The School Corridor Tatler

I always look forward to the reflection meeting with the four primary school principals - Lavinia Davis (Square Hill), Cassy Dick (Steenberg), Noel Isaacs (Floreat) and Lameez Rabbaney (Prince George). This foursome has been partners in this mentoring network that was established about three years ago. They have showed that professional learning networks can be a deep support network, IF you are prepared to invest in the partnership. In short, when you work with your peers, you have a pool of resources a phone call away. And, if you have a Cassy in the network, be forewarned: you will be phoned, e-mailed or picked up so that you know the group cares and cannot function well without you and your gifts. The comraderie that prevails and the mix of diverse personalities are part of the success of this professional learning network. Humour and sharp wit are also present in bucket loads here. Even I become the target of many a flippant comment. Like yesterday. "When I infor...

School leaders are always looking for interesting, meaningful ways to do professional development with their staffs. Having a mini film/ Youtube festival is a wonderful idea that you can explore if you have not held one yet. Create the scene by having large bowls of popcorn and juice. You can even print out customised cinema tickets and hand these out to your staff members. Select clips that will make up an hour or ninety minutes of viewing time. The breaks between the video screenings create ideal body breaks or quick exchanges about the message of the clip viewed .   Choose two or three video clips based on a theme to create a sense of cohesion. You may want people to share insights they have gained from the films after the festival. Get ideas from your staff on how you can host a film festival for the team. As a start, you may use these three video clips as part of your movie day.   I have selected three video clips to represent the theme: "Shiny Eyes. The theme has been i...

First, The journey of Maths teachers of three schools on the Cape Flats Aarnout Brombacher and the teachers reflecting on the term Three of our primary schools - Harmony Primary, Steenberg Primary and Prince George Primary - are in a sponsored Maths coaching programme with Brombacher and Associates. The focus is on Foundation Maths teaching. Learners are being taught number sense by learning to count, manipulate, problem-solve and practise. These schools meet once a term with Brombacher to reflect on the successes and challenges they are experiencing. Today was one of those reflection meetings. The teachers are excited because they are having more fun teaching and their learners are learning better and faster. The teachers were lyrical about the coaches linked to them. Muriel from Harmony Primary School raved about the phenomenal strides many of her learners have made in the past six months and expressed the ambivalence she experienced. " Many of my children have impro...