NGĀ KŌRERO

Everyday, RTLB who service rural schools head out relatively equipped to face whatever challenges they may encounter; whether this be directly related to our case work or within our liaison capacity… and those of us who have been around a while also know to expect a few curve balls! However, recent conversations with other RTLB colleagues across the motu, has left me pondering this thought, “What if the isolated rural school our neurodiverse student is zoned to, isn’t the sc

“Language matters.” This is a catchphrase I first heard from my Practice Leader, Fiona Harkness, within the Te Tai Tokerau ki te Tonga RTLB Cluster 2 and one which I soon came to adopt and use myself. It is also an idea that Fiona subsequently explored in her Master’s thesis, Language Matters: Developing Inclusive, Strengths-Based Practice in an RTLB Cluster (2019), and in the article, “Language Matters: Developing Inclusive, Strengths-Based Practice in a Cluster of Resource

I have never been a great fan of the scarf. This personal dislike goes back to the early 1980s, when my nana had good intentions of knitting me a scarf, with those bold, bright colours in the pattern. She knitted all seven grandchildren one, including a jersey each. They were knitted in chronological order of age. I was third in line-my brother first, then my female cousin. My jersey was very David Bain-like, I must say. You get the picture? Knitting was the thing to do and m

Usually, I don’t write a Shitty First Draft (SFD). When things get tough, I usually just try and think things through, not write anything...

In the world of wellbeing and trauma-informed practice, calm is a word we hear often. It’s a destination in many classrooms and a goal for behaviour plans and emotional check-ins. Students are asked what they need to do to “get back to calm.” What coping strategies will they use? Their teachers have noticed signs of dysregulation and want to help. There’s a lot of good mahi happening in our classrooms. Understanding Calm in a New Light But I’ve been thinking differently about

The concept of evolving my own professional identity is something I candidly wrote about in one of my previous blogs . RTLB and other...

Last Friday, I spoke with a colleague who shared a quiet but powerful moment from an interview she conducted with a high school student....

I enjoy watching Good Sorts and Good as Gold —programmes that spotlight everyday New Zealanders doing extraordinary things. Last week, I...

At the heart of RTLB Aotearoa is a clear mission: to connect, inspire, and uplift one another. This mission is more than just an...

Have I got your attention with this title? I hope so. I’m not trying to be intentionally rude, but I have learned that to breathe...