Schools That Deliver 4 years on; a day to share and celebrate progress & successes

In a 'school that delivers', the principal carries the vision, sensitivities, and skill sets of cultural change and creates the conditions in which teachers become the leaders of instruction and students become the leaders of the future (Edwards, J. and Martin, B., 2016, p.xiii). You can read more about a school that delivers where students become the leaders of the future in a blogpost from 2017 at this link.

On a Monday in May, our staff came together for a professional learning day with the Schools That Deliver facilitators Mary and Lab Wilson. The day was about learning, sharing and celebrating our achievements. 

As I prepare to finish at St Patrick's and take up a new role supporting and growing the leadership capability at several schools, I feel a genuine sense of pride in the self motivated actions of the staff at St Patrick's. The staff are all leaders in their own right and with the support of their colleagues in the three faith teams: Faith and Community; Faith and Curriculum; Faith, Wellbeing and Diversity; teachers are engaging and motivating their students to become the leaders of the future.

Here is a reflection from the facilitators...

The team at St Patricks have been on a journey since 2018 to realise a shared vision that was created with listening respectfully to every voice. Through the last four years the team has stayed focused and developed aligned actions to deliver on their vision ensuring they stop regularly, review actions and their impact. From this point new actions have been developed and the journey continued. This has required strong focused leadership and time to deepen community trust and involvement. Alongside these actions has been the building of leadership capacity and capability school wide focusing on how to use their faith in all they do. This was achieved by all staff belonging to one of three teams ( Faith & Community, Faith & Curriculum, Faith, Diversity & Wellbeing). Last week the three teams presented their achievements to date, the data that has informed these actions and suggested next steps. We were blown away with the passion, depth and enthusiasm. The excitement, ownership and pride of what they have achieved was clearly evident. This showed how much each of them was invested in the process. Their ability to articulate what they had done, why they are doing it and the impact it had was outstanding. There was clear evidence of growth in them all.

 Mary & Lab Wilson May 2022

Here is some feedback from the staff...

• As I was a staff member when the Schools That Deliver initiative was started at St Patrick’s it was so great to see all our progress over the years and celebrate our achievements. Notably how the core values which we came up with as a staff are so ingrained with all members of our school community. It was a really valuable day that allowed us to look back at how much we have done to move our school forward in a positive manner. The development of our school vision was such a wonderful process and I feel like all our voices were heard.“The knowledge is in the room” is a quote that I have taken away from the professional learning days as we all have so much to offer and a certain expertise that we can delve into it.“Less is more” We need to take our time and do things well. 

• The day gave us an opportunity to share all of our hard work, and celebrate all the teams’ efforts. It's interesting to see where we started from and all the positive things we have achieved. I like the development of our vision and how we using our vision as our guide. Our vision is a working document that can be changed to suit our school.

• Presenting to the staff helped me reflect on what we have achieved. Sometimes I feel like we haven’t achieved much as a team because it’s not always visible, but the process of collating everything and sharing it with the staff, as well as the feedback received, helped to reinforce what we have done this semester and where we are headed.

• It was good to be able to present our team’s work. It was a great opportunity to reflect on all the hard work put in by every team... It was positive to come together as a staff and own the shared vision.

Below is a synopsis of the work of our 3 teams and a summary of their presentations to colleagues. 

The Faith and Community Team share their presentation

The Faith and Curriculum Team share their presentation

The Faith, Wellbeing and Diversity Team share their presentation

Here is a reflection from an impartial observer who visited St Patrick's on the day.

Dear Jenny,

It was an honour and privilege to be an observer at St. Patrick's, as you and the staff participated in a day of Professional Learning on Schools That Deliver - an internationally renowned initiative that St.Patrick's commenced four years ago.

From the moment I arrived I felt very welcome at St. Patrick's. Sincere thanks to all staff of St. Patrick's.

Listening and seeing the presentations of the three teams, Faith and Community, Faith and Curriculum, Faith, Diversity and Wellbeing, sent such powerful messages. The passion and commitment of each team was clearly evident as they shared what they have done and are doing; their goals, achievements, actions, community involvement, the ongoing growth of the pedagogical expertise of staff, building relationships, developing a safe and positive learning environment and so much more. 

The whole time I was at St. Patrick's I also saw and felt what I had read on the school's website, that "Catholic identity underpins all we do."

Throughout the day I was so aware of the active engagement and participation of each person in the room. The enthusiasm, the trust shown in sharing their experiences and ideas and the alignment evident in what they are doing; their goals and openness in moving forward and building on their learning as they continue to transform the research and practice based ideas and strategies of Schools That Deliver into action so constructively as they move closer to their shared vision.

Congratulations on all that St. Patrick's is doing.

Sincerely,
Karin Morrison May 2022

In a 'school that delivers', the principal carries the vision, sensitivities, and skill sets of cultural change and creates the conditions in which teachers become the leaders of instruction and students become the leaders of the future (Edwards, J. and Martin, B., 2016, p.xiii). 

I leave St Patrick's assured that the teachers are the leaders of instruction. The staff are self motivated and they are creating the conditions for the students to become the leaders of the future.

The new principal of St Patrick's will receive the vision as a gift from the staff and together with the staff will ensure that all learners will continue to be engaged and motivated learners always faithful to a loving God and ....Learners will leave St Patrick's ready to make a positive impact on their world.

Acknowledgements:
Mary & Lab Wilson from BATS Your vision your future

Karen Morrison Observer & colleague of John Edwards

The passionate and enthusiastic leaders and staff of St Patrick's for permission to share their photos, presentations and stories and be part of their incredible journey for the last 6 years.

Are you aspiring to be authentic teachers and leaders ?

Authenticity is something we should all be aspiring towards. It is summed up very well in this leadership definition from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_leadership

How do we promote openness in our workplace and build honest relationships with everyone we are connected too ?
I was privileged to be able to present a seminar with Lorraine Francis Rees (Principal of St Joseph's, Pleasant Point) at the recent Catholic Convention in Wellington. Although the presentation is based around authentic Catholic leadership, much of the content is applicable to all teachers and leaders aspiring towards authenticity.
Lorraine and I planned the synopsis for the presentation in 2014 when Lorraine was Deputy Principal at our school in Oamaru. 

Lorraine started her her new principalship eight weeks ago. Yet we still managed to make time to meet and prepare our presentation. Special thanks to Anne Pratt, the principal of St Patrick's school, Waimate (half way between Oamaru and Pleasant Point) for letting us use her office for one of our planning sessions.
Initially sixty-five people had registered to attend our seminar. On the day, our venue filled to about one hundred attendees.
Here is the google presentation. Just click on the arrows and you should be able to view the slides. There are some You Tube videos embedded as well. 
This presentation encompasses as much as we could fit within our sixty minute timeframe. It is just a taster of what happens at St Joseph's in Oamaru. For those of you wanting more detail, I have shared my notes from a selection of the slides below.




Slide 1: Aspiring towards authentic Catholic leadership. This presentation brings together our understandings based on our practice and studies as leaders in our Catholic system focussed on Christ centred growth. Our studies have made us reflect deeply on our authenticity as leaders in Catholic schools. Pope Francis says,“I am a living mission”, so are we. We are Jesus’ hands, mouths and feet in our Catholic schools. We must WALK the TALK and bring the scripture to life through our everyday actions and relationships.Good leaders helps build vibrant faith communities that help build the Kingdom of God by using Jesus as the ultimate model of leadership.

Slide 2:

It's our responsibility to keep Christ at the centre, we need to hold on to the Holy Spirit that is within our hearts. As Catholic leaders we work within the framework of :
Bible - Message from Vatican synod 2008…Bring the joy of the gospel into the lives of families.….so that parents and children read it, pray with it….listen with love and faith.
Handbook for Catholic Integrated Schools - our legal requirements and integration agreements.
Catholic Review Indicators - “...that the Catholic character is protected and promoted” - continual self-review (eg. refers to restorative practices for behavioural management ).
The Catholic Education of School Age Children - The introduction from the bishops “indispensable reference point… highlights challenges for all of us...".
No-one else in our schools will be checking these documents - it is our responsibility as leaders to bring them to life and work within their framework, keeping Christ at the centre.

Slide 3:

We must also have a 'growth mindset' towards our Catholicity and develop our theological knowledge and spiritual leadership skills
We have high expectations of success for our learners, we must be role models and set the same high standards for ourselves as part of our commitment as educators in Catholic schools.
This requires strong Catholic leadership and is especially challenging when New Zealand is one of the most secular countries in the world. A vital part of a Catholic principal’s ministry is to ensure that there are potentially qualified future Catholic leaders nurtured in an environment that truly reflects the church’s mission (Swanson, 2012).

 Slide 4 - 8 Images of Jesus the perfect role model for aspiring leaders.

Slide 9:

Active evangelisation is the essence of what we are called to do, as an “out-reaching church”. It is a sacred responsibility explicit in the purpose of our Catholic Schools. It is a task that is both richly rewarding and demanding. It is about “planting seeds”, recognising opportunities, nurturing possibilities, transforming lives, rekindling fervour and the privilege of “walking with” as we each journey in our human quest for wholeness.
In the day to day today busyness and business, we must come back to our Christ-centred framework. We must continually push ourselves out of our comfort zones within our faith.
Make a sacred space, create the silence to let go and let God in.

Slide 10:

We need to “connect to the minds, hearts and souls (spirits) of others” (Duignan, 2008).
Walking into school in week eleven of a term after a ten week sabbatical, I connected with the end of term tiredness, stress and busyness. It was time to calm the seas. I gave staff a sabbatical space from all meetings in Term 2, 2014. I wanted staff to feel the passion, enthusiasm, engagement and creativity that I discovered during my sabbatical. I wanted to expose the gifts and talents of students, staff and whanau. Allowing space and time for these to flourish, lead to innovation.
Lorraine wrote in an article we published in the Aoraki magazine, “From what has happened on our sabbatical so far, the religious sense of creating a holy space for renewal is now so much stronger. Not only have we rested but it feels like we have re-connected with our source – God, the Holy Spirit, inspiring us”.

Slide 11:

Our charter curriculum goal developed from every child in 2011 to encompass every learner (staff and parents) in 2012 and included engagement in DEEP learning (2014) as well as a reminder to embrace our Catholic Faith (2015). We need to live our vision. How do we bring deep engagement in learning alive through Religious Education (RE) and our Catholic
faith ?

Slides 12-14: Student driven open-ended curriculum, effective pedagogy and SOLO taxonomy used in RE.

Slide 15:

Going OPEN - We are open to sharing with other schools. This is a way for outreach. I learnt about going open during my sabbatical through reading "Open, how we will work, live and learn in the future" by David Price. I have written several reviews of chapters from this book on my blog. We are OPEN. There is total transparency with no hidden agendas. This enables us to reach out and connect with the school and wider community. We model transparency through our own actions as leaders with our own blogs, videos and prezis. If we expect our students to engage in these modes of learning then we must be prepared to do the same. We connect with our community in ways that reflect our goal to engage in deep learning for success.

Slide 16:

The teaching and learning site is our one stop public teaching and learning site. Everyone has access to everything connected to learning at St Joseph's. We are truly open. Teachers have their weekly planning on the site by 5pm on a Sunday ready for the new week. Families can access weekly goals and prepare for the week.

Slide 21:

We are also OPEN to our own personal faith development. We created a sacred space for personal and spiritual growth and development. In Term 2, 2015 in response to staff study needs we postponed staff meetings. We gave staff time to work on their RE study papers as well as gave them RE Study Time (REST). They have one day release per paper to enable quality time towards completing their assessment and to recognise their existing workload. We must continually push ourselves out of our comfort zones within our own faith development. "Good leadership develops and transforms those who are being led " (Swanson 2012).

Slide 22: Images of inclusivity. Slide 23: Parish Involvement

Slide 24: Learner agency - students and staff designed engaging learning spaces. Family Learning huis - families are immersed in an informal, social environment to engage with modern learning practices.

Slide 25: Images of an authentic leader in action today - Pope Francis. Acknowledgement goes to Christopher M. Branson, Professor of Educational Leadership Faculty of Education University of Waikato Hamilton New Zealand for use of these images from EDLE 641 Values and Leadership.

Slide 26: Final slide was a reflection - John 15:12-17 Love one another as I love you.
Extra slides-
Slides 27-31: Links to SOLO, e-learning, inquiry links modern pedagogy and RE
Slide 32:

A video that explains how the students have agency and collaborate. This was part of a presentation by the Year 8 students to St Kevin's College high school staff.






Slide 33: Links to parent education and agency examples. A video sharing engagement in deep learning as students share their learning with the community.

Authentic leaders create transparent, trusting environments where everyone is supported to share their gifts and talents and shine.

 
In our Catholic schools, this happens within the sacred space of an agentic, inclusive and collaborative culture with Christ at the centre of all that we do.