11 August 2023

President’s Report

APPA Conference Wrap Up

Last week marked the first Australian Primary Principal’s Association conference held in Tasmania since 2015 and based on early feedback from those in attendance, it provided a great balance of professional and networking opportunities that were thoroughly enjoyed by those in attendance! It’s important that we recognise the 12 months of planning and preparation that goes in to facilitating an event of this magnitude and on behalf of TPA, we’d like to express our appreciation to the APPA conference planning committee, of which TPA were represented by Sally Millbourne, Tamara Clark and Ted Barrance.

A number of the presenters indicated that their slide decks would be made available post-conference, and these are currently being collated by Conference Design to be disseminated to those in attendance.

There were many highlights and ‘takeaways’ that have been swimming around in my head following the conference!

Justin Castrission’s opening keynote showed the grit, persistence and limits that the human mind can take the body to. But as he and his travel partner Jonesy found on the 89th day of their world record attempt for an unassisted return ski trip to the South Pole, a Norwegian solo explorer undertaking the same journey graciously waited for them with a few kilometres to go. James highlighted that we are ‘better together’ and we can see the parallels that collegiality in the principalship can provide (without the blisters and frostbite!).

Optimism could be considered a predisposition for any educator and school leader and that was so palpable from the conversations and reflections shared during, and post conference as colleagues talked about taking on new learnings, changing some old habits and adopting new ones, or even making some personal commitments to invest in themselves. An optimistic leader not only envisions a brighter future but also inspires others to believe in the transformative power of learning. This disposition fosters an environment where challenges are seen as opportunities, setbacks as stepping stones, and each student’s (and staff members!) potential as boundless. A number of speakers picked up these themes and the possibilities that come from being conscious of how we lead ourselves.

A number of speakers referenced Simon Breakspear’s presentation of the ‘pruning principle’ essentially seeing the art of subtraction within school and improvement planning as a strategy to improve outcomes.

Simon led the audience through a broad definition of pruning, and how this may apply to education:
A regular, intentional subtraction process designed to stimulate long term robustness, growth and health. This preventative measure redirects energy and resources, bolstering overall vitality and fruit bearing potential while fortifying structural integrity. It is an artful balance of subtraction and preservation.

This was then underpinned with knowing why to prune, being to redirect energy and resources, stimulate new growth and reshaping for long term structural integrity. Knowing what to cut, then becomes critical. It provided a great metaphor that many principals will take back to their schools and consider how it can be applied to their personal ways of working or the initiatives/strategies of the school.

Dr Michael Carr Gregg also shared habits/traits that we should attempt to shift – the comparatively low levels of help seeking by educators and school leaders which he described as the ‘elephant in the room’. As an Association, we can see ourselves in this work through a commitment in our recent Strategic Plan with the inclusion of ‘Support & Care’ as a set of key practices. We encourage you to participate in opportunities to engage in your Association, whether it is through our ‘Drop in Sessions’, face to face networking, making contact with your peers/organising a collegial catchup or contributing to discussions where TPA can advocate on behalf of the principalship. It simply isn’t acceptable that this number is so low compared to the general public, let’s shift this by continuing the discussion about principal and school leader wellbeing.

It was wonderful to have a number of our TPA sponsors present at the national conference. All of our Tasmanian members were able to personally connect with our supporters and discuss the range of services and products that they have available to Tasmanian school leaders.

TPA Sponsors at APPA

Welcome New Members

A warm welcome to our new members Shannon Goodwin, Principal, Sassafras Primary School, Tom Murray, Principal, Reece High School, Shane Cleaver, Principal, Hellyer College, Tim Nicholas, Principal, Montrose Bay High School and Jane King, Principal, Port Sorell Primary School.

National School Reform Agreement

Australian Government Primary Principals (AGPPA) and Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA) have both made comprehensive submissions last week to the request for contributions made by the Federal Government. As all Tasmanian Principals Association members are also members of AGPPA or ASPA, we can be very assured of the well-considered depth of information, insights and recommendations that both of these submission have provided that speak to the issues that our principals and school leaders know so well. Tasmanian principals, educators and parents had also been encouraged to complete web based surveys (as provided in previous newsletters) as part of this information gathering process that will be used as part of the NSRA deliberations.  

AITSL ‘Voices of the Profession’

Through our affiliation with ASPA, AITSL have put requests out for principals to be involved in this initiative with case studies, interviews etc that highlight the diverse contexts where our principals lead and support their school communities. It would be terrific to have some Tasmanian perspectives – if you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact president@tpa.org.au

Sports Excellence Scholarship Fund

Many principals, teachers and families would be unaware that the SESF is available to Tasmanian school aged students as a mechanism to support their participation in representative competitions in their chosen sport. In a meeting with the SESF National Principal’s Advisory Committee earlier this week, we could see that Tasmanian applications make up a comparatively small percentage of the nationwide applications to date. We’d ask that you raise awareness in your schools and particularly with your HPE teams so more Tasmanians are making the most of this opportunity.

ICP Newsletter

As affiliates of the International Confederation of Principals, there are a suite of resources, research and updates of their work available in the most recent newsletter

TRB

An update on actions the TRB has taken as a result of the teachers’ survey conducted last year.  The TRB are committed to listening, acting on feedback, and engaging more with their patrons to enhance their services and streamline procedures. TPA have an active role on the LAT stakeholder group as well as partnering with other initiatives that the TPA and TRB share responsibilities with.

Mat Grining
President

TPA – Platinum Sponsors

The World Languages Forum

The World Languages Forum is a FREE online conference designed to encourage learning, discussion and debate around how we can preserve our world languages, promote language learning and celebrate cultural diversity.
The engaging interactive programme includes a mix of keynote speakers, panel discussions and presentations with Q&As.
For more information please see link to register here: 

Hosted by TPA Platinum Sponsor Education Perfect

National Associations

Australian Secondary Principals Association

Longitudinal Food and Nutrition related Health and Wellbeing Investigation in Secondary Teachers

Calling all Secondary School Teachers to be part of a new research study, that looks at the important contribution of food and nutrition to the health and wellbeing of our secondary school teachers.

The study is being conducted by a team from the University of Newcastle and it is supported by the Teachers' Health Foundation. It involves volunteer secondary teachers completing one questionnaire at four different times, from September 2023 through to June 2024. 

Participant recruitment is now open until 29.08.2023 with the first questionnaire distributed in September 2023.  

Professional Learning

 Be You Postvention Planning Workshop

invite you to our ‘Start small dream big’ information session on 6 September, Please register via this link.

ZING ACTIV

ZING ACTIV formally known as Dance Fever – Premium provider for schools in Dance, Gymnastics, Athletics, Wellbeing, Skipping, Team Sports, Sports Carnivals, Rewards Day, Fun Days, School Discos, Graduations, Colour Runs. To learn more visit 

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

‘Start small dream big’ information session on 6 September, Please register via this link.

We are looking forward to supporting more schools in beautiful Tasmania, and providing them with the opportunity to connect and create a supportive community of practice.

We look forward to hopefully hosting you at our ‘Start Small, Dream Big’ Information session in September.

Happy Kitchen Gardening!

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TPA Sponsors

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