Our Intrepid Journey - Principalship 101

  We woke up to a temperature of 1 degree and sleet.  Made our way to Saskatoon University for the Cultural Camp day.  While walking to campus we called in to the local elementary school and had a chat with the Principal Shari .... Shari is in her first year of Principalship.  She is excited to be in the position and is happy in her school.  She told us that principals in Saskatoon get moved around every 3-5 years so they don't stay in schools for long periods of time.  I know that New Zealand used to do something similar with teachers back in the day, where they were placed in schools and moved around - giving them experience in different areas, particularly rural schools.  I wonder if this would work now in NZ?  It would only be successful if all rural schools had housing and they weren't necessarily teaching/principal roles. The cultural camp was a great experience despite the sleet and freezing wind.  There would have been between 80-100 ...

 MICHELLE: We had a very early start with a hotel pick-up at 5:30am.  So with blurry eyes, we boarded our flight to Saskatoon.  At the airport Mary and Nardi chatted with some locals on their way back to Saskatoon.  Mary managed to peel an interview out of a Dr she was sitting next to on the plane.  Dr Andrew is from Chinese decent but his schooling as been in Canada.  A very intelligent man who is passionate about the work he does with people in his community.  Mary will fill you in more.  Nardi also had a good chat with a local who spoke a bit about the education system in Canada.  I didn't chat with anyone but spent the flight reading a book:-) Once we arrived and settled in at our hotel we went for a wander.  It was very cold and a bit wet but where the hotel is situated is very pretty...river, clock tower, some very old but very clean buildings.  A few blocks over was a bit of a different story, but more dreary but no different...

MICHELLE: We had an early start dropping the car to the rental place and then making our way to the airport.  Full flight to Vancouver.  Vancouver airport is the best airport I've seen so far, stunning.   On the drive to the hotel, we could see many similarities to New Zealand...it is a lovely place.   We had one room booked for this leg and it was definitely the smallest room yet, so three women with several suitcases and bags...it was a very tight fit. There was little time for much other than to head down the road to an Italian restaurant, recommended by the hotel receptionist, for dinner.  After the walk back to the hotel we pretty much crashed...another long day traveling and we were all pretty tired. MARY Travel day from Vegas to Vancouver! From hot to cold.  The atmosphere has changed as we are here to present at a conference and my mind has changed from a learner to a teacher so I am gathering myself and mentally preparing for the presenta...

Today was a definite highlight for us...a trip to the Grand Canyon, made even more special with the company of Monica.  Whilst on our drive to the canyon I was privileged to podcast with her and listen to the stories of the educational and life journey of her family.  What a journey they have had!   While she spoke of her grandmother being taken as a child by the white man to a boarding school where she was abused and that she ran away from multiple times, I was taken straight to the TV spin-off of Yellowstone called '1923'.  When we see things on TV I often think, nah...it's overly dramatised for the screen, but Monica's story fits right in with the storyline told on that show.  She spoke of the trauma her people suffered over the years through colonisation and I drew many parallels between her people and indigenous people around the world.  I was fascinated to learn about the traditions that had been passed down to her through her ancestors and how s...

MICHELLE To start the day today, Nardi and I drove out to the Hoover Dam to see the sights.  It is awe-inspiring in terms of its size and feats in engineering.  Like everything here it is BIG and in reading the messaging and history plaques around the walkways it was interesting to read about those who were the big thinkers and drivers to build this massive structure.  One thing that both Nardi and I questioned was the lack of mention of the people of this land.  Was there any consultation with the indigenous in the development of this place?  Why are there only white men acknowledged in its creation?  Whose eyes was this story told?  What other stories could there be? On returning to the hotel, I spent the day working on updating my posts and listening to recordings to reflect on the messages and stories we had heard so far.   In the evening we went for a stroll along the strip, caught the tram to other hotels and looked around...still not c...

After rising to the glorious views of Monument Valley this morning we spent the day on the road to Flagstaff.  On our way we detoured to Chinle on the Navajo reservation to have a korero with Michelle Woody a teacher at Chinle Elementary School.  She teaches reading in grades 5&6.  It was interesting learning about what teachers teach at this level and how they teach it.  I had many questions about the 'standards' which they tested every two weeks and the curriculum.  My wonderings were about how the curriculum and the standards fit together...were they teaching to the test or to the curriculum.  With the many sites and documents she shared I was astounded by the amount of admin work that she did to monitor student's progress and check and recheck standards.  Michelle and her team had an obvious passion for the progress of the children they teach and listening to her speak about her students she obviously knew them and their families very well....

MICHELLE: We checked out of the hotel bright and early to head back to the city for a talanoa with GinaMarie Scarpa.  We met her at the Phoenix Suns merch shop with Ralph who had a busy day ahead as the Suns were in the NBA playoffs and had a home game that night. After saying goodbye to Ralph, we headed to the sound room at GinaMarie's apartment across the road from the Suns stadium and carried out a podcast with her.  Such a fascinating woman and what a privilege it was to chat with her.  GinaMarie is a powerhouse in her organisation NABI (as described in yesterday's blog).  She has many outstanding achievements in her journey of leadership and advocating for young people through sport.  I found GinaMarie inspirational in drive, vision, determination, and humility.  At the end of the podcast she mentions receiving congressional recognition...this is huge and is a tribute to the work she has put in.  This talanoa has been a highlight for me because Gi...