2025 CoL Inquiry - How it's going and this year's inquiry focus!

As we have just started the first term, it is crucial for us as teachers to get to know our learners while establishing and setting classroom norms and routines.

This year, things are looking a bit different for the two senior classes. We are implementing cross-class teaching and streaming students by levels. I will be focusing on teaching reading and Year 7 maths as we introduce Maths No Problem this year. As my fellow senior teacher and I begin our cross-class programme, it has been great to see students demonstrating resilience to the change and fully immersing themselves in the new routine.

I have recently been given the opportunity to collect and analyse our school's data across Years 0–8 for all curriculum areas. This data was then compiled into a report and shared with our staff. I have been amazed by the insights the data has provided about our school. In particular, seeing the literacy data and how low students' achievement levels are has reinforced the importance of my inquiry into reading and why it is so necessary. 

My CoL inquiry focus for this year is reading, with an emphasis on accelerating the reading achievement levels of Year 7 & 8 students. To support this, we have implemented a whole-class reading programme that promotes collaboration, engagement, and tuakana-teina relationships.

Rather than streaming students by levels, this approach fosters a learning environment where all students work together, supporting and challenging each other. Through shared reading experiences and a variety of reading tasks, students develop key comprehension skills while building confidence and a love for reading.

What's next? The next phase of my inquiry is getting to know my learners and understanding their perspectives on reading. 

This involves:

• Gathering student voice – engaging in discussions and surveys to understand students' attitudes, strengths, and challenges in reading.

• Observing reading behaviours – identifying how students engage with texts, their comprehension strategies, and areas for development.

• Building relationships – fostering a positive reading culture where students feel confident to share their thoughts and experiences.

• Tailoring reading tasks – using insights from students to design engaging, meaningful activities that cater to their interests and needs.

By focusing on student perspectives, I can create a reading programme that is responsive, inclusive, and effective in accelerating achievement.

2025 CoL - Introducing myself

Kia ora! Introducing Myself and My Manaiakalani CoL Journey

Tēnā koutou katoa! My name is Shwe Kyee and I am proud to be a teacher at Glenbrae School. I am teaching Year 7 and 8 students and I have been in the teaching profession for 9 years. Over the years, I have been passionate about fostering student growth and achievement, particularly in literacy.

This year, I feel incredibly honoured to have been selected to take on a Within School role as part of the Manaiakalani, Community of Learning (CoL). This opportunity allows me to contribute to our school's ongoing journey of improving student outcomes. Being a part of this initiative means I have the chance to collaborate with colleagues, share best practices and lead inquiry based teaching strategies that will directly impact student success. I am truly excited about this opportunity to grow as an educator and make a difference in our school community.

I look forward to sharing my journey, insights, and successes throughout the year as I work alongside my colleagues and students. 

Ngā mihi nui for your support and I can't wait to see the positive impact this inquiry will bring!