On the shoulders of giants

It's been an amazing week.  On Thursday we presented our MIT journeys to over 100 principals at the Manaiakalani & Outreach principals' wananga.  I was very very nervous in the lead up to the presentation, and spent hours timing and scripting my pecha kucha speech, only to decide the night before that I should speak without the script so I could connect better to the audience.  I've included the original script for each slide after each visual in the slide show of my presentation below.



Being at the wananga was an incredible experience.  I'd not had the pleasure of meeting or hearing Russell Burt or Pat Sneddon before, and I'm really glad I had that opportunity on Thursday.  Both men talked about equity and what we are here for in really powerful terms.  I would recommend every Manaiakalani & Outreach principal find a way to attend next year because it is inspirational in terms of remembering what we are about.  Russell reminded us that we are whanau and we are about finding solutions and sharing them, not waiting for something from above.  The Pt England students sang beautifully and I was touched by Russell's warmth with them.  In New Zealand society, it takes a great deal of confidence to tell your students you love them, and Russell did that again and again.

There is still more for me to focus on to get the best out of my learning so far this year and build on it in 2020, including sharing the reading research form Woolf Fisher.  But something more important happened this week.

On Tuesday 22 October, Maureen Melse died.  Maureen was deputy principal at Grey High when we arrived on the Coast in 2006.  She also taught in the English department and marked NCEA English exams each year.  She was a very quiet person who remained calm in the craziest of situations.  Maureen was wise, and helped me many many times.  Maureen helped me with marking guidance, and with organising teaching programmes, and with handling difficult situations with other adults.  Maureen always ensured that she had enough timetabling information in time for me to organise childcare when I was part time with small children.  She was kind and calm and organised relief when we had devastating family news and she always found time for my questions.

On Friday afternoon, we gathered at the Anglican church in Greymouth to farewell Maureen.  I was surrounded by people who have helped me develop as a teacher and as a leader at that funeral, as we all reflected on what Maureen meant to us.

As we learn in our classrooms and in our leadership practice, and work and challenge ourselves to pursue equity and excellence for our students, we stand on the shoulders of giants.  Thank you, Manaiakalani Education Trust and thank you, Maureen Melse.