Inclusive Learning at OrmPS

Part of Educator Learning Time is to discuss and learn the importance of Inclusive Learning and we do this here at Ormiston Primary School.

Inclusive learning is all about equitable engagement and responsive approaches that ensure all of our learners are happy, safe and can access the learning experiences. - Diana Wilkes

Inclusive learning is ensuring ALL learners are included and provided engaging learning experiences which ensures each individual has opportunities for success and growth towards their learning goals.  - Karyn Patterson

Inclusive learning recognises that everyone learns differently and that these differences  should be catered for within a caring and supportive environment. - Lisa Pearson

Based on the discussion, as an educator it is important for us to ensure all learners are included and safe here at Ormiston Primary School.

Shift in Pedagogy

Here at Ormiston Primary, as part of our daily delivery we have iExplore and iExperience. This is a new teaching aspect that I have learned since I have been here at Ormiston. 

In our team, iExplore happens in the morning from 9.05am - 9.45am. This is where we as learning coaches come up with ideas that our learners would be interested in learning about that are current and may be happening in our world. For example, we had a group that focused on making Jewellery to sell at the Ormiston Market Day. 

This group had to research ideas of what they would like to learn about, create and share. Within this big group, there were small groups. Some learners focused on making: necklaces, bracelets, headbands and hair clips. Once they created their products we had to think about how we were going to present and sell them. We also had to price our products and talked about what a profit meant.

In iExperience, I have designed, delivered and taught children a whole range of different inquiries which I hope has sparked thought and interest into their learning. Activities included: light, colour, Cook Island culture, science experiments, Samoan culture, Matariki, Waitangi Day, Easter and a whole range of other topics. We have taster sessions over two days, usually Monday and Tuesday. We have each hapu for 30-35 minutes. Then, the learners get a choice of what they would like to learn more about. So, they choose based on what the learning coaches have designed.

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I've never taught inquiry topics like this before and this I think is a great way to learn. This has changed my pedagogy in the are of inquiry and teaching it based on our school's learning model. You can find out more on our Habitat Site here. iExplore here and iExperience here.

Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa - Samoan Language Week

For the past 5 weeks, our Samoan girls dance group have been practicing their Samoan siva (dance). Samoan Language is the third most common language spoken in New Zealand, after English and Te Reo Maori. To find out more and access resources you can click here.

The girls practiced every week, sometimes more than twice a week to learn the actions and the song - Lau Samoa by Marina Davis. There are 15 girls in the group and only five of them are of Samoan descent. Well done to all the girls and we're looking forward to the next Pacific Island and Maori Language weeks coming up. Click here to find out more. Photo cred: Cassandra Everts.

Sports and Clubs @ OrmPS

As part of my role here at Ormiston, I am in charge and helping to support the sports teams and clubs. Our sports shed is well equipped with whole lot of sports gear like: soccer balls, basketballs, a sports trolley, hula hoops, tennis balls, badminton racquets and a whole lot of other stuff.

The exciting part is ordering new sports gear to get our teams up and running. For example: cricket which our learners love and softball which is a sport that learners are still learning more about. Here is a short clip of some learners practicing football skills.

We have tennis lessons for learners from LH1 and LH4. We've had football sessions and there are rugby sessions that are up and coming. We are all excited to be involved in all the different sports taking place.

My goal is to get as many learners participating in sport here at school and hopefully representing the school at InterZone and within school competitions. The school is filled with lots of sporty talented learners.

Provocations at OrmPS

This is my first year thinking about and teaching provocations in the classroom. Provocations are discussions, ideas and activities that are thought provoking around interests, questions and creativity. Here at Ormiston Primary, as learning coaches, we are to consider our learning habitat as a fifth learning coach. As mentioned in our meeting, a well designed and resourced learning space enables provocation creation.

As a team we are now in the process of planning and setting up provocations within our habitat to best suit our learners around our four vision principles: Curious, Capable, Connected and Collaborative. Our provocations are set up first thing in the morning when the learners come in and will hopefully spark curiosity before, during or after a deliberate act of teaching anytime.

Here are some of what the learners did this morning for provocations.

New Zealand Sign Language Classes have begun!

There is a NZSL unit here at Ormiston with learners with hearing impairments and deafness. In partnership with KDEC the unit is designed to cater for learners in the Flatbush/ Botany area who have hearing difficulties. We are fortunate to have Kaori who has found Shona to teach us NZSL classes.

Shona taught us the Sign Language alphabet, how to greet others, how to say please and thank you and how to sign the letters of our names and how to get NZSL Learners attention. It's a great opportunity to learn more and teach other learners across the school.

Week One at OrmPS

The school year began yesterday (Thursday) and I was eager to meet the learners in our habitat. But also, the ones in my hapu group. At Ormiston Primary the students are referred to as 'learners' and the team as 'habitat'. My hapu group is the core class of learners that I will be teaching for literacy and numeracy. My role at the school is now a 'Learning Coach' which is the term used for teachers.

The lessons or tasks and activities throughout the day are named differently. Instead of fitness, we use the term iActive. iExplore from my understanding are activities driven by the learners and iExperience is where the activities are driven by the learning coaches (teachers). These new terms are different but with time will slowly catch on. iDevelop is literacy and numeracy learning.
There are no bells at the school so everything is run by the clock and kept to time. Learning coaches out on duty inform the students of when iBreaks (morning tea and lunchtime) are over and send them back to class.

There are no rubbish bins at the school either. It's a waste free school. There are recycling bins for paper, plastic and tins as well as a bin for recyclable paper. There is also a bokashi bin for some of the food waste. Every other piece of rubbish is put back into learner bags and taken home to dispose of.

It's been a great first week and I've learned so much. The children are very sweet and some are helping me to learn the basics in Mandarin. I'm looking forward to a great year.

Learning with NZSL users @ OrmPS

As part of our professional development for New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) we had Krista from KDEC come in and speak to us about NZSL and what it's like for children in the classroom.

There is the use of interpreters that allows deaf people to converse within the hearing world. Interpreters provide full access for children in the classroom, everything said by the learning coach (teacher) is interpreted to the learners. Interpreters help and support in the classroom is vital in the classroom and makes so much difference.

Something new I've learned is every country has their own sign language. I also learned how to say hello, how are you, I"m good thank you, I'm (my name) and what is your name in sign language. I've also picked up the sign language for friend, dog, play, learn, coach, help and lunch.

This image is an idea of how a learner who is deaf to access the full picture for that child. If you're a child and can't make sense of it at all, it is very hard.
Learners may need to look away from their interpreters as their eyes are tired and it can be hard work.

We also had another activity to do, with ear plugs. All coaches had to wear ear plugs, walk around and ask others questions and find answers. All the while, there was an annoying background noise playing loudly. I relied heavily on lip reading and the use of gestures to understand some people's answers. I also felt frustrated when having to ask some questions too. Some of the things we did to try and understand each other was read lips, use actions and hand gestures and make eye contact. We found that it was harder to ask longer questions and where some words are tricky to say. This enabled us as a staff to put ourselves in the learners shoes and to better understand how learners are feeling.

It's important to gain the students attention before you start to communicate with them.
Examples are: flashing lights, waving, gently tapping their leg or stomping foot. We can also ask other learners who are listening to get their attention. Eye contact is really important in communicating with others.

Learning to sign helps to make a connections with NZSL learners. Connection is valuable. In order to gauge whether a learner has understood is by asking open ended questions. As often some children can use the deaf nod or the nod of bluffing which

Other points we discussed was how to create a deaf friendly school and that was to ensure that the school environment is inclusive of all learners. Use and teach other children signage during assembly and learning the days of the week. As well, as making sure that the notices were visual and accessible to all learners.

What does Ormiston primary do to be deaf friendly? Having visuals, turn off lights, shake the tambourine, learn more sign language and the learning coach to raise their hands to show that they are speaking.

I'm really excited about learning New Zealand Sign Language to help all children understand better and to communicate effectively in the classroom.

Induction Day at OrmPS

Today, as a staff we covered a lot of ground for the year ahead. We looked at the Vision Principles of the school, Collaboration and what it means, Assessment and Appraisals and a brief look at Maths and the resources we needed in our habitats.

The session that stood out today was around Collaboration. We were asked to get into nine groups and the task was to choose one person to lift up. Our group discussed and shared ideas about what we as a team were going to do. One person decided that we could put our own spin on it and lift a person up by giving saying positive things about them. What had to make decisions together as a team and come to an agreement about how we were going to do this.

As a collective, we discussed: Why is collaboration important? How is it implemented? What did we do show that we are a collaborative team?

Together, we talked about the values of the school and the learner's strengths, how the school is bi-culturally responsible and the strengths and how the community is involved and the strengths around this also.

Collaboration and working collaboratively is a reminder to working together and helping others.

For me personally, I was pointed out as sitting back and not saying much. But, it wasn't that I didn't have anything to say, what I wanted to say had already been shared and so I agreed with them. Nine is a big number to collaborate in as there are too many cooks in the kitchen. This is something for me to think about during my time as a learning coach at Ormiston.