Creative Writing Starters 5

"It's so nice to finally meet you," it said, grinning from ear to ear. 
The shaggy polar bear registered his visitor's glistening white fur and glanced down at his own yellowed pelt.
He emitted a low growl as his eyes cast down to the watery depths surrounding him. Shame engulfed every inch of his being and tears stung at his eyes. The polar bear swallowed back his shame. The visitor realised the impact his presence was having on the captive animal and began to nervously fidget with his own glistening coat, shuffling his plastic paws from side to side.
After a moment of shared anxiety the polar bear could take it no more and pushed his gigantic paws against the thick glass, launching his body away from the visitor, leaving a swirl of bubbles behind.
The visitor drooped his head in disappointment and turned to leave, confused by the whole experience.

Creative Writing Starters 4

It was finally there, after all those years, right in front of him. He reached out a gnarled hand and grasped at the square of glistening air in front of him. The particles shifted and danced under his light touch, drawn towards the density of his skin. The square of air looked to be caressing his arthritic fingers. He flexed his wrist, his palm, his thumb, each taut digit. Slowly, he reached through. Slowly, the tips of his fingers began to disappear: first his nails, then each knuckle 1 2 3 4, then again 1 2 3 4 and now his thumb knuckly and the last 1 2 3 4 and 5. All that remained was his palm, his fingerless palm.
Suddenly he felt his fingers grasped from the other side and his palm, forearm, elbow, his whole being was jerked through the square of air. His feet left the solid ground and he was plunged into darkness.

Creative Writing Starters 3

You have a set of minions for a week...

If I had a set of minions for a week would ask them to:

- complete everything on my to do list (everything at school and at home)
- buy a freezer and prepare a year's worth of food
- make me an emergency kit because I keep putting that off and one should always be prepared
- finish sewing the dresses that I bought the material for over a year ago
- load my iPod with all my new music
- custom build a book shelf and coffee table from recycled wood
- finish the fence on my property so I can get a dog.

Creative Writing Starters 2

I am 28. I am absolutely sure that I will never forget the joy of listening to a wide variety of music. Not all adults have forgotten this, but I get the impression that the older one gets the more narrow ones taste in music becomes. I love exploring and discovering new artists, sounds, lyrics. I hope

I am 28. I am absolutely sure that I will never forget the fear that I am missing out on an alternative life. I am on a certain track now: a home, a partner, a job, cats. Could I  be living in New York, being an artist? In France being a nanny? In Asia being a translator? Am I missing out? People older than me seem so certain about their choices and so dedicated to the one life path that they have in front of them. Or perhaps it is that no one wants to give a voice to these fears, no one wants to look a gift horse in the mouth and question their happiness.

Creative Writing Starters

Undercover 101:

1. Get braces.
2. Wear either Vans or Chuck Taylors.
3. If you are a boy, grow your hair long and sweep it to the side. Buy a cap, leave the shiny stickers on. Wear cap always. Do not wash.
    If you are a girl, grow your hair long and wear it out no matter how impractical. You may risk injury in wood tech but that's just a risk you'll have to take.
4. Do not get a pencil case. That would be lame.
5. Avoid getting a back pack if at all possible. That would also be lame.
6. Do not call teachers by their full name. Miss or Mr will suffice. Anything more and you will be noticed by your 'peers'.
7. Avoid reading at all costs.
8. Use your phone incessantly in class.
9. Refuse to engage in any and all attempts at integration of technology by the teacher. That would be lame. Technology is for socialising, not for education.
10. Swing on any chair you sit on all the time.

SIX MONTHS OF SILENCE!

I always thought I'd never be one of those people who would start a professional blog only to write a few entries then leave it dormant for SIX MONTHS. But I often make assumptions about my own behaviour and get it very wrong (there's a lesson lurking in that statement!).
BUT, I do have several reasons for my silence, so allow me to attempt to condense six months of work and holidays into one brief, informative blog entry.


Great Barrier Island:

My initial lapse in writing was due to a five week trip on Great Barrier Island. I accompanied 29 Year 10 students on a program run by what was then the Outdoor Pursuits Centre and is now Hillary Outdoors. This trip consumed all of Term 3 - I was at school for the first three weeks of term and entirely focussed on preparing my remaining classes for my absence. The last two weeks of term were all about supporting the Year 10s upon their return and catching up my other classes.
In my naievty I had intended to blog once or twice from the island. There was no time for that! While away I was mother, nurse, teacher, slave driver, friend, coach, chef, cleaner, photographer... And still managed to spend plenty of time fishing, snorkeling, tramping, reading and watching Blackadder!
The five weeks was not devoid of writing - the class's form teacher provided them all with journals in which to record their experiences and a printer to keep up with all the photos. I devoted a lot of time to this project as well in order to preserve my memories of this hectic time. Below is a photo of one page of this journal.
This year I am very fortunate to have the 2014 GBI group as my form class, and I will again teach the 2015 GBI class for English. While I could go on and on about this amazing experience I will save my stories for the future and dish them out in moderation.

A journal entry. The photo is of a beach that Sir Edmund Hillary used to play at, taken by my colleague Nigel.

Returning to school last year:

Just like the students I found the return to school very challenging. I had already decided I would not dean in 2015 and felt demotivated and sapped of energy - not by my time on GBI, but from being back at school. One significant way in which our perception had changed was that we all noticed negativity much more readily. I, like the students, longed to return to our paradise. I knew that I would adjust in time, but did not expect it to take all of Term 4 - it is only now that I am starting the year fresh that I am feeling back to my old teacher self.


The holidays!

These summer holidays we chose to stay at home almost the whole time which has been a first for us. We had two very good reasons - firstly we just bought our own house and secondly we got married mid January. This summer was perfection - full of swimming in the sea and the river, gardening, nesting, family time and the best party ever. I refused to talk about school and avoided reading anything about education online! Without a doubt those six weeks have enabled me to return to work itching to get back into the classroom.

Those are my three very good reasons for not blogging until now. A five week island retreat (yeah right!), a two month period of soul searching, buying a house and getting married!


Term 1, 2015:

Well, a lot is different this year. I am back to a full teaching load and can focus solely on my own classes and being a supportive and productive member of my department. I have two Year 9 classes, one of which is a BYOD class, the Year 10 English class who will go to GBI for 5 weeks, an internal Year 11 class and an exam Year 12 class. I think my next entry will be about the texts I intend to teach. I have lots of new ideas, but for me it's always about trying to limit the amount of new texts I teach otherwise I make it too hard on myself.
The second major thing that is different this year is that I am post-GBI, where I did learn a lot. As I wrote above, I struggled to remain positive upon my return. And so that is my main goal for this year: to remain positive. It is a struggle. So often we want to vent with our colleagues. But a significant component of my training at NZGSE was an acknowledgement of the 'culture of complaint' prevalent in most workplaces and the need to deal with it. I'm not suggesting that my school has a 'culture of complaint' any worse than any other New Zealand secondary school, but I am saying I will try to be more positive this year.


A new year! A new me! A new you? I'm looking forward to the adventure!

 Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei

Pursue excellence – should you stumble, let it be to a lofty mountain

My visit to Te Wharehou o Tuhoe: Te Uru Taumatua

This week I had the pleasure of visiting Te Wharehou o Tuhoe: Te Uru Taumatua, located in Taneatua. The context of the visit was unusual. Our local Rotary branch had organised to have a tour, dinner and a talk delivered by treaty negotiator and New Zealander of the Year finalist Tamati Kruger. Unfortunately Tamati was unable to attend at the last minute, but the warm and articulate Kirsty Luke, General Manager of Te Uru Taumatua, was able to take his place.

I am not a member of Rotary so it was quite strange to be in this ethereal building, with the first non-Tuhoe group of people to use the space.

Kirsty took us on a tour of the facilities and explained the decision making behind many aspects of the building. The images below, from the Tuhoe website, outline the iwi's thought process behind the building. We got to see the small library and archive space, cafe (which opens next month), office space, work areas available for use by the public and the main function space at the front of the building. The whare is striking with timber used throughout, always sourced from within a 100 kilometre radius. Te Wharehou is a 'living building' and it was apparent from our visit that this has just as much to do with the people as it does the materials used. Pride and mana radiated with every word Kirsty spoke about her surroundings.

Following dinner, Kirsty spoke about the past, present and future - no mean feat! She acknowledged the timing of our visit, given that this week is the signing of Tuhoe's treaty settlement, as well the Police Commissioner's visit to Ruatoki to apologise for the treatment of members of the public, including children, during the Ruatoki raids of 2007. (It only took 174 and 7 years...) Before visiting the whare I assumed this building was purely for Tuhoe use, but Kirsty took the opportunity to emphasise that it has been built to be used for the good of everyone in the area from knitting groups to youth groups. That's when I started to think about my students and how we could benefit from this wonderful space. The biggest impression I left with was the emphasis Kirsty placed on raising a new generation of positive and optimistic Tuhoe.


So, why am I writing about this? Firstly, many students at my school are Tuhoe and I feel I know a lot more about the history of this area after visiting Te Wharehou. Tuhoe are often assumed to be proud, stand-offish and radical. Like with any group of people, it doesn't help to buy into such assumptions. After hearing Kirsty speak, I would not describe her as proud, stand-offish and radical but passionate about Te Urewera, warm and aspirational.
The second reason I am writing about this experience here is to encourage teachers to engage in their students' wider world. We hear this kind of thing a lot, and often it is a challenge to make the time, especially when you are not involved in sport. I know feel like I have made a connection and I am thinking about how I can utilise Te Wharehou o Tuhoe for my students next year. I said 'yes' to this dinner on a whim, not really knowing what it would be all about, and it has turned into a hugely valuable experience for myself and my fellow colleagues who attended. One is a graphics teacher and will now take students to Taneatua so that they can discuss the design of the building. Another runs Gateway and has already contacted Kirsty about a work placement for one of our Y13 students. A third is a Social Studies teacher from another school who intends to re-write a unit that involves looking at Te Wharehou. He would also like to see departments from all around the area create a cross-curricular range of programs that Tuhoe could use with visiting classes. There is the maths in quantity surveying, art in the sculpture, drama to be done in the amphitheater, science in the water treatment facility...

What are some surprising ways that you have connected with your students' world?

 Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei

Pursue excellence – should you stumble, let it be to a lofty mountain