TAI - 2020

 Coming through 2020 has indeed been a challenge. One of the things I learnt in lockdown was the need for individualised feedback through technology. Last year I worked on Feedback as a TAI and I had some success and also some not so successful outcomes. Feedback and Feedforward is still something I am constantly working on in Performing Arts. Because Performing Arts is very individualised, each student is working on a completely different piece of music and each student responds differently to how feedback is given. I am going to re-visit this, this term. I firstly need to decide on how I want to move forward with this and I will document that here.

Effective feedback

Can we start over?...........

2020 started off as a very exciting year for me! It was the big 40th birthday, Lydia my daughter turned 10 and Mb ( The husband) also turned 40! The start of the year was going well, after a lovely summer break it was a nice smooth transition back to school.
As the news unfolded over the course of the term, we realised that things would be about to change! So, here we are 7 weeks later.... 4 weeks of full lock down and another 3 weeks of home learning. To be honest I have enjoyed being at home with the family, working from home has suited me ha ha! I have missed the hustle and bustle of school and teaching music from a distance is not that exciting!!
I have really been proud of how the kids have tackled online learning, it was really cool having google meets and being able to talk online and catch up!
For us at Hornby High School we were ahead of the game with our google sites. We already have our curriculum on our sites so transitioning into full online learning was an easier process.
We are now in the final week of our learning from home. Whilst I am looking forward to coming back to school I will miss being able to work when I went and get up when I want to! Also, going back to going to the loo when the bell rings will be challenging ha ha!
I feel incredibly lucky to have spent this time with my whanau, to have escaped COVID-19 and remained healthy and to be returning to a job that I love. Many have not been so lucky.

PLG Progress

After taking some time to figure out what exactly I was going to get from this I settled on a few ideas. After doing the survey to get some student voice on how they like to receive feedback I got some good ideas!!
It was interesting to find out that students like their feedback on a shared doc so that they can access it all of the time. Great! This is what I usually do but this term we also added peer feedback. This was a really great opportunity to get some direct feedback from their peers. Also, it was a good exercise for students to listen and focus in on different aspects of different instruments. We also talked about what skills are required for each instrument. So for example if you are not a guitar player you learn about the skills that the guitar player should be reflecting at this level.

Teacher/Peer feedback

The only thing I have not tried yet is the feedback notebook. I did intend to start this during this term but decided to start this a s new focus for 2020. I did talk with students about having a book that they carry around with them. They all really liked this idea, even the students that prefer the digital feedback. These notebooks ( Rehearsal diaries, will be kept in the classroom) Students can also take them to their itinerant teachers and that gives me a good idea of what they have done in their instrumental lesson each week.

PLG - Feedback

A constant challenge in performance Music is the process of giving feedback and feedforward. As a music teacher you have lots of one on one conversations giving direct feedback. The challenge is how to give productive feedback so that the students remember and can look back on it.
My PLG group this year is on feedback and Joanne and I are working with our seniors on productive ways to do this! Things I have tried are having a running doc that can be a running diary of feedback, target setting like meetings with individuals ( I like this one as you get to have face to face conversations but it takes a lot of time, particularly with big classes! ) I have also done good old post it notes for quick feedback but of course these get lost easily! We now comment on blogs and this works ( if students have their devices) but I would like to look at other more efficient types of giving feedback. I am going to get some student voice as to how they like to receive feedback.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XLsPiAVgJwURvWwQBV-WFCkKaiyoJZhJLAL4jD7K5HA/edit#slide=id.g5484a8bcc3_3_5

Term 1 reflection.

Term 1 was exhausting. It was a term filled with some awesome stuff but also some difficult stuff.
My classes this first term have been mixed. My seniors classes are fantastic, I have a large year 11 class and they are so enthusiastic and just soak up every bit of knowledge that is thrown at them. My year 12 and 13 classes are smaller but an awesome bunch of talented musos that are always keen and passionate about their music.
This year as a school we decided that junior music would be offered as an option for year 9 and 10 ( it used to be compulsory at year 9) This is based on the success of the passion projects so giving students the freedom of choice to learn their passions. I was totally on board for this, I re wrote my junior units so that I had two semesters. The first semester would be a performance based semester where students cover lots of different aspects of Performing Arts and then work towards a performance. I was seriously amped to get into this but alas as my classes arrived I realised that they were not digging this idea and had no passion at all for performance arts and little passion for music in general. sigh!!! What did I do wrong?? At the end of the 2018 we had 40plus juniors perform in our Musical Theatre passion project, all willing to sing, dance and act to their hearts content! Being honest I was a little crushed...... What the hell do I do now?? I have changed all of my units and the students hate it???!!! It actually took me a while to really process this and figure out what to do next!! So, eventually I realised two things.

1. Some of our students just don't read the course outlines and hand books before they choose! So, they choose a subject based on what they think it is! ( listening to music, jamming on the guitar, watching youtube?) Who Knows!!
2. Most of the students that have chosen Music actually do want to do music. They have seen the musical theatre performances and want to be able to perform but they are too scared or they just don't know how!

So I swallowed my pride and changed the direction of what we were doing! Instead we went back to basics and learnt some skills on the keyboard and the guitar and started thinking about what music we liked and how we could eventually perform it?? This was reasonably successful and students definitely learned new things and enjoyed learning. Did we do a performance in term one? no! Will we get a performance done in term two? Who knows?? Are the juniors getting a cool musical experience and learning some practical and theoretical knowledge?? YES! So I am going to take that as win. It wasn't what I had planned or expected but in teaching nothing ever really goes as planned ha ha!

I still am a firm believer of always trying new things because sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Even though I was disappointed that my new course did not flourish this Term. I will still continue to push this as a subject option. For me I think that I need to make sure I go into the deans assemblies and talk about the new course so that students understand what the expectations are.

In the end Term 1 ended well. I finished We Will Rock You which was again a fantastic opportunity to be singing again this year! No more shows for 2019. Ready to take on the challenged of Term 2.

We Will Rock You.... Hopefully!!

So fresh after my amazing 2018 of being back into Musical Theatre, I auditioned for the first show of the Showbiz season We Will Rock You! I luckily scored a role in the vocal backing again which is ace! Finishing Les Mis was actually really hard, I had major after show sadness! The crazy thing about being in shows ( which I had Forgotten) is that you spend this intensive amount of time with the group of people you are working with and then the show finishes and you don't see them every day! It's a really strange feeling!! Whilst I was excited to get back into home life with my awesome Beer's it was really sad to leave the wonder of Les Mis behind.
So, just before Christmas, we went into music calls and initially I felt like I maybe should have sat this one out ( am I emotionally ready for another show). As soon as I heard the amazing score and the electric cast I new I had made the right decision. Doing Vocal backing is quite different than being on stage, you are really an off stage performer who is a back up singer. The work load for this is much easier so schedule wise it is a good way to start the year! We are now a month away from opening night so things are about to get crazy busy!
I know that not only do I get to be a performer again it really is the best Personal Development as a music teacher that I can get.

As if it were a dream!

So it is already 2019 and I am still pinching myself that I ended 2018 with this amazing show. It was probably the most intense 4 months I have ever had. Not going to lie, the workload of being in this show and working my day job was so hard. Tiredness I could cope with but the most difficult thing is keeping your voice healthy as there is no way you can go on vocal rest when you are a teacher. This was a particularly demanding show and I did take my voice for granted, loosing it during the dress rehearsal week was a a nightmare!!!!!! I learnt a pretty hard lesson during this time. I realised that there are lots of things I could have done to look after my voice better and I had not been doing that. If I want to continue to do shows and teach I need to make sure that I am putting in the work with my vocal health.
This has been a huge year of growth for me. Professionally I have been in two of my bucket list shows, still can't believe it. Even at 38 years old my confidence has grown and my belief in myself as a singer and as an actor has been boosted. I can see this growth in my teaching. My expectations of my students is higher as my own performance experiences have changed and developed.
I feel so lucky that I get to do what I love in and out of the classroom and I am excited for the next year of performance adventures!

Defying gravity...............

It seems crazy that it was 7 months ago that I auditioned for the Showbiz production of Wicked. The time flew by and before I knew it it was opening night!! This has by far been the best professional experience I have ever had!
I love being a teacher and I have spent the last 15 years focusing all of my time on mastering my profession to the best I could. Getting to teach music every day is literally the best job in the world. I had forgotten though how amazing it was to be a performer myself. I have always been a singer since grabbing a plastic mic around age 2. Musical theatre was a massive part of my life before teaching and although I don't intend to quit my job and take up performing full time it is amazing to now be doing both. My only concern about getting back into performing was whether I had the energy to teach and perform. Since the start of the year I have been eating healthier and exercising more. I knew I needed to be fitter if I wanted this to work. Once we went into tech week I knew this would be the most challenging time. I was honestly shattered being at the theatre until 11pm and then getting up to teach, but, I just loved it and so it was worth being a little tired!!
As a musician this experience has been challenging and massively rewarding. It has also given me valuable PD as a teacher also. Working with renowned musical director Richard Marrett was a dream. He is an amazing director and seeing him in action was fantastic. I have taken many things from him that I can use in my own teaching. I have made some excellent contacts in the industry and also made some wonderful friends.
Wicked really has been a life changer for me. Being able to work as a singer professionally again is a dream come true. I know this will also only have a positive effect on my teaching also.

Showbiz bio

Music mentor!!

This year we were lucky to gain another music mentor from the NZ music commission. This is a wonderful initiative by the commission which is completely free of charge. A mentor is assigned to your school and they run workshops based on what you want for your students. This year we were super lucky to get the amazing Lavina Williams! Lavina was such a perfect fit for Hornby and we fell in love with her immediately. Lavina is an amazingly talented performer from Auckland, she is part Samoan part Fijian. She is a singer/songwriter but also an accomplished musical theatre performer. She is the only polynesian woman to have ever been cast in the role of Rafiki in The Lion King. Wow!!!!! Lavina talked us through her amazing career as a singer. Our students were captivated! One of the biggest hurdles for our kids is for them to believe that they can follow their passions in performing arts and that they can travel the world and be a musician. It is possible!!! Lavina really encouraged this and focused on believing in themselves. We had two wonderful days working on stage presence, stage craft and songwriting. Our students soaked up the time and I was really proud of them for putting themselves out there and really giving everything!! I also gained so much from Lavina. It was really interesting to see her giving feedback and having fresh eyes looking at our performances was so rewarding. This was such a perfect way to end the term, I know all my senior musicians benefitted hugely! What an amazing thing for New Zealand to have this commission so that our tamariki can experience working with mentors that we would never usually have the opportunity to access.

Blogging for my students!

This year I want to try really hard to keep my class blog up to date!

Class blog

This is where I put our revised lessons for each class each week. This is a good link for my students to access their learning after class has finished. It also gives me the opportunity to offer words of encouragement and give general feed back. I am enjoying writing this and have set aside time each week to make sure I am keeping it up to date. I will also use this as a tool for my form class too!

Hit the term running....... no, sprinting!!!!

To say we have started school with a bang is an understatement! Its only week 4 and we have had pd days, staff meetings, student meetings, international students, timetable changes, crazy weather and lots of new faces. 2018 was always set to be a big year at Hornby High School but i think i may have underestimated this!
We started our year with our Uru Manuka cluster meeting. This was a day for all of the schools in the cluster to meet together and to discuss our progress with Learn, Create, Share. I did take some valuable things from the day. Listening to Pat Sneddon is always inspiring, hear his encouraging words and the the difference we are making to our children was definitely a great way to start the year. It was interesting though to hear the differences in opinions from our colleagues from other schools........
I always love the start of a school year. I had really missed the kids and it was great catching up with the staff and meeting the 12 newbies! Week 4 in and it already feels like its half way through the term lol! Being over code this term is hard work but I am enjoying all of my classes. Really noticing the difference with smaller junior classes. Going from around 35 to 19 in an average junior music class is already reaping the benefits!
We have set the tone for a great year but it's going to be a hard one too!!

The Wizard and I...

So after many years of wanting to get back into performing, I finally bit the bullet last year and auditioned for Wicked by Showbiz. I have always loved this show and as soon as I saw the press release I knew it was my time! I am constantly inspired by my own students and I am always telling them to go for things and do what they love. So, I finally took my own advice! The audition process was extremely nerve wracking. I was number 72 of 160....... i  had to do a vocal and dance audition. I was really pleased with my vocal audition but bombed the dance ha ha! I clearly have work to do on my stage dancing and fitness. After a painful three week wait I finally got the wonderful letter offering me a part in the company as a backing vocalist. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement!
We had a few rehearsals before 2017 closed and I did really love them but I also felt really overwhelmed and quite nervous! It was so wonderful though to be working with a professional company, the sound from the music rehearsals was glorious! This year the rehearsal schedule is really amping up. I know I am going to find it hard at times working full time and performing but I know I am going to love it!

2017......... What a year!!

So, I didn't make a single blog post in 2017!! That's not to say that I spent the year with nothing to write. It is in fact the exact opposite! The last school year I can only describe as a whirlwind!! It had many, many highs and also some really challenging times! During the summer break of 2016/17 the music department had a huge overhaul. This included huge renovations but also we became "Whare toi Whakaari" the home of the arts. Having my drama comrade with me sharing spaces was both new and challenging but also totally awesome! Making spaces work that haven't been used to their potential for tens of years was exciting to see. What was immediately surprising was seeing how the students reacted to the new interior! New carpets and a bright paint job makes a difference. I could see how the attitudes to the spaces changed. The delight of new cushions ( even though a colleague made a comment that they wouldn't be there by the end of the year!!) They were there!!!!!! In good condition having been carried around as comforters ( yes it is a high school) sat on for floor jam sessions and placed around our new window seats! Who would have thought those things made such a difference???? They do! Having a creative space to work that looks inviting and homely really has brought out the best of all of us this year!!
I will mention a few highlights or my 2017 summary will be 50 pages long. One of my biggest proudest moments this year was my Musical Theatre showcase. This was the first time we have done an NCEA only music performance night. I had studied this genre a lot with my year 13's this year and they loved it! It was their idea to do a full "Musicals" showcase and it was magical! I was bursting with pride seeing the display of professionalism and talent! We buzzed for days after and it is definitely something I want to do each year! We also had another fantastic year at the Shakespeare festival and our international evening was wonderful again!

So now we wait for the start of the 2018 year! Its going to be another biggie with school rebuild in full swing! It is going to be a hard year for teachers and students changing classes and going into new buildings! Despite the stress I know that the rewards will be huge! #hornbypride

A new vision!

As Hornby High school moves into the realms of the big rebuild we are starting to look at the vision of the school. Our board of trustees presented their ideas of our vision after school on Monday, along with afternoon tea which always goes down well with the Hornby crew.
Learn, Create, Share is where we want to take our students, being creative in whatever they do
 ( creativity is not exclusive to the Arts but to be creative in all subjects.) The toughest part of that equation is the sharing part. I find my wonderful musos learn and create in their comfort zones well and work hard. The scary part is the sharing. The performing and giving their all on stage! Now, we have become better at this and I have seen the confidence levels grow in my musicians. We are still not quite at the point though where my students will do this freely without me nagging them! ( with the exception of Jacob and Siaosi if they happen to read this) How do I get them to this point.......  I am not sure. I can do all the encouraging in the world but there still has to be more! Project based learning is an avenue we are beginning to look at and I have started thinking about this for 2017. Cross - curricular projects which engage our students and connect our subjects! Is this the answer??? I don't know but as a teacher in the 21st century I want to give it a go, I'm excited to try it and am keen to get it started!!! More to come on this subject......... :)

Last week of term is upon us.....

So, the week is not over yet but I thought I would reflect on the terms madness early!! This penultimate term always seems to fly by. This time it has actually flown and as usual its a mad dash panic to get everyone through the last assessments. My highlights of the term have been getting back into Kapa Haka, I missed it so much and have really enjoyed learning again and being part of the special kapa whanau. We have a performance in the holidays so can't wait for that! Secondly my wonderful Voices with Soul. Such an amazing group of young singers and just generally awesome humans!! We had so much fun at the Voices festival again, they always make me proud and we received two awards for "pop performance" and "emotional plan". It was lovely to do a song dedicated to Krystal. She would have loved singing her beloved Justin Bieber! Great highlights and just a few reminders of why I love this job!! So, 3 days to go, one performance gig, two assemblies and some sad staff farewells, then relax............

Malo!! Its Tongan language week!

One of the many things I love about New Zealand is the vibrant and exciting array of multiculturalism. I am lucky that at Hornby High we have many different cultures. As a musician I love to learn about traditional song and dance. I love that the Pacific Islands are represented by different forms of music and dance and also food! This week is Tongan language week. We are lucky to have a wonderful community of Tongan families and I have many Tongan students in my music classes. This week we had senior assembly, this was an awesome opportunity to showcase students performing a traditional Tongan song. I am always proud of my students when they get up and perform, especially in assemblies as it is not easy! It was an awesome performance celebrating the music and language of Tonga!

PD - Genius hour......

Genius hour is project based learning task or activity. Students choose their own project on any subject. The idea is to choose a passion, choose something that you are going to enjoy learning and developing. If the idea can be answered by a 2 minute google search then dig deeper. When researching an idea you need to think about,

What will i learn? What will i create? What will i solve?
What do i love? what are my interests? How can i make an impact?

I love that we are moving into a culture of allowing our children to take ownership of their learning. As a teacher it takes us out of our comfort zone, we are no longer the be holder of all knowledge. Its a scary prospect but also exciting!

Voices with Soul mayem!!

So, we are one week away from this years voices festival!!!! ahhhhh I cant believe it. I don't think we have ever been this under prepared. Its senior assessment week this week too so we have a week or rehearsals with out them!! OMG!! I have faith though that my amazing singers will totally nail it!! We have some intensive rehearsals this week, I will try to post a video later in the week!