Looking back at 2019! Moving forward to 2020!

As week 9 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting back over the last 12 months - it really is hard to believe that my third year as a classroom teacher is almost over! Humps and hollows, sidesteps and missteps aside, there have also been some triumphs. Here are a few of my personal highlights from 2019:

• By year end, all 6 Year 8 students in my target reading group made gains of at least 6 months in their reading ages- one student moved 2 years while two students made a shift of 12 months. It was a very satisfying to know that half the group would enter secondary school with a reading age of 11 years - the benchmark set for the students at the start of the year that would enhance their ability to access the Year 9 curriculum.
  
• Collaborating with team of Pt England staff (made of teachers and office personnel) to prepare and present to a PD session for staff about Tataiako, the Maori learners framework. It was an awesome opportunity to work together and produce practical steps our colleagues could implement based on the framework - the focus being to promote ways to empower those students who identify as Maori
  
• Embracing the opportunity to teach extension students in literacy. This really pushed me outside my comfort zone and required me to adapt to students who could unpack the deeper meaning in variety of texts. The students and I engaged in meaningful discussions across a range of topics. Students seized the change to grapple with a range of themes including stereotypes, race relations, family dynamics and climate crisis.

Now looking forward to the new year, I am excited by the prospect of new challenges including:

• Being part of the Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher (MIT) group for 2020. I am really interested in how we will apply the design thinking process to a rigorous teacher inquiry. I looking forward to meeting, working with and sharing ideas with educators selected from across the Manaiakalani outreach clusters.
  
• Continuing to develop my skills in teaching literacy, particularly writing
  
• Building my skills to teach Te Reo to Year 7 & 8 students

Farewell 2019 - thanks for the memories! Bring on 2020!