At Kaiapoi Borough we used four words to guide us in our learning - Dream - Grow - Shine - Reflect
These were applied as follows...
Dream: Set your goals, dream how you would like to be, what you would like to achieve
Grow: Develop your action plan to achieve your dreams. A dream without a plan is just a wish - Katherine Patterson.
Shine: Identify your success criteria. How will we know you have succeeded.
Share your learning and achievements - and bask in the shine
Reflect: How did you go? Were you successful?
What did you do well? What helped you achieve success?
If not, why not? What would you do differently
What have you achieved?
So what will you do with this learning/achievement?
What will you do next? What are your Next Step Learning Goals?
These four guides were embedded in all we did - particularly in our learning plans, reporting and assessing.
As a school leader, you hope that the ground-work you do will make a difference. You hope - just as in the fluoride ads of old ("it really get's in") and the Pantene ads with Rachel ("it won't happen overnight, but it will happen") - that the values, principles, practices and processes will become embedded and ingrained. Often though, we have to do the ground-work and have faith that our "work" will live on.
Every now and again, confirmation comes, and when it does, it is one of the best rewards you can receive.
At all of my schools I have received a lot of visits from ex pupils eager to stay in touch with, keen to share how successful they have been at High School, and wanting to thank us for the ways we have supported them. At KBS I had a visit from an ex pupil who called in to share where he is at in his learning journey, his sporting progress and his personal growth as a young man and a leader.
As I listened to him speak of the impact our school and our people had had on his life, I was almost moved to tears.
Kurt spoke of how he had been a tearaway, a thief, quick to turn an argument into a fist fight and with a “I don’t want to know” attitude. Our staff persevered with Kurt and worked hard to build a relationship with him. I spoke often with Kurt about our values and our belief in him. During his final two years with us, Kurt would be in my office on average about once a week. My approach was to work with him, to council him, to encourage him and to listen.
Kurt shared how those things stuck with him - how he came to realise the importance of goals and the huge importance of honest and regular reflection.
Kurt uses reflection in all aspects of his life. If he misses a crucial conversion in a league game, he doesn’t beat himself up over it, he stops for a few seconds afterwards and reflects on what he did and what he could do differently to be successful next time.
Kurt also reflected on the pathway he was taking at High School. He realised it was leading him down a one-way path to a wasted life.
Kurt joined a group called “Tama ki Tane” (Boys to Men) at Kaiapoi High School after the Counsellor there and a senior Maori student both took him aside and asked him to reflect on where he was going, what he was trying to achieve and who he was trying to impress. In time, as a year 12 Kurt was able to look back on a complete change in his life. He achieved a Merit in English in year 12. He passed Level Two NCEA. He trialed for the Melbourne Storm Rugby League club and he was the first Year 12 Chief of the Tama ki Tane ropu at Kaiapoi High School.
I invited Kurt to come and speak to our staff at an 8am Monday Communication meeting - a number of our staff were moved to tears.
Kurt thanked them for putting up with him, for persevering, for caring and for giving him a foundation of skills and practices that set him up for success in the end. Kurt did this as a way of giving something back. He took a lot of satisfaction in being able to do this and he will be coming back in his own time to speak to our year five to eight students.
We don’t always work miracles overnight, but what we do does pay off sooner or later.
I received an e-mail from Janine Pinkham, previously Chairperson of our Board of Trustees, that I wanted to share:
Dear Ash, ....... Awesome story about Kurt. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes knowing that every word is true and well spoken. I watched Kurt perform in Kapa Haka at recent high school events and I could see the pride and passion he had in doing a good job. You are so right that encouragement and belief that children’s innate goodness will shine through is very important for all adults working with children, especially those who need extra guidance.