A day in Rotorua

Our day in Rotorua got off to an odd start. We showed up at the regional office for the Ministry Office for our 9 am meeting. Unfortunately, the person who was supposed to meet with us thought the meeting had been canceled. He also neglected to schedule our school visits in the community. Despite the setback, our day could not have worked out better. The main receptionist at the Ministry took off from her desk and within ten minutes things were back on track. We met quickly with a couple of the education senior advisors from area before leaving for two school visits.

In the morning, we were guests at Malfroy School, an elementary with 352 students of whom 70% were Maori. The enrolment of 352 is noteworthy because that is the specific number the principal quoted to the Ministry official who accompanied us. As I stated in a previous post, students start attending school on the day they turn five. Consequently, the school nominal roll may change at any time. Given that schools are funded based upon how many students attend, this particular principal wanted to make sure that the Ministry knew the exact number of kids in his building.

Malfroy is a dual track school with both English and Rumataki (Maori) sections. It is ranked as a Decile 3 school which reflects its students’ low socioeconomic status. Of the 352 enrolled, over 140 are on special education or alternate programs. The principal spoke very highly of the efforts of his staff, telling us that his teachers are “real magicians” in managing the diverse needs of their students.

There were several unique programs at Malfroy, including Roots of Empathy, which exists in Park West School Division as well.  Like most schools in my own division, the main focus was on literacy and numeracy. They are also one of eight schools in New Zealand to be designated as ``cornerstone schools`. The Cornerstone Values symbolizes a school’s commitment to the building of character through teaching, advocating and modelling honesty and truthfulness, kindness, consideration and concern for others, compassion, obedience, responsibility, respect and duty.

The principal of Malfroy indicated that he spends an average of five hours per week studying and analyzing his student achievement data and talking to teachers about what this data means. This is further evidence of the trend for New Zealand school leaders to be extremely data driven.

Our visit at Malfroy ended when the early years Maori immersion students performed a song for us. When we asked if they might sing, the teacher said ``absolutely`` before reaching in her closet for her guitar. In a class of twenty, there were two sets of twins and one set of triplets.

During the afternoon, we went to the nearby Rotorua Girls High School (RGHS), one of 24 female only schools in New Zealand. RGHS is another Decile 3 school with over 600 students of which 75% are Maori.  As I entered the main office, I was struck by the numerous displays celebrating student academic and extracurricular achievement. There was a hall of fame of sorts for each year with full page overviews for multiple students.  As the principal led us through the school, we encountered a TV reporter and cameraman who just finished doing a story acknowledging the recent success with Maori student graduation rates. The focus of the story was on a group of girls who were about to complete high school despite some serious academic and personal challenges.

RGHS has a performing arts department. We were treated to a group of students who sang several songs for us including a traditional Haka. The Haka is a traditional war cry, dance, or challenge. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.  The New Zealand national rugby teams practice of performing a Haka before their matches has made the dance more widely known around the world.

The school also has a large emphasis on technology. I spent some time talking with their two ICT teacher leaders about the school’s programs and approaches to instruction. They proudly noted that RGHS had a 1:2 student to device ratio which meant there were over 300 computers in the school. They also have a Bring Your Own Device policy which allows students to access the Internet and learn using their own laptops, tablets, and smart phones. I learned of the national plan to bring ultra-fast broadband connectivity, using a fibre backbone, to 75% of the country by 2016. The government is funding 80% of the infrastructure costs and allowing schools to access future capital budgets to cover the remainder.

The principal of RGHS was retiring next month after an amazing 50 years in education.  She actually attended as a student in the 1960`s. Several of her staff remarked how she was still extremely passionate about her students and education. A few with whom I spoke stated that they had never worked with an administrator so focused on using data to improve outcomes for students.

We arrived in Auckland just after supper. I drove one of our vehicles for three hour trip. While I am much more comfortable with the right-hand drive, left side of the road thing…it still feels completely and utterly wrong.  Everything is opposite. You get in, reach for the seat belt on the wrong side, put the car in gear on the wrong side, and drive off on the wrong side. I am getting better at signaling rather than turning the wipers on and off.

We are staying at a place called Latitude 7 Apartments which is right down in the heart of the city by the waterfront. This is a big and bustling place with over a million people. I expect that it will be an interesting few days working and learning in and around this city.

Today was Guy Hawkes day in New Zealand. On the 5th of November, 1605, a group of men attempted to carry out the 'gunpowder plot', a failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James the First. The man who was to light the barrels of gunpowder was named Guy Fawkes. The plan was discovered, however, when one of the conspirators sent a letter to his cousin warning him not to visit the Houses of Parliament. Fawkes was then caught just before lighting the fuse to the 36 barrels of gunpowder; enough evidence to lead to his conviction and execution. Today, the plot continues to be remembered through the use of fireworks, bonfire parties and general celebrations, observed primarily in England, but also in places such as New Zealand. Four hundred years on, Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night is really an excuse to have a firecracker of a party!  As I drifted off to sleep I could hear fireworks.