New Year, New Challenges

So 2008 has sneaked up on us and here we are just three years out from the world cup coming to New Zealand (not that I’m counting).

As usual the first few days of the new school year were filled with teacher only days, organising classrooms and unfortunately filling in insurance forms for 12 of my laptop babies that some awful people stole from our school - locked classroom, locked cupboard, alarmed school…..and here we arrive at Friday of the first week back (week being yesterday and today!).

It’s always so refreshing to see the kids and their natural enthusiasm for the new year, new teacher and new class.   Of course it’s also heartbreaking to see the new five year olds crying (although mums crying always outnumber children?!?!?).  So what are my goals and aims for this year….

i) The first challenge is do with the scholarship that I was lucky enough to be awarded.  I am currently in the process of arranging a day of PD for 6 teachers at my school to set up and begin to experience the blogosphere and the learning and conversations that take place.  I have some goals that I want to achieve this term but I am still in the process of writing them in an articulate form so will post once they are here.

ii) The second challenge I wish to accomplish is to create a culture of blogging to enhance literacy within the school.  I am hoping that my scholarship will help implement this.  After reading and discovering so much about the benefits of literacy using web 2.0 technologies, I want to share them with my school.  Due to the lack of my own class, I am having to rely on other teachers to try this and see for themselves the benefits of the experience in order to create this culture.

iii) I’m also lucky enough this year to be able to take a gifted and talented Maths group.  People who know me are aware that although I am a computer geek, maths is my passion (I’ve been known to dream about binary numbers!).  I am wanting to use ICT and technologies to help further and extend these kids.  Any ideas greatly appreciated!!
I will keep updating progress on all of these…..