Weekly Focus  

Week: 7^th – 11^th September, 2015

I like the way you participated and made fruitful suggestions in the meeting of Friday 4^th September.  I look forward to your continued positivity.

As we begin a new term, I hope you share my sense of excitement, rejuvenation, and anticipation of what will be a tremendous term of growth for us staff and our students.

Let me share some characteristics exhibited by very good teachers (as cited by Traina, 1999) in the article titled “What Makes a Good Teacher?”  They are as follows: -

Command of subject matter. Effective teachers know their subject matter inside and out.  In addition they convey a love of, and passion for, their subject matter.

Caring deeply about each student and about that student’s accomplishment and growth. Effective teachers take time to consider each student as an individual and unique learner.  They take the time and make the effort to get to know about each student.

Distinctive character Effective teachers are vigorous in their approach and they add a special flavour and zeal to their instruction that creates a memorable impression on their students.

What makes a good school according to Manna 1999 is a feeling.  A feeling shared by the entire staff that their school is special.  The feeling that their school really belongs to them.

All teachers enter the field of education for a noble purpose: to make a difference in the lives of young people. Nothing you do for the students is ever wasted.  You hold the keys for the students; unlock their hearts and their minds.  Our students are watching us and learning from us with the walls of our classrooms and beyond.  Therefore be firm, be fair, be consistent, and use good judgement.

I am excited to see you all in action applying rigour in the classroom and modelling bell-to-bell teaching and learning.  I also crave to see a growth mind-set rather than a fixed mind-set on the part of everyone for better success.  The strategies from John Hattie’s ‘effect sizes’ (you have a copy) are a good way to have influence on student learning.

Have a great week