequences -Manages time -Abstract -Empathises The first thousand years are crucial as this is when the foundation is built, even before a baby is born. 86 Billion cells need to form to create a newborn baby. This is done through production, migration and differentiation. This is a chemical process which is why it is so important to not mix with any other chemicals

In what ways am I raising student achievement in writing? What I have done: Writing conferences Individual writing goals Used writing progressions alongside conferences and goal setting S.S.W (sustained silent writing) Allowing choice of genre Free writing using video or picture from literacy shed Writing that is mixed with other curriculum areas What I want to do: Write more often Introduce more ways to plan e.g. graphic organisers Create success criteria as a class more often Peer assessments

How do I prioritise the well-being of the Maori students in my class?  1. Know your Maori learners: Building up rapport and positive relationships with the students at the beginning of the year was very important. This includes getting to know them individually; what they enjoy, their background, how they feel towards their learning, their family etc. It is important to be able to make connections with them and their experiences to be able to support learning and strengthen relationships. Manaakitanga provides common purpose or a bond between teacher and student/whanau.  I have done this by talking to my students about things outside of school and I do this daily with a number of children. Also, at the beginning of the year we did a lot of 'all about me' activities and games so I could get to know the students and they could get to know each other as well. We spent the first four weeks of school focussing on building relationships. 2. Build community connect

How am I extending my top readers? I am extending my top readers in my class by offering challenges for them to do when they finish work earlier than others. These challenges are always available in a box in the classroom. Every 5 or so weeks I update them and add more to the box They are laminated so they can be used again. All the children know where they are and any student can use them, however, they are aimed at a higher level as to challenge and extend. Another way I have extended my top readers this year is I have created a new guided reading group of seven children who need extending. My original guided reading groups are mixed ability to allow for tuakana-teina. These groups are still focussing on poems and school journals, as for my top readers, they are reading a thick novel of a higher level.  Lastly, to extend the top readers within my new guided reading group, I am using Blooms Taxonomy and developing those higher skills, such as, analysing, evaluatin

How do my students know what they are learning in Mathematics? Students know what they are learning in Math as a result of consultation with them over the learning progressions for for each unit i.e. Measurement, Geometry. These progressions have been developed as a school and students are well aware of them. They outline what topics need to be covered and what needs to be achieved for that level (not all students are at the same level).  The progressions prove effective when looking for gaps in students learning. The progressions can also be accessed through Google Drive and each one has a link to the Maths Hub. On the Hub, students and teachers can find helpful videos, activities and tasks all about that specific section.  Students also know what they are learning in Math through the WALT (we are learning to...) for the lesson. This is written on the whiteboard, discussed and copied it into their books. Other ways would be through mathematical discussions, group work, work

Observation of Classroom Practice Alicia Prescott Maths Lesson -16/05/19  Effective Classrooms will be: What this looks like in the classroom: Examples of this in the classroom: Well organised, tidy  and visually attractive ·   Flexible workspaces to support individual, pair and group work. ·   Well presented examples of children’s work displayed ·   Routines and clear expectations displayed ·   Consistent expectations ·   Children taught and consistently reminded about care of resources and tidiness of classroom. (their responsibility) ·   Learning tasks are challenging but  scaffolded to reflect prior learning. ·   Children are on task with independent activities - Alicia has a desk where she can work with a small group effectively.  - some students are allowed to work independently in the corridor. - the classroom has some artwork and writing examples around the walls and is visually attractive. - the students were working from a roster

Compare your interactions with students from pre restorative training to post restorative training We have looked at our strengths and weakness activity from directly after this training to review how we are interacting with students since participating in the PB4L training in March. Since having restorative practice training and knowing everyone in the school is on the same page we feel more confident asking for support from ANY staff member rather than those just in the senior leadership team. We are finding that in incidental conversations we are more likely to discuss/mention how behaviours of students are impacting us and how they make us feel. It may not be in an official discussion per say, but made as a comment but we know we are being heard.  When talking our feelings with students, the students (most students) are beginning to realise that we are humans and we have feelings just the same way they do - we are not the robots they sometimes think we are.  This was

Whanau involvement in our students learning takes the form of: Sending home a class letter that outlines the Term's activities. This allows parents/caregivers to be aware of what is happening in class and they can use it to guide meaningful conversations with their children about their learning. Sharing students individual success and participation on the app Seesaw. For the majority of parents who have signed up, they can see photos, videos, and listen to voice recordings from their children. Celebration night, which takes place twice a year, the students are able to share with their whanau in person about their learning. Whanau can look at their books, work and classroom displays. Reports, which are sent home twice a year, informing students of their child's progress and attitude to learning. Weekly assemblies, which is presented by a different class. Parents/caregivers are welcome to attend to celebrate Pride Badges and the Pride Cup awards.

Jungle 2nd and 3rd of July 2019 The school production has been a major learning curve for me. It was always something I loved to do as a student, however, I had no idea how much work really went into it behind the scenes. It was an amazing experience to work alongside one of my colleagues, the parents who helped, members of the St James Theatre, and other members of the community. I feel as though I have spread my web of connections throughout Gore. Under the wing of my colleague, I learnt so much! From costumes to makeup, from lighting to music. My organisation skills have improved as we needed to plan endless meetings and practices coming up to the week of the show. The day of, I was offered the chance to be stage manager and to be honest I was reluctant. But I am so glad I took on another responsibility because it was a great opportunity. I feel as though I gained a lot of self-confidence, not only as a teacher, but as a member of my community and I can say that I wou