I have been running on sheer adrenaline for the past 3-4 weeks. A combination of late work nights, Christmas celebrations which went on into the late evening, and the the dash to get gifts for family and colleagues has left me spent. On Friday when I sent that last email of the term I realised…
Read MoreResurrecting School Values
Values are not something static and immovable. They are living, breathing entities, and as such, are susceptible to death and decay. Because of this, it is paramount that they are revitalised. Since the start of the year, we have been focusing on developing our school values, primarily that of respect. We felt that respect underpinned…
Read More5 Leadership Lessons from Mandela pt2
This is the second and final post in a two-part series on leadership lessons learned from Mandela. If you have not read the first post, it can be found here. Each point is a lesson taken from his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. If, like me, you are interested in leadership and how to do…
Read More5 Leadership Lessons from Mandela
This week after having it on the go for a few months, I finally completed the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, ’Long walk to freedom’. I knew the weight of the book (literally and metaphorically speaking), would be significant. To capture the wisdom such a great leader would inevitably impart, I made summary notes with each…
Read MoreClassroom Routines
The simpler the better Routines are essential because they provide expectations. This year we introduced some basic classroom entrance and exit routines. Although behavior is typically good at our school, we wanted all students to receive a consistent and predictable experience for the starting and ending of lessons. It was particularly important for new year…
Read More