Mike's Blog

3 Way Learning Conferences

2011-11-26T07:52:00.000+13:00

Kia ora everyone,

It was great to see so many parents, at the 3 Way Learning Conferences this week. I have heard so many great reports about both student progress and also their increased confidence when sharing their learning. This is what it is all about!

If you have not been able to make an appointment yet and would like one, please contact your child's teacher directly.

Take care Mike

Is doodling bad, really?

2011-11-26T07:43:00.000+13:00

Kia ora everyone,

Here is a great clip on a perspective of the benefits of doodling, interesting!
Thanks to Mr Englefield for this one.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sunni_brown.html

Mike

A Cause Worthy of Your Support

2011-09-28T20:56:00.000+13:00

Kia ora everyone,

As you will all know, at Christchurch East School our students have utilised the facilities at Centennial Pool for many years. I recently had a conversation with one of our parents who is championing the cause to save Centennial Pool, which I would also like to support. Our students need a facility like this without delay and it is something that needs to be prioritised by those making the decisions.

Can I encourage all readers to support the Save Centennial Pool cause.

All the best Simone!

Mike

A while since my last transmission

2011-09-28T20:39:00.001+13:00

Kia ora everyone,

While it has been a while since my last post, I can assure you there is a lot of great things to share about what has, is, and are going to happen at Christchurch East School.

I am really looking forward to the School Disco on this Friday, make sure you get your tickets from our awesome FFG Team at the front Gate from 8.30am.

See you there, Mike.

2011-08-19T07:56:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone.

As you will all know 'Innovation' is our learning theme this term, which is why an article in this mornings press caught my eye. Steve Muir, one of our parents from Christchurch East School has once again shown innovation in action in a real life context. Well done Steve!

For the online version of the article follow this link.

Take care Mike

School Opens Tomorrow

2011-08-17T17:12:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone

It will be great to have you all back at school tomorrow.

Innovation is still our theme for learning this term, hence we decided not to use only shovels to clear the snow.

Really looking forward to having you all back tomorrow, make sure you have plenty of warm clothes, a second pair of shoes or even slippers might be a good idea.

Take care Mike

School Closure Update

2011-08-16T18:46:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone

Christchurch East School will remain closed tomorrow the 17th of August for students.

Staff will be at school preparing the school for a earliest possible reopening on Thursday the 18th of August.

All of these plans are obviously subject to weather conditions.

Take care and stay warm.

Mike

School Closure Update

2011-08-16T07:08:00.001+12:00

Kia ora everyone

Christchurch East School will remain closed today, the 16th of August 2011 to staff and students.

Please make use of the online learning opportunities provided through our school website.

Take care Mike

School Closure Update

2011-08-15T17:38:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone

At this stage with current weather conditions and the forecast for more bad weather tonight, it is looking unlikely that school will reopen tomorrow. A decision will be made between 6 and 7am tomorrow morning.

Please make use of the online learning opportunities provided through our school website.

Take care Mike

School Closed

2011-08-15T06:29:00.002+12:00

Kia ora everyone

Christchurch East School will be closed today to staff and students due to snow, more information will be given out by 1.30pm today.

Take care Mike

One Stop Shock Info

2011-08-10T06:58:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

I have been given this document which I thought may be useful for our community to have. It is list of a variety of support available to the people of Christchurch in relation to earthquake recovery.

We will also have copies available in the office for families who do not have internet access.

I hope you find it useful.

Take care Mike

A great term behind us, another great term to come!

2011-07-20T09:02:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

Wow! What an amazing term we have just had at Christchurch East. It was really rewarding to see parents, students and staff celebrating their learning for the term around the school.

Team two ran a vibrant Learning Celebration Assembly in week 10, which was a great way to finish off Maori Language Week. Well done to Mr Jorgensen who shared his mihi and put the challenge out to the rest of the staff to do the same with their students.

Congratulations to our parents who celebrated their learning by graduating from the Computer in Homes Programme. Click on this link to find out more.

Some of our parents leading the way with Digital Technology learning

Well done to our students who finished off the term the same way they started, with a genuine enthusiasm for learning with the broad range of learning opportunities the term provided. The various gifts from our community also helped to keep up our spirits during this time. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Room 7 using Youtube to look at the characteristics of a Curious Learner

Room 9 taking part in the Financial Literacy Programme run by ASB

Some of our students with their gifts from Vulcan Steel

We also received good news from the Ministry of Education in the last week of the term. They have agreed to allow us to continue with our senior toilet block upgrade. We are very fortunate to be allowed to proceed with this project, as all school building projects have been placed on hold as a result of the earthquakes. The demolition crew will start this week and the project is expected to take 12-14 weeks.

Next term is looking to be just as exciting, staff have been working on our topic of Innovation over the last month. It is going to be great!

Mr Englefield leading part of a curriculum planning session for term 3

More team planning for term 3

Enjoy the holiday break everyone, and I will look forward to seeing you all back next term.

Mike

What a week!

2011-07-01T18:33:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

We have had another great week at Christchurch East with a lot happening around the school.

It was great to see so many parents coming out during the week to the 3 Way Learning Conferences. The staff and students have put a lot of work into the Learning Journals, Reports and preparing for the 3 Way Learning Conferences. I am really enjoying seeing the continued progress our students show sharing their learning with others. Hearing students owning and talking about their learning is what the C+O+O+L Factor at Christchurch East School is all about.

It was great to get out to Winter Sports this afternoon with our team three students. A lot of our teams have been promoted to higher grades which is exciting.

I would also like to update you all about some additional precautions we have taken with our emergency evacuation procedures. We are very much aware after September, February and June that in the case of an evacuation we may be outside for a considerable time. While we still would encourage parents to ensure students bring and wear clothing appropriate for the winter weather each day, as a school we have purchased a number of tarpaulins and survival blankets to assist us in an unfortunate event. A big thank you to Adelma Matthews our Deputy Principal who has made this all happen in a very quick and efficient manner.

Finally I would like to thank the number of parents that have passed on so many positive comments about the great team we have at Christchurch East. I would definitely agree, recent events have really confirmed the calibre of the teachers and staff we have at Christchurch East. They are both amazing people and professionals who do the very best for all of our students.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Lego, take care and enjoy the weekend.

Mike

Another great first week back!

2011-06-24T18:06:00.002+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

We have had another great week at Christchurch East School with the our students continuing to show our Learner Qualities in action with the way they have approached learning throughout the week. It was great to also have the boil water notice lifted, thank you parents for assisting us through that time by ensuring your children brought boiled drinking water to school.

It has been great to have the students back at school this week, there have been a number of highlights, here are a couple of them .

Team One grooving down with some Jump Jam

The Student vs Staff Basketball Rematch

Just a quick reminder that the 3 Way Learning Conferences are on next week on Wednesday and Thursday. We will close down the interview booking website on Monday at 5pm. Make sure you book in your time over the weekend. For any more information about this or other updates around the school view our most recent school newsletter by clicking here.

As I have talked with parents and staff throughout the week, I am really aware of the constant pressure families are under at this time. As a community the positive approach you all continue to show is a true reflection of canterbury spirit and embodies what we as a school refer to as 'learning with heart'. Kia kaha and hang in there.

We have had a number of community groups and schools pass on there best wishes and some goodies for our students, so don't be surprised if your children come home with some goodies next week. It is great to be part of a such a supportive community

Have a great weekend and take care.
Mike

School Reopening

2011-06-17T16:44:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

Great news, the builders have assured me that all work will be completed over the weekend to allow us to reopen on Monday the 20th of June as per usual school times. The school office will still have plasterers on site on Monday, but I am sure we will be able to work around them.

Please send children to school on Monday with their own bottled water.

Please contact the school by phone if your child is not going to be at school on Monday using our absence line.

Take care and enjoy the weekend.

See you all on Monday.

Mike

Earthquake Update:

2011-06-16T17:04:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone

I have meet with the engineer, MOE representative, builder and insurance representative this afternoon to work out timelines to complete the emergency remedial work needed to open the school. We are working towards opening on Monday 20th of June. I will confirm our progress towards this deadline early tomorrow afternoon.

Our caretaker (Graham) and cleaners (Gus and Dennis) have spent the last two day preparing the school for staff and students to return. Thanks men. Also a big thanks to the leadership team who have been in and around the school most of the week preparing for our reopening.

Electricians and plumbers have also been on site today ensuring the school is safe for staff and students to return.

Staff have a teacher only day tomorrow preparing for school to reopen.

Look for further updates tomorrow afternoon.

Take care Mike

Earthquake Support for Parents

2011-06-15T16:48:00.001+12:00

Nigel Latta has a programme on TV1 tonight at 8pm see details below, definitely worth a look.
Hopefully the power stays on so we can all watch it. :)

Take care Mike

Earthquake update:

2011-06-15T16:44:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

School will remain CLOSED for students for the rest on the week (15-17 June) as we continue to prepare the school for reopening. Contractors will be on site from tomorrow. Parents are able to come to the hall to collect students bags via the staff car park from 2pm to 4pm tomorrow 16th of June. We are working towards reopening for students on Monday the 20th of June.

Take care Mike

Earthquake Update

2011-06-15T12:09:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

Our Ministry of Education property person has confirmed that the admin block at school has restricted access until remedial work is completed. I am meeting builders on site tomorrow to work through this. A skeleton staff are on site preparing for school to reopen for students. We are aiming to reopen for students on Monday the 20th of June. I will provide updates later this afternoon with specific times students bags can be collected and other information updates.

Thank you again for your patience and support.

Mike

Earthquake Update

2011-06-14T16:04:00.001+12:00

Kia ora everyone

Christchurch East School will remain CLOSED tomorrow Wednesday 15 June. We have had an engineer inspect the school and are awaiting his report which will allow us to have a better idea of timeframes moving towards reopening. Look for updates tomorrow.

Take care Mike

Earthquake Update

2011-06-14T13:30:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone

Earthquake Update:
The school has been inspected by our MOE property person this morning. This inspections has confirmed the need for a further engineer's inspection. The engineer's inspection is scheduled for this afternoon. An update will be posted after the engineer's inspection.

Take care and stay safe.
Mike

Earthquake Update

2011-06-13T21:47:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

A big thank you to staff and families for another outstanding effort this afternoon. I am pleased to report that all students and staff got out of school safely and I trust that they have all made it home to be safe and together with your families.

Please note school is CLOSED tomorrow (Tuesday the 14th of June) for an initial assessment. We hope to make a decision in the afternoon on a course of action for the safest pathway forward toward reopening.

Take care and stay safe.

Mike

Electronic Communication

2011-06-03T17:27:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

Last Wednesday, I went to Waimairi School to listen to their principal Mike Anderson talk about how his school uses a variety of web tools to help their school achieve its vision. It was a very engaging interactive presentation and topic, and it is fair to say that those of us who attended came away challenged and with lots of great practical ideas to trial and implement.

One of these ideas includes our school having a page on Facebook as another option to communicate with our school community. Please note this is only a trial at this stage, and we will continue to review how it goes.

To go got to our facebook page click here. If you think it is a good idea please click the 'like this' function on the facebook page.

Have a great long weekend.

Mike

The last seven days

2011-05-30T22:15:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

What an amazing week we have had since my last post. We really have had quite a few highlights recently. A big thank you all of the parents who turned out for our school cross country last Wednesday. I am sure you will agree that Mr Jenkinson and Room 10 put on an amazing event. It was great to have the whole school participate in the same event and see so may of our students give it their best on the day. For the official cross country results click here. Congratulations and good luck to those students selected to go to the Zones Cross Country Event at Windsor School tomorrow.

Friday was a great end to the week with lots happening. Team one got us started leading our whole school learning celebration assembly. Itis great to see our youngest students sharing their learning with the school. Team three went off to winter sports at Hagley Park in the afternoon. A number of the ClassSpace Pages have highlights from all of these events if you missed any of them.

And finally today your child/children would have brought home a pamper pack which was donated to the school to support our families through recent times. Here is Room 8 handing theirs out this afternoon. A big thank you to Deb in the office for coordinating these going out.

Have a great week everyone, please remember to check out the school website for new additions. The calendar is a new function we hope you will find useful.

Take care
Mike

Quick Update

2011-05-24T16:39:00.001+12:00

Kia ora Everyone

We are having another great week at Christchurch East. This afternoon our staff had a professional development session with Marg Wright, who is assisting us with our numeracy programme development this year. Marg has been working with teachers and students in some of our classrooms this week. It was very encouraging to hear Marg's feedback about the progress our staff and students are making with our numeracy teaching and learning.

Some of our staff participating in the session this afternoon

Numeracy is one of our two major professional development focuses this year, the other is using digital technologies. I will look forward to sharing more about these two major focuses with you later in the term.

I hope the weather stays fine, and I see you all at the school cross country tomorrow morning.

Take care Mike

Friday Lunchtime Action

2011-05-20T19:40:00.000+12:00

Kia ora Everyone

I was out and about at lunchtime today and it was great to see the variety of activities our students were both leading and participating in. Here are a couple of examples.

Yes it is that time of the year again. Winter Sports!
This is our year 7/8 Rugby Team having a team talk before practice

We had Team 2 students as part of their Learning Links Challenge,
running organised games for some very enthusiastic Team 1 students.
Great work everyone!

It is great to see Learning with Heart is not just restricted to the classroom!

Take care Mike

Artspiration

2011-05-20T19:25:00.001+12:00

Kia ora Everyone

A big thank to all of our families who attended our Artspiration evening last night. The event was a huge success and I know the students and staff were thrilled with both the great turn out, and the positive feedback we received. I would like to thank everyone for the effort they put in to make this a true celebration of our students learning. Also, special thanks to Mr Englefield (our resident artist) for the time he put into organising the night.

I look forward to Artspiration 2012!

Take care Mike

Whats been happening at Christchurch East lately.

2011-05-17T22:11:00.001+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

There has been lots of learning to celebrate around the school lately. Here are a couple of my recent highlights.

Last Friday our whanau groups met and discussed what they wanted our new edible garden to look like. Our students never cease to amaze us with their creative ideas and wider knowledge they bring to their learning. This project is going to be a great way to finish off term two. Here are a couple of the whanau groups researching and planning during the session.

At lunchtime today I made my way down to room seven to test my skill with the jigsaws they have made. We all had a great time. I would like to say I was the Jigsaw King, but Abbegail and Mathilde and the team were to good for me. Well done girls, thank you for a very enjoyable lunchtime.

I hope you all are enjoying the updates.

See you at the Artspiration at school on Thursday 19th May at 7pm.

Take care Mike

Welcome NZGSE Interns to Christchurch East School

2011-05-16T21:34:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone

Just to keep you up to date with things around the school. We have five interns from the NZ Grad School with us for the next 7 seven weeks. This is a great reciprocal longstanding relationship we have with the Grad School which benefits everyone, including our students:

Stephanie Kokx in Room 10 with Trevor Jenkinson
Rachel Douglass in Room 9 with Victoria Brookland
Simon-Lean-Massey in Room 8 with Nick Jorgensen
Darren Robinson in Room 4 with Tania Sibley
Dulkara Martig in Room 3 with Carmen Aldridge

They will be with us until Friday 1 July (7 weeks). Thank you for making them welcome.

Take care Mike

Have you seen the NEWS?

2011-05-11T15:56:00.001+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

This afternoon I was shown some of the ways our students are combining their reflection time with our new school website, by creating a regular News Update. Have a look at Room 9 and 12's NEWS.

Room 9 News Room 12 News

Well done team!

Mike

Artspiration Event is coming!

2011-05-11T09:26:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

Please have a look at this link: Artspiration to find out more details. Our students and staff have put a lot of time into this event to ensure it will be great, I will look forward to seeing you there.

Take care,
Mike

Aftershock last night

2011-05-10T07:51:00.000+12:00

Kia ora everyone,

Just to let you know, our caretaker Mr Graham Walsh is right on the ball checking the buildings first thing this morning after the aftershock last night. Graham does this regularly and more importantly straight after any significant aftershocks, to ensure our school is 'Keeping it Safe and Vibrant' for our students' families and staff.
Have a great day:)
Mike

Principal's Blog is up and running

2011-05-09T22:42:00.000+12:00

Kia ora Everyone

Last week, I went over to our library and was blown away. The Library Learning Hub was buzzing as a learning community with a variety of staff, parents and students all learning and being an active part of our learning community at Christchurch East. The only thing that concerned me was that no one else was not able to see our 'Vibrant Inspirational Learning Community in the Heart of the City' in action for themselves.
This led me to start this blog to replace the existing latest updates section of our school website. I will endeavor to update this blog regularly to provide our community with insights into daily life at Christchurch East and what 'Learning with Heart' is all about. I hope you find my blog useful and decide to follow it.
Take care Mike

My photo of the day, is of Mr Jenkinson risking life and limbs to be a part of his students learning today. That's what I call commitment!