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!

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.

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

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!

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!