Heading to retreat… #28daysofwriting

Woohoo – almost two years on here we all are heading to retreat in Hanmer.  Five of us board the early morning flight out of Dunedin bound for Christchurch to board the bus for Hanmer. 

Aside from visiting one of the many truly beautiful spots in New Zealand again, I am really looking forward to the MAGIC of the restrea

·      Reconnecting with CORE whanau from all around New Zealand;

·      Meeting new CORE whanau who have joined recently;

·      Spending time reflection on the journey that CORE has been on;

·      Looking at wehre we are at in the current eeducational context in NZ;

·      Looking to the future;

·      Socialising with CORE whanau;

·      Exploring Hanmer again;

·      Relaxing in the hot pools..

How privileged we are as a company to come together; spend quality time together; developing as a team. 

Theme: The core of CORE

Honouring the past

Celebrating the now     

Looking into the future

I always believe it is a HUGE privilege to have everyone in one space for a journey of reflection.  A vision or team ‘way pf being’ is only lived and owned if it is revisited, reflected on and re-shaped. 

How does this look for me in my professional life?

Honouring the past

In 1981 I attended Dunedin Teacher’s College for a brief sojourn.  I was not ready to be a teacher and off I went to explore different opportunities. In 1998 I returned and began my three year stint at Dunedin Teacher’s College, graduating in November 2000.  Since then I have taught in three schools, and been a Deputy Principal for five years.  I won a teachNZ scholarship in 2011 and celebrated a study year completing my Masters of Educational Leadership and travelling around New Zealand on my self designed ‘Twitter Tour’ exploring schools across NZ using mobile devices and flexible learning spaces.  In 2012 I returned to school and ran a BYOB (bring your own browser) programme in a student designed learning space classroom.  We had a fabulous year, connecting online, have choice and control over our learning with personalized learning pathways, and designing new learning spaces.  At the beginning of 2013 I took up a position with CORE education and worked as a facilitator in the Blended e-learning team in schools in and around Otago, Central Otago and Southland.  2014 saw me working as a facilitator for the newly named contract Learning with Digital Technologies with schools in and around Southland, Literacy with the Literacy Online role, mentoring with the Virtual Professional Learning and Development Team and consultancy. 

Celebrating the now  

2015 sees me as Cluster Lead for schools in Otago and Southland as well as workshop support in Christchurch.  I am also continuing the VPLD mentoring and thoroughly enjoying the learning in this role.  I have recently begun participating in my first MOOC – name it…

I love my roles, I love my job!!!!  I continue to find better work/life balance. 

          

Looking into the future

Where to now?  I know that education is where I want to be.  I know that I miss direct contact with class and learners.  I use the analogy of my c=being a free range chicken and a return to the class would be like putting me in a cage for now…