14 October

  • For this Week
  • Senior Leadership Conference
  • Observable Impact Cycle
  • Early Years Connect - October issue
  • In-school Therapy Services 
  • Professional Reflection & Development (PRD)
  • Staff Calendar

Good morning everyone. I hope you've had an enjoyable and relaxing break. 

Firstly, the admin team managed to replace all K1 name badges; the K2s are still underway; please bear with us. 🙏🏼


For this Week

No staff meeting this week

Friday: Speech therapist, Imogen Dean, joins Teacher CP; Jackie Strang (TCK PYPC)


Senior Leadership Conference

Thank you to everyone for your support during our absence at the senior leadership conference. The event focused on creating an environment where everyone can thrive, emphasising Empowering Leadership and Embracing Change. 

Some key takeaways for me included:

  • Culture and Co-Creation
  • Empowerment
  • The importance of being curious and engaging with diverse perspectives
  • Balancing decision-making with creating conditions for effective decisions


Hillside was invited (on the day) to share our journey as one of the pilot "deep dive" schools adopting the Observable Impact framework. We shared that it was our first attempt to work through the cycle, and we might not get it right the first time, but it's ok. It'll take a couple of tries, just like making our first-ever pancakes. I appreciate your dedication and commitment to this process, and I am confident our collaborative efforts will lead to meaningful improvements in our teaching and learning practices.


Click here to read more about the conference. Thank you once again for your hard work and support!


Observable Impact Cycle

As we embark on the first cycle of the DIOD process within our Observable Impact Framework, I want to outline the next steps as we progress from the design stage to implementation. At our last staff meeting, you identified a class team focus to work on/ trial/ learn more about. This selected goal will serve as the class team's teaching and learning objective as part of our PRD.


To delve deeper into this chosen goal and ensure a shared understanding. Can we please take 15-20 minutes with each teacher this week for a focused discussion to talk through the following. I'll check in on Monday to find a mutual time.

  • How are Student 1, Educator 1, and Task 1 interconnected with this goal?
  • How does this goal contribute to personalisation within the classroom setting?
  • Does this goal pass the tests of a teenager, civilian, and new teacher in terms of relevance and effectiveness?
  • How do you plan to document and track progress towards this goal effectively?


We aim to identify a main focus for each team to work on for the rest of this term. We will schedule progress checks for November and a reflective session and celebration on the last day of this term in December to acknowledge our achievements and set the tone for the next cycle.


Early Years Connect - October issue

This issue centers around the Chapters Early Years conference as we explore:

  • Paradoxes between play and school - why is there tension between the two?
  • How documentation declares our gaze on children, learning & teaching
  • Many more resources the amazing presenters left for us!

Check out the October issue here.


In-school Therapy Services 

With PTCs coming up, please find attached an overview of the parent-funded therapy services available this year at Hillside. 


We are pleased to inform you that all therapy screening forms are now available online, making the process more accessible for parents. If you need assistance with organising any parent meetings or have questions regarding the therapy services overview, please don't hesitate to reach out.


Therapy Dog Social Groups

Therapy dog social groups provide a nurturing environment that fosters social communication and emotional development, helping students build connections and enhance their interpersonal skills. Please feel free to share RiseWise dog therapy flyer with any parents you feel may be interested. 


Depending on the interest we can organise the social group at lunchtime in-between sessions. 


Professional Reflection & Development (PRD)

As outlined above, our professional learning/development will continue throughout the school year by engaging with the Observable Impact framework.

Here are a few questions to frame our PRD check-in discussions:

  • Teaching and learning focus (Observable Impact) 
  • How are you prioritising your well-being?
  • What are some ways to support collaboration and community growth?


Teachers, please use this link to schedule a check-in session with me any time before the end of November https://calendly.com/audrey-tang  

EAs, we will set a date in November to arrange cover throughout the day as we have done in the past. However, please feel free to reach out sooner if you have any pressing questions or concerns. You do not need to wait for a formal PRD session to share concerns or provide feedback.

Upcoming Dates
Please check our internal calendar below. We might forget to remind everyone of odd dates. We will continue to add events as soon as they're confirmed. Here's the full 2024/25 Calendar.

Thank you!