29th of January 2017

This is my first post for 2017 so I thought I'd give you my impression on how our semester has started.

I came back on week three of the semester after recruitment fairs in Melbourne and Bangkok. This was my first experience at events like this sitting on the recruiters side of the table. Although on different size scales, these fairs run the same way. Those teachers looking for positions in international schools register and spend up to four days trying to link up, and get interviews with the schools they are interested in. As a team of recruiters from Chatsworth, we started by presenting to the job seekers what Chatsworth looks like as a school and what we were looking for in the teachers that worked within it. This is followed by applicants spending their time trying to connect to the people they need to see, and recruiters spending their time sifting through huge numbers of prospective applications, looking for just the right people and possible mixes. Parts of the process looked like speed dating, but this quickly changed to hours of interviews followed by discussions within the team on who best suited the school's needs. It finished with many, but not all of the teachers receiving offers from schools before the fair finished. It was a slightly crazy, yet a very effective process.

I came away understanding a little more about the school we are all part of. From many of the teachers present at the fairs, we were seen as a highly desirable option, as was Singapore as a location to live. This was reflected in the large numbers at our presentations and applications that followed. Most teachers who showed an interest quoted our commitment to teaching the whole child,  and the concept that all staff, including our non teaching staff, sharing the responsibility of supporting all our students as core reasons for wanting to join us. They loved the idea of being part of a family that supported one another, something which is obviously lacking in some schools. We were very fortunate as a consequence to be able to find people who were the right fit for our school and what we prioritise. The bar was set very high and a number of capable teachers were disappointed. Some of the best were offered positions at Chatsworth, starting in the 2017/18 academic year. Later in the semester I will share with you what this means for East.

I came back to a school that was running smoothly without me which is a great position to be in. Instead of a hundred sticky notes over my desk there was a school of happy students and staff and a pile of paper that needed reading and signing, but no drama. The school was readying itself for student led conferences which were new to me. Although I have run three way conferences for many years, the concept of teachers stepping aside after scaffolding students, leaving them to lead discussions based on their learning was another big step on from this. All I can say after observing them is WOW! It is so easy to underestimate what children, especially younger children are capable of. Being able to lead and discuss with parents learning processes, successes and goals with this degree of understanding and confidence was not what I was expecting and not what I think you would find in most schools around the world. Our review afterwards found they could be further improved by providing parents with some guidance on how to make the most of these opportunities with a meeting held before the next SLCs. We would also like parents to think about taking advantage of the child care facilities we offer  during SLCs for siblings. Not having them present in the room while the SLC takes place means you are giving 100% attention and respect to the student running the SLC.

On the horizon we have our school sports day next Friday and Chinese New Year celebrations the Friday after. CCAs  and ECAs are in full swing and I  am sure the remainder of the semester will be like a sprint. I'm looking forward to it.