Who enjoyed 2010?

MEEEEE!!!!
2010 has been an awesome year. My new work rocks and life is good.

How have you peeps been this year?
Who is going where next year?
Take it easy, Squiddlers :-)
Have a great Xmas and all the best for your high school adventures.

Farewell Old Bill, Welcome new guy and gal

How's the new principal, kids?  Tellme about him - I know nothing.
And how do you like your new DP Miss Walters? She's pretty awesome I reckon.  I used to babysit her when she was still at school!
It must have been weird for the staff to see the back of Bill Noble, but no doubt he's up to something exciting in his new life after school. He's left a legacy of incredible improvements to a school that boasts great riches. You kids are very fortunate to have such magnificent technological doodackies all throughout your school. Make sure you use them wisely.

All the best for Whaea Lisa

Aroha nui to Whaea Lisa for all she has done to help grow FIS and all the care she gave to those who needed it.
Lisa is a professional who cares and she will be both a great loss to FIS and a great gain for her new school over by the coast.

I wish her all the best.

:-)

You could leave messages of support her for her too if you happen to be reading.

Room 18 News Please

Hi squiddlers -please fill me in on what;s goin gon in your classroom.
Miss F tells me there are only two of you left in Rm 18 from last year. Is this true? Who has gone where?  Report back someone. Who are the Rm 18 Yr 8's this year?
LittleMissRm18, I owe you a reference - fill me in on the status of the former Woodmonstas and you shall have your reward :-)

Winter sports time

How's FIS going in Term Two? Now you're into winter sports - lucky for all the footballers that I'm not there anymore - my team went terribly with me at the helm last year - once I stepped aside they ended up winning a trophy! Well done them.
Hopefully all you kids are trying our for football, netball, waterpolo, etc. Are there any more Kiwi winter sports you kids are playing?
I think the Peachgrove 1st XI might be formidable this year. How is FIS looking?
Good luck and play fair.

The purpose of this blog

The purpose of this blog is to keep in touch with my old students from 2009 in Rm 18 :-)
If interested students would like to keep in touch and get some personalized ICT and inquiry learning extension and enrichment, they can keep in touch via this forum. This has nothing to do with FIS any more.

:-)

Hi Fairfield

Hey you kids from my former class, check out my recent save the piggy campaign on Room5ians Rule!


Please don't contribute to the cruelty imposed upon pigs so we can have slightly cheaper pork products.
Pigs are sensitive sentient creatures with high intelligence who suffer greatly because of our farming practices, but I bet you can't get one adult to care or change their ways.  Especially not at your enviroUNfriendly school.

Hope you are having a good year. 

Keep in touch :-) 

Enjoy your blogging, Room3

Thanks for having me as a reliever for a whole week, Room3. You are a lovely class and I enjoyed working with you.
I also really enjoyed getting to know the staff of St Andrews and the student teachers who showed up.
Perhaps some of our blogging may rub off on a few of them too.

Your task is to:
1. make a blog
2. make settings including email notification and word verification
3. make a post about something you enjoy, including a picture.
4. leave someone else a comment on one of their posts
5. follow your classmate's blogs
6. get the code for a clustrmap and embed it in your 'layout'
7. keep in touch with me via my blog :-)

Hows school?

How are you Woodmonstas doing with your new yr 7's and new teacher?
Please keep in touch. I want to hear from Jordan please... and Ishtak... and all of you!
Mr Arcus - what is going on?
Queenbead, LittleMissRm18, etc, spread the word and I hope to hear from eveyone soon :-)
I bet it's much calmer in there now that the rowdy yr 8's from last year have gone.
[don't worry - listing those names won't get anyone abducted.]
Cheers from Mr Woody [currently in a digital class at St Andrews]

What do National Standards mean for kids in Kiwi schools?

So who knows what national standards are? They kick in this year and the concept now influences how teaching and learning are developed in this country, despite warnings from abroad that the idea doesn't work. Opinion is divided.
Here is an interesting article on the Ministry of Ed's website comparing the idea of National Standards and it's "Evil Twin".
In reading the comparisons, I can see that the intentions in this country are firmly set on the positive potential of the concept and hopefully we Kiwis will take the noble path. However, if you line teachers and/or schools up and compare them based on test data certain behaviours, such as teaching to tests, may occur. I guess it will come down to how talented our school leaders are at managing it all.
I think NZ students are very fortunate to be learning in one of the world's most caring and enlightened educational systems... by comparison to others at least. 
Enjoy learning, kidlets! You are very fortunate to be living and learning in this great country of ours at the bottom [or is it the top?] of the world. Let's hope we don't stuff it up too much for you.
:-)

National Standards Road Trip about trialling standards before trialling them on kids      

NZEI website re standards being implemented

NZCurriculum online info about standards

prepping for filming

While my poor former colleagues had to suffer through a painfully tedious teacher only day today i was out getting my hands on a new, signed, Manfrotto Fig Rig - a very cool simple solution to steadycam for the non-rich n famous.
I will be using it this week to film doco style footage of a homeless guy as he survives on the streets of Hamilheaven. The footage is for a mental health training video. A cool project.
:-)

Good luck to the former Woodmonstas who will hopefully get the chance to use the TVFI studio this year, despite my absence. You squiddlers are capable of great things if you think creatively and apply yourselves. Don't let anyone hold you back. You have many great resources available to you at FIS, so try to convince your controllers to let you use them in creative ways. I know Mr Noble is keen to let people be innovative.
You could make a programme about your worm farming.

Hi Kids - Bye Kids

I have news - I won't be coming back to Fairfield this year. I have taken a chance to try working with Sasha running our own business as it is taking off. This is good news, as I needed a change after ten years of teaching. The stink part is I won't get to see you guys much this year. I will really miss you, but I will visit!

As for your programme for 2010, please keep running the worm farm. The success or failure of the first bit of enviro learning for Fairfield is in your hands. No teachers are interested so it's up to you guys! The PTA has invested time and money in the project and it would be a great shame if one of NZ's supposedly "most progressive schools" was one of the only ones in the country seemingly unaware of the fact that there is a global environmental crisis precisely because not enough of us care about making a difference.
You know you can do it. With Isaac, Jordan, Kieran and Sean already trained up you can keep the project going if you have the courage and determination. I suggest you only give bins to classes after you have trained them in how and why to use it and then get studetn monitors for each class.
Another thing to help Mr Noble like the project is if you could make the big worm bins [baths] look more attractive somehow. It is very important that no mess or extra work gets made for teachers. So go on - make a difference to your world!
Remember hwo shokced you all were that no enviro schools stuff happens at FIS? No paper, plastic, food or ANY recycling! Unbelievable in today's world. Everyone recycles at home don't they?
See what you can do. Make it fun and solve any problems.

So enjoy 2010 young squiddlers. You can start afresh and be a good example to your new yr 7's.
Keep blogging also - I have kids from years ago at Peachgrove still using their blog so you can too. It's a great way to stay in touch.

Ciao for now :-)

What's happening?

I haven't heard from you for a while - Room5ians have been yacking away, but no Woodmonstas...
My summer is going well - very relaxing. I will be going to Kawhia for a week next week - it's great there - endless beach, panoramic views from the bach we stay in. We are very lucky :-)

Remember to drop food into the worm bin if you're passing - the back gates are open these days and you may go in to feed them.

I am learning to edit film today with Sasha.