Week 1 Term 4

Kia ora tātou,

The world is changing, workplaces are changing in function and form, the way we now operate in those workplaces is adapting and changing through disruptive technologies, how we communicate is changing and globalisation is here - not to mention the impact COVID-19 is having on the way we do things.

For a moment consider our Year 1 learners who are 5 years old in 2021. By the time they leave school as an 18-year-old, it will be 2034! Only 4 or so years ago Tiktok was launched and, now sitting at over 2 billion users, has transformed the way a generation communicate and seek information. I wrote a similar article a number of years back and my example was Facebook. It grew but this next generation outgrew it and needed something different. What will happen in the next 4 years? The reality is we don't know. We don’t know what jobs will look like then and it is very hard to predict the changes we will experience – we are preparing our learners for the unknown, but one thing we do know is that those entering this workforce will need to be adaptable, agile, and able to learn new skills as their environments evolve. We have seen this agility in businesses through the COVID-19 impacts - the innovation, agility and adaptability is something to celebrate - and often when outside of our control.

Teachers working in schools know more now about the learning process and how the brain works than a generation ago. We are aware of the attributes that employers are looking for in the workplace and we are adapting our practices to best prepare our students for this. Sitting in rows of silent learners listening to the teacher regurgitate information is the past, the future is a collaborative environment, providing the learner with the choice about where they will work that best matches the learning activity they are carrying out, encouraging higher-order thinking – beyond remembering information to having the learning stick with them (deep learning). This generation of learners needs to be the creators, the collaborators, the critical thinkers. They will enjoy learning and most importantly know how to learn.

This future is exciting and it is a great pleasure to be a part of this as an educator, working with learners and the communities we serve. We are growing together.

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa - Let us keep close together, not far apart

As we navigate changes, things will look different and may challenge what we believe - regardless let’s work through this together, not apart.

Ngā mihi,
Mike Hart
Tumuaki | Principal