Friday, December 20, 2013

The year that was.

My first year as HOLA, although the end to it was disappointing and difficult, was a successful year from my perspective.  I'm proud of how my team has responded to a demanding environment and how we were able to turn a bad situation with very low morale into a positive one.

From a HOLA perspective I set a few goals at the start of the year.

  1. Gain a better understanding of the composition of our admission students (investigation of statistics of transition students, investigation of feeder primary strengths and weaknesses).
  2. Develop effective professional development to ensure we are improving our teaching pedagogy (Attended the MAWA conference, training to become regional transition trainer, continuation of informal teacher in-class observations)
  3. Commence meaningful performance management in line with AITSL standards (done for maths)
  4. Develop written programmes throughout each year group and have ownership of these documents distributed throughout the teaching staff (done for maths, work in progress for Science)
  5. Implemented the online marksbook (done for Maths, work in progress for science, training of all staff in usage)
  6. Develop learning area plans for Mathematics (completed and operational) and Science (work in progress)
  7. Develop skills monitoring and developing solutions for BMIS cases (Learning SIS behaviour module, meeting with parents, discussing solutions with peers, ensuring cases are resolved before being closed, developing pathways to reduce BMIS behaviours.) 
  8. Develop the summer school and Mathematics academies into sustainable activities (now managed by non teaching staff and using external tutors.  Students now seeking tutors to solve issues prior to assessment. Creation of demand from students for extension programmes during term breaks.)
  9. Mentor teachers in the Math department, assisting them with creating connections within the school
Incidentally I was able to contribute to the school in a number of different ways
  1. Part of the course counselling team
  2. Developed a personal connection with UWA Aspire to create a sustainable tutoring programme for students at the school
  3. Created connections with students that have left the school to assist them with negotiating issues in first year university
  4. Contributed as a boardmember of the school, providing insight into the operational aspects, developed a rapport with board members and assisted with developing and monitoring schoolwide goals
  5. Assisted with development of the business plan and annual report
  6. Distributed year 7 transition statistics and identified the relative strengths of feeder primary schools
  7. Assisted with transition programmes at the school for feeder yr 6,7,8 students
  8. Participated in leadership programmes to raise the community profile of the school and illustrate the relative strengths of our leadership team
  9. Part of the finance committee 
  10. Developed the ICT plan for 2014 and gained approval from all departments in the school for its implementation
  11. Completed timetabling training
  12. Ensured that all classes were in small groups for moderation and assisted teachers locate SGM partners where necessary
Being on 0.7 FTE load, changed how many things I could do achieve as a teacher, but the following occurred:
  1. Attended a number of school functions including the river cruise, graduation, graduation dinner and school ball
  2. Delivered the 3CD MAT class with a C grade or higher for all students
  3. Delivered the 30 strong 8A class to a national curriculum standard gaining a 60% average on their final test
  4. Worked with two difficult classes to be better able to handle mainstream class expectations with minimal BMIS implications
A favourite part of my year was watching colleagues succeed, especially those that had embraced some of my teaching philosophies during practicum and started using them in classes.  It's nice to see ideas passed on and embraced by others and be able to recommend them to positions based on what you have seen work.

Best of wishes to all during the festive season.