CELEBRATING TEACHERS AND SCHOOL STAFF

This Friday, October 26 is being celebrated as World Teachers’ Day. Northern Territory teachers and school support staff will be recognised and thanked at functions in Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and at smaller centres around the NT. Individual schools, their students and communities will also celebrate their teachers and school support staff. This is well deserved.

Teachers and school staff members have enormous responsibilities. High-level expectations are held for them. Teachers are people responsible for a great deal that goes beyond the academics of teaching and learning. They are advisors, counsellors and friends, responsible for social, emotional and moral aspects of development in young people. They share a real partnership with parents and primary caregivers in the nurturing of this world’s most precious resource – our children.

Dispelling Myths

There are two everlasting myths about teaching that need to be dispelled.

The first is that teachers work a six hour day, five days a week, for forty weeks each year. The amount of time teachers spend “on tasks” over and above that time means the public is only aware of the “tip of the iceberg”. Hours of additional planning and preparation go into teaching. Instruction is followed by assessment, upon which revision and extension programs are based.

The second myth is that teachers focus only on academics. Although the “3Rs” are very important there is a great deal more to the development of children other than ‘Reading, Writing and Arithmetic’.

The aim of school educators is to work with parents to develop well rounded students. Young people need both confidence and skill to master the challenges they will face. Sincere educators offer children the chance to succeed, by growing up to become confident, competent adults.

Recognising Northern Territory Teachers

The Northern Territory Government, the Department of Education, Catholic Schools and the Northern Territory Independent Schools Association’s will recognise teachers and school support workers for the contribution they make to our community. Teachers unions and professional associations also appreciate teachers and school staff members. This once a year celebration recognises the effort, care and commitment teachers and staff bring to work every day.

Celebrations on Friday will enable the NT community to appreciate teachers, support staff and others connected with education across the length and breadth of the Territory. This recognition is richly deserved.

There can be no greater or more significant work than what is done by staff in our schools. The destiny of our children and young people of today, the leaders of tomorrow’s world, is largely in their hands.

Thank you all for your good work, your care and empathy, the blessings you bring to the lives of our students and for the way in which you enrich our community.

This was published in the NT Sun on October 2 2018

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS ARE LEADERS IN WAITING

Assistant Principals, a key group within school leadership teams, celebrated their day on September 25. The day was one encouraging AP’s to leave behind their normal duties and meet for the day at the Michael Long Centre in Darwin.

NT Principals Association President Elect Britany Roestenburg invited Assistant Principals to this day of learning, refreshment and celebration. She wrote this was “an opportunity for you to connect with your colleagues and other experts to enhance your skills, explore current trends and research and celebrate your successes.” The day long event was followed by networking opportunities at the Darwin Surf Club.

The Assistant Principals in our schools are leaders-in-waiting – or should be. Many have been in the NT for years. Their experience generally includes time as classroom and Senior Teachers before they earn Assistant Principal status. We need to appreciate and value the contribution of these long term educators.

It stands to reason that some Assistant Principals may feel unappreciated and undervalued, a feeling sometimes exacerbated by the promotions system.

In order to evolve and grow, systems need a leadership mix that includes both external and internal appointments.
The percentage of external appointments to Principal positions in our schools has been at a high level in recent years. This limits promotional opportunities for Assistant Principals.

History confirms that some of those appointed as Principals from interstate are quite temporary. They leave after several years, often returning to the states from which they were recruited.

The appointment of Principals from interstate may deny leadership opportunities for those who have come up through the ranks within the NT from leadership opportunities. That dampens the morale of the homegrown Territory educational workforce.

Long term territory educators understand our educational system and people. They build up substantial relationships with parents, students and the communities within which they work. This develops trust, understanding and confidence.

When external appointments are made, Assistant Principals with aspirations to the next level of school leadership are overlooked and can become deflated.

If Assistant Principal positions are not vacated by a local promotion, career pathways available to Senior Teachers are also blocked.

Experience at each promotional level is important, but if career pathways are choked off, the teaching dream can sour.
This is especially the case when advertisements inviting young people to consider teaching in the Northern Territory suggest it is a career with opportunities for advancement.

Our schools deserve leadership that melds interstate and homegrown leaders. Selection has to be a question of balance and Assistant Principals should not be ‘the overlooked class’.

The Tournament of Minds (ToMs) is an annual event. It engages participating schools and students in the Territory and around Australia. In more recent times, overseas countries have joined, giving TOM’s an increasingly international flavour.

2018 TOM’s A TERRITORY CELEBRATION

“Tournament of Minds is an opportunity for students with a passion for learning and problem solving to demonstrate their skills and talents in an exciting, vibrant and public way.” (TOM’s website)

TOM’s encourages teamwork and sharing of responsibility. Teams are required to work together on a Long Term Challenge for six weeks prior to the finals without assistance from teachers, parents or peers

The 2018 NT Tournament of Minds (TOM’s)major Regional Final was held at Charles Darwin University on September 1. Seventy four (74) teams from 27 primary and secondary schools participated. Teams of up to seven students, tackled open-ended challenges in Language Literature, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), The Arts and Social Sciences. An earlier final was held for schools in the Katherine Region.

On the day of the final, students present their solution, the product of their long term challenge to a panel of judges and an audience of parents and visitors. They have ten minutes in which to present. They are offered feedback by the judges and scored against assessment criteria.

The teams also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge. Teams have four minutes to discuss a problem read to them when entering the room. They then have ten minutes to construct and present their solution.

This year’s school winners and runner up honours follow.

Primary Language Literature:

Winner: Nakara Primary Team 3. Honours: Parap Primary (More Than Words)

Secondary Language Literature:
Winner: Essington Middle (The Magoos). Honours: Darwin Middle (Courts White)

Primary STEM:
Winner: Parap Primary (Gelida Impexis). Honours: Leanyer Primary (Marine Mega Minds)

Secondary STEM:
Winner: Essington Middle (Molardapoid). Honours: Darwin Middle (Rebecca Pan)

Primary Arts:
Winner: Parap Primary (Fusion). Honours: Essington Primary (7 Mads)

Secondary Arts:
Winner: Essington Middle (Time Warp). Honours: Good Shepherd Lutheran (Shruggers of Time)

Primary Social Sciences:
Winner: Anula Primary (Snappaturtlesoures!!!). Honours: Nakara Primary (Team 2)

Secondary Social Sciences:
Winner: Darwin Middle (Erin Shannon). Honours: Essington (Roths Moths)

St Paul’s Catholic School earned the ‘Spirit of Tournament’ Award.

The 2018 International TOM’s Final is being hosted by the NT. It will be held in Darwin at the CDU on 12 and 13 October. Teams from around Australia will be joined by those coming from New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.

This will be an outstanding event.



Published in the NT Sun in September 2018