The real value of school holidays
As we find ourselves on the cusp of another term break, after what will be a loooooong 11 week term, I’m mindful of the tremendous value these periods hold for our students (and for our teachers!). It’s a time for us to recharge our batteries, explore new interests, and perhaps even embark on a journey…
The value of feedback for learning
I recently addressed my School’s High School Assembly on the value of feedback. Specifically, I discussed the types of feedback that students receive at school, and why that feedback is important for them to pay attention to in their learning: “This term is a big term for feedback. You will be getting feedback in a…
The Complex Task of Working with Others (and Yourself)
This article was first published in Leadership Ed, Issue 14, Term 1, 2021 under the title, Learning to listen: the importance of empathy in leadership. In a busy school setting, having the ability and willingness to be present and listen, to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, can be a powerful tool in meeting that person’s needs, and…
The power of feedback
This article was first published in Leadership Ed, Issue 13, Term 4, 2020 under the title, Performance feedback: how school leaders can harness the challenge and opportunity. As senior leaders in schools, we are often tasked with delivering feedback to our colleagues. More often than not, from the deputy’s desk, we are required to provide feedback to staff…
Digital transformation: teacher professional learning during COVID-19
This article was first published in Leadership Ed, Issue 12, Term 3, 2020 under the title, Embracing the new normal. The months seem to have flown by since Australian schools were compelled by force majeure to find new ways to deliver teaching and learning to our almost four million school-aged students, essentially overnight. The shift from face-to-face teaching…
More than…
Our job is never just teaching our subject. It is always more than that. Today, my Year 8 Music class, early on in a unit on the traditional music of Torres Strait Islander and Australian Aboriginal people, erupted into an energised debate amongst students on cultural appropriation. Passionate views were voiced on what it is…
Keeping pace in a rapidly changing world
This article was first published in Leadership Ed, Issue 10, Term 1, 2020 under the title, Designing for change. As educational leaders, we are likely to agree that we have a responsibility to prepare our students for their future place in the world, through the school education we provide. We might also agree that the…
Plumbing the depths of resilience
This article was first published in Leadership Ed, Issue 11, Term 2, 2020 under the title, Plumbing the depths of resilience: how school leaders have navigated the unthinkable. The past months have been unlike any other time we’ve known as school leaders. The strategic pivot has become the norm as we have guided our schools…
A (Socially Distanced) Tourist In My Own City: Camp Cove & Watson’s Bay
More than a week has passed since my most recent scheduled tourist day. Global pandemic aside, my fortnightly day of long service leave still saw me with the day off, eight days ago. Little did I know that 48 hours later my school would transition to a predominantly learning-at-home, working-from-home environment, and that the need…
A Tourist In My Own City: Museum of Sydney
The rain cleared this morning for my fortnightly hometown excursion, this time a short outing to the Museum of Sydney. It might have been the most beautiful city in the world. But instead of being planned it just happened. Arnold Haskell, 1940 With Sydney Living Museums member gold card in hand, it is free entry…
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Adam Majsay 