Reporting periods for many school staff are a time of tension and stress, where tempers are tested and a good night’s sleep becomes a distant memory. Instead of dreading its approach and using weak coping strategies like counting down the days till the holidays, try planning early (read, super-early – like, now!) to make reporting…
Planning a Quality Parent Information Session
Maintaining a solid connection with parents is critical to ensuring a happy school environment and at the beginning of the year it is particularly important that a culture of high expectations, support, warmth and openness is established. Time and energy invested in this area also eases pressure on school staff later on because trusting parents…
Effective Meetings
Schools are busy places, filled with busy people. Often there is too much to do and not enough time. It is therefore essential that available time is well utilised. We have all attended meetings that have been a frustrating waste of time. Some of them have been meetings that we have led. Meetings that are…
How Can the Pareto Principle Help?
Working in schools, there is always a lot to be done and never enough time. Time is a valuable commodity. The Pareto Principle can be helpful in ensuring we utilise our time well. Whilst you might not have heard of it as the Pareto Principle, the 80 / 20 rule, as it is more commonly…
6 Things Productive People Do Every Day
Schools can be crazy busy places. The most common response you hear when you ask someone who works in a school, how they are, is busy! However, there is a fine line between being busy and being productive. Here are six tips from international best-selling author Tim Ferriss. Establish Your Morning Routine Research shows how…
Getting Feedback From Your Students
Getting feedback from your students can help identify where you should focus your attention to improve your practice. If what you are doing in the classroom is not working from the student’s perspective, then making some changes is likely to be beneficial (for them AND for you). If students are disengaged, for whatever reason, they…
10 Keys to Happier Living
Working in schools can sometimes feel as though we are running on a never-ending treadmill, constantly in pursuit of the lifestyle we aspire to. At times it can feel like our work is not appreciated. The website ActionForHappiness.org provides the following guidance on 10 keys to happier living. Awareness – Taking time to switch off…
Look After Your Health
Working in schools can be demanding for a number of reasons. Working with people can be stressful because at times they can be unpredictable. We never quite know what is going on in somebody else’s world. Whether we work in the school office, tuckshop, library, classroom or other area of the school, we can at…
4 Stress Busting Tools
What’s Important? We all lead busy lives and despite our character traits, our dominant brain hemisphere’s and our ability to handle pressure, we ALL suffer stress in some form or other at different times. If you feel as though you are becoming overwhelmed from a work perspective – STOP! No, we don’t expect you to down…
Are You Envious of Tilers? (or other tradies)
Before I start, I have a confession to make….I am a reality TV junkie! Married At First Sight, Seven Year Switch, My Kitchen Rules etc. I watch them religiously…but only for “research” purposes. My favourite TV show is “The Block”. I never miss an episode. Through this ‘research’, I have come to the conclusion that…