#eudcampchch

I would love to reflect on the MAGIC of #educampchch.
As the third #educampchch loomed on the 22 June 2013 I began to question whether I should be so involved.  I am extremely passionate about the educamp phenomena and totally believe in the power of transformation as educators connect, network and share.  I thrive on the build up and get very excited about the potential of the day.  I do now realise that it is time for me to step back. As with anything the role of a leader is to grow leaders and I know that there are incredible educators just waiting to step up.  Pauline and I first met at the inaugural #educampdunners and from that date til now we have thrived on the MAGIC of educamps.  Pauline had ably led the Christchurch educamps and has a connected with a group of educators who are ready, willing and well able to share the lead. If you are not leading change, you are not leading.  As the third educamp rolls around the leaders are already grown. 
In my daily work life my role is to ensure sustainability, to build and distribute (e)capacity.  I think it is time for this in my role with educamps.
There is nothing in the world that will stop me from attending educamps and I am already eagerly anticipating educamptimaru on the 31st of August.  My role now is as a participant, a facilitator, a learner, and a networker.
So, onto the MAGIC of #educampchch!
Undoubtedly as always, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.....  
The right people were there at the right time, for the right reason.
Gathered together in Burnside High School on a freezing winter today was a bubbly warm experience. From the moment people arrived there was a relaxed, caring, networking buzz as old friends reconnected, online friends met face to face and newbies met for the first time.

The tried and true format of coffee and chat followed by a video clip, then straight into the three word intro worked its MAGIC again! Yes, some of us are uncomfortable introducing ourselves but it breaks the ice, relaxes us and sets up numerous possible opportunities for chat as the day proceeds.

The SMACKDOWN is a wonderful opportunity to share and connect and realise the potential in the room for discussion.
As people record their sharing and learning needs on posts its, discussion groups naturally evolve.
Three sessions broken by coffee stops, a SMACKDOWN revisit, sharing on the google doc, roaming, snacking at sessions, physically and metaphorically, supporting, networking, learning, transforming....

Agh, what an incredible day.... What a privilege... What MAGIC
A HUGE thank you must go to the wonderful Fiona Grant who introduced the #educamp concept to NZ and tirelessly supports and promotes all events either virtually or face to face!  We are incredibly lucky to benefit from your vision!
Please check out the following and continue to grow the learning... and share....
SMACKDOWN
Shared notes
#educampchch

Three steps to success...

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.  Then you realize there is nothing lacking, 

the whole world belongs to you.  

Lao Tzu

#educampchch on storify

#educampchch I will make it through....

Well, what a day.... I had a flight booked for 7.20am which was cancelled and I was promptly re-booked on a flight at 8.20am so I celebrated with a bit of a sleep in and headed for the airport... As I was hopping out of the truck I got a text to say the flight was delayed til 8.50am so Grant dropped me off and I had a yummy breakfast in the koru lounge and worked online.... Rapidly it became clear that the weather was really closing in and I enjoyed watching the supreme effort of the boys clearing the runway.... 

As my flight time approached it became obvious that the plane I was boarding hadn't arrived from Christchurch! Then came the announcement that the flight was cancelled. Thanks to the gorgeous staff in koru I was rapidly rebooked on the 10.05 flight.... The airport which had been full up until that point, with people perched on every available seat, bench or floor space began to empty out as flight after flight was cancelled.... Then mine was cancelled and the next seat out to Christchurch was on the 5.30pm flight. 
Grant came back for me and I continued with my work online and managed an extra bonus visit with mum! Greg and I even managed to complete our workshop session for next week! Finally back to the airport I went at 4.30 to be greeted by queues out the door and chaos as people scrambled for last seats and to get on their flights! I am completely and utterly in awe of all the AirNZ staff I came into contact with. They were visibly exhausted but continued to smile and treat everyone as a valued client! What a credit to you all!!!! CONGRATULATIONS on surviving today and leaving such a pleasant memory for us all! So I boarded my flight slightly late at 5.40pm only to be sitting on the plane when the entire terminal was plunged into darkness with a power cut,,, so another delay as we waited for the necessary paperwork.... And the still smiling staff handed us fudge as we waited.... So here I am, mid-flight..... #educampchch I will make it! What an incredible day! 
My lasting memories of the day are the incredible professionalism and compassion shown by all Air New Zealand staff and the pure MAGIC of a fully blended working role! Today is the fourth day my plans have been thrown into disarray with the snowstorms of this winter of 2013 and the work and learning and connecting continues.... What a privilege to be fully blended..... As we approach Christchurch I am eagerly anticipating the excitement of the undisclosed venue for the birthday celebrations tonight... And I am totally excited for all the MAGIC that #edicampchch will bring He tangata, he tangata, he tangata yes indeed it is the people all the way! And on that note, due to all the cancelled flights today I have met a whole lot of people who I likely would not have orherwise so again... Every cloud has a silver lining... And I mustn't forget the highlight of the day..... My first ever sneet.... Thanks Luke! 

Day two tweets from Emerging Leaders Summit

Give your whole heart and soul....

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and 

give your whole heart and soul to it.

Gautama Buddha

Emerging Leader's Summit #elsnz13

#educampdunners...

#educampdunners began for me with the welcoming of Emma from Nelson. In typical Dunedin style I was able to arrange for her to be piped in off the tarmac (co-incidental with the arrival of a Duke and Duchess of somewhere or other ;)

A tour of Dunedin on a glorious sunny day was a wonderful opportunity for me to show off Dunedin and for Emma and I to catch up!  A dinner at Thai over with Emma, Pauline, Jane and I was a fabulous opportunity for more chat pre-educamp.  A visit to the Annual Regent Theatre Book sale added another layer of MAGIC to the evening.

Saturday dawned and off we went to John McGlashan for #educampdunners.  What a STUNNING venue!  

And check out the MAGIC of the day here... and the SMACKDOWN...

Let's carry on growing this resource....

What was the MAGIC in the day for you?

For me, undoubtedly, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata...

Heading to Emmerging Leaders Summit....

Airborne again and little has been added to my blog lately…

I really do need to take time today to acknowledge the MAGIC in my life…

·      I have the most amazing, incredibly patient and loving family who I love to come home to;

·      I have the opportunity to visit my daughter often thanks to my travel with my work;

·      My team members are so supportive and I love working with them;

·      My company acknowledge, value and grow our strengths;

·      My opportunities to travel allow me to meet, connect, network, collaborate;

·      My work as a facilitator is a dream!

·      Air New Zealand get me all around NZ even out of fog….

·      I have the opportunity for extensive professional development,

·      I get to reconnect with friends and celebrate in and around New Zealand.

Recently I have been extremely busy and I have struggled to find time to commit to the 100dayproject on time.  I am well aware of the need for balance and I really do need to take time to slow down…

I believe it is a very good fault to love your work so much that it is hard to disconnect.  However, I do need to get back balance.  Alongside this being an incredibly busy time for gathering our reporting our data I have had a MAGICal week in Christchurch, with Kevin Honeycutt, Stephen Heppell, Julia Aitken and inspirational educators in and around New Zealand.  I also had the privilege of sharing a nano snapshot of my love for student designed learning spaces thanks to Sonya on #teachmeetnz.

Today I am bound for Auckland for the Emerging LeadersSummit at Albany Senior High School.  I am incredibly enthusiastic about this opportunity.  This year has seen me in and out of schools constantly and I have been immersed in and worked with an abundance of management teams and Principals.  I am in awe of the opportunity to experience the diversity of leadership styles and I am continually growing and developing my own leadership style in my role.  I am really delighting in the journey and benefitting from the opportunity to listen, learn, challenge, provoke, connect, facilitate, empower, enable and celebrate.

I am excited for the challenge of the next two days and am determined to grow my leadership style.  I am committed to a leadership style which grows leaders.  I am continually aiming to distribute capability and capacity and grow leaders and learners.

Alongside the professional development is the MAGIC of reconnecting with educators who inspire, challenge, and motivate me.

Bring on a MAGICal journey!!!

#teachmeetnz

Storifyed the Tweets from day two of the #MLEexpo

The MAGICal tweets from the MLE!

MAGIC...

MAGIC

Flying home – ran out of blogging, tidied desktop and found the excel spreadsheet of my archived tweets….

What PURE MAGIC to find my first tweet using my word….

I now just can’t wait to find the first tweet where I capitalized it!

Aha – found….

So I first used the word magic on 10 June 2010 and began using it capitalized on 11 November 2010. 

There sure has been a lot of MAGIC in between then and now and I know that there is an abundance of MAGIC on the horizon.

The 7^th of June marks the beginning of an amazing new venture for me – the 100day project – http://100daysproject.co.nz/

I have chosen MAGIC as my theme for the 100 day project.  I am going to post a quote with the word MAGIC on it, on a photo I have taken.  That is the easy part.  The challenge for me is that for everyone of the 100 days I am going to add MAGIC to someone’s day.  It will likely take the form of FISH “make their day”, or RAK – random acts of kindness, or PIF – pay it forward!  What ever it is, every day will be an opportunity for me to cement this in my practice for life.  I find it incredibly easy to find MAGIC and I am really looking forward to sharing this journey with a multitude of others… the ultimate goal for me is to empower others to seek and find MAGIC in their life everyday….

Another absolutely MAGIC moment is that this week I will post my 10,000^th tweet.  I would love to know how many times I have tweeted the word MAGIC… I will never know how many times I have used the word, but I do know that MAGIC is everywhere.  It is everything that is outside the mundane routine of life.  It is waking in the morning before the alarm, it is greeting your family, it is a chance comment or words of gratitude, it is sunshine and rain, ice and wind, it is photos and pictures, flowers and fungi… it is learners and learning, technology and opportunities… When you start to really define what MAGIC is, you become aware of the magnitude and immensity of the MAGIC which daily wraps itself around us and makes us smile….

What is the MAGIC for you right now?