And yet again… onboard AirNZ flight to Dunedin and here I am
blogging…
I do not know that I will be able to do justice to the MAGIC
of the past three days but I will try to share some of the ripples that are
spreading…
I arrived at Hanmer in awe of the beauty of this spot in New
Zealand, in awe of the team I have joined and in awe of the time to get to know
my new family and explore the journey we are on…
The initial feeling of welcome was one of ‘welcoming back’
or ‘welcoming home’. I am asking myself
what it is that makes it this way. Is it
the rapport that you establish each time you meet face-to-face, building on the
established online connections? Is it
the sheer welcoming force of this family?
Is it the way we are adopted as opposed to being employed? Whatever it is, it is very special to
reconnect.
We were welcomed with the view to the transformative nature
of the organization. YAY! We are not about change, we are about
transformation!
A truly MAGICal beginning to the retreat is the gathering in
‘home teams’ across all branches within the family. It is only through this that a shared
understanding of some of the far-reaching tentacles of the organization are
realized and shared. It is only through this that all are empowered to share of
themself and their journey. It is only
through this that all are embraced, valued, empowered to share. I wonder how we do this in our schools… do we
cross group enough? Do we allow all our
members to contribute and share their uniqueness?
Taking the concept of universal design for learning , we
were encouraged to introduce our home team with a name, a skit, an intro… Well, what transpired was inspirational! The creativity and innovation of names,
presentation methods, humour was amazing.
Indeed it is a privilege to get to know the entire family in this
way. I wonder again, if we allow time in
our classes for the creativity to shine through?
Our next session in our work teams was equally
inspirational. This was an opportunity
for us to meet up with everyone in our own team and share our story, our
purpose, and our vision with everyone.
What fun… I think that is the key for me! We were working incredibly hard to define our
purpose, our hopes, dreams and aspirations and it was incredibly fun.
Reflecting on the two tasks I wonder if we allow enough time
in our schools for grouping and deep thinking within our teams and across our
teams. This was time for reflection on our true meaning, purpose and vision as
opposed to time adding to our skill set.
A session on Tatai Aho Rau
followed. For me this session was so
incredibly powerful in helping me understand the purpose and structure of CORE. To see the weft and warp, the aho and the
whenua, is to experience the MAGIC of weaving.
I loved the opportunity to learn and reflect upon the
non-negotiables of aho…
·
Whakapapa;
·
Reo;
·
Tikanga;
·
Wairua
I am so inspired with this new learning. What a truly wonderful experience, to learn
from, and with our colleagues.
Then looking at the whenua, the threads woven together with
aho. And oh what joy to sing the CORE
waiata… and feel the song of our place…
Another layer of richness added to our learning was the
Pasifika lens to Tatai Aho Rau through Lalago Tivaevae Nui.
And as the first day came to a close we were able to soak up
some of the MAGIC of Hamner with a quick trip to the pools before the birthday
party to celebrate ten years of CORE education.
And what a wonderful birthday party it was, complete with singing and
cake and celebration.
I am still pinching myself in awe of the experience of being
a member of a family I have aspired to for so long…
Day two dawned with a journey through the CORE story from
inception to today. What an incredible
journey. I had no idea how far reaching
the tentacles of the organisation are.
What a privilege it is to see all of the teams and projects and members
sharing a little of their story. Only through taking time to listen and
understand the goals, and visions of other branches of the family am I able to
understand my place in our branch and our ability to call upon the expertise of
other branches, and alternatively reflect on the skill set we have that could
be shared with others.
We journeyed on to look at the CORE story to date then moved
to look to the future. How incredibly
powerful it is to really focus on where we have been, where we are now, and
look to the possibilities in the future, remembering that the future depends on
what we do today.
To be a part of a thinktank envisioning future
transformation was awesome. All ideas
were welcomed, valued, and we were all given an incredibly opportunity to see
the power of transformative possibility within the family…
Thank you for the transformative experience of the retreat.
