From The Principal's Desk

Kia ora ki te whānau o Cobham,

The warm weather continues! One pleasing aspect of Cobham is all of our classrooms have heat pumps, meaning we can control the temperatures within classes. We know that when the temperature inside a classroom is comfortable, the chances of learning increases.

It has been rewarding to walk around the school and to pop into classrooms over the past three weeks. I have been impressed by the positive attitudes displayed by our pupils – many of whom have expressed how much they are enjoying their start to the year. I look forward to getting to know as many students as I can by visiting them in the classrooms, on stage performing, on the sports field or at the front gate before school.

Every three years the community has the opportunity to elect the Board of Trustees (BoT). In the middle of this year, you will have the chance to be part of this process. If you are at all interested in putting your name forward or would like to know more about the BoT, please don’t hesitate in contacting either Khymne D'Arcy, our BoT Chairperson or myself. A useful starting point could be the New Zealand School Trustees Association website www.nzsta.org.nz

Thank you to those Year 7 parents who attended last week’s parent evenings. It was good to see so many and also we do hope the respective evenings gave a deeper understanding of how Cobham works. If you do have any questions regarding our school, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

I would like to acknowledge those parents who are helping out on the upcoming Year 7 camps to Glentui. We are reliant on your time and expertise. These trips are a great opportunity for students to have shared outdoor learning experiences where, within a safe environment, they are challenged to take risks. The food is fantastic with plenty of options to suit dietary needs. We do hope the weather allows for enjoyable outdoor experiences and my advice to parent helpers - pack plenty of insect repellent!!!

Last evening we held a meeting for parents wanting to know more about the AIMS Games in Tauranga. The tournament runs from Saturday 7 September through to Friday 13 September, with teams and individual sports. The AIMS Games has grown immensely from its inception in 2004 to become larger than the Commonwealth Games in terms of competitor numbers and sports offered. Cobham has been attending for several years with many teams and individuals winning medals. We sent the largest team from the South Island last year and intend to send a strong contingent along this year. The competition is fierce and we need to be sure that we are sending teams and individuals that have performed both locally and regionally and who have a realistic chance of success. If you missed last night’s meeting please contact Courtney Ross who will be able to relay information to you.

For those of you new to Cobham or for those who don’t know about the systems we use for rewarding appropriate behaviours, let me take this opportunity to explain further.

At Cobham we work hard to ensure students are focussed on learning and to make this happen we need a clear behaviour framework. This reward system we use is the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) programme that is used across many New Zealand Schools. The best way to describe our system is by using an analogy – in this case, a road. A road environment is designed to ensure maximum driver engagement and safety, a positive experience and pave the way for ultimate success with a journey. Likewise, school-wide -PB4L aims to do the same at Cobham – enable maximum student engagement, a positive experience and success with their journey of learning. The four values (3RP@Cobham) are our lines, signposts initially indicating what we expect of all people in our learning environment. As with yellow lines on a road though, there is more meaning to each value therefore, students need to understand what each one means in each setting of the school. Therefore, students are taught how to show 3RP@C in every aspect of their lives at school (and hopefully beyond). For instance - What do respectful, responsible, resilient and positive people do when using a digital device for learning?

Related to our 3RP@C is our Gotcha system that your child may have mentioned. The Gotcha system works when a student has displayed an expected school and/or class behaviour, the teacher responds with specific, timely, and constructively worded feedback –“Gotcha! Well done for being responsible and getting your book/device out ready to begin – that’s making a wise choice!” Such feedback promotes and supports the expected behaviour occurring again. Giving ‘gotchas’ should be given more attention than focusing on inappropriate behaviour- a ratio of 4:1 is a general rule. In most cases, only one ‘gotcha’ is awarded, but in special instances up to three ‘gotchas’ can be awarded. Students can also earn 25 ‘gotchas for specific responsibilities and representations within the school, for example, representing a Cobham sporting team.

The underlying theme of our PB4L system is students need a framework for expected behaviours and if these are in place there is a significantly greater chance of success as a learner.

Associated with our behaviour systems are our expectations of students whilst working on devices. Devices and online education is part of learning at Cobham and will continue to be as students progress to high school. We aim to empower our students to become lifelong digital citizens who creatively use e-learning opportunities to enhance their learning and life.

Currently, all teachers are delivering a digital literacy programme through a series of lessons that meet the e-Learning Vision. We are giving the students the tools to keep themselves safe, make quality choices when on devices, and skills to use a range of digital tools effectively. The keyword ‘empowering’ underpins all the lessons.

To create this detailed, future focussed unit that reflects our vision, we based the vision, and lessons on the nine themes of digital citizenship and it aligns to the e-Learning Planning Framework Dimensions, from the Ministry of Education. Some other resources that are underpinned throughout are the 2018 Digital Technology Curriculum, NetSafe, Common Sense Media, and the Cobham student 'Digital Agreement'.

We expect our digital literacy learning lessons set students up for safe, positive online learning interactions. If you would like to know more about the lessons please contact your child’s teacher.

I do hope our new students have made friends and are connecting with the richness that is Cobham.

Ngā mihi nui,

Eddie Norgate