Principals Discussion- 29th- June- 2017

Present: Charmaine Munro, Kim Van Der Speck, James Grant, Lizzie Dickey,
Hamza Ishikawa.

Meeting opened: 9:10 am.

1. What do principals specifically look for when hiring a beginning

teacher?

I look at your CV but not always looking for straight As. Looking for initiative
and people who have a teacher presence. You can always tell people who
have this even in an interview. I always look for someone who is organized.
Someone that the children like but you are not their friend.

Try to stand out when there are lots of people that are being interviewed.
When going for any job you need to make yourself stand out, people are
looking for the point of difference. Definitely the word of mouth helps as the
teaching community is very connected. Therefore, being professional no
matter where you are teaching is important even if you dont want a job there.

How can you make your CV stand out? It is about the organization, more
about the letter that is written to the principal and principal has been spelled
correctly. Make sure that your referees know they are one and that you have
a cell phone number for them.

2. What can a beginning teacher expect in terms of support in their first year?

You get your point 2 support which is one day a week of release. Do not swan
around with a cup of coffee. A good chance to get your folder done, you go and
observe others and people come and observe you. You tutor teacher is the first port
of call for planning and any other help you need.

Jan and Jan have been doing breakfast meetings a few times a term to touch base
and make sure everything is going okay. BTs all do the PD with the rest of the staff
and have other opportunities for extra support for professional development.
3. What do you think will be important for us to know in our first year of
teaching?

That it is going to be hard. You are going to think that you cant do it at times. The
second year is easier and we try to support our students as much as we can. You
need to be organized and get things done at school instead of taking it home. BTs
here do their planning on Thursdays and then get all their worksheets and books on
Friday so you have some time to relax on the weekend. This takes the pressure off,
you need to be kind to yourself,

Get a dairy! When you arent planned everything goes to custard, make sure that
you plan for everything. Try to look after yourself. It is horrible to be sick and trying to
keep up with the demands of teaching.

4. What in your eyes makes a great C.V?

Talk about what you are good at. For example, people that are musical, someone
who is into Mori. Looking for someone who can run sport and other schooling
activities that extend beyond classroom teaching. You need to really think about the
school you want to work at and if you are a good fit.

Try to make an appointment with the principal or the DP to look around the school if
you are not familiar with it.

5. How do you deal with or what strategies do you have with dealing with
struggling kids who you know have tough family lives?

Knowing your children and knowing their backgrounds. knowing what their needs
are. Having the trust relationship so that they can talk to you. We do a lot of food for
children who dont bring lunch to school. We feed these kids breakfast and provide
uniforms that can be worn for students who cant afford it. We do food parcels for
families.
Went to Wynnes and sorted out housing for students who dont have good enough
housing. Home visits are also done with students who are in troubled homes. We
also have our school social worker and she works for students that are struggling at
school because of problems in their home background. The principal deals with the
highest needs children. We also have a public health nurse.

Remember to ask for help with students that have major behavior issues, you are not
alone. A lot of households have had visits from Waiparera to establish what is going
wrong at home and why the children are missing a lot of school.

6. Would you say it is important to reflect on community matters as a teacher?

You have to know the community and where they have come from. You have to
keep an eye on what is happening in education. Try to be aware of the diversity of
students and their culture. If you dont know the community you will really struggle as
they wont trust you, wont feel safe. They need to know you understand them.

7. How important is biculturalism at Sunnyvale school? What are some

effective ways to implement bicultural practice in a school setting?

That is what our COL is about. We are trying to raise awareness around the
community and their needs. At the end of the day, the Mori needs to be a focus and
then it will filter out into the other cultures. It is easier to work with our Pasifika
groups as they are much more approachable. The Mori that do well at the school
are the ones that practice their Mori culture outside of school and know their marae.
This is then reinforced by our efforts at schools. We are doing Ka pai kai this term for
concept. We are holding a hangi on the last day of term. We have been celebrating
Samoan language week and other diverse languages in our school. We are trying to
get the Maori language in our concept planning, as well as wider planning.

8. With the building project in mind, how do you think more modern learning
environments will benefit education at Sunnyvale?
You have to have open minded teachers for this to happen. Some of the teachers
are not going to like it. It really must work with the two teachers otherwise the
classroom environment wont work. We are trying to provide more PD around these
learning environments. We have been struggling with our one MLE as it is not a
proper environment. The building project is exciting and is a welcome addition to
Sunnyvale. We look forward to how it enhances academic achievement at our
school.

We do get some donations and MOE budgets that are helping with our MLE.

Meeting closed: 10:10 am.