An End

Today my Year 12 English students did their exam. Boy am I glad! For the last week and a half my studious Year 12s (and I don't include the whole class in that definition) have been making appointments, writing essays, asking questions and getting prepared the best they can for their exam. Whilst any teacher is more than happy to spend time with those who are putting in the effort and who want extra help, this is a taxing time. I have not had a free period in over a week, and due to the fact that half of my job is administration, things have been piling up. This afternoon was the first joyous free afternoon I have had in what feels like an eternity and my jelly-like brain has switched off well and truly. I am also excited that there is a four day weekend coming up because if I am a good little teacher and do all of my correction (3class sets worth of essays) then I will come back to school next week refreshed, with no work hanging over me and with a three day week ahead. Just the thought of it soothes my aching bones. If I am a bad little teacher however (which is entirely possible given my ability to be extremely unmotivated at times when it comes to correction) then that will be what consumes my entire week next week, a fate I don't really want to condemn myself too.
This is the part of the year that is exciting for me. The time when I get to look forward, identify my goals and targets for next year and start planning and working to bring them to fruition. This is the time of the year when I start to feel like I am really getting things done. The challenge though is to keep the momentum going and to get my teams working towards next year too. I have tried to start early, to set up teams of people to work on particular tasks and hopefully if I can keep them motivated and united we might get a result that doesn't involve me doing all the work. I'm proud of my BYTES team actually because I put out an urgent email this week for them to come up with report comments for their BYTES modules and within a day they had all responded. Due to the fact that I was dealing with Year 12s this whole week, the fact that I didn't have to chase anyone and that the comments were all of a decent quality was fantastic.
Anyway- I'm packing up so that I can leave ASAP after the bell goes. Tonight I am going to have a nice long bath with a nice long book!

Reflection on the Women in Leadership course

Many times I have been meaning to sit down and actually reflect on this course as a whole and what it has given me, but I haven't made the time, until now. This year I made a decision to PD myself crazy. I wanted to improve my skills and capabilities in leadership in particular because this is an area that I am increasingly moving into, and I think that I still have a lot to learn about people management and creating a team environment. So I found this three day, women in Leadership course and got involved. The beauty of this course was that we did two days, then were sent off with homework and reflection time, as well as two-like-minded mentors/peers to keep us on track. Here is what I gained:

• Two new friendships and many more new contacts
• A knowledge of how to deal with the teams you work with and how to manage difficult situations
• Practical activities and procedures for implementing change/promoting teamwork and creating a group vision
• A better understanding of what I value in the leaders around me and the type of leader I want to be
• A Vision of Leadership

Here is how I have implemented the knowledge so far:

• Used a Y chart and some negotiating skills with my Year 11 class to get them all on the same page and better control their behaviour.
• Began working with the BYTES team using the same methods to get them on the same page before we move forward with planning for next year.
• Helped the school rewrite its vision and values statement and come up with core values
• Reached out to form better relationships with managment and peers in the workplace.
• Taken time to really listen to everyone that comes to my door.
• Been proactive in seeking out advice about my position for next year.
• Rethought my priorities and motivations.

Here is what I am hoping to achieve by the end of the year:

• A cohesive BYTES team with a vision for the future and a strategy to get there
• A survivor team (the Year 8 program)
• New curriculum ideas and initiatives for BYTES and Survivor
• A better leadership structure within the programs under my charge
• A large role in the Year 7 redevelopment
• A role in the leadership of change in our school

I think that the leadership course really gave me the foundations to start moving forward with my positions at school. I think it is one of the most valuable forms of professional development that I have done so far in my career but I think there is still so much work to be done.

Holiday Revitalisation

I am horribly slack with this blog. I realised it has been way too long since I have written. Sometimes I think that I have to know what I am going to write about before I start and that there has to be a purpose. If I am going to get better at blogging more regularly, then this thought process will have to stop. I have had an eventful, yet restful holiday so far. I spent the first weekend in Brisbane, bridesmaid dress shopping for my best friend's wedding and we managed to get shoes too which is a bonus. Since then I have read 4 novels, spent two days doing activities (jewellery making and cooking) with my mum's day care children, have been for a walk almost every second day (I need to get the wedding exercise program back in gear - I'm hoping the extra daylight from daylight savings will help me there) I have finished Year 12 SAC correction and have spent two afternoons at school working on a curriculum team structure with my AP. I have done two budget request forms for two of my programs for next year which is something I haven't had to do before so I am glad that is out of the way. I have caught up with some friends, visited my cousin and her new baby and just these last two days I feel like I am starting to relax.
Term 4 should be interesting. Things will really begin to be fleshed out with our new Year 7 structure and hopefully the positions and structure for next year too. There are so many things at the school at the moment that are uncertain so it will be interesting to see how things fall into place. I am excited about the potential new challenges for me next year. I'm not sure how certain things will pan out but I do know for sure that in May I am getting married and then going to Europe for 5-6 weeks which will be amazing. This may impact on my teaching responsibilities though, because 6 weeks is a long time to be missing Year 12s. I think if I am involved in running curriculum initiatives in the junior school then it makes sense that I take Year 7 again and perhaps Year 9 (still not so keen on Year 8s!). I have also been teaching Year 11s for 5 years so I am happy if I have a bit of a change if necessary. It is always at this time of the year that I start looking to next year and thinking about what is necessary to forward plan and what the best way is to start getting things done.
Before the end of the holidays I would love to get my Year 11 correction done but I also have some homework to do from the BYTES program so that I am ready for next staff meeting.
My new term resolution is to write more - lets see how that goes!