The School Corridor Tatler

Hello, there. I am SUPER thrilled to have met you via my blog, School Corridor Tatler. Let me tell you a bit about myself and the corridors I   pass through most of the time. Our family with the youngsters and their partners. MY ROOTS CORRIDOR I am Proudly South African and I have lived all my life in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Cape Town. Our signature personality is that we are a vibrant, sometimes noisy lot and we adore making others feel ridiculously welcome when they visit our country and city. I have a wonderful family who can drive me crazy ( or, is it the other way round?).   My husband, Basil and our three children remind me that life is a precious gift, that there is nothing like the joys of family and that relationships are complex and necessary. We love to create family moments and camping runs in our blood. Knowing that God is my rock and looking out for me give me great delight and reassurance that I am here to live life ...

Crafting a relevant CV is hard work. You will have to spend hours brainstorming and rewriting your CV a few times until your CV is a crisp, accurate profile of your knowledge and skills sets for the jobs you want.   I have seen many poor CVs of teachers who apply for Senior Management positions at schools. Many of these CVs reflect that not much thought was given to the relevance and the impact of the CV, especially in the area where the applicant has to demonstrate his (her) knowledge and experience in relation to the job requirements. Most of the applicants fill their CVs with fancy words and lists of experiences that are meaningless for the specific job. In short, there is more fluff than substance.   Elements of a good CV Your CV is your sales pitch. It is your ‘voice’ that will engage with the Selection committee who will decide if you are worthy of that sought after interview. Your CV should be job specific. Tailor your CV to match the job requir...

Today we are going to show you how to create your web-based curriculum vitae on the Western Cape Education Department's e-recruitment website. Are you ready? When was the last time you updated your curriculum vitae? Now that the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has its e-recruitment system, you can finally have your own web-based curriculum vitae. Because your curriculum vitae (CV) is stored on the E-recruitment portal, you will be spared many headaches trying to revise your personal profile. You can update your skills, experience and knowledge regularly. And should that desired post become available online, you will be ready to press the 'send' button in a flash. Many teachers may argue that they don't need a relevant CV because they are happy in the post or at the post level they currently occupy.  I can think of three reasons why you should have a CV or a personal profile. Three benefits of creating your own web-based curriculum vitae. 1.     ...

Do you need to sharpen your job application skills or do you just want to update that old curriculum vitae that has lost its edge?  Well, you are at the right place to help you lift your career search. I have written a blog series on JOB APPLICATION SMARTS . These guidelines will  help you to create your web-based curriculum vitae and be ultra ready to face that job interview. The themes of the Job Applications smarts are as follows: Reflecting on the type of school leaders we need to transform schools. This post explores the need for transformational school leaders. Far too many Heads of school are still driven by rules and regulations. When aspiring teachers apply for senior management positions at schools, it is critical that they understand the critical role they need to play as social change agents.  Creating and uploading your web-based curriculum vitae on the WCEDs e-recruitment website. You are given step-by-step guidelines on how ...

A welcoming tone is set creatively by Teacher Karen Hamman at St Mary's R.C. Primary School Round table discussions with teachers about their trade secrets. Presently, I am having interesting discussions with schools and SMTs about the magic happening in their high performing classes.  The first school I engaged was Sibelius High School that is situated in the Steenberg area. We wanted to know how certain teachers like Mr Reading, the Mathematical Literacy subject teacher, for example was able to achieve 100% pass rate and good quality passes in the 2014 NSC 2014 examination. What were the successful teachers doing differently in their classrooms? Here are 10 trade secrets of how to transform your class into a high performing class, straight form the mouths of successful teachers at this school. Ten teaching trade secrets  1.   "It's all about your attitude. You have to change your personality before you go into the class. First prepare yourself and the...