CTry Visioning My Future

Motivational and Visioning Engagement 

Visioning My Future

Today is the day of our 'Visioning My Future' workshop. Our students have been prepared to be ready for the learning ahead and to come open-minded and receptive to learn. Even our classrooms, we have arranged them to be special and conductive for the workshop. 

The workshop was opened with a prayer. Then it was honoured by the principal of the school, Mrs Soana Pamaka, talking to the students about the purpose and importance of the workshop. That was one of the main highlights of this engagement. Soana shared her experience when first arriving in New Zealand as a high school student and a second language speaker of English many years back. She referred to the wrong perceptions students and teachers had of her simply because English was a second language. She also spoke about how she endeavoured to prove those perceptions wrong. For example, she was discouraged from doing certain academic subjects because of her English. She encouraged students to read because reading was one way of her learning English and attaining her success.

I must say that Mrs Pamaka's short time with the students was priceless. Not only that they had a time with their principal at a closer and personal context, but they can see a role model with similar struggles to theirs yet with immense success. Their Principla! They learned that should embrace their special features - culture, language, family and friends - set their goals and work hard for success. 

This presentation has been highly appreciated and rated by the students at our evaluation.

Click Principal at Visioning My Future

A Bracelet - Mapping and Talking about who I am

After the inspirational talk from the principal, students were asked to focus on thinking about who they are. They were given beads of six different colours, each colour relates to characteristics they already have and are going to grow. They were to select different colours of characteristics they want to be and make a bracelet visioning their future.

Here are the colours and the characteristics:

R - Resilience

B - Bravery

K - Kindness

S - Self belief

D - Good decision making

T - Strength 

Dr van Hees explaining and encouraging students to focus on thinking and doing the task. The students were very focused and engaged.

The idea behind was that the more they focused on who they think they are and what they want to become, the more their motivation and self confidence would grow grow. This would hopefully lessen their anxiety, shame, sense of inadequacy, and stress. The students were given time to think individually, to share with another person, and then they each made their bracelets.