Utopia+School+Presentation

Emerging Leaders – Utopia School Presentation **__ Current Affairs Television Program – Four Corners?? __** (Before) "Overall I am very happy with the school - it has been great for my child's development, especially in the sporting and social aspects of her school life. But I have also been growing more aware of issues at the school via conversations with other parents and also in discussions I have had with former students. It seems that there is change afoot at Utopia, and I am a little concerned about how this might affect my child."
 * Stakeholder || Delegate ||
 * Parent – Soccer Mum/ Parent Club Representative who has been at the school for years

(During) - "I am actually happy that parents have been asked to contribute in a small way to potential changes to the vision of the school - I was able to express my concern about the changes adversely affecting the soccer program that has been so good for my daughter at Utopia - and I felt that my views were listened to."

(After) "As an active parent in the school community I can say that I am still very happy with how the school helps my child learn and grow. I do feel now that the school is in a better position to educate my child in perhaps a broader way than it was able to previously - recently I heard the phrase 'educating the whole person', and to me this is an apt description of what Utopia can now do.I also feel that an extra result of this process is that I have a better understanding of what the school is about - this has been because I was involved in consultations as a parent club representative, and also because I think the school has gotten better at articulating it's vision. || Paul || Sierre Leone Student Before: //“//  I (Mikhail) came to Australia in 2007 as a refugee from Sierra Leone. I came with my two brothers and two sisters. It took me a very long time to come to Australia. My father was in an ambush in 2006 and was killed. My mother was taken and my grandfather was killed. I was 10 when I escaped with my brothers, sisters and my aunty, uncle and two cousins.
 * Parent/Family – Migrant family, new to the school and local community

We ended up in a refugee camp. Life was very difficult for me and my family. There was no food for us to eat, nine of us lived in a two bedroom flat…we had language problems and the soldiers robbed us and beat us sometimes. We could not go to school. I learned how to weave baskets, cane chairs and tables just to make ends meet. We were scared all the time because of the constant threat from the soldiers. After a long time in the refugee camp we came to Australia. It felt very strange when we came to Australia. We were happy to be safe but scared for our friends and family back in Sierra Leone. We were lucky to all be together. We got taken to a house a very long way from the city. It was nothing like my home land. Everyone looked at us strangely. We were not there very long before we had to start school. I was very scared to start school. My cousins got sent to a different school to us. I had to look after my brothers and sisters.” During: //“When my brothers and sisters and I first came to school we had no friends. We did not know what was happening to us. We were the only one, different to all the white kids. Some kids were nice to us but most of the kids stayed away. There are lots more kids from different places at our school now. I have some friends. I don’t always hang out with my brothers and sisters anymore. I met some boys who let me kick an Australian football with them. I really like it. I have a new teacher now and she is always smiling at me. I like her. My brothers and sisters are starting to make friends. The school work here is too hard for me so I draw pictures. I like drawing pictures. Sometimes my nice lady teacher lets me draw on the big white board. I like that too”.//

After: //“I like school very much. My cousins now come to our school. We have a special lady teacher who comes to our school just to work with us. She is from Sierra Leone. She did not live near where I come from but she is a very nice lady. We talk to her about the things that we can’t tell the other teachers. She helps me to remember the good things and try to forget the bad things.//

My aunty and uncle come to our school with us after normal school times and we have lessons together. I am helping them to learn English. My aunty smiles a lot now. She did not used to smile very much. My aunty has some friends now. Some other people have come to our school from Sierra Leone. My uncle has a job now. He works at my friend Jack’s Dad’s shop. We had a festival at school last weekend where there were lots of different people from different places. There was lots of different food there and dancing. I liked these special paper roll things that my friend Anthu’s mum made. When I grow up I want to go back to Sierra Leone and try and find my mother. She would be very happy here with us.” || Cass ||
 * ====== Graduate Teacher – new to school and profession ====== ||

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(Before) As a new graduate I was excited to begin my career at Utopia. I had all these new ideas and initiatives that I had seen at uni that I couldn’t wait to try in my classroom. I started to implement some of my ideas in my grade and I guess Brian noticed my interest in profession learning as he appointed me Professional Learning team Coordinator. I thought this was going to be a great stepping stone for my career. Sadly tho I think I have taken on more than I can handle. I really don’t know the school and the teachers that well as I have only been here a short time so I really am unsure of what I should be organising. Also I really just don’t know what I am suppose to be doing. I was just given the title and left to myself, Brian is always so busy and I am not really sure who else to ask. At the moment I am feeling a little overwhelmed with it all. ======

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(During) I am starting to notice a change in the atmosphere in the school. I have had more opportunity to be part of the vision and goals of the school so I now have a better understanding of where the teachers are at and in what direction we are heading. As part of my role in Professional Learning Team Coordinator I have been given the opportunity to mentor with an experienced teacher in my school and together we have developed an overview; in collaboration with the schools strategic plan and what teachers what, of what sort of professional learning we need to do as a whole school. We realised alongside with leadership that this role is too large for just 2 teachers so we are in the process of forming a team of teachers to help undertake developing professional learning in the school. I am beginning to feel more confident in my role as a coordinator and to share my teaching practises with others. ======

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(After) I can’t believe how much I have learned in such a short time! I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as Professional Learning Coordinator and having a team of teachers to share ideas, practises and help to motivate and inspire the rest of the staff has been great. I now feel like I am part of the school. Having a mentor was invaluable as I we were able to bounce ideas of each other and also helped to steer me in the right direction. I really enjoyed a few PD’s we organised where we drew on expertise form teachers in our network and even some local members of the community! I can see all the teachers are now on the same page, have a better understanding of what is good teaching practises and are more willing to try new things. ====== I have taught at Utopia Primary School for the past twenty-one years. I feel very much a part of the school and its community. I often see my former students while shopping and am glad to hear that many are pursuing professional careers locally. This is because the school has a good academic reputation and values hard-working teachers.
 * Kellie ||
 * Experienced Teacher – has been at school and in the profession for years  Before:

During: Utopia Primary School is in a state of uncertainty in my opinion. Since the arrival of the new Leadership Team, they have not taken the time to get to know how things have been successfully run here at the school. Instead, they are trying to change everything we have worked so hard to establish. Now, instead of attracting students with potential, we are taking in students with limitations. They say that our students are at the bottom end of ‘like-school’ level and underachieving. How much can we as teacher do with children that come from disadvantaged backgrounds? I now spend most of my time disciplining and ‘parenting’ these children instead of teaching. Why are we wasting our time talking about classroom libraries, anchor charts and just-right books when these children can’t speak English? I know how to teach – just let me do my job.

After: I have been working with a Literacy Coach to improve my teaching. Initially, I spent some time observing him teach and taking notes. We then had what they call ‘debriefing’ sessions. I am now demonstrating and sharing my learning with colleagues in my Professional Learning Team. I have had to alter my planning documentation to reflect differentiated teaching and incorporated reflections. We are talking more like ‘bankers’ at the moment, as we often refer to data and trends. At the moment, the school Principal is on Study Tour in New York so we are keen to know what is happening over there. I must admit that I am definitely feeling more tired at the end of each day. || Petra ||
 * Brian – Assistant Principal

Before Well, a lot of changes are about to happen at Utopia School. Chrissie has been planning her retirement for a long time now, we all knew that when 54/11 came she would be taking the package, but I suppose I never quite thought it would happen. Chrissie is such an enigmatic presence in the school, her shoes will definitely be hard to fill.I’ve noticed over the past three or four years Chrissie has slowly started to relinquish control over some areas of the school and give me increased opportunities to take on responsibilities. She’s always closely monitored what I have done so I have always felt like she was there to solve any problems that occurred. However, I’m really excited about the prospect of being able to take more ownership over major areas of the school, and begin to make decisions based on my own knowledge and expertise. We have a great school. Chrissie has done a brilliant job and I don’t think I could do it any better. Our children and families are happy and our results are pretty good. Of course we prefer not to emphasise the data driven aspect of education and look more at the whole child – take our sporting program for example! I’m very proud to work here. It will be interesting to see what happens with the new leadership team...

During Well, things are just crazy at the moment. I can’t really get a feel for how the staff are feeling at the moment but there have been so many changes, I quite honestly wonder how they are coping with it all. As a leadership team we have had quite a few heated meetings, I guess I have felt quite confronted at times because they were asking so many questions about data and whole school plans....I thought Chrissie had it all under control but clearly there were things lacking in our whole school picture. So there have been quite a few changes...staff are working in teams to examine our student data and look at teaching to the point of need for all students. We are also starting to look at e5 as well. As a leadership team and as a whole staff we have been looking at strategic planning at almost every meeting. It is quite arduous but we seem to be making progress. I’ve heard rumblings from some staff but others seem genuinely enthused to have ownership over this process.My major focus has been looking at Professional Learning plans for staff. I’ve visited other schools and have seen a much more formal and focused process than what we had. I have developed plans and have been meeting with staff individually for this. I had no idea what some people were interesting in pursuing so this has been a very enlightening process!It all seems like a lot more work than it used to be. At times I feel frustrated and miss having Chrissie around to make decisions, I wonder what she would think of all of these changes!

After I am so excited, have you seen our latest results? Our students are improving in literacy and numeracy, and that’s ALL students. The teachers are working so hard but there is such a good vibe in the school. Everyone is seeing results and it is inspiring them to continue along the path of shared planning using e5, and regularly assessing for learning. It has been a real shift in classroom practice and we have a long way to go but with these early results, it is spurring us on to achieve even better.I feel a lot more positive about working with the leadership team, we work really well together and have divided up the responsibilities amicably. We are trying to be a real presence in the classrooms and the school community. I have been able to send many staff to professional learning opportunities and they have been bringing back exciting new teaching techniques to the school.On top of all of that our enrolments for next year are up on next year. It really feels like a brand new school! I think Chrissie would be really proud if she could see it now. || Karen ||
 * School Councillor

(Before) Chrissie, the principal, was the one who initially encouraged me to nominate for a position on the School Council. I was unsure at first, but she was so supportive and positive, I thought 'Why not?' My children have happily attended Utopia School for several years now and they particularly enjoy the sports program. A couple of the other mums and I have always been quite active in parent working parties, so going for one of the parent positions on the School Council seemed like a logical thing to do. Chrissie and her staff are fantastic! She works incredibly hard to promote the school and to develop its links within the wider community. The staff put in long hours and are always involved in one extra-curricular activity or another., but I think the students benefit from this. One area that concerns me though, is the enrolment figures. The nearby housing estate has grown rapidly, yet the School's student numbers are continuing to fall. I don't think enough is being done to find out why this is.

(During) There is certainly a different feel to the School since the arrival of the new Leadership team. They seem to know the direction they want to take the school in, but from first impressions, they are trying to get as much input from all sections of the school community. I see them talking to the students all the time. Not because they're in trouble and are being told off, but just to get to know them. The Council meetings since the new team has joined, have been quite different. Even though there are quite a few Council members who aren't on the school staff, they still wanted to hear our views on various issues! I'm looking forward to what happens next. (After) The whole feeling around the school has changed. There is a real buzz in the air, not just from the staff, but from the students. A variety of visual and performing arts electives, lunch-time groups and an enrichment program have all been introduced. The students had input into these new programs and the time that it took to survey, collate and interpret the data, then develop and implement these programs, has definitely been worth it. The results from our recent 'Attitudes to School' survey from both parents and students, indicate a significant increase in the areas of student engagement and connectedness. This is also shown by stable enrolment figures for next year. I'm sure these will continue to improve.The School Strategic Plan is due for review later this year. The Leadership team have already advertised for expressions of interest from members of the school community to become involved in working parties and participate in this process. I think this will encourage new families to become involved in their school, as well as those who may have previously felt that there was no point in putting their hands up, as it was always the same people who got on the committees. || Megan || (Before) "Utopia is a fabulous school. Our kids are fantastic andour student achievement is high. As I teacher I am extremely proud of the hard work of our team and this truly shows in our results. We have great sporting facilities and our students are all actively engaged within the sporting program. We produce sport stars who go on to make state teams in a range of sports. Our reputation in the community speaks volumes with many kids coming to our school to further develop their skills. When it comes to sports days all staff pitch in and parents are always willing to help."
 * Specialist Teacher – Sport/P.E

(During) - "As a PE teacher I dont see how all this talk about data and improvement is relevant to me. Kids in our school do well enough, staff work hard to make sure students are on task. I trust our leadership team to make the right decisions for our school, I think they have done a pretty good job and all this extra work, seems exactly what it is, extra work."(After) "Well the teachers, parents and leadership team seem happy so there has been a positive change within the school. Our parents always helped out at sports events and now they get to have a say on what happens at school too, so they are definetaly happy. My program hasn't changed, my students are still doing well and kids that dont go on to state teams still come to PE and they learn the basics. Sometimes I need to keep quiet in staff meetings but I still feel like saying, well how does this all affect me?" || Cameron || Before: //“Hi my name is Anna Howard and I have been teaching Art here at Not-Utopia School for the past 6 years. When I first came here the principal seemed really nice. She seemed to know what was going on and said that there was a really good art program already running at the school that she would like to see me continue. The first couple of year I ran the program it was easy. I didn’t have to think. The kids knew what to do before I did in some cases. They knew what you make in every year level as if it was the only way things could happen.//
 * Specialist Teacher – Art/Performing Arts

After a few years I started to suggest changes but was constantly fobbed off. I gave up after a while. My budget has got to the point where it is only enough to buy very basic materials. I’m at the point where I don’t care. Don’t get me wrong I love the kids but these days I come to work and do what I have to and get out of here”.

During: //“It’s great I am finally able to buy supplies for my art classroom that don’t just include kinder squares and clag. I gave up years ago trying to change the art program but now the new leadership team seem to be listening. At the moment everyone is feeling really good and positive. It will be interesting to see what happens though. There have been times before when the staff have got on a positive wave of energy but its then fallen in a heap. Hopefully this time will be different”.// After://”I haven’t felt this positive about work in my 25 years of teaching. I have all these wonderfully artistic people from our community now helping me and we have an amazing art program. The school has never looked this good. There is art work in every classroom and on every available space. The kids are producing amazing pieces of work. We now have regular school expos and at everyone the biggest hit is the student art exhibition.//

I didn’t realise that all this time there were some very talented people in our community. Since we’ve had na injection of culture and of energy it’s brought the whole community together. My job is huge now and I have been employed an extra day a week to be able to get it all done. I now work 4 days instead of 3 so that I can coordinate parent helpers, organise and sort all of the amazing materials that turn up through donations, plan wonderful lessons and work with the Utopia Community Arts Team (UCAT). A couple of years ago I thought I’d be easing my way into retirement by now but what I’ve decided to do is take some long service leave and go overseas.

Working with all these amazing people from different cultures has inspired me. I want to go and explore different cultures and experience what I can and have a break but I also will be looking for inspiration for future art classes here at Utopia. The Leadership Team has been so supportive and they’ve let me take Term 3 off and then I’ll be back for Term 4. As much as I can’t wait to go and have my holiday what I am equally excited about is coming back. I never thought I’d be able to say that...it’s crazy but it’s true!” || Cass || (Before) "The use of school data at Utopia is of concern to the region. The region's improvement strategy has a core focus on using student data to drive teaching and learning. Further data should inform professional learning within the school. It is a worry that the School's strategic plan developed some time again, has not been updated and does not have multiple sources of input, in particular the use of data. Many new schools have been custom built for 21 century learning, many schools are changing their physical layout to cater for this learning yet Utopia has not moved with the times."
 * Regional Network Representative

(During) - "It is pleasing to see the new leadership team at Utopia work with the region to help turn this school around. In the past there has been no use of data and we are excited to see the principal source the schools data to provide a baseline for improvement."(After) "Utopia is a case study for the region to highlight struggling schools can turn it around. Despite past low parent opinions of the school, the school has continually improved perceptions and satisfaction of the school. It is also imperitive that the school continues to seek improvement and it has been made clear to us by the current principal that Utopia will not rest on its laurels. There is a proud feeling from all those within the school and we look forward to continue to see the growth of this school over the next few years." || Cameron ||
 * School Bursar/Business Manager – Maxine (Before) I enjoy my job, I have a great relationship with the Chrissie the principal and i am very proud of our surplus due to my careful financial planning. I like to keep hold of the purse strings so to speak. I am the person everyone has to come to and I decide whether it is worth spending money on it. It may sounds harsh but i know where every cent in the school goes.

(During) I am not so sure about this shift in the way I am expected to work. I am having to give some of my control over to the leadership team who are carefully looking at what we are spending money on and where it could be better spent. I have heard rumours they are using analysis of the Strategic Plan and the AIP to ensure resources are allocated fairly and to point of need. I am expected to report to School Council on what money is being spent where.

(After) After a period of re-adjustment I can see that my skills are better being utilized in ensuring that financial detail are kept up to date and this is being reported to school council, principal class and leadership. I have been given extra responsibilities such as managing the CRT's which enables me to still be part of the school community. I now don't feel overburdened by the complete responsibility of all the finances and that it is more of a collective responsibility.

OR

(After) I realised the direction the school wanted to go with the business manager did not fit well with me. I decided to find another school who better suited my skill set. || Kellie || ​(Before) School’s always been pretty fun, I love sport, mostly soccer and have heaps of friends on the soccer team. We had a lot of new kids come to the school lately, I don’t know them really but I bet they know me! My team always get to get up in assembly. I don’t really worry too much about school work cause my dreams to be a professional soccer player.
 * Student A – ‘Joe Bloggs’ who has been at the school for a long time

(During) Last week was pretty cool. My teacher decided that we should do this work on ‘Celebrating Cultures’. I don’t really know why. We have to make some sort of presentation and if we want we can share it at a big whole school Cultural day. I had no idea what I was going to do but thought it sounded like fun so went home and told mum and dad all about it. We decided my presentation could be about aussie rules footy and how my street have a bbq every grand final day and we watch the game together! I’ll have to work out how I’ll present it, I might even get some of the guys to join me to make a group.

(After) So the massive cultural day was awesome! I organised a huge footy game with the guys and even some of the parents and teachers wanted to play. Then Dad ran a bbq. I made this massive poster about the day and the principal hung it outside their office, She said it was an excellent piece of work and it should be shown off! What was the best is that I have made a couple of really good friends. One’s Michael and he’s from overseas. He ran this funny dance where we all ended up in a twist and fell over laughing, he’s really cool. Then Ayushi made all this beautiful food, heaps of other kids did too and their parents helped out. I ate so much, we are going to hang out on the weekend, I hope there’s more food! || Alice || (Before) When I started out in prep and in my first few years at school I was really happy. I have never found school work hard and have always got really good results. Over the past few years I can’t really be bothered listening most of the time because I am so bored. The work is so easy and I don’t really think I need to be at school and it’s hard listening to the teacher go on about stuff I already get. Then I always finish my work before everyone else and there’s nothing to do. It was a bit sad last year when some of my best friends went to the local private school. I miss them a lot.
 * Student B – Truant/High Achiever

(During) We got to do this survey the other day that the teachers and parents had to do also. I liked that we get to have a say about what we think works well in our school and even give some ideas on how it could be improved. Then we had a whole class discussion about it and I think our teacher really listened.

(After) Lately I have been working on maths problems and investigations with other kids in the class. They’re pretty tough! I really like listening to the other kids and how they have worked it out and I get to talk about what I think as well. I’m pretty excited about next week. We are going to present our findings to some of the grade sixes on the interactive whiteboard. We are going to make a movie or power point to show them the whole investigation! I have to get to school early tomorrow so that our teacher can help us out a bit before school! || Alice || (Before) I don’t really fit in anywhere at this school. I always thought sport was Ok but I never get into any of the teams and no one seems to think I’m any good so I don’t even play at lunch anymore. I’d prefer to play my guitar anyway. I find school work pretty hard. Often I just stare at the sheets and don’t really know what to do. When I ask the person next to me for help I just get in trouble so I don’t ask for help anymore. I just seem to be in trouble all the time lately. I’m always sitting outside the office. The principal told mum that I would be better suited to the school down the road but she thinks I should stay here where other kids in the street are.
 * Student C – Naughty child

(During) We got a new principal the other day. She’s pretty nice because when I go to the office she always listens to my side of the story. She helped me to write some goals and I have to work hard to achieve them each fortnight. It’s hard, but they help me a bit. A cool thing that happened was that the divider between my class and the one next door got moved. Now we do lots of work with kids and the teacher in the other grade and we seem to move round heaps more. I find it easier to concentrate if I’m moving around a bit rather than sitting at my desk.

(After) I wrote a song on my guitar and played it at music. Then I was asked to play it at assembly. I felt so sick but I did it and it was great because my mum was standing at the back and afterwards she was just smiling and smiling at me. She told me she was really proud and lots of the other kids didn’t even know I was good at guitar. The best bit was that I got to make up a song in English the other day instead of writing a boring poem and my teacher said it was good! || Alice || Hi, my name is Julie. I am the kindergarten teacher at Sunshine Road Preschool. Most of our children enrol at Utopia Primary School because it is only down the road. We have seen a shift in families coming from middle-class backgrounds to more recently coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. I translate notices to meet the needs of non-English speaking families and find that parents like to be involved where they can e.g. working bees. I recently read in the local paper that Ms Chrissie had retired. I think she was good at promoting the school but it puzzled me as to why she never took me up on my offer of creating better links between pre-school and school settings.
 * Kindergarten Representative  Before:

During: The children are currently enjoying their visits to Utopia Primary School as part of the orientation program. I have met with the Prep Teachers on several occasions as we try to implement the Transition: A Positive Start to School initiative. They were very helpful with feedback on the type of information they would find useful in the Learning and Development Framework statements that I am about to begin writing. Last year, I got no feedback from the school as to whether they found my reports useful.

After: The children are looking forward to beginning school. I was recently invited to attend a parent information session held at Utopia Primary School by the Prep Teachers and was impressed with the presentation on school readiness. The Principal has invited parents to become active participants in the development of school policies and is keen to know more about parent anxieties and concerns – so has distributed a survey for parents. My children know who their Prep teacher will be for next year and have received a personal letter with their teacher’s photo. The teachers have been extremely responsive to my requests on the Learning and Development Statements to speak with them about particular children. I feel at ease that the children will be well catered for next year. || Petra || (Before) "We welcome students from Utopia. They perform well at regional and state sports carnivals. They also seem to be good kids".(After) "We have always welcomed students from Utopia. Students from Utopia come well prepared for secondary education and achieve success in the classroom and on the sporting fields". || Robin || <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Chrissie I have every faith in Brian. Now that the amalgamation process is complete and the building and refurbishment program is finalized, I can now leave knowing my job here is done. The school will be in Brian’s capable hands. I will not be a stranger. I have promised to attend our highly successful school fete and Regional Sports Day. Activities like these make our school what it is. Very successful indeed. Chrissie I hate meetings for the sake of meetings. Staff have too much on their plate already. There is always plenty to do with the fete, the drama production and sports events. I believe teachers should get on with their teaching without interference from lengthy meetings and needless discussions about drama productions and staffrooms. Any spare time should be spent on activities that lift community perceptions of the school. Staff meetings focus on items that are important to the school. A quick meeting is a good one. If we finish early, well then that’s a bonus. Chrissie My legacy at Utopia would have to include ICT. Communication has improved in the school ten-fold. The school has an excellent website. All teachers have laptops and we have purchased interactive whiteboards to support teachers in the classroom. I thought it important that we invested money on providing staff with PD on IT training. Chrissie Fiscal spending - The school has a considerable surplus, largely due to careful financial management. Well run staff meetings – A short meeting is a good meeting Promoting union membership – The majority of staff are AEU members Succession planning – I have prepared Brian well for his new role. He is an excellent school leader Performance Review – I have always aimed to focus our discussions on what really matters for teachers; classroom management and organizational issues. Fostering Community Support - Community perceptions of the school are positive.
 * Secondary School Representative
 * Principal

New PrincipalI am excited about the direction of education. The school is using data to inform teaching and learning and is implementing VELS and E5. While data has been generated and shared, it is also being used to drive strategic planning and is referred to cynically across all levels of the school.As staff are at different levels in applying E5 methodologies in their classroom, all staff including specialists, graduates, accomplished, expert and Leading Teachers, have been encouraged to include an E5 school goal in their Performance Development Plan. The performance and development review process ensures that all staff are working on improved learning outcomes for students, meeting the school’s Annual Implementation Plan and Strategic Plan. || Robin || (Before) It's a little daunting to enter an established school that needs a lot of work. I'm very aware of the staff's resistance to change, meaning we (the leaderhip team) have to be very cautious of how we approach the first few weeks at Utopia. It' so important that the entire taff feel they are being heard and have a special role to play in our steps forward. We will have to develop a whole staff vision before we go any further. We all have to be on the same page and have a clear direction of where we are taking this school.
 * Leading Teachers

I do believe that the teachers have a great deal of expertise and skill, it's really important for us to harness that and use each person's individual skills and talents. They clearly have the best intentions when it comes to thier kids, however, they don't seem to be supporting them academically; this will be one of our big focuses, we need to get this school into the 21st century with new frameworks and curriculum. It will be interesting to see the reactions the staff will have towards us. This could go one of two ways.

(During) I have been pleasantly surprised by the level of support staff have offered us. Initially there was some reservation from the staff, however, once they realised that we weren't coming in to take over and change everything they were very receptive. They seemed to really enjoy having an imput in the direction of the school and i believe we came up with a very strong whole school goal and vision. I have also noticed a large change in the way in which staff respond to each other. Previously there was a strong split between the staff who moved over in the amalgamation and the exhisiting staff, however, by sitting down together and coming up with a shared goal, they've realised that they are working towards a common goal and established a real bond.

The students seem happier and truancy rates support this. Teachers are feeling empowered and postive, taking that attitude into the classroom and building the whole school morale. From here, we move towards writing a new Annual Implementation Plan and Strategic Plan, in order to improve our school's practice and bringing us into the 21st century. We are planning to conduct a whole school survey, gaining the insight of parents, students and the wider community, to enable us to see where our strengths and weaknesses are.(After) It has been a long 12 months, but extremely rewarding. We have established a shared vision, set up new frameworks and are working as a whole to improve our wonderful school. Staff have been extremely supportive. A few members have recently retired, making way for new and fresh blood to join our team. Our previously conducted survey results were not all positive. The community saw us an outdated and fading school but did acknowledge our excellence in the sporting field. Parents were concerned about thier children's academic ability when comparing them to students from other local schools and some migrant parents felt disconnected from the school community. Students results have improved slightly, however, we still have a long way to go. This is just the beginning of our process, however, with our new frameworks and policies i have no doubt that if you came back to speak to us in 1 years time, we will be able to share some incredible achievements with you. || Clarissa || Things to consider when exploring/explaining the journey of each stakeholder: - Who are they? What links or association do they have with the school? - How long have they been associated with the school? - What contact have they had with the leadership team? - What changes (positive or negative) do they recognise have happened or are happening at Utopia School? - What challenges has the school faced and continues to face? - How do the changes/practises happening at Utopia School impact on the students? Are the students at the core of all thinking? - It might be worth looking at the 16 different questions posed by Glen Pearsall and consider how the ‘new practises’ are influencing outcomes for all stakeholders. - How does the stakeholder get their information? What do they use to form their own judgements? What is important to the stakeholder? Cheers, Cass

child in sport program parent actively involvedcommunity eventsconcern about enrolment || l’ship ask for input from communitydiscussion w/students || buzz in the air electives lunchtime activities enrichment program student input into programs survey/create/collate/interpret data which has led to new programsattitudes to school survey parent & student increase in engagement & connectednessstable enrolment || doesn’t worry about school worknew children have come to the school who he doesn’t know very wellsports teams are celebrated in assembly || Celebrating Cultures work sharing and celebrating diversity at a big whole school Cultural Dayengaged and excited about doing thisgroup work || made a couple of new friendsvalued and appreciated their differences || lately tunes out – borednot challengedsad because some of his friends left to go the local private schools || did a student surveyliked having that involvement and having inputfelt that the teacher listened || being challenged enjoying working with other groups of students and sharing approaches excited and engaged about learning has opportunity to share and celebrate learning with othersarrive to school early to work with teacherinteractive whiteboard – technology || enjoys sports, but not really good enough for school teams lost interest enjoys music finds school work hard, doesn’t get support work is usually sheets getting into trouble, chatting to students asking for help, now doesn’t ask for help at allalways sitting outside the officeparents were told he would be better suited to the school down the road || got a new female principal always listens to him and values his side of the storyset goals togetherdivider between the classroom has been removed, now works with different students in various groups and settings || music skills were celebrated at assembly felt a sense of achievementother children were aware of his talents and were able to celebrate themwas engaged in class when he could draw on that skill || opportunities are there for developing school culture data not being used to inform teaching excited about direction of education shared vision is lacking Network initiatives e5 and VELS not being implemented Performance development plans are informal and not used effectively.student outcomes are a concernannual implementation whole school plan/strategic plan do not target true needs. || excited about direction of education uses data to inform teaching talks about shared vision talks about strategic planning applying e5 Performance development plan.improved learning outcomesannual implementation whole school plan/strategic plan. || Feeling very excited about direction of education network is praising the results and changes in the school. data is now being used much more effectively to inform teaching shared vision has been and staff/whole school community are on board and involved in the process. e5 and VELS are being used in planning. Performance development process has been formalised and all staff are participating.staff have collaborative price for improved learning outcomesannual implementation whole school plan/strategic plan goals are being achieved. || Entire staff are heard Staff play a special role Whole staff vision Clear directionBest intentions but little academic supportNeed for new framework and curriculum || Initially some reservation from the staff but later very receptive Enjoyed having input in the direction Strong whole school goal and vision Change in staff in the way that they respond to each other Higher staff morale Happier studentsLess truancyEmpowered and positive teachers || New goal, new frameworks Supportive staff Retired staff – leaving room for fresh blood Whole school survey and analysis of dataStudent results have improved slightlyAIP and Strategic Plan have been introduced || Region want student data to drive teaching and learning Further data should inform professional learningOutdated strategic planNot moving with the times || Leadership team working with regionPrincipal sourcing data to provide a base-line || Parent perceptions and satisfaction improved Continual improvement soughtStaff and students proudgrowth || Given up attitude Budget slashedDon’t care attitudeApathetic attitude about role and kids || Feeling more valued Resources invested Able to do real things in art More people are listeningEveryone is feeling positiveStaff still a bit cautious || School is exposed Never felt better about my jobCommunity helpersKids are doing amazing things || No parents (1 killed, 1 missing) – w/ brothers, sisters, auntie, uncle, cousins severe trauma Feel disconnected to Australia, community & school no friendsschool full of white kidsnot supported || more students from different cultural backgrounds more friends ‘Aussie’ friends & cultural awareness new teacher who student likeswork too hard but draws picturesteacher trying to connect w/student || likes school very much all family @ school – school supports refugee families outside expert visits to support students students getting support re: welfare & learning family connected to school after school English language lessons parents connecting through school community connectedness – refugee uncle got job through schoolmulticultural festival @ schoolfeel connected to school & community ||
 * //DAY FOUR UPDATE - Wednesday 9th June//**
 * //Below is the information that we started to collate today so that next time we meet, we can cross reference and create links for our 'documentary'. Cheers, Cass.//**
 * ** Stakeholder ** || ** Before ** || ** During ** || ** After ** ||
 * School Councillor || happy
 * Student A – Joe Bloggs – Sports star || popular – soccer team
 * Student B – Truant/High Achiever || school has never been difficult, always got good results
 * Student C – Naughty || doesn’t fit in
 * New Principal || frustrated
 * Parent / soccer mum || Happy with current sit’n, “floating” alongaware of changes coming via backchannelsconcerned about change affecting child || Happy with forumsable to contributefelt that they were listened to. || Increased understanding of the schools vision via better school communication and parent groups. ||
 * PE teacher || In own bubble, feels student achievement is great, teachers work hard and the results are there (in sport).Happy with current sit’n.Comments on Lship team?!?? || Pessimistic, not willing to move with change/reluctant, does not value school data as a way to measure quality.L’ship team do a good job || Everyone else seems happy parents seem more involved in whole school activitiessport still is going great.Still in own bubble, but some awareness of change for the good in other departments of the school. ||
 * Leading Teachers || Resistance to change
 * Regional Network Representative || School data a concern to region
 * Art Teacher || Suggested change and was knocked back
 * Migrant student, new to the school and local community || back story – refugee from Sierra Leone
 * Graduate Teacher – new to school and profession ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Experienced Teacher – has been at school and in the profession for years ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Brian – Assistant Principal ||  ||   ||   ||
 * School Bursar/Business Manager – Maxine ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Kindergarten Representative ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Secondary School Representative ||  ||   ||   ||