It was wonderful to be able to get together in Wellington at the beginning of April for our inaugural Leadership Hui where we launched our THRIVE. We had approximately 45 in attendance from Kaitaia to Dunedin and it was a privilege as a CECEAA executive to see connections being made and people engaging with what it means to ‘thrive’ as individuals and in our teams. We were blessed to hear from a range of speakers including Karen Haywood from InterLead, Cindy Hammond, Colleen Fryett, and Cathryn Bell. We also enjoyed a change of scenery as we had a short excursion to the Teaching Council offices to hear from Christina Thornley. There was a very clear message throughout the hui of knowing who we are and whose we are both as individuals and centres in order to thrive within an ever-changing and complex world.
It was exciting to be able to launch the THRIVE document at the hui, with Melody Stuckey sharing some of her background research into the area of well-being and organisational culture, and K aryn Robertson reminding us of why it is important for us as Christians to thrive rather than just survive. We are grateful for those centres that have been willing to be part of our pilot programme, trialling the document. Special thanks to Barbara and Merrwyn, from Rainbow Preschool in South Dunedin, Barbara from Eden Kindergarten in Feilding and Olivia from Above and Beyond Early Education and Care in Tauranga for sharing your experiences with such honesty.
THRIVE is a joint project between CECEAA and BTI. It is a tool, written by Melody and Karyn, that can be used separately or alongside other documentation and processes such as appraisal and internal evaluation, for the purpose of engaging with teacher well-being and organisation culture within the Christian distinctive of our centres. If you were not at the Leadership hui and wish to find out more, come along to the North Island or South Island hui or contact Melody nco@ceceaa.com or Karyn k.robertson@bti.ac.nz.
“All the speakers were insightful, inspirational and realistic. Felt that God was in it all as the links and threads wove together between sessions. Loved that it fed our spirits and brought everything back to a Christ-centred calling and ministry.”
"Well-being affects me, my family, my colleagues and the children in our centres. We need to be healthy on the inside and make deeper connections with our teams to be able to then connect with others."
“Loved the new set up of the leadership hui, connecting with executive team and networking with other centre members and sharing information in groups... Loved the speakers. Loved the realness of the topics with a focus on the heart of what we do. It was great on day two to have examples of what this looks like in practice to motivate and inspire us.”