03 December 2015

Putting a cat among the pigeons...or in this case, the hens!

Attendance at school is so important for academic and social progress - so important that when a child's rate of attendance falls below 85%, their academic progress is severely effected. Most families know that we take attendance very seriously, and they concientiously provide us with the reasons why their children are away.

Sometimes these reasons can be an enormous source of entertainment. Take this one for example.

 (Names have been changed to protect the 'not so innocent'.)

And it came complete with a photo!

And then arrived the after shot - just love it!
So the moral of the story is - if you are going to be away from school, an entertaining reason softens the blow, and a photo always helps! :)

23 October 2015

Teachers love Fridays - and then there's swimming...

Teachers love Fridays. It's a great day of the week. Everyone is upbeat, we have Assembly, the weekend is coming... and then there's swimming.

This week's blogpost is a funny story of a day in the life of a teacher on swimming days. Thank you to Clair Allan for sharing this hilarious perspective.

'Today, take a moment to give Miss Lucy that extra warm smile and gratitude at the end of the day. It is at this time of year that my Fridays off come into their own as I think of my beautiful teaching partner. Just picture her day today......

It begins with 24 RIDICULOUSLY excited five year olds, who dressed in their lycra at potentially 5am and are now making their way onto an enormous bus. The head counts take at least 2-3 goes as those wriggling bodies bouncing with excitement, move about in the line ensuring they are counted at least twice, not to mention those high-pitch squeals that put your counting off each time.
Once they spot that aqua blue of the pool, that intensity increases, and the 24 begin to feel like 48 with the wriggling and bouncing turned up a notch. The swimming section of the day happens to be the easiest time - coaches to assist, and the love of the water that most of our children have is wonderful. At times there is always the couple that maybe terrified of the water, that is if not dressed from neck to knee in lycra yourself finds one teacher in a very awkward and revealing situation. This is normally something first year teachers experience on their first swimming trip - we 'oldies' have this element down pat by now!


The next part is the best! Back to the bus. Often still dripping and dragging their towel behind - someone has always left their goggles behind, or has someone else's thongs on to begin the trip to the bus! With all that avoided, the bus trip goes one of two ways! They are either more hyped than the trip there after their incredible swim or are zonked and falling asleep that results in tears as we wake those sleeping babes from their slumber.


Back at school...... this separates the birds and the pigeons. Who can dress themselves? And then dress themselves correctly? Shoes on the right feet, buttons done up straight, and clothes not inside out? There are always those pairs of undies that belong to no one yet sit in the middle of the carpet - quite obviously belonging to someone within the room. As well as the notorious bag of wet swimming clothes that often sit in the classroom for the next 5 weeks, again belonging to no one!


The day will often end with a few tears as those tired little bodies (up since 5.00am) start to fade, and that excitement turns into frustration with anything really. I can hear you all frantically signing up to either begin your teaching career or at the least beg desperately to Lucy to allow you to help this morning!


So, as you have finished drop off, and sat for your morning coffee, spare a thought for Miss Lucy. We definitely love our job, and wouldn't have it any other way! But swimming days are the ones that test us.'


15 September 2015

A Principal's Award - something to aspire to

I ran into one of my favourite Dads in the chemist the other day. He told me how his daughter was so rapt that she was awarded the Book Week Principal's Award for reading. He said she had never had had one before and was so happy. (I know this little girl really well and I know the reading award was well and truly earned - she is one of the most avid readers we have in the school.)

Then a week or so later all the classes were doing an exercise about the capabilities they wanted to achieve by the end of Year 6. Little Chuneve in Year 2 'just wants to be able to get a Principal's Award.'

It's amazing how much weight that little gold sticker carries and the importance some children attach to it. They are a bit special. I give them out when effort and achievement goes hand in hand and children demonstrate the power of their learning. Obviously I'm not there every time this happens throughout our school - I'd go through packets of the things if that was the case! But I keep them in my drawer and kids know they really mean something. This is the point of an award - recognition and attention for learning and effort - and the knowledge that it's been earned and not just given out with no meaning attached.

Now that I look at these stickers - they are very pretty. I would have loved one as a kid!

28 August 2015

What really matters...

 All Principals of Independent Public Schools were called into Central Office this week and while everyone was enjoying the Book Week Assembly I listened to a lot of things about School Reviews and inputs and outputs and NAPLAN and outcomes and a bit more about reviews... Hmmm.... Not the most riveting of material.

It got me thinking about what matters, and about what really matters. And it's kids that matter, and it's what they are learning that really matters.

Last week one of our teachers told me that while on duty he had observed Bradley in tears on the ball courts. He saw that Jenny and Suzy had just spoken to him so he asked them what had happened before he then spoke with Bradley himself. Jenny told him that Bradley had been left out of the boy's soccer game because they had even teams already and didn’t want uneven teams. (This seemed a bit mean but to be fair to the boys, Bradley was playing a different game before wanting to join their game). Before the teacher could even say anything in an attempt to resolve the situation – Suzy pipes up and says, 'Maybe I should offer to play too; that way there’d be even teams?' So, off the girls went, called Bradley over, joined the game and everyone was happy.

This is what really matters. We are teaching kids to solve problems peacefully, to walk in the shoes of others, to be inclusive. And every day we see they are getting it.

This kind of learning leaves inputs, outputs and reviews for dead!

(I've changed the names but I bet these lovely kids could identify themselves if they read this.)

14 August 2015

Only in the Springs...

I called into the pharmacy on the way home this afternoon, and as I'm paying for my items Pete Ashenden, the community-minded pharmacist at LiveLife, said 'Oh, Gwen - I was just going to ring you - we've run a raffle on the school's behalf. I'm sorry we didn't tell you!'

 'And you are apologising??!!' I was a bit baffled.

'Well,' he said, 'we probably should have told you - we'll send a cheque to the school - it's not much - about $350.'

I drove home with a smile on my face - I mean, where else do people open their hearts with such generosity and just send you $350 without batting an eyelid?

Thanks, Pete. Your thoughtfulness will be put to good use in our school and will benefit our kids and their families.

Happy weekend, everyone!

09 August 2015

Learning about electricity and hydraulics is the best fun

The switch activates the propeller
'Turn out the light!' my parents would yell from the lounge. It was the refrain I dreaded every night. As a kid, I'd be tucked up in bed, buried in my latest book and being swept away by the Famous Five or huddling in a wardrobe waiting to get to Narnia, and then 'clip' - out would go the light. It was usually at a good part too!

My teacher in Year 5 saved me from this torture when he showed me how to make a light from a battery, a bulb and some strategically placed wire. At night the bedlamp would go out, and I'd be buried under the blankets reading by the feeble light of a home made torch. Goodness knows what it did to my eyes, but I will always remember my Year 5 teacher.

There has been a lot of tinkering and 'making' going on in Year 6 lately, and I can't help myself. I keep going in to see what they've made, and more importantly, what they are discovering through their 'making'. Electricity and hydraulics make everything so much fun...and so very rewarding because they make stuff actually work.

One thing I'm waiting for is the application of Riley's cardboard plane - I'd love to see this be able to get off the ground. Imagine that! I've been wanting some aerial shots of our school for a while -  I wonder if he could make a drone...


02 August 2015

What a difference a generation or two makes!

I know - I've said it before. I say it often actually... but I'm going to say it again - I love Assembly! Friday mornings are just great. It's the end of the week, the school is buzzing, everyone troops excitedly up to the Indoor Sports Centre, and for that one time a week, we are all together. 

And then there's the class item. This is my favourite part. There are dress ups, music, dancing, humour, and usually a multimedia presentation all cued up. Last week we also had placards and protests!

The messages in the presentations are often familiar as teachers cleverly link the performance and the practice it takes to perfect the choreography to the curriculum. This week's message was about reducing, reusing and recycling.

4M dressed in sixties and seventies flamboyant fluoro gear and staged a mock protest encouraging us all to take a good look at our environmental practices. I was horrified at some of the statistics 4M have unearthed - like 1000 sheets of paper equalling one tree and six billion plastic bags ending up as landfill EVERY YEAR. 

During their performance I reflected on and compared the issue with some of the placard protests of mid-to-late last century. In those days such protests focused on wars, the draft, free speech, and land rights. We still protest on those issues and we've also added a few others about caring for our planet. 

We are unlikely to solve those issues with placards - these days we teach children to be social activists. Protests are most effectively staged with information and communication skills. And it doesn't hurt to add a bit of fluoro and placard waving to get attention to start with. Good job, 4M!




08 May 2015

Gwen...you're in the paper

I walked into the staff room at lunch time the other day and one of the teachers leaned back over her chair and said 'Gwen... you're in the paper'. My heart lurched instantaneously until I saw her smiling and realised it was all good. The idea of suddenly 'being in the paper' is enough to give any Principal a start - and not necessarily a good one!

Then that night my phone started pinging off and I received a load of messages along the lines of 'You should see what they are saying about our school on Facebook!' Arghhhh! That was enough to send me off looking for something stronger than my cup of after dinner tea!

I almost didn't want to look. Facebook commentary strikes the 'fear of God' through every Principal and teacher across the land, across the world probably.

Anyway, I sighed and took a deep breath and opened it up - and there it was. 'What's the public school in the springs like?'


And then... affirmation after affirmation about our creative community-minded school and it's brilliant teachers and child-focused supportive processes.

 I waited... because that's the thing with social media - there's always an alternative view, perhaps a controversial one which then gets everyone going. This is especially prevalent on the pages of the media. But no, an hour or so later people were still happy. A day or so later...still happy.

And right at the bottom, a note - 'someone should show Gwen Sands this'.

They did, Libby - thank you.

02 May 2015

Changing the narrative about teachers and state education

There's nothing that makes my blood boil faster than hearing teachers being referred to as part time (i.e. 9.00am to 3.00pm) and always on holidays, and their skills being talked about as if just anyone could do the job. To be fair, this happens rarely these days and I have been reflecting on that after hearing a group of parents in our school speak so positively about the work teachers do. Coincidently just this week, I've seen few articles, blogs and posts about teachers themselves changing the stories told about their work - for example,  Education Week, Teaching is... and Edutopia.

In every school there are great teachers making a positive impact on students and their schools. These teachers are going above and beyond their classroom duties, engaging in their own ongoing learning, providing extra curricular activities for children in their lunch times and participating in learning communities either face-to-face or online. At Peregian Springs State School, this is true for EVERY teacher - I'm not sure how many Principals could say this.

One of the new members of our Leadership Team said to me this week 'You know, Gwen, I walk around our school and there's amazing work going on in every classroom - every classroom - not just one or two here and there - it's EVERY classroom.' And he's right. There is jaw dropping education, commitment and dedication in every room in our school. The focus of our teachers (and their teacher aides) is firmly and squarely on children and their learning - even in the Staff Room at lunch time.

Teachers and school leaders can change the narratives about our work - and we would love the help of our community and parents.

If you believe your children's teachers are doing a great job, tell a story about that - post it on your Facebook page, tweet it to the world, tell the checkout operator in the supermarket when he/she asks where your children go to school, counter negativity about the work teachers do with your own positive observations, and most importantly, thank your child's teachers. Too often they are told they didn't do a good enough job in one area or another, and this is usually some small thing that in the bigger scheme of a whole school culture of excellence shouldn't even rate a mention. Believe me, these observations of their 'shortcomings' hurt them terribly.

Less often than I'd like, I see them smiling from a pat on the back, sharing a card or email proudly, and holding their heads high confident in the knowledge of the esteem they are held in.

Let's work together to change the stories told about modern schools, state education and their teachers. At the end of the day this is not just good for teachers and state education - but also good for every child in those classrooms.

A couple of particularly awesome teachers - and there is another 45 more!

here are thousands of good teachers making a positive impact on students and their schools. These teachers are going above and beyond their classroom duties, engaging in ongoing professional development, and actively participating in personal learning communities - See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/opinion-change-teaching-narrative-focus-good-teachers-933798742#sthash.vhnpgwop.dpu

20 April 2015

A child's eye view

I love receiving emails and correspondence from children. Their questions and observations about life at school always shed interesting perspectives - they offer a child's eye view, you might say.

In the holidays I received an email from Charlie: -

Firstly I was excited that Charlie was getting so much enjoyment from his learning he wanted to continue it in the holidays! And secondly, I thought the 'LOVE Charlie' bit was a nice touch.

I replied straight away:-

And then a few hours later I received an email from his Mum:-

I think she must have been a little embarrassed at his 'audacity', and in her haste to reply didn't check the spelling of her name! (No, I didn't change it to protect the innocent.) However, I thought hearing from Charlie was great - I love his 'front', his directness and his initiative. And I couldn't stop laughing about the lessons he was about to get in capital letters, full stops and the protocol of sending the Principal emails from his Mum's account using her iPad! I'm still giggling about this actually.

I saw Charlie at school today and he thanked me for the reply. I said 'I hope you didn't get in trouble for writing that. I liked hearing from you.'

'Oh, I didn't write it' he said. 'I got my brother to do it and I just told him what to say.' Hmmmmm, seems like the wrong child got the lessons on capitals and full stops.

I'm really looking forward to hearing from Charlie and his brother about their views on iPads for learning. I'm sure there will be other pearls of wisdom that will have me giggling away at my Inbox.

14 March 2015

Developing a sense of independence and achievement - by riding, scooting or skating to school

I remember the first time I rode my bike to school - 3km along a busy main road, in the gate and down to the bike racks. I was about 9 years old and I stalked off to class feeling on top of the world.

You can't buy that feeling of independence and achievement but as humans when we experience it we want more and more of it. And riding to school with a group of friends is a way to get it. I'm not suggesting kids ride down the David Low Way or the Motorway to get to school! (What were my parent's thinking?). The majority of our kids live on a safe estate where nearly everyone drives slowly and looks out for them. It's the perfect environment for parents to allow children to stretch their wings (and their legs) and increase their child's sense of achievement and purpose.

And if nothing else, a ride to school in the morning will fill their lungs with oxygen ensuring a clear head for the start of a busy school day.

Hands up if you rode, scooted, skated, car pooled walked or bussed to school today?

13 March 2015

Did my child really say that at school?

Many years ago as a new Deputy Principal I wandered into a Year 2 class while they were doing 'Show and Tell'. This is sometimes called Morning Talks or News or some variation on that theme. A little boy was proudly showing the class some photos of his parents that he had found in their bedside table. I could see the teacher about to have a conniption and children's eyes getting rounder by the millisecond. I quickly collected the photos, distracted the children with a joke, introduced the next speaker and glided out of the door. I collapsed at my desk half in laughter and half in horror about the conversation I now needed to have with the little boy's parents.

I tell this story not as a warning to parents to lock up their private lives but as an insight into the sharing that goes on between staff and children in the classroom. Children tell their teachers, teacher aides, volunteers, and other kids all kinds of things that they see and overhear at home. Most parents would be horrified, frankly, if they had an inkling of the content of some of these stories.

Teachers, however, are not horrified. They are professional and skilled enough to understand that the way a child sees the world from their shoes and current levels of development is vastly different to the actual reality. Most teachers discard much of the information children chatter about all day. And this is really good practice, generally!

We know that sometimes children come home with all kinds of stories about things they've observed, experienced or heard at school. And I'm sure some of it makes parent's blood boil. The best thing parents can do is listen, make a constructive comment about behaviour you want to encourage and then politely request more information from the class teacher.  Listen to your children with an open mind, sort out the bits that sound valid, and ask more questions of the teacher - if you really need to!

When my daughter was very young, her (very wise) teacher said to me 'I'll believe 50% of what she says at school about home, if you believe 50% of what she comes home and tells you about school!

It seemed like a fair deal.

06 March 2015

Six weeks in and all is well

Dave excitedly announced this afternoon that he had seen some significant shifts in the school over the last week. 'Since Tuesday', he said. 'There's purpose, everyone is positive, things are moving'.

And my reply... 'It's the end of Week 6'.

It's six weeks into the new school year. I always say it takes six weeks, give or take a week, for teachers to get their know the students in their class really well. It takes six weeks to set routines and for things to become automatic in a classroom. It takes six weeks to build relationships with parents, set the homework routines and iron out the kinks. It takes Preps six weeks to realise that school is every day, from 8.37am to 3.30pm.

And Dave's right - there is purpose, staff are positive and optimistic about student achievement, plans are in place for the semester and the hum of innovation across our classrooms has set in.

Things are definitely moving - the Year 6 curriculum is on fire, the Prep teachers can't keep up with their students, the Year 3s and 5s are focused on building their skills for NAPLAN next term, the Year 1 and 2 rooms are humming with the sound of kids reading, writing and practising their number skills and the Year 4s are stretching their wings in the senior school, Sofia (the Performing Arts teacher) is jumping for joy about her new sound system and its capability of individualising music choices for groups, Maree (our Teacher-Librarian) has kids clamouring to borrow books, Cam (our PE teacher) keeps rushing into my office to inform me of the latest sporting achievement of one or more of our students and Alex (our Japanese teacher) is looking ahead to our excursion to Tokyo in November.

It's six weeks in and again we are shaping up as an impressive place to come to every day!


20 February 2015

It's wet weather lunch...

It's the message that strikes cold fear through a teacher's chest - 'Good morning, everyone. It's wet weather lunch today.' says Dave at his cheery best.

Some say there's nothing worse than indoor play with 25 or more children - especially for the second day running. Others launch into the staff room craving a coffee and adult conversation. The kids, however, seem to love it!

As I walk around at lunch time checking no one has sailed away on our oval I see kids lying back watching movies, playing board games quietly, completing homework, reading books in the corner and generally whiling away the time in a very relaxed mode. It's certainly a change of pace from rushing about in a game of tiggy or smashing a handball down in the latest round.

'Ms Sands, can we have wet play next week?' one brave soul asks me. I see the teacher paling at the gills and have a quiet laugh to myself!

Happy wet weekend, everyone.



14 February 2015

What are we really on about?

Last week at our school leadership meeting we had a flurry of discussion about our 'targets' for 2015. It suddenly became important that everyone should know what the school's focus would be for 2015. Well, it's Reading... Writing... Numeracy... - of course it is. What else would we be putting our energies into?

So this little graphic began to be seen everywhere.
Peregian Springs State School
2015 whole school focus for every learner
*Reading    *Writing    *Numeracy

We really want all kids to be successful readers and writers and to be numerate - research shows that if you can read and write, everything else is teachable. And more, if you can read and write to a high level, everything else is teachable AND you are ahead of the game. Readers and writers increase their life chances in terms of income, health, participation in political life, and longevity. So who wouldn't want that?

As the week wore on I was finding it hard to get excited about reading, writing and numeracy. I glossed over it at the P&C Meeting and also threw in the Department's mantra about attendance.
 
Peregian Springs State School
2015 whole school focus for every learner
*Reading    *Writing    *Numeracy
Attendance

Of course, we need kids at school if we are going to help them be active participants in their own lives and in their communities. But it still wasn't doing it for me.

A huge part of learning is mental health and social and emotional literacy. So in went Student Wellbeing. 
Peregian Springs State School
2015 whole school focus for every learner
*Reading    *Writing    *Numeracy
Attendance
Student Wellbeing

Hmmmmm....

Then it dawned on me that these are all results. They are admirable results, of course, but as an educator and a parent, I want more than results. I've often said over the last five and half years that I wanted to build a school kids and staff couldn't wait to get to every day.

Peregian Springs State School
2015 whole school focus for every learner
*Reading    *Writing    *Numeracy
Attendance
Student Wellbeing
Happy kids and staff who can’t wait to get to school everyday

Knowing our kids and staff are happy - that's what gets me up everyday. This is what is exciting about 2015 - our sixth year. This is our 'target'. It's always been our target. And why is that?

It's because we all care deeply about the success of our students and our school. We've built a whole school team around this purpose, and it's what we strive for every day.
 
Peregian Springs State School
2015 whole school focus for every learner
*Reading    *Writing    *Numeracy
Attendance
Student Wellbeing
Happy kids and staff who can’t wait to get to school everyday
Why?
Because we care deeply about the success of our students and our school

01 February 2015

Start out how you mean to go on

Start out how you mean to go on - this is one of my favourite catch cries. It's very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to start something one way - to set something up, to communicate a culture or way of behaving - and then say, no, I've changed my mind, we're going to do it this way now! And so it is with classrooms. A rowdy classroom where the focus is on something other than quality learning and quality relationships is very hard to turn around.

Last Tuesday, the first day of the 2015 school year, I started my first rounds of our school about 8.50am in Prep. As I approached the first classroom a Dad was looking in through the windows quite all at sea, fumbling with his phone. 'Just having one last look, are you?' I said smiling, hoping to calm his nerves. 'Look at this!' he said. 'And it's the same in Year 1!'.

I looked through the window a bit apprehensively. Twenty six Preps were sitting or standing around tables, talking, playing, cutting, sticking, writing their name, looking at the interactive whiteboard, and generally looking like they had been there a month - not 10 minutes!

I couldn't see the teacher - oh wait, there she is, crouched by a table talking with one or two children about what they were doing.

I smiled at the Dad again, 'We don't waste any time here', I said. And I went on my way. And yes, when I got down to Year 1, it was the same.

Thirty four classrooms across our school have started out how they mean to go on - a focus on kids, on quality relationships and on quality learning. What a joy it is to work and play in this place!

24 January 2015

One of the best parts of my job as Principal

It's a double edged sword - a growing school. On one hand we have access to a raft of resources denied to small schools, and we have a depth of teaching expertise that enables us to offer interesting and engaging programs and to cater for the diverse needs of all our students. But it also means my role as a Principal is changing. Correction: has changed - quite dramatically over the last year or two.

We have a large leadership team now whose responsibility is much of the front line tasks I love - interacting with students, meeting with parents, spending time in classrooms with teachers improving learning outcomes.

My role is incredibly diverse - I manage a big budget, oversee the building of new facilities, recruit our staff, design and provide professional development for everyone. I plan for the future while managing the present and continually reflect on our past. We have a staff of 81 and I work with all of them. Despite this I'm determined to remain 'hands on' - I'm in the playground (and the car park!) and at Assemblies; I run our staff meetings; my door is always open for teachers; other staff and parents alike (and for kids showing off their work); I love to be in the classroom - for any reason whatsoever (and sometimes for no reason!); I run the school tours and I still do most of the enrolments.

Making time for our new families is one of the favourite parts of my role. And in the week preceding the first day I've met a LOT of new families. It has been just lovely to sit with people and listen to them talk about their kids and their hopes and dreams for their new life at Peregian Springs State School. People have come from everywhere - Western Australia, Brazil, Korea, Victoria, New South Wales, Canada, northern Queensland and Noosaville. I've read student reports, talked with pride about my staff and what they are capable of, made sure everyone has their uniforms, book packs, and swimming notes, and invited them to Meet Your Teacher afternoon. I've listened to little ones tell me about their previous teachers (this is always very entertaining), their new shoes and lunch boxes and their hopes for a friend on the first day. My heart always goes out to new students (read my blog post about being new). Starting a new school is always hard but it's also a special time, an exciting one too.

We have approximately 850 children all bursting to get to school on Tuesday morning (well, maybe a couple are a little reluctant).  I can't wait to see each and every one of them. No matter how big our school gets it's important to always make time for children and their families.

So - Happy New Year, everyone, and all the best for the first school week - whether it's your first or your sixth!