It's been seven months since Catherine Glover took the helm as principal at Kiama High School. As a new principal, Glover says she has a lot to learn about the school and the region, a task made easier by a warm welcome from staff, students and the community.
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"Every school has its own unique context which drives extra-curricular activities and to some extent curriculum offerings," Glover says. "I am enjoying the sea-change."
In addition to the day-to-day challenges of running a large school, new principals are required to undertake continuing professional development and learning. Glover says she is currently working through the required leadership and management credential training, which consists of 18 online modules designed to support school leaders in meeting key accountabilities in regard to departmental policies, processes and procedures.
"This is a new requirement which highlights the breadth of skills required to manage a large, comprehensive school such as Kiama High School," she says.
With the opportunity to make her mark at the school, Glover says her passion and key focus will continue to be on teaching and learning.
"I'm excited to introduce professional learning in 2018 to embed a culture of thinking based on research done at Harvard Graduate School of Education," she says. "I want staff and students to actively promote visible thinking and value it as an integral part of our learning culture."
As part of a school-wide review of technology use, a dedicated team will be building a strategy to provide enhanced opportunities for student-centred learning. Staff will have access to professional learning workshops to develop their technology skills and create resources to further support programming especially relevant for the new HSC syllabuses being introduced in 2018.
"Year 12 students have already embraced the introduction of Edrolo, a cutting-edge online platform, providing resources with curriculum-focused video lessons, exam practice and study planning tools to support improved learning outcomes," Glover says.
Glover says that by December she will know she was successful in her first year if she has gained a deep understanding of the needs of the school community moving into the future.
"I will base my decision on self-reflection and consider amongst other things the development of effective professional relationships that I have established with staff and student leaders, parents and the wider community to create a robust school plan which will provide clear direction for the next three years," she says.
smh.com.au
