Central North Shore Cluster Celebrates

Auckland turned on a spectacular day for our cluster celebration last Friday. Many thanks to Milford School for hosting us...the view of Lake Pupuke from the hall says it all.

It was wonderful to celebrate our eLearning journey together and look back over the past 3 years. Each of the schools presented a celebration of their learning and the impact of viewing these reinforced not only how far everyone had come but also how much we had grown in confidence...and what a lot of fun we are having learning together!

I have embedded all the presentations in the wiki here...(where else...lol!) I have cut some of the original sound tracks and replaced with FreePlay music because of copyright but feel confident that the images and video continue to convey these messages about our journey...

Change ...Everybody Learning Together...Shift Does Happen...
Student Voice...Thinking Differently

Finally what's a celebration without some dancing!

Fire Engines and Praying Mantis

I dropped in on Room 3 at Northcote Primary last week. They have been learning about their community and the different jobs everyone has "because no one person can be an expert at everything." (wise words from Room 3). You can read all about this class of New Entrants and their learning adventures on their blog.
I particularly enjoyed their drawings of the Fire Engines and they have kindly shared some with me.

Room 3 from Fiona

Sunnybrae Normal School Room 12 Hand Messages

Challenged by the original "Hand Messages" video, to show their message to the world, Room 12 at Sunnybrae Normal School created their own hand messages video and have shared it on their classroom blog. Click here to visit their blog, watch and comment...

Cluster Spotlight 4

The programme for our final Cluster Share for 2007 hosted by Northcote Intermediate is now available on the Cluster Wiki. Please check out the times and confirm your attendance with your Lead Teacher by Thursday. Teachers will be sharing more of their Teacher Inquiry feedback and we will explore examples of how individual inquires will be organsied for you to access online at the end of the year.

View the programme here

This week's Cluster Spotlights feature:

Room 3 "...a class of five year olds at Northcote Primary School and their teacher Helen Rennie-Younger." Room3 is using their blog to share their learning with an audience of family and friends both in New Zealand and overseas. Check the archived posts from Term 2 and follow their explorations into the water cycle. Also scroll the side bar of the blog to view some of the exciting learning and school activities from throughout the year.

View the Room3 blog here

Hamish Betts and his Year 2 class at Sunnybrae Normal have posted a video that can be viewed on our PhotoFUN Cluster blog. They have used a website called Teacher Tube to host their video, which can also be a useful resource if you are looking for videos to support your programme.

I have also categorised many of my video links in del.icio.us that you may also find a good start if you are looking for examples to use to clarify, explain or promote discussion in your classroom...and some will just make you smile...here's a classic...

Cluster Spotlight 3

This week's cluster spotlight features examples of how students are connecting with family and friends, sharing their learning online at Milford School.

Gordana Stanojevic's ESOL class is using their blog to connect with many international readers. Gordana often receives requests from parents of students residing overseas and was previously only using email. The blog enables students to participate and make links with an authentic audience. The blog also includes a translator, time zone clock and cluster map identifying where in the world readers are located.
Robyn Keen's Year 5-6 class have also been using podcasts to share their learning with family and community. Students have learned how to prepare and record podcasts as well as construct and respond to an interview with their peers.

Cluster Spotlight 2

In this week's cluster spotlight we look at Sunnybrae Normal School's EnviroSchool Blog.
The blog is a team blog set up by Jenni Keeley's Year 1 class to support their Enviro Schools Journey. They have teamed up with teacher Penny Krone and students from Verran School who are their enviro-mentors.

The blog is being used to record their progress and also as a place for the students to reflect and support each other. The comments feature of the blog is being utilised by students to respond to questions and offer advice and suggestions as they explore and learn through the school's enviro journey. The blog will also assist Sunnynrae as they work towards their Enviroschools Awards - Bronze.

Cluster Spotlight 1

As part of my weekly Cluster Update email that I send out to you on a Monday morning I will be including a feature spot on a school or classroom in the cluster. I am in the privileged position of spending most days in your schools experiencing, first hand, your learning adventures. While we are able to share these at cluster events and our Cluster Wiki there is so much new learning to celebrate I thought this would be a good place to bring these gems to your attention. I also encourage you to email these teachers if you have any questions.

Learning Support Class Takapuna Primary
You may have attended Jane's session at the Cluster Share last week.
Jane has been developing her classroom blog since attending the Learning@School Conference in February and has some excellent recommendations which she has posted on our cluster wiki, worth viewing if you thinking about using a blog with your class.

Jane's Classroom Blog

Also... want to whip up a quick movie for your blog?...try Animoto. Upload photos, select some music and Animoto does the rest.