principals today #106

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Issue 106 Term 2 | 2015

CLASSROOM ACOUSTICSBreaking down barriers to learning

THE PRICE ISN’T RIGHT The real cost of not paying educators what they’re worth

PRINCIPAL Q&A Balmoral School’s Malcolm Milner on what makes him tick

OUTDATED SCHOOL IDEAS Traditional school practises overdue for a revamp

THE DIGITAL FUTUREThe Mind Lab opens teacher scholarships to study digital learning

Bronwyn Hayward on helping today’s kids face tomorrow’s problems

EMPOWERING A GENERATION

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Principals Today Issue 106

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NEWS6 THE DIGITAL FUTUREPostgraduate teacher scholarships to study digital and collaborative learning

12 OUTDATED SCHOOL IDEAS Traditional school practises overdue for a revamp

14 EARLY SUPPORT THE KEY Could ‘troubled’ classroom behaviour be significantly reduced by early, specialised, academic support? SPELD NZ seem to think so

RESOURCES16 TAKING THE HASSLE OUT OF ART EXHIBITIONSThe low cost, high quality, flexible picture hanging system

16 SUPPORTING OLDER STUDENTS IN MATHSWhy are older students not making progress as expected?

LEARNING SPACE

17 A BETTER WAY TO BALANCE THE BOOKSHow to ensure school finances aren’t a roller coaster ride

18 SOLAR UNDERSTANDING Using solar data to aid understanding

CLASSROOM ACOUSTICS

20 CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY THAT WORKS The positive effects of sound-field systems

22 THE CHANGING FACE OF CLASSROOM ACOUSTICSDesigning a classroom for optimum acoustics

22 SOUND ABSORBING CARPET The world of difference good floor covering can make

23 CEILING SOLUTIONS Acoustic ceiling tiles that are lightweight and aesthetically appealing

WORKING SPACE

24 ICT Getting your school website up to scratch

24 GREAT PLAYGROUND SURFACESThe benefits of the Burgess system

26 A CASE STUDY IN SUCCESS Making the most of your outdoor area

IDEAS6 THE PRICE ISN’T RIGHT Lagging teacher salariesPPTA president Angela Roberts on the real cost of not paying educators what they’re worth

7 EMPOWERING A GENERATION The issues today’s generation face Bronwyn Hayward on helping today’s kids face tomorrow’s problems

14 MALCOLM MILNERPrincipal Q&A Balmoral School’s Malcolm Milner talks about what makes him tick

20 CLASSROOM ACOUSTICSStopping sound from bouncing around How better acoustics help break down barriers to learning

7

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News | Viewpoint\Professional Development

The price isn’t right

By Angela Roberts, PPTA president

Minister of Finance, Bill English, has been talking down expectations of decent pay rises this year after indicating before the election that higher across the board pay increases were on the cards. He told journalists recently that four percent pay rises in the public sector were “just not reasonable in the circumstances,” and said that decreased inflation will mean wage increases will be “lower than forecast”.

These are clear signals to teachers and principals that their collective agreement negotiations later this year won’t be smooth sailing.

Teachers’ earnings have fallen well behind inflation since this government took office. Inflation since the end of 2009 has been 9.3 percent, while teacher earnings have risen 5.3 percent. The education sector bore the brunt of belt-tightening during the Global Financial Crisis and the slow recovery, with wages in other sectors rising at close to the rate of inflation, well ahead of teachers’ wages.

The impact of this is dire in the medium to long term. People are attracted into, and stay in teaching for many reasons that aren’t the pay, but if the relative salary compared to other careers is dropping, this is put under pressure.

Since 2010 teacher earnings relative to the average weekly wage have steadily declined. What was 1.72 times the average weekly wage is now 1.61. In 1985 it was 1.96, and in 1978 it was 2.15.

As unemployment is forecast to drop, and private sector (and other public sector) jobs become relatively more attractive, we may well be back in a situation where teacher shortages become commonplace.

And the usual areas look like the ones most likely to suffer again – with

engineering and trades’ wage growth being amongst the strongest in recent years – around 10-11 percent compares to our 5.3 percent.

During the last five years, while teachers’ earnings have relatively gone backwards, we have continued to improve the results we’re getting in schools.

Students are staying longer, feel more supported by their teachers, and are achieving better in NCEA.

Maybe then it’s true that we can simply ‘do more with less’?

Teacher stress levels would indicate that isn’t so. NZCER data shows that morale has dropped since 2009. In 2012 (the most recent year, another survey is due later this year) 37 percent of teachers felt their workload was so high that they could not do justice to the students that they teach.

A pay rise that catches teachers up with inflation and keeps us tracking with it will not solve this problem. But it will indicate that the government values the work that teachers do, and ensure that recruitment and retention doesn’t become a crisis.

And at the same time, the government must do a lot of talk about its desire to raise the status of teachers.

There’s a fascinating Ministry document that blames the supposed ‘low status’ of the profession on unions. One of the many ironies of that is, if the unions weren’t here to collectively bargain teacher pay, we would be far worse off as a profession. Government offers since the mid 1990s would have the top of the scale at $55,000.

What would the status of the profession be, without us unions prepared to stand up to the Finance Minister of the day?

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In what is one small step for The Mind Lab and one giant leap for teachers in New Zealand, The Mind Lab by Unitec has announced it is partnering with the NEXT Foundation to deliver 800 scholarships for teachers to undertake postgraduate study in digital and collaborative learning.

The digital future

up their sleeves and get involved with technology in a meaningful and engaging way,” Frances says.

“Technology at The Mind Lab is treated as an enabler and an expander of new knowledge rather than a defined and finite skill set. We teach that with a great idea, hands-on participation and an adventurous spirit, technology is merely a tool with limited function.”

While for the most part, education conjures up visions of teachers training children, The Mind Lab not only has its students in mind, but also recognises the importance of teaching the teachers.

For this reason and for many other reasons, the learning facility is distinguished because it upholds a shared value of educating children as well as educators to achieve the highest possible standard of education.

“School budgets for staff development are small so to have the Next Foundation contribute to these scholarships is amazing,” she says. “The more teachers we can train the better prepared our young people will be for the future work place, and that’s got to be a good thing.”

Along with opining in Gisborne and Wellington in March, The Mind Lab is also excited to announce it will be arriving in Christchurch in July 2015, continuing the work of reaching as many teachers and children as possible.

Unitec chief executive Rick Ede says both developments are fantastic news.

“The world is changing and educators need to change with it,” he says. “The partnership with the Next Foundation and the expansion to Gisborne and Wellington means we can reach more teachers and their students with these new ways of teaching and learning.”

www.nextfoundation.org.nz / www.themindlab.co.nz

By Davina Richards

The pace of technological change has led to a growing need for teachers and schools to consistently integrate digital literacy into the curriculum and build an education system that sets Kiwi children up for a successful and rewarding future in a technology-enabled world.

The scholarships will allow more teachers to access the Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice (Digital and Collaborative Learning) and obtain the skills and knowledge they need to prepare young learners for an increasingly digital future.

The course is designed to help teachers at all levels build knowledge, improve their technical capacity and confidence and learn new ways of engaging students. The Foundation is also providing a grant to research the impact of the qualification.

The Next Foundation is a philanthropic group committed to assisting educational and environmental projects and supports education projects which contribute to New Zealand’s long term knowledge capital and performance through research, teaching, leadership training, technology adaption, skills and values development, and institutional and methodological innovation, which ultimately underpin New Zealand’s economic strength.

The Mind Lab is a learning facility dedicated to providing effective education by allowing students to become exposed to the real mechanics of how science and other topics work. It entails hands-on and relevant learning, promotes individual thinking and collaboration to encourage innovation. It was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Frances Valintine, who is director and chairman of the board.

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How can we best support children growing up so they will have the ability and tools to address a wide range of problems they’ll inevitably inherit? Listening to them is a good start.

During the next five years Bronwyn will co-lead one of nine research teams for the new international research collaboration - the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) - funded by a $12million grant from the British Economic and Social Research Council led by the University of Surrey, UK.

CUSP aims to rethink the basic economic and political paradigm we need for a new century and new challenges, aiming to show how people can flourish in a planet of finite resources. Bronwyn’s role with this team is to work to understand issues faced by children and teens in a changing world.

With colleagues from Canterbury, Surrey University and the United Nations Environment Programme, she will follow the lives of children and young people aged 12 to 25 growing up in 21 global cities.

Children’s lives are increasingly urban. By 2050 seven in 10 of all young people will live in a city. The objective of the research team is to understand how these cities can best support child and

youth wellbeing, as well as monitoring young people’s patterns of energy use, consumption behaviour, their access to quality education experiences, housing and transport.

Understanding the resources needed to sustain young lives, for example how children and their families get around and get away, will help planning for long term sustainability. The research is expected to involve children and young people in up to 21 cities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Australasia.

The intention is to repeat the project every five years, using the results to rapidly share ideas about what works to help inform local city leaders, schools, communities, businesses and young people themselves, about how children live now and what changes can have the biggest positive effects and why.

By understanding what children and young people love about where they live, what they would like to change and what their aspirations are, Bronwyn is hopeful the study will also support a strong, youthful energy for transformation towards a more sustainable future.

Can you tell me more about CUSP – how did this study come about?

I worked as a visiting research fellow with Surrey University’s Resolve and Sustainable Lifestyles research teams in 2008-2011. During that time I was a lead author for two chapters of a world report on the sustainability of the lifestyles of young adults aged 18-35 around the world. I also worked in .New Zealand with a great research team of young graduate students from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand who helped me on a study following the lives of children in Christchurch and Northland.

In both projects I became very conscious of the wider ways that our social and economic conditions influence the choices, opportunities and behaviours of young people, and the huge difference that schools, sports and cultural opportunities from camps to kapa haka and libraries, together with adult and peer mentors really do make in young lives. Many teachers and principals are aware of this on a daily basis, but when you step back and have a chance to listen to the pressure faced by thousands of children and young people globally, and have the opportunity to follow daily lives and see the difference that key opportunities can make, it is profoundly moving.

I became very interested in the possibility of extending the global study we’d worked on for 8,000 18-35

year olds, to younger cohorts, to better understand what drives trends, and to share information faster between cities and communities who are making a difference for children.

How would you describe the state of New Zealand’s education system?

I don’t think I can really speak to that – what I can say is that my work with children and young people nationally and internationally has made me very aware of what a key role schools play in integrating children into their communities and supporting their flourishing in many ways and what a great job our state education already does in building a nation of tolerant, thoughtful young citizens. Because we’ve recently been so focussed in public debate on education for skills for the market and employment opportunities for individuals, we can easily forget how critical public education is more widely to our shared task of also building a nation and a healthy, strong democracy.

What are your main concerns for the future of young children?

I suppose that I am keenly aware of the rapidly changing social and physical and economic world children are inheriting, and already growing up in. For example a changing climate will continue to bring more severe weather events, but there are other problems young citizens will face too that are new and different from previous generations.

For example problems of growing global youth unemployment, inequality and the struggle that democracies have to make change and to hold governments to account. These three issues are major concerns facing half the world who are now under the age of 24. They are particularly acute for nine out of 10 young people who currently live in developing countries which are struggling for resources.

But these global pressures are going to define the lives of the generation of primary school children. You could get very overwhelmed by it, but the power of working with children, listening to them, supporting them, is also the realisation that each new generation brings new energy, new perspectives, and we have a duty to support and empower those young citizens for the challenging problems that confront them.

To be frank, its not STEM education that will get children through this coming century; of course they need technical knowledge, but the new problems they will face require wisdom, empathy and multidisciplinary creative problem solving.

Empoweringa generation

Associate Professor Bronwyn Hayward acknowledges the opportunities as well as the pressures and challenges faced by young people. Her research focusses on understanding children and young people’s aspirations, participation and experiences in a rapidly changing physical and socio-economic environment.

She talks to Davina Richards about her concerns for young people and her primary role to lead a major world study in 2016.

Bronwyn is Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Canterbury and her most recent book is Children, Citizenship and Environment: Nurturing a Democratic Imagination in a Changing World (Routlege, London 2012). She has served as a ministerial appointment to the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority, is a trustee of the SPARK Foundation and is the inaugural joint winner of UC Arts Conscience and Critic of Society Research Award 2014. With a stint in children’s media working in television and radio, she is a true advocate for children and young people. Continued on page 10 >

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News | Cover Story

What shocks you the most about children’s social conditions? And what can we do about it?

When I wrote the book Children Citizenship and Environment, it was the issues of poverty and our ability as a nation to ignore this, and to justify our ignoring of it, that really concerned me – but these issues don’t have to define children and one size fits all solutions are not necessarily helpful.

All children need to know they are loved, they need to be fed, and securely housed and have access to education that meets their needs, but schools and teachers are the unsung heroes in building a democracy and a future nation.

To be honest, what shocks me is how quickly we forget that and the risks we are taking with charter schools I admit be being very, very worried about charter schools, not because I can’t appreciate their appeal, but because I am enormously concerned by their potential negative democratic impact – they can create silos of education, with no shared curriculum (or simply an imported curriculum) and no official information act scrutiny; it is very hard to grow together as a tolerant nation under those conditions.

At present integrated faith schools, Kura and private schools have to at least, in the quaint language of education legislation, show how they “inculcate patriotism” in a rapidly diversifying nation; not having a strong, shared public system of education is a potential democratic disaster waiting

to happen. As our nation diversifies we need more opportunities to mix together, to understand and listen to and learn from each other, not fewer.

In an article online you talked about the enormous pressure on parents to get their children into the right school – do you think the pressure to achieve means some kids aren’t getting a childhood?

I witnessed this first hand as a parent in the south of England when I was on a research fellowship for three years recently and we’ve also seen it in our research. In the UK it is very stark, with children and young people reporting alarmingly high levels of stress, and parents desperately trying to get their child into the “right nursery school” so they can be selected for the “right primary and secondary school” and university.

I have been concerned to see this creeping pressure in New Zealand. Part of what this city project is about is to think about what makes a good life for children already and preserve and extend those conditions to all tamariki (children).

You also compared the lives of kids in low to mid-decile schools who have time to play while high to mid-decile schools barely have any, how can we find the middle ground?

Much of children’s everyday life outside school is now taken up in commuting to and from events, relocalising children’s lives, so

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communities have quality resources, public libraries, public play spaces, events that enable children to mix with and learn from others, and that children can get to under their own steam, by foot, bike or public transport, makes a big difference.

I would also hope any review of decile funding doesn’t undo a very important tool that supports lower income schools. We are inclined to forget that New Zealand experienced the most rapid growth of income inequality in the OECD and that in the process it was out differentiated decile funding that buffered our children and schools so change needs to be taken very carefully for clear reasons.

Ideally we need cities to work alongside the Ministry of Education and other groups. It is also concerning that children attending too many

low decile schools still have to walk excessively busy roads for example. The New Zealand paediatric society keeps pointing this out, but we have to do something about it and working with city transport planning can help.

It is also easy to overlook other important things we do well. For example I was startled in the first study we did with young New Zealanders, how much children spontaneously report they love camps and group activities, they get a huge amount of citizenship learning from these activities that we need to celebrate.

Education is not only about experiences that improve individual children’s skills, it is about developing democratic citizens who form a nation, and that is always an enormous responsibility and exciting opportunity.

Talking with secondary students about their aspirations

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Continued from page 8

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News | Education Trends

Technology is constantly making great leaps forward and popular teaching beliefs are evolving. But despite all the new technology, research and ideas available, the education system is littered with antiquated practises and old fashioned ideals and as a result, in some cases, is steadily being left behind.

Outdated school ideas

By Laura Baker

Traditional school practises that are out of date and overdue for a revamp

It is time to bring the New Zealand education system out of the Dark Ages and into the 21st century.

Here are just a few ways you can kick start the transformative process.

Computer roomsDesignated computer classrooms had their place in the 1990’s, but are archaic by today’s standards.

The idea of taking students to a computer room to practise their typing skills and learn about basic computer functions once a week is obsolete.

Computers studies should no longer be treated as a singular subject. Instead it should be integrated into

every subject and become a fundamental part of the national curriculum.

Banned WiFiBlocking students from school WiFi networks is ludicrous. Secure, controlled WiFi networks should be made freely available to all students and teachers across all electronic devices.

Instead of banning the internet students should be taught to use it safely and encouraged to use it productively. It is the biggest learning tool children will ever have.

Schools that don’t relax their internet access policies are only robbing their students of learning.

Online presence It is no longer sufficient to keep parents up to date by publishing a fortnightly newsletter on the schools website.

Schools need to establish a strong online presence with their own Facebook and Twitter pages and regularly update these accounts to keep everyone up to the minute informed on news and information.

Traditional librariesLibraries that only contain books are no longer adequately serving the needs of students.

The purpose of a library is to be a learning environment and therefore should embrace new learning tools available, including a wide range of electronic devices.

Many school libraries risk becoming out dated and unused. But if libraries learn

to update to 21st century standards they will become the heart of the school once more.

SharingWe are continually reminding children to share, but how much sharing are teachers doing amongst themselves?

Teachers who keep their professional development findings to themselves are obsolete and need to change their habits.

Teachers should be discussing, blogging, tweeting, sharing ideas, giving and receiving advice with co-workers around the world. It is important for teachers to be constantly improving their craft and using the internet to do so.

We are no longer working in a local community, but an international community and it should be embraced.

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News | Principal Q&A

Malcolm MilnerPrincipal at Balmoral School

to encompass design thinking, philosophy, Reggio Emilia and an integrated curriculum. We have also had major literacy and numeracy initiatives and many staff have completed papers at Auckland University. For the last five years, we have worked with Murray Gadd on developing our reading and writing programme. We have implemented a school wide music programme and have employed one and a half teachers to deliver this. In our intermediate school we also provide specialisation in science, art, multi materials technology, food and material technology. We have employed two school librarians and in 2013 we implemented a BYOD programme.

What has been the highlight success of your career to date?The highlight has been seeing the integration of all our education philosophies coming together for our Curriculum Enquiry Model in 2015.

What is the biggest challenge facing teachers today?The challenge for teachers is to resist the push to narrow the curriculum and to continue to be aware of the importance of developing the whole child.

What would you change if you were the Minister of Education?I would return to the intent of the Revised New Zealand Curriculum and ensure that the resourcing was adequate to meet that for all children.

What is your best piece of advice for fellow educators? I think all educators need have a very clear understanding of moral purpose and to maintain ethical leadership within their school.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?Seeing children and staff success as part of the learning process is priceless.

What have your students taught you?They have taught me that just because they are children, doesn’t mean they can’t exhibit qualities of thoughtfulness, tolerance, empathy and critical thinking.

What are your future ambitions for Balmoral School and yourself?We are currently negotiating with the Ministry for the complete remodel of the school. I would like to see the classrooms designed in a way that enables effective teaching and the students to learn in a variety of ways.

“Troubled” teen behaviour in the classroom could be significantly reduced by early, specialised, academic support, according to SPELD NZ.

Secondary Principals’ Association president, Tom Parsons claims over-diagnosed learning difficulties are putting schools under extreme stress, as they’re now forced to accommodate growing numbers of “badly behaved” and “traditionally quirky” students under special assessment conditions (SAC) for NZQA exams.

SPELD chairperson, Marion Fairbrass says these otherwise bright children are often labelled lazy, stupid, dumb or even just “quirky”. Their failures can cause immense frustration and escalate behavioural problems.

“Early intervention is the key to turning the tide with this kind of

behaviour. Research shows that individualised, specialised support can vastly improve a student’s academic achievement and in turn that almost always results in behavioural improvement in the classroom.

“It’s critical that children with disabilities such as dyslexia are taught how to learn differently so they can succeed. When school becomes more of a level playing field it also means these students are less likely to be dependent on special exam conditions.”

Marion says a diagnostic label from a specialised assessor can be incredibly helpful. “One only has to witness the relief and thankfulness in parent and child when they receive a diagnosis to know it is worth having a useful, accurate label.

Balmoral Primary and Intermediate School is a bit of a rarity in New Zealand’s educational landscape, as it is one of the few schools with both a dedicated primary and middle school on the one site.

Malcolm Milner has been the principal of the innovative school in the heart of the old tree lined suburb of Mt Eden since July 2007.

He talks to Principals Today about the developments he has overseen in the school and his future ambitions.

What inspired you to become a teacher?I realised how much I love learning myself and the opportunity to learn alongside others and to make a career out of it was exciting.

Who has influenced you throughout your teaching career?We are fortunate in New Zealand to have had so many thoughtful and inspirational educationalists who continue to inspire and challenge. The educationalists who have influenced me and the wider sector are: Warwick Elley, Murray Gadd, Graham Nuthall, Charles Beeby, Martin Thrupp, Lester Flockton, Jane Gilbert, Marie Clay and Rosemary Hipkins.

What challenges come with a school which is both a full primary and intermediate?Understanding that the needs of primary school aged children are different to emerging adolescents. We try to keep the school unified while maintaining their separate entities.

What changes and developments have you initiated at Balmoral during your time as principal, a nd what impact have they had on the school?We have worked at broadening our curriculum. We have continued to develop our curriculum model

Early support is the key

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Resources | Arts

M

Why are older students not making progress as expected? It could be a combination of:

• Foundations of maths not secure and gaps in understanding

• Difficulties accessing the teaching and learning

• Difficulties with understanding -number sense (numerosity) and terms in maths

• Demands on mental processing.

Whatever the reason for their difficulties, our role in educating these children is to help them overcome these barriers and to learn, in spite of their difficulties.

Central to this are the relationships between teachers, other staff and children.

Maths is an abstract study of numbers and numerals. The numeral is what we write down, but the number is a concept.

Students need to see how these numbers relate to each other. The relationships are best seen in patterns.

Discussing mathematical ideas requires the confident use of mathematical terms and being taught them specifically.

Hearing others using the terms well and being shown themselves, with guidance, gives them confidence to use them in their own conversations.

Numicon provides a context for discussions that help children to explain their thinking, because they can manipulate the shapes.

They can use these models to solve problems and move beyond using their

Resources | Numicon

Supporting older

fingers in counting and into thinking of numbers as groups.

Adults don’t count on their fingers. They calculate in whole numbers because it’s more efficient and less likely to go wrong.

Being good at maths often depends on having an instant recall of number facts.

Numicon helps children through practical activities to see the relationships of the facts. It gives them the opportunity to work with their strengths – visual and kinaesthetic preferences.

Numicon emphasizes relationships in numbers that help in generalising the patterns to higher calculations and measurement.

Numiconis highly successful at all levels giving students confidence and a belief that maths is achievable for them.

Arti Teq is a low cost, high profile, high quality, flexible picture hanging system.It provides a professional way to display art and other decorative items in a home or public area. Using Arti Teq will give you total freedom and flexibility to move your hangings around without having to worry about holes in the wall or damaging your pieces of art.

Whether it concerns hanging a valuable work of art in a gallery, a child’s drawing, art for the annual school art exhibition, advertising art exhibitionsmaterial for your office or

showroom or a precious photograph, Arti Teq has a hanging solution for you.

The picture hanging system consists of a rail with applicable hanging wires and picture hooks, allowing for many ways to decorate your walls to display pictures and art.

Arti Teq also offers a large selection of high quality picture hanging rails and presentation systems. “As a product specialist we aim to deliver flexible and safe solutions for hanging art and other decorations on walls and ceilings,” the company says.

Mardeco International is the distributor of ArtiTeq picture hanging systems.

To see more visit: www.artiteq.co.nz

Taking the hassle out of Art Exhibitions students in maths


Financial Reporting

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Since the advent of Tomorrow’s Schools in 1989, the management of school finances and their subsequent reporting environments has been a roller coaster ride. It was, back then, common place to see a parent volunteer, who was often roped into being the board treasurer, attempt to do the school’s books.

It was seen as being in the same vain as being on the committee or being the treasurer of the local golf club or rugby club.

Quite often the cashbook was handwritten and the monthly report to the board could be anything from tabling the cashbook, just the bank statements or even nothing at all. Everything appeared fine until audit time rolled around.

Managing finances While I was not involved in the first two years of Tomorrow’s Schools, I was involved in doing school audits from 1991 – 1994.

Since then I have been involved in the school accounting side of things, seeing first hand the evolution of the school accounting environment during the last two decades.

Let’s just say the early years were an “enlightening” experience. In some cases the audit process commenced with the school dumping a big box of “stuff” off at the auditors, invoices for Africa in no particular order, bank statements – not all of them, no annual financial statements or even a ledge recording the transactions.

But the scariest thing was the apparent oblivion of the schools, both principals and board members, to the nature of the problem. More often than not they all thought their financial systems and reporting was fine.

Even today there is still a bit of this laissez-faire attitude to the financial system. School’s often don’t know what they don’t know.

I do think in general – though admittedly not always – schools don’t know the difference between

good and poor accounting. It is often only during the course of an audit, or when replacing key office personnel that school’s will evaluate their financial functions.

The key questions all schools must ask of themselves are:

• Do I receive my monthly reports in a timely fashion?

• Are my reports comprehensive? Do I get all the information I need?

• Did I receive an un-qualified audit opinion?

• Were my annual financial statements at audit by the statutory deadline of 31 March?

• And in this day in age – Can I access my financial information anytime, or anywhere via the web?

I think most schools these days can answer the above questions with a yes – but if for any reason you can’t, a revamp or just an evaluation of your financial systems is needed.

In house finances The internal controls and procedures in relations to school’s finances are also an area of importance.

In my journey of more than 20 years of being involved with school finances, all instances of fraud or misappropriation of funds that I have come across has involved schools using an in-house system. In my book outsourcing and having someone else reviewing all transactions is gold.

However, I think there is a bit of a threat out there when some schools are seeing software alone as the silver bullet. While there are some really good and innovative software packages on the market, they are only as good as the user.

If you are contemplating a change to an in-house system several questions also need to be asked:

• What is the cost of the software?

• How many extra hours am I going to have to pay my staff?

• Do my staff have the skill to do the annual financial statements?

• Will I need to pay an accountant at year end?

I have, during the years, seen many schools come unstuck thinking they were making really prudent cost saving decisions, but when the above factors were weighed up it was actually costing them significantly more.

For more information visit www.educationservices.co.nz

A better way to balance the booksLearning Space | Finance

By Peter McBreen, CEO of Education Services

http://www.educationservices.co.nz


Learning Space | Sustainability & Solar Energy

Now in its ninth year the Schoolgen programme has installed photovoltaic solar arrays on to 71 schools across New Zealand with nine more schools gaining free solar panels this term.

Live solar data

Chemistry is making a comeback at Otaki College and it has nothing to do with US TV series Breaking Bad. Rather, science teacher Dawn attributes the increased class sizes to the practical lessons that the school’s new solar panels are providing.Principal Andy Fraser is the driving force behind getting sustainability into and beyond the classrooms; for the past several years the college vehicles have run on emulsified biodiesel.

In 2014, Year 9 & 10 students experienced Project Solar, using meters and solar panels to assess energy use and learn about energy consumption and conservation. Supported by WWF, another teaching tool has just been developed for the college: solar/thermal energy prototypes designed by Andrew Clark of local clean tech company Sunrayker Ltd.

Three of these impressive looking Sunrayker machines now belong to

Solar energy fuels bright future for Otaki CollegeBy Rosa Argent, WWF New Zealand

the college and Andrew says each can trap 395 degrees Celsius from the sun, which students will learn how to track, harness and store in oil. Practically, they could use it to heat the school’s pool.

Andy Fraser has no doubt that it will help keep science popular. “Project Solar is bringing the curriculum alive through making it meaningful for students,” he explains. For the community of Otaki, the future is certainly looking brighter.

Each solar array is monitored, with the amount of electricity generated, recorded in a database and made publicly available through the Schoolgen website.

A key aspect of Schoolgen is the solar data which leads to great maths and science learning about solar generation in different parts of the country.

Each school’s solar array communicates its generation with the Schoolgen website.

A quick overview of how each school is performing right now can be gained from the colourful Schoolgen map of New Zealand on the home page www.schoolgen.co.nz.

Because we now have a range of sizes of solar arrays (from 2 to 15 kilowatts), the playing field is levelled, so as to compare the generation as a percentage of their maximum capacity.

The map on the home page shows the geography of all the Schoolgen schools, and their colour-coded symbols indicate how they are performing right now relative to each other.

Clicking on each symbol reveals further live measurements of voltage and power, and offers a link through to the schools individual graph and profile page.

Students are able to explore the extensive database with the handy tools and widgets provided on the Schoolgen website.

For example, the data on how much solar electricity is being generated, at any time, from any Schoolgen school can be compared against other schools using the Compare Data graphs (accessed from the Schools section).

Many suggestions for how to use the data and what questions can be investigated can be found on the Schoolgen website.

May Road School Schoolgen Lead Team sharing the data from their school with fellow students

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The college has recently installed 40 solar panels on the hall’s roof and with funding being sought for another 40, they are developing what Andy Fraser calls a ‘revolutionary model’ for sustainable funding for schools.

The panels are owned by the ex-pupils Trust who will plough the profits from the ‘sale’ of the energy back to Otaki College with scholarships for pupils. They estimate a saving of 1.4 tonnes of carbon and approximately $6,000 in power bills annually, as well as helping reduce climate change emissions and costs.

Andy Fraser shows the new Sunrayker system to students Hetal Patel, Anaru McGhie, Daisy Davis & Kyle Wilkinson (L-R)

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links to maths and science

http://www.schoolgen.co.nz


Learning Space | Classroom Acoustics

Good acoustics in the classroom is crucial for both the teacher and students. Research conducted overseas and in New Zealand has found that teaching spaces with optimised acoustics translates into a high quality teaching and learning environment.

Background noise and reverberation can create problems for students, especially young children who haven’t fully developed the skills needed to predict from context. The ability to differentiate between what the teacher is saying and competing background noise can cause children to miss words and phrases.

Poor Acoustics can reduce the student’s ability to learn and significantly inhibit the effectiveness of the teacher.

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A new generation product by Ecoplus Systems is tuf tiles™. Extremely durable and resistant to ball impact, tuf tiles are ideal for multi purpose halls.

Tuf tiles are also engineered for superior sound absorption, making them perfect for school corridors and classrooms, and lightweight for safety overhead in high seismic zones.

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In what probably comes as no surprise to any teacher, research does confirm that it is possible to remove barriers to learning by adopting technology designed specifically for the classroom that makes it easier to hear and teach.This was demonstrated way back in 2011, at the New Zealand Principals Federation Conference. At the conference Oticon New Zealand displayed its FrontRow Active Learning sound-field systems. These include speakers and microphones to make it easier to listen and hear in learning environments.

Alongside the hardware was research involving primary school children from Master’s Degree researcher Virginia Good.

“The research adds to the mounting body of evidence demonstrating the positive effects of sound-field systems on behavioural and academic achievement,” Ms Good said.

“My research project examined the effectiveness of an enhanced listening environment (sound-field amplification) combined with phonological awareness intervention compared to an enhanced listening environment alone.”

The research shows:• Children responded positively to

the systems and the benefits were observable by teachers within a few days of installation of the systems

• Behaviour and general academic performance benefited from the enhanced acoustic environment.

The research sets out teacher comments including:• Positive change in on-task

behaviours of children with the use of sound-field amplification

• Sound-field amplification having a beneficial effect on students working below expected norms

• Children of middle ability made a significant jump in progress and all children were recording sounds in writing more clearly

• Sound-field amplification greatly reduced vocal strain

• Teachers experienced more energy and less tiredness

• Sound-field amplification seemed to enable a lower stress, calmer classroom environment

• Comprehension of teacher instructions improved and students’ abilities to follow instructions changed positively.

Research undertaken in New Zealand schools has found that students benefit significantly from the use of sound-field amplification systems in classrooms.

The research was undertaken by Michael Heeney, a regional co-ordinator for Kelston Deaf Education Centre, as part of his PhD from the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Sound-field systems use FM technology to transmit a teacher’s voice (signal) above the classroom noise, with the aim of making it easier for students to hear the teacher no matter where they are in the classroom at the time.

The research showed that sound-field systems made a significant difference in terms of the listening and reading comprehension, vocabulary and mathematical skills of the students involved.

“The difference between the test scores of the students in classrooms with sound-field and those without was quite dramatic,” Michael said.

“While sound-field made the greatest difference in low decile schools, the study shows that the systems provide considerable and significant benefits to all students regardless of their school, ethnicity, or whether they had middle ear problems such as glue ear.”

The study involved 626 students at five schools in the Rotorua area and compared the learning achievement of students in classrooms fitted with sound-field systems with those in classrooms that weren’t amplified. The project was funded by the Oticon Foundation with the systems donated by the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust.

“Teachers noticed increased attention levels among students and a decrease in disruptive behaviour. They also had higher energy levels from reduced voice strain and not having to repeat questions or instructions.

Research supports classroom technology making it easier to hear

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ACOUSTIC CONSULTANCY

Marshall Day Acoustics is New Zealand’s leading acoustical consultancy. Our services include:• Acoustic design of

classrooms to meet Ministry of Education guidelines

• Innovative and collaborative design solutions for Modern Learning Environments

• Noise control engineering for educational buildings and performance spaces

• Active participation in classroom acoustic research “I regard the acoustic

designs of Marshall Day Acoustics to be amongst the finest and probably

the most innovative in the world”

Dr Andres Gade, Associate Professor, Technical University of Denmark

Designing a classroom for optimum acoustics is very important. The reason is quite simple: it is a room in which communication is critical. Pupils learn by listening to the teacher and interacting with one another, and they are less able to do this in a room that has poor acoustics.

There is an established link between classroom acoustics and learning outcomes (refer to the work of Prof. Bridget Shield and her team at London South Bank University), so one of the most fundamental requirements of a classroom should be good acoustics. So, what do I mean by ‘good acoustics’?

Acoustics is the science of how sound travels and what happens to it when it interacts with room surfaces. If a surface is hard the sound will be reflected, but if it is soft the sound will be absorbed and essentially ‘sucked’ from the room.

The acoustics of a room will be considered ‘good’ if the amount of reflected and absorbed sound just right for the use of that room. Concert halls need just the right amount of reflected sound. Recording studios often need to suppress reflections. Classrooms need a mix of reflections to

support speech communication and sound absorbing materials to control activity noise build-up.

In the last five years however, there has been a big push towards Modern Learning Environments (MLEs), and now the Ministry of Education is exclusively supporting MLE designs. The need for MLEs has arisen out of new teaching methods and an understanding that pupils respond better to a vibrant, interactive learning environment.

MLEs are designed to support new teaching methods, but from an acoustics point of view they actually rely on those new methods being used.

The face of classroom acoustic design is changing and now relies more than ever on collaboration with schools, teachers and architects to make sure the spaces are flexible enough to support a wide range of activities.

James Whitlock is an associate at Marshall Day Acoustics and president of the Acoustical Society of New Zealand. For more information visit: www.marshallday.com

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The felt-like structure of the EcoSoft is ideal for absorbing ambient and impact noise.

When compared to commonly used hard-backed PVC or bitumen carpet tiles, carpet tiles with EcoSoft backing demonstrate improved acoustic performance in both acoustic absorption and sound impact tests by 150 percent.

Poor acoustics can greatly affect learning, particularly for young children. Oticon New Zealand’s study, Classroom Acoustics: A New Zealand Perspective, acknowledged New Zealand primary school pupils, on average, are spending 45 hours per day in classrooms.

At the classroom design stage, architects consult the Ministry of Education’s Designing Quality Learning Spaces (DQLS) standards on internal learning spaces.

In conjunction with an acoustic engineer, the fundamental areas for noise reduction are the classroom’s ceilings, flooring (carpet) and walls, are addressed in that order. An industry specialist concludes carpet significantly helps reduce impact noise, and The Ministry of Education’s standard is the benchmark.

Acoustics are recognised under the NZ Green Building Council’s Green Star rating as a contributor toward productivity. Good acoustics in teaching spaces make for quality learning environments.

The innate qualities of the EcoSoft acoustic carpet tile allows for potential cost savings. The behaviour of the EcoSoft cushion back can minimise the need to invest in additional acoustic products or materials. The thermal effectiveness of the backing can help reduce energy costs in heating and cooling, outperforming a hard backed tile by up to 150 percent.

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Acoustic comfort in classrooms is paramount, with countless papers supporting the argument that good acoustically treated spaces positively affect children’s ability to learn.

Product manufacturers have developed comprehensive product ranges to acoustically treat walls and ceilings in schools that meet various design and performance briefs from industry professionals.

Generally, the two key criteria explored are visuals and acoustic performance.

Products need to fulfill a visual purpose (colour – pattern - light reflectivity), as well as provide adequate acoustic performance in terms of sound absorption and sound deflection/attenuation.

But what about a third key criteria to consider when choosing the right product solution for a school - what about the weight of the material?

New Zealand is considered to be a highly active seismic region, and although seismic design standards have been in the New Zealand Building Code for decades, it took the tragic events of Christchurch (and to a lesser degree Wellington), for the collective construction industry to really focus on

Seismically friendly

Forman Building Systems offer a range of acoustic ceiling tiles that are lightweight, as well as aesthetically appealing.

Forman Building Systems is New Zealand’s largest specialist marketer and distributor of ceilings and interior

wall systems, thermal and acoustic insulation, and passive fire protection products.

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and pay attention to code compliant seismic design of interior spaces.

The weight of material is a crucial element of seismic calculations to determine the correct fixing and bracing methodology of a ceiling in a particular space.

Generally speaking, the higher the weight of the material is (say a ceiling tile) the higher the seismic load that the ceiling will be subject to.

Fortunately, high absorbing ceiling tiles are generally manufactured from lightweight soft fibre (glasswool and/or stonewool) weighing in at between 1.5 to 2.5kg per sqm; this leads to less complex seismic designs, translating into more cost-effective installations and more importantly, a safer interior space for its occupants.

It is imperative for industry professionals to start including the ‘weight criteria’ into their design and construction process, ensuring that visual and acoustic performance is achieved, but in a much safer way.

Trident Technical College School of Nursing


acoustic ceiling solutions for classrooms

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Working Space | PropertyWorking Space | ICT

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The reasons for using and benefits of a Burgess Wetpour system are varied. This great playground surface enables your matting to be installed as a continuous installation, flowing around equipment and poles, leaving no gaps, rolling over mounds and following contoured surfaces. Some of the key features for using this system are:

Continuous installation, flowing around equipment and poles, leaving no gaps, rolling over mounds and following contoured surfaces

• Fabulous coloured options and you can join these with a pattern or design of your choice and you have your own unique playground

• 100 percent recycled rubber.

Impact Pads for areas where a softer landing is needed, scuff pads, DIY modular long run and tiles, deck and

Great playground surfacesThe benefits of the Burgess system

ramp matting are also BMS specialties. The benefits of these products include:

• Make it non slip and safe

• Avoid tile joins

• Wetpour requires minimal maintenance – forget the days of topping up bark

• Will last for many years as it’s very durable

• Base preparation prior to the matting installation is of the utmost importance and can add years to your playground surface

• NZS5828:2004 compliant and comes with a five year warranty.

Burgess Matting offers a free, no obligation measure and quote. A sales representative can meet with you to discuss the matting systems which are suitable for your requirements.

Invest in BMS Wetpour Playground Matting and provide your children with a safe and enjoyable environment and give yourself the benefit of reduced maintenance.

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Obviously, being able to access instant information has made the Internet a bit of a hit. But with continually evolving software and higher spec hardware to run it, keeping up with the pace of change can seem a little daunting. But it doesn’t need to be if you get the right people to advise and help.

Let’s say it’s been a few years since your website was given a facelift, then SchoolWeb may be the answer you’ve been looking for. The SchoolWeb Website Content Management System (CMS) is an easy and cost-effective way for schools of all sizes to implement a website.

The system allows schools to log in to a password protected system and maintain their website. Unlike other competing systems, SchoolWeb allows full control over creating and amending webpages, and it’s almost as straightforward as using Microsoft Word! You do not need any knowledge of HTML, web programming, or how to upload your site using complicated FTP software. You can update the site from wherever you have a web-browser and an Internet connection.

To begin with, your website is designed by a professional graphic designer, who goes to great lengths to ensure that the graphical design reflects the unique culture of the school. Then free training is provided to get you started and there are no expensive yearly licensing fees.

Now of course you’ll want to update, improve and adapt your site as time goes on, so all the editing is done through the CMS system that’s easy enough for even the most technophobic classroom teachers and admin staff to use.

As well as a general website media, SchoolWeb features ways for staff to collaborate, parents to participate, children to communicate and the whole community to share in the activities of schools in a safe way moderated by the schools.

Websites that work

Newsletters, calendars, homework downloads, classroom projects with visitor and parent comments, forums, rosters, resource bookings, calendars, blogs and surveys are among the many abilities of the SchoolWeb system. The schools are in control and anything is possible.

Another focus is the growing trend towards integrating content from external websites. Schoolweb allows content from Youtube, Teachertube, Slideshare, Twitter, Blogger, Google Apps and numerous other style sites to be easily embedded into the system.


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WE’RE DOING

UR BIT TO SAVE

THE PLANETThe unrelenting pressure on

natural resources means many of us have to change our ways.

So that’s exactly what we’re doing!

From this issue onwards, we’ll be sending one copy of Principals Today to schools.

While it’s fair to say this won’t cure global climate change

overnight, it is the one small thing we can do to play our role in New Zealand becoming more

environmentally friendly.

GET PRINCIPALS TODAY EMAILED TO YOU

If you would like your own copy of Principals Today, we are more than

keen to add anyone to our Enews list, so you can receive an electronic

copy in your email, along with monthly updates and stay up to date with

what is happening in the education field each month.

Simply email [email protected]

asking to be added to the Principals Today database.

www.principalstoday.co.nz

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Working Space | Sun Safety

A case study in success Fresco Shades can help you to make the most of your outdoor area, whatever the time of year, and here is a case study displaying of the company’s ability to meet any criteria: a project for the SDA Hamilton School awning. What was the purpose of this job?This primary/intermediate school, built in the 1970s, had 2.5 hectares of grounds but insufficient sheltered spaces for pupils. Their brief to us included; creating extra space outdoors that is sheltered from the elements so that pupils can eat outside, also to create an ‘outdoor classroom’ and provide shelter from the rain when walking from the classrooms to the office, and to make the adjoining classrooms cooler in summer. They needed to generate more usable space outside in a cost-effective manner.

What was unique or complex about the project?Mostly our canopies are square or rectangular, but as can be seen from the photos, this school had an angled back wall and gutterline. The length of the canopy was not an issue, but at the half way point, the canopy had a bend in it, which meant our fabric panels

An apology - In the last issue of Principals Today we ran a piece about the Fresco Shades’ awning project for SDA Hamilton School. In that piece we ran an image of how the space looked before the project, but we failed to include an image of how the space looked once Fresco Shades had completed the project. We do apologise for this error and any inconvenience it may have caused.

had to be designed to taper inwards, and special brackets and connectors designed to fit. Added to the challenge was the location (Hamilton), which meant logistically this was not an easy project. It entailed many trips to Hamilton to check measurements and attend meetings with the client.

Were there any additional challenges involved?Our sales rep had to organise for the entire school board to visit another school project installed by us in Auckland, and convince this rather intimidating audience that our product would meet their needs. Initially they were convinced that Polycarbonate was their best option. Once their Ferrari PVC canopy was installed, the board were thrilled with the result and this group of private schools have now become one of our largest customers. We have completed canopies at three of the schools within the group and there is more potential to grow the business.

Materials used and supplier Ferrari 702s from Wiggins NZ

Fresco Shades41-53 View Rd, Glenfield, Auckland T (09) 443 3414 T 0800 FRESCOE [email protected] www.frescoshades.co.nz

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