Pasefika, Pasifika or Pacifica? O le mea e tasi.

Malo lava le soifua maua ma le lagi e mamå. I'm excited to share with you my journey in my new role as Pasefika Lead for the Manaiakalanai Network. In this role I have met with principals across schools in our network who have high percentages of Pasefika students. Our talanoa has focused on how the Manaiakalani Programme impacts our Pasefika children along with their teachers AND teacher of Pasefika heritage.

One of the first things I worked hard to find out was which spelling was in fact best  to use for my role. As a Samoan child, I have heard - used and been acknowledged as a person of the Pasefika (spelling from the Samaon and Tokelauan culture). In looking across different organisations who work within our Pacific communities, speaking with Pasefika leaders and educators it confirmed my understanding that Pasifika and Pasefika are both commonly used to refer to Pacific people, culture, and languages. The spelling difference is due to pronunciation across different Pacific Island languages. In New Zealand, 'Pasifika' is the more widely used term.

 The choice of which term to use may depend on context and personal preference. Some great advice from an mentor Aunt (Human Rights Advisor- Pasifika at the Human Rights Commission) it is important to be aware of both spellings and to use them respectfully when working with Pacific people and communities.   My mother's answer, "O le mea a e tasi, Pasefika - Pasifika - Pacific".  It is the one, it is the same. 

Ia manuia lava tatou taumafaiga aua se lumana'i manuia o tatou fanau Pasefika!

Guided Reading (and Comprehension) - Malamalama? Malamalama fa'afetai!

 Today was focused on the components that make up planning and organisation as teachers in reading.  Above is an example from teacher Robert Wiseman of Pt England School.    To produce this learning experience Rob in his planning stages needed to consider the following:

1. Who is the learner?

2. What did their previous reading experience show?

3. What learning intention is needed to further their understanding through reading?

4. What resources would be best to use for this?

5. What ways can the learning share their evidence of learning?

6. What create activity would show their level of understanding against the set WALT?

Guided reading practice is in support of these.   

Some reminders and learning for me:

a. Having the WALT in view every slide, on board, on wall where children can keep referring to is very important.    

b. When curious questions arise in reading session: before, during or after you can collect these and address later.

c. With tools shared today, use them at a pace that suits and check they are useful to what you are trying to find out and work towards with learners.

Filifili se tusi - pick a book!

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  What did I learn that increased my understanding of the kaupapa and pedagogy of the Manaiakalani Reading Programme ?

Looking again at our provisions for learners around the apps in Chrome. Do these follow through to being able to gauge any progress for our learners? Can our students understand what these show? In google docs etc there are features to support students to engage more with reading, take some time to see how they are working already in classrooms and how you might adapt to suit your learners and reading goals.

• What did I learn that could improve my capability and confidence in teaching reading?

Take time to work through the different elements of a text set. Which is the base text? What different perspectives do I want the text set to cover? Text sets are great when they are multimodal! Think again around grouping of your learners. Move away from always having reading ages put together, what about their interests? In our provision for reading we can communicate clearly that we acknowledge them as individuals by way of text selection and grouping.

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• What did I learn that could be shared within my wider community, with either colleagues, or whānau/aiga?  This is for ME not a directive from sessions...but where sessions have landed my thinking re selecting text.

Take more notice of our learners attitude, what has influenced this? What mess
age have they received from years of schooling? Community? Homes? Social media? Stop and capture what our learners feel about reading, their interests, their influencers. Use this to start from to select texts that engage, excite my learners.

 

Mana Ako Club Coordinator

2022 opened with plans to take on full time study and a discipleship course.  I had committed to being a coordinator for the Mana Ako Club.  A club that supported our senior learners with two afternoons of homework completion as well as learning across the curriculum.

By late January plans had changed, one to being put on pause and the other being a declined application!   What?!!   The same week things changed I returned to my workspace in support of my senior management.  I carried out the role of Acting AP for a term and a half.

My constant so far this year has been my connection to the Point England Students by way of the MAC - Mana Ako Club!

As a school teacher it's close to your ideal set up - a class of 15 at the most! Tending to learning needs as they arise out of the weekly homework set.   Adding in learning of life skills that are guided by the team at journal surf.  Life skills mostly come out of key competencies and social/emotional learning outcomes as promoted by the NZ curriculum.

The range of learners attending MAC have varying needs to support, one thing in common is that they are all very comfortable.  Comfortable in learning where they are in learning levels and where they want to be.  That the varying levels reflects simply where they're at, not their lack bur rather a work on, an area to grow.

This year we've continually re-visited the practice of having a 'growth mindset' v's 'fixed'.    It has proven to be very powerful.

I am blessed to have had this opportunity to work in MAC, to see children work in an environment without the pressure of huge class numbers.   Time devoted to social and emotional growth that lends to having learners who are comfortable to make mistakes, ask for help and try again.