Staffing 24 classes of year 9's and 10's (1 period a week) was always going to be a challenge. If anyone has ever done timetabling at a secondary school before, its one big intractable problem ! There are too many variables... teacher's classes, student's classes, specialist classrooms, limited periods etc. The way it worked out for us was that our timetable was changed so juniors (year 9 and 10) were moved to have 4 periods a week of each subject, except PE and Health, where they had 3 periods and the 4th period became Matihiko. We started by asking volunteers who wanted to teach Matihiko. However, teachers first priority is to their own subject areas, so none of these teachers ended up with spare time to pick up an extra period or two. So we ended up with a list of teachers who had a spare hour or more. These teachers were approached to take Matihiko... with the promise of an amazing, planned program to engage students. Of course they all agreed (who wouldn't?)....
I am the HOD of Digital Technologies at a public school in the Waikato. I love it! It is an ever changing environment and it's a challenge to keep up. Through research and post graduate study I'm attempting to keep it real and interesting. Enjoy reading my journey.