A Day at St.Joe’s

The day started out with Morning Prayer and announcements in the Chapel with the staff. Cam, Nichole and I then got ready for the day with Roger. We stretched out our legs and arms and did a few squats and jumping jacks, got our head and wrist bands on and were ready for the marathon at St. Joe’s.

The admin team starts their day in the common area and divides up the work for that day. Throughout the day Julie and James gave us some insight to their roles within the school.

We headed over to St. John Bosco to see the logistics of how a school within a school worked. It has a great set up for the students, nice flow and relaxed atmosphere for the students to work. When we came back at lunchtime we jumped on the bicycle desks and were treated to some great live music.

We stop in some classrooms to observe and say hi to former students. The pods set up allowed for easy movement for the teachers and students. Talking to some of the teachers, they really enjoy the pod set up and mentioned working closely with other colleagues allowed for more ideas and flexibility.

One of grade nine families had a mystery game that they set up in the learning commons. The students were engaged and the teachers were moving amongst the students while giving hints to help them solve the mystery.  Later that day the same group of grade nine families set up yoga in the gym for the students.

It was very interesting to see how a day flows in the high school.  Roger did a great job of sharing his day and how he deals with various situations and scenarios.

It was also nice to get my workout done during the school day instead of after!

Thanks to Roger and the staff or St. Joes for the fun and informative day.

Teacher Supervision and Evaluation

The last leadership session we looked at and discussed teacher evaluations and observations. This was a great session that had lots of different perspectives on observing teachers in the classroom.

The video we watched allowed us to break down the important parts of the lesson and what we would focus on if we were giving that teacher feedback. I realized after the group discussion the importance of giving just two or three ideas that the teacher could start to work on, as well as, the importance of not overwhelming teachers with multiple complex concepts to work on.

The group discussed the KSA’s and how we would rank the importance of each one – for first year teachers the KSA’s can be difficult to implement all of them. So what are the most important ones to make the classroom successful – especially the first couple of years? The group had different views about how to rank the KSA’s but eventually we all agreed on the importance of the need for student’s security and respect.

This session helped me to reflect even more on my own practice as a teacher and as an administrator; how can I be better teacher, how can I help the students and how can I help those around me to succeed.

Year 1

Year 1 of leadership academy;
What a year of learning for me; from the students, the staff, and the leadership academy. It’s great how collaboration can help build ideas, confidence, and wisdom. I felt this year I did a lot more reflecting on my practice – both as a teacher and as an administrator.
This leadership academy has been a great learning piece for me. The monthly group discussions whether on Twitter, blogging or face to face, has made me reflect each and everyday. I’ve reflected on how I can help and support the school community. There have been days that I’ve felt successful and days I’ve felt frustrated but I’ve always felt like I could share the success and failures with the leadership group. At the end of the day I always come away with ideas on how to move forward and help those around me.

Thank you all for a wonderful year!

Lesley Allison

Trust & Respect

During our first leadership meeting I had to do a lot of reflecting as we talked about different issues that we have dealt with or are dealing with in our careers. Trust and respect comes up a lot when we talk about building culture in our schools – we are continuously building trust with students, parents and colleagues.  How do we do build up trust and respect?  I have found that it is by being honest, transparent and sticking to my word – whether it’s with a student, parent or colleague.

I find that trust and respect is the big relationship builder in junior high because it isn’t until the relationships are built that the students will more often come and talk through their issues rather than acting out.  I think that this is the same with teachers as well. Once teachers feel that they can trust me, they will come to me with any issues that they have. This is also part of an open and honest door policy, which to me, means keeping teachers and parents updated with what is happening both in the school and in the district. This open and honest communication allows the teachers and parents to feel part of the culture of the school, as well as, know that their input is important.  Based on my experience, when teachers have input they feel like they are building the culture not just being told what to do.  As a result, I have seen issues – good or bad – filter from staff to the students and that is also where culture is being built in the school.

I feel when a school is transparent that it doesn’t allow for false claims or gossip because people know what is exactly happening all of the time.  Transparency allows for straight talk to be more effective and respected, which allows leaders to be in a position to have a straight talk with another person – and it won’t be seen as coming out of left field.  That’s my hope.  When discussing with my colleagues about how straight talks can be awkward, we then thought about how we can bring the talk back to how we personally need to improve as teachers – then it may make the other person more at ease and more reflective about their own practice.  I think straight talks also need to be about listening to the other person and having a relationship with that person so that there is some sort of level of trust and respect with what we both say.

To be successful in building trust, I have found that being patient and putting others needs ahead of my own works best – and it shows that I am there for them and want them to succeed!  When teachers are succeeding in their classroom, it usually means fewer issues throughout the rest of the school.  When teachers are succeeding and confident in themselves then they are more willing to be open to change, whether its technology, project-based learning or even peer observation.

I believe as leaders it is our job to serve and support our colleagues so that the students can learn in the best environment possible.

Lesley