Taiari Times of Thames

A eureka moment ... on local curriculum caused by covid-19 According to Wikipedia, 'Eureka!' is attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes. He reportedly proclaimed "Eureka! Eureka!" after he had stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose, after that he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the amount of the part of his body he had submerged. After which he ran down the road naked because he was so excited and wanted to share his idea. Okay perhaps it's not that exciting but I thought about this while mowing lawns At the beginning of the year, the staff worked on developing aspects of our local curriculum. The last time we did any extensive work on this was 2009-2010. At that time we decided that our mission statement: 'Learning and growing together' was the right direction for us to take and for that time, I think it was.  'Learning and growing together'  epitomises: collegiality, distribute...

Judging has been so hard ..... and I'm still waiting for a supermarket queuing photo! You should see what's coming!

I think we have a grip on this ... With only one active case left in New Zealand, I think we have a grip on this. The government is allowing us to have gatherings of a hundred people, which is certainly a big clue that we are starting to see a more normal life again. As Arnold Swarzenegger says "Hasta la vista baby!" What that means for us after Queen's birthday weekend So what does that mean for our school? This is what it means for our school: Things that return to normal 1. Our library will re-open so please bring any books back to school that were issued for lockdown. 2. When you come to school next week drop the children off at any gate you please. 3. Children will return to playing in their normal areas. 4. We want all students to come back to school unless they are sick. 5. Kea crossing will recommence. Things that still aren't quite normal 1. We continue to wash our hands like crazy. 2. We still maintain social distancing. 3. We still can only have parents on-...

Personal protective equipment (PPE) gear in school and other kindnesses Covid-19 has posed many problems that need solutions. Some of the solutions that have been worked out will become permanent practices as we start to come back to normality. The government, as part of its messaging, has reminded us of the need to be kind. Acting kindly is something we can all do even if we don't feel like it. It would be good if we continue acting kindly as a more permanent feature. Mickael,  Richard   and Read Brothers I want to make mention of Richard Kruger and  Mickael Dernoncourt . Mickael and Richard, in their own time, have made PPE gear for medical services and chemists as a gesture of kindness. Read Brothers supplied the polyethylene. Mickael did the 3D printing, and Richard cut the visors. I approached Richard if he would be able to do the same for my staff. There was no hesitation. I (metaphorically and indirectly) had to twist Mickael's arm to get him to recover the co...

  NZ COVID Tracer: Tracing app now available ... sort of The tracing app for New Zealanders is now up and running as of today. As a school, I would like to encourage its use. It means that our ability as a nation to assist with tracing in any further outbreaks is greatly enhanced. If we do this well, we get back to 'normal' more quickly, and perhaps get that trans-Tasman bubble working. This will only be effective if we all do it. Implications for school are uncertain at the moment At the moment I'm not quite sure what this means for schools. It may mean that if the school gets a QR code, parents with cell phones are allowed to come back on-site sooner. The main reason for parents not being on-site is that it is tremendously difficult to know who is and who isn't at school at a particular time. Where to download You can download this from the Google Play store at:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.govt.health.covidtracer or from the App Store at: https:/...

A time of danger, a time of opportunity. Lessons from lockdown. Nothing ever remains the same in life but a crisis such as the one we are globally experiencing brings out the best and worst in people. Around the world when you look at what is happening, you can see that one of the most apparent casualties has been the truth as politicians in various countries try to hide from their people that some of their decisions have cost lives. In comparison, New Zealand has been very fortunate to be well-governed, and through the worst parts of the lockdown, there appeared to be cooperation between our two main political parties. This cooperation in a time of crisis was a welcome relief from the ongoing arguments we regularly see. The school picture At the school level, we have also seen shifts in the way things will be done going into the future. Yes, as a school, we have experienced pressure and demands, but we have also been rewarded with gratefulness (whakawhetai) and kindness (manaakitanga)...