INVISIBLE | Session 8 | New Zealand | Virginia Kung, Deputy Principal - Newmarket Primary School

Virginia Kung is an experienced school leader, an Adjunct Lecturer for the University of Auckland and the Deputy Principal at Newmarket Primary School in Auckland, New Zealand. Newmarket Primary School is an inner city school established in 1887. Auckland City has built up around the school. Currently, the school has a diverse migrant roll, which includes 10% of students from India. She has been a member of the senior leadership team for 11 years. She has expertise in using Structured Observed Learning Outcomes Taxonomy (SOLO) to enhance learning outcomes and raise student achievement. In addition, she regularly mentors teachers in the use of SOLO for teaching and learning.

Over the past two years, Virginia has focused her teacher inquiry around the "Plan to Pedagogy Project". http://www.iletc.com.au/

The Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change (ILETC) project is an Australian Research Council Linkage Project funded led by The University of Melbourne. The project investigates how teachers can use the untapped potential of Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs) to improve learning outcomes for students. The collaborative research will identify whether there is a link between quality teaching and effective use of ILEs and develop practical tools to assist teachers to adapt their teaching practices to maximise deeper learning. Currently she is also champion of the Flexible Grouping Initiative where she mentors two Across School Leaders and eleven In School Leaders in the Auckland Central Community of Schools Kāhui Ako.

Virginia is passionate about building and establishing strong relationships with all stakeholders. Her school leadership work with The Springboard Trust involved working on the “Schools@Heart Project”. The outcome guided Newmarket Primary Schools Strategic Plan. She believes that the key to educational success is to make meaningful and respectful connections with students, teachers, parents and the community.

In 2014, she was invited to travel to China as part of the New Zealand Principal’s delegation. In 2015, she attended the World Educational Leadership Summit in Singapore and had the opportunity to personally meet and listen to Professor Sugata Mitra.

In 2018 she was certified as a Seesaw Ambassador and also as a Hapara Certified Educator. She completed her Digital Passport with Mindlab. In 2020, she certified as a Book Creator Author and attained Level 1 using Microsoft FlipGrid.