My first Ulearn as a CORE employee…

For a long time I thought and said…. “when I grow up I want to wear a yellow lanyard”.  Well, I haven’t particularly grown up or changed but next week will be my first wearing of a yellow lanyard as I work at #ULearn13.  I have just read over the job sheet with my commitments for the week. I have just checked my commitments on the social media team. I have just tweaked my presentations yet again.  I have my costume sorted for “all that glitters”, minimalistic to the extreme.  I am about to pack and head to Hamilton very early on Monday morning.  What am I looking forward to most.  Undoubtedly, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.  Ulearn is the ‘social’ learning conference of the year for me.  It is a time to catch up with people from all around NZ, those I know and those I am yet to meet.  It is a time to really discuss the current successes and challenges and network with others on similar journeys.  It is a time to give, of yourself, your time, your ideas, your passions.  It is a time to take, ideas, names, resource links, wonderings, opportunities, and take note of where we are at and where we are heading.  It is a time to really make the most of every moment… to talk and hug and share and laugh.  It is a time to be in the week that is #ULearn13.

Preparing for Ulearn…

Last week I surveyed my Ulearn workshop participants, with a short survey to help me best meet their needs.  Within a very short period of time I was completely overwhelmed with 66 responses.   This information is invaluable as I tweak my presentations.  I have quite specific details of age levels, degree of blended support used for literacy, main writing tools used and a wealth of information that learners hope to gain from my session.  Although it is not really possible to specifically cater for the needs of all I am very able to cater to the range of needs and include links to support those with more specific or individual needs and requests.  The benefits of this surveying are HUGE for me.  I feel as if I have connected with my learners and when we meet face to face to start in a better place.  I am able to include details of our mix at the start of the presentation and encourage those with similar needs to connect and collaborate.  I am incredibly more focused on the needs of my participants.  It is proven that repeated connections and discussions can have a greater chance of impacting on practice.  As the participants own this presentation, one they will collaborate on, on the day, they are possibly more likely to return and revisit the ideas shared.  In our incredibly busy world, teachers return to the class on Monday after an incredibly full-on Ulearn experience.  Anything we can do to enable immediate impact on outcomes for our learners must be explored.  Any opportunity for those with similar needs to connect and collaborate must be facilitated.  

12 days til we depart for Paris….

(Just found this post draft and couldn't resist posting it.... I really need to find time to post the rest of our incredible adventure....)

Well, I think this is the very first time I have committed words to the blog around our big trip.  It is only twelve sleeps til we depart for Paris.  I can hardly believe that a lifelong dream and visiting Paris and Venice are on the horizon.  I thought it would be good to start sharing the build up and looking forward to the journey.

So far the things I am looking forward to most are:

·      A holiday away with Grant

·      Seeing the Eiffel Tower

·      Travelling up the Eiffel Tower

·      Cycling around Monet’s garden

·      The night time illumination tour of Paris

·      Walking around and soaking up all the sights and sounds

·      Visiting Rome

·      Getting a sense of history in Rome

·      The leaning tower of Pisa

·      The five fishing villages (strangely this is the thing I am most looking forward to – I think the photos I have seen have given it a MAGICal quality)

·      Venice

·      Singapore (As long as the air there has cleared a lot)

I do not remember Grant and I ever having three weeks away together and I am really looking forward to time talking, dreaming, planning, enjoying, and not thinking about work.  I am looking forward to exploring and relaxing, wining and dining.  I am looking forward to experiences different ways of life and taking a zillion photos along the way.  Most of all I looking forward to a relaxed time with Grant just enjoying our time.

Celebration of new CORE offices...

What an incredible privilege to be at the opening of the new CORE offices in Madras St, Christchurch. What an awesome celebration!

How awesome to really have the learner at the centre of the celebration!  

The time is now – the time to speak up

For a very long time I have been wanting to speak up about suicide.  For a very long time I have been worried about the danger of our population keeping quiet.

Too many people are dying….

Too many families are suffering…

Too many links are being broken….

I do not profess to know, understand or even begin to totally feel what it is like to lose someone to suicide but I do know that it is far too often we are left wondering, grieving, crying, screaming and suffering.

Last week on TV I was inspired by the hairdressers talking of the Caspar programme which is empowering hairdressers with possible communication tools to cope with a client who expresses suicidal thoughts. 

This week on TV I was inspired by a passionate caring volunteer who is running the ‘chat buses’ out of Dunedin enabling youth to talk to someone.

I certainly don’t believe there is ever an easy answer but NZ our statistics are shocking.  We are losing precious fragile human beings and we need to start thinking of ways to help.

Is it time to go more public and visible with suicide discussions?

What can we do?

What can we do as individuals?

What can we do as educators?

What can we do?

Travelling to the opening…

Here we are in the air after an incredible frosty start… -4 at Momona Airport and quite some time spent de-icing the plane….

Today I am very fortunate to be travelling to Christchurch for the opening of the new inner city CORE office.  Time for me to reflect on the year to date…

I am constantly in awe of the way in which I have grown into this role.  I am surrounded by people who support, challenge, motivate, inspire, entertain, trust  and value me.  I am constantly reflecting on my practice, my thinking, my facilitating.  I spend each and every day connecting, networking and collaborating with people in my schools, my team, my company. 

How is it that this company identifies nurtures, and grows you in your strengths?  It is no accident or chance? It is a direct act, and continuing acts to identify your strengths, connect you with like minds and grow you in your passions and abilities. 

This week sees me take on a new aspect to my role, moderator of the literacy on line listserv.  I see this as another challenge, another opportunity to grow myself and really network and collaborate. 

How are we doing this in our schools and in our classes?  How do we develop a culture of āko? How do we identify and share the talents, strengths, passions of all our learners?  How do we allow them to grow and lead?

How do we track our journey? How do we encourage our learners to track their journey?

#educamptimaru

Check out the MAGIC of today....

Rome to Pisa to Lucca - Italian Treasures day 3

Aboard the bus we headed out of Rome through the countryside! The countryside is incredibly green and agricultural and beautiful! I absolutely love the fields of sunflowers - happy flowers as Aida calls them!

We stopped at a gorgeous little roadside cafe for coffee and water then next stop was Pisa. We arrived outside the city and caught a noddy train into the centre of the town! No matter how many photos I have seen of the leaning tower of Pisa nothing prepared me for the whiteness of it nor the lean! 

What fun we had taking tricky photos with Norman and Judy! Of course to get the best shots you had to climb over onto the grass despite the 'do not walk on the grass sign'! What fun there was when the polizia blew there whistles and chased us all off! 

I bought Katie a gorgeous orange pleather bag and we had a very yummy lunch at Pisa. 

Off we headed to Lucca, arriving in time to shower, change and head out for a traditional Tuscan dinner!  Oh Mamma Mia what a night! 

It is Sue's 64th birthday so of course we toasted her many times with the beautiful wines... Five different types of wine were offered throughout the multiple course meal. As the night wore on out came the famous grappa! Oh my goodness I do not think I have ever tasted or smelt anything so unappealing! Some of the group loved it and the night livened up with music and dancing in the courtyard!  Back to the hotel we travelled in the bus singing all the way! 

MAGIC of the twitisphere.... "Making the writing programme fun"

Next week I am running a session on making the writing programme fun.... This morning at the gym when running wasn't so fun for me I decided to come home and create a presentation that we could co-construct and share our ideas... 
Right now I am sitting here watching the retweets on twitter and the resource is coming alive.... The power of many never ceases to amaze and inspire me.  In a short period of time we will have co-constructed a wonderful resource for all to share... 

Italian Treasures - Tour of Rome

Waking in Italy! YES! Down for a scrumptious breakfast with everything you could imagine and more... My absolute favourite was the orange, lemon and carrot juice!  Onto the bus by 7.30 and off to Vatican City! Already Grant and I have decided that travelling in a tour is the only way to go as we bypassed the enormous queue to Vatican City at this hour of the day. 

We toured the Vatican museum, wowed by art works, sculptures, tapestries hearing the story of it all through our whisper headsets. Next we visited the Sistine chapel.... Wow!!!!!!! Speechless... 

Then even more speechless as we tour the Basilica! It is incredible to believe that it seats 55,000 people! The perspectives and the grandeur are somewhat overwhelming. There is just so much to see and absorb... Then out into St. Peter's square! Wow!!! Our entire tour group had our photo taken in the square - this will be an awesome memento of the trip!

A short time for shopping in the Basilica and I purchased for mum a set of rosary beads made by the nuns in Vatican City out of rose petals! They are gorgeous! The perfume is amazing! I also purchased a set of rosary beads for myself and a necklace! They were all sent over to the sacristy to be blessed and delivered to our hotel room later! Back out to the bus and we travelled to the roman forum... Oh my goodness, it is just so hot... Well over 30 degrees... The history here is mind blowing. 

We are walking down roads paved in the year 65BC. The ruins of the roman forum are still incredibly intact! So many photo opportunities! We even visiting the burial place of Julius Caesar. The Collosseum was our next visit! Oh my goodness what an incredible place! The tour guide almost has us imaging gladiators in the arena!  The heat is cruel... We really do need to find shade and water! 

Many are the ways to make money from tourists in Rome and there are the most incredible array of gladiators awaiting payment for photos with them, gypsies begging, vendors selling everything from water, to Gucci, to trinkets....

Next stop on our tour was one of my favourites so far... Visiting the Trevi fountain. 

In keeping with the local legend I threw one coin in to ensure that one day I retune to Rome, one coin in to find love in Rome, but did not throw in the third, which is to divorce...

Our tour continued on around the baroque area visiting the pantheon, churches, plazas, the Spanish steps and sooo much more. The food highlight of the day was the cremed iced coffee by the pantheon, really hard to describe just how good and how cold it tasted but it is worth returning to Rome for!

Back to the hotel to shower and change and out for a traditional dinner of lasagna for Grant and cream salmon spaghetti for me! Agh Rome, what a MAGICal day!