Target Lists and Going Wow!

I am keeping the same blog, just adding to it, but I've updated the appraisal information on the right hand side. This initial post for 2016 is mainly to identify my target children for learning acceleration, and to identify Maori students.
So here we go, first names only...
Target Students - needing help to meet expectations in 1 or more curriculum areas

• William
• Kahla (new to our school)
• Alicia
• TeKyllah
• Sloan
• Keenan
• Riley
• Tylar

Maori Students - 8 out of 24 students, that's 1/3 of my class!

• William
• Kahla
• TeKyllah
• Riley
• Jorgiah
• Chenoa
• Kaedence
• Kamaia

I shall do my very best to accelerate learning, motivate and engage, be inclusive, and cater for diversity, for ALL of my students, not just the ones named above, because they ALL deserve this, and more.
We have had a really busy (but productive) first few weeks back at school, I have jumped straight into Mantle of the Expert. I lie, it was beginning of Week 3, as I could not for the life of me find a Newton's Cradle (my "hook") anywhere up here, and had to wait until we went to Auckland for second grandson's birthday to get one at Toyworld. So now every time a child walks past my desk it's ... click, click, click, click...
You can even hear it clicking away in the background of the hologram "responding with wonderment and awe" post on our class blog.
That hologram thing is just too amazing! Like the moonbow last year! I go wow alot!
And I also recently learnt that cashews grow on the ends of cashew apples, something I looked into because I thought it would be cool to grow a cashew tree, and discovered that they aren't even nuts! And I can't even grow one here, but I can grow a cherry tree, so I shall, and in June I will get one!
Going off on a tangent, but really, my intention this weekend was to mark writing samples using e asTTle criteria. More than half the class did not name their work! And honestly, reading their work, I have to say that I think they can actually rewrite these tomorrow because they are NOT their best work. (I do know what most of them are capable of producing, and what they handed in is definitely not even close to their best). So I decided to use my time wisely by updating this, and now I am talking about a load of other things.
My class have done a heap of work around "Empathy" as part of Habits of Mind and in preparation for KiVa, which I am really excited about. If I wasn't already on the Digital Technology and the Maths Team this year I would have been keen to be on the KiVa team.
And I have to get myself sorted with an Art Extension Group to paint a few murals too! Can't wait. This year is going to be fun!