Book week for the boys

This week is book week at Huntley and the boys and staff started the week off with our, “Dress up as Characters Day.” This is one of the highlights of the week for the boys and I’m sure a lot of parents heaved a heavy sigh of relief to finally find the costume for their son. The Staff get right into the dressing up as well, but the real objective of the day is to highlight to the boys the favourite books of staff and their peers. The mid-winter Christmas lunch was another highlight of the day and certainly added to the festive atmosphere.

Over the week the school has guest readers and visiting authors such as Stu Duvall. The inter squad book quiz, book mark competition, and reading log challenge are all part of this exciting week.

Book week is all about reading and this is especially important for boys. At Huntley the hallmark of success for a reader is when boys truly start reading for pleasure. It is important that staff are good examples to our students. Headmaster Brad Gay reads extensively. “During term time I tend to read professional texts. This term for example I have already read: James Popham's, "The Truth About Testing", Douglas Reeves, "The Learning Leader", Neila Connors, "If you don't feed the teachers They eat the students", Sheena Cameron, "Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies". My last great read was Maurice Gladwell's "Tipping Point". I am currently reading Gladwell's, "Blink". I also read a number of boys books so I keep up to date with what they are reading. Currently I am reading Morris Glietzman's book "Then" the sequel to "Once". During holidays I read a variety of novels. I have been reading Robert Jordan's Series lately. 12 Volumes recommended to me by a student two years ago!”

Huntley teaches reading in a similar way to mainstream schools but with some differences designed to especially engage the boys. The library for example has a huge array of non-fiction books, and the fiction section is stocked with boy friendly books. Many of the books are series books as boy's love to read these. Robert Muchamore’s Cherub series is a firm favourite at the moment. It has all the hallmarks of a great series for boys. The character is a boy, he is a spy, he faces danger, and he has a certain amount of power. He is a boy’s boy.

Book week sends out the message to the boys that reading is a worthwhile important part of their education. Research tells us that if children cannot read their ability to comprehend and make sense of what they are being taught is greatly impaired. Book week is fun way of highlighting this to the boys.

Huntley Headmaster wants ugly planning from teachers

As part of Huntley School’s professional development Headmaster, Brad Gay is asking his teachers to produce ugly planning. What this means is that he wants to see teachers viewing planning as a working, living document that changes constantly to ensure boys needs are met. Sometimes planning can be seen as a legislative requirement to “tick” the box for outside agencies. These plans look beautiful because they don’t change they hide in a clear file and a pulled out for Education Review Office (ERO) audits. At Huntley we want our planning to be reactive to the needs of the boys as they arise. Sometimes this means adapting plans, reflecting on what is working and what is not and making the appropriate changes to best suit the individuals or collective class.

Teachers use school wide data from national tests such as P.A.T.’s (Progressive Achievement Tests) to write their class appraisals and inform their next steps they intend to take with their classes. They then use formative data throughout the year to ascertain whether they are meeting the goals they have set for their class. Ugly planning ensures that teachers are reflecting on their teaching constantly to improve the way they teach. This sees true professional growth and also ensures the boys get the best possible input into their learning.

What drives me?

On Open Day a parent asked whether I had trouble with pushy or angry parents. To me it was a funny question. Yes, parents can sometimes have high expectations but I don't have a problem with this. In my experience you only get angry parents if you have really ineffective teachers. This explains why we don't get many angry parents! A strong staff leads to a strong school and happy boys and parents. In my view parents send us the best boys they can raise! It is up to us as teachers to build on this. At the end of the day it is not the newest programmes that make a school it is dedicated teachers that make a school great. We have dedicated teachers with an amazing reputation for caring for their charges. Most parents and boys come to Huntley because they have heard fantastic things about the school. As Headmaster my job is to set the tone for the school. If I fail to do this I have also failed the staff, parents and ultimately the boys. This is what drives me.

Open Day

Open Day saw 25 new families enter the school for tours with our Year 8 boys. Many commented on the confidence of the boys and what great guides they were. It was obvious that the boys really love the school and are proud to be a pupils here. The boys are the ones that convince prospective parents that this is the place for their sons. Their open honest opinions about life at Huntley are a vital ingredient in the decision making process for new parents.

I would also like to thank all the Parents and Staff that helped out on the day.

Ducks and assessment!

DUCKS
Yesterday we had Buck Gardner visit us.
Buck is a professional Duck Caller, some of you may have seen him on TV a week ago. He is a very nice man and the boys absolutely loved his talk. Many Thanks to Giles Standford for organising this.
Left to right Bradley Gardner, Brad Gay, Buck Gardner, Tracey (Mooses Sports)
Check out his website
http://www.buckgardner.com/
(This was done outside class time)

Assessment Parents and learners have a right to quality assessment feedback that gives indication as to progress made, learning strengths and weaknesses, what the learner needs to do to build on strengths and address weaknesses and what we all need to do to help the learner get there. It is also not unreasonable for a learner to know where their strengths and weaknesses are comparative to their peers. The image of the learning triangle with the child supported by the teacher and the home is a powerful one. We need to engage our school community in the assessment discussion. If we are to truly personalise learning we must ensure that the contexts for learning are truly authentic, that the child’s voice is heard, that our Learning Communities are informed and supported, that our schools are appropriately resourced and that teachers and school principals are nurtured, challenged, informed and most importantly affirmed.

Today we had our first re-vamped Quality Learning Circle QLC as a staff. It was wonderful hearing the staff talking about best practice and new innovations they are trying in their classrooms. The short two week goals they had set for their classes had very positive results and many staff feel the boys are starting to identify vocabulary outside of their lessons. This increased awareness in vocabulary is a positive spin off for all concerned.

National Standards

On Monday 3rd of May Mrs Shand and I flew up to Auckland to attend the Independent Prep Schools course to look at how we will be implementing National Standards. It was an excellent day and a fantastic initiative by the Independent Schools to use our combined expertise to ensure the National Standards are meaningful for schools, parents and most improtantly the pupils. One of my concerns about National Standards is that they run the risk of teachers teaching to the tests and not teaching in the best interests of the pupils. I left feeling relieved that the other heads agreed that whatever stance we take the National Standards should inform what we are teaching our pupils. The data collected for National Standards should be used by teachers to work out where the needs are for their class and individual students. It should help them plan the next steps for them to help their students make meaningful strides in their own learning.

No one disagreed with National Standards as a concept but many were unstandably worried about how schools data could be used and interpreted by media. We will be looking at what we assess and report to try and make the reporting process more understandable for parents. Our aim is that parents have a clear understanding of where their sons are at and what we intend to do about this. Parents should see progress made throughout the year relative to their sons ability.