Principal's Report

If no mistake you have made, but losing you are. A different game you should play.

Yoda, Jedi Master 896BBY-4ABY

Welcome to the Week 3 Term Three newsletter.

The standard you walk past is the standard you accept

This is a statement first made by General David Hurley, now the Governor-General of Australia, when he was the Chief of the Defence Force. It was subsequently made famous by Lieutenant General David Morrison when he tackled very publicly and head-on entrenched sexism in the Australian Armed forces. Why do I bring this up? In the last newsletter I argued the case not just for change but for ongoing and systematic change at our school. This notion is predicated at heart on the notion that we can always be doing better. We can all learn harder. Increasingly, we live in a world that looks for overly simplistic solutions to often complex problems - which is not to say that sometimes a simple solution isn't actually the solution - but in general this is not the case.

Schools in every sense of the word should and do reflect the communities in which they sit; we have a responsibility to instil and promote the values that collectively our society believes in and also educate your children, our students, on thinking deeply about the world they live in and the world they will live in.

Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, Poet (1874-1963)

The very essence of developing a school and by default a community that sets itself high standards is for everyone to behave with common decency and civility. Civility is the act of showing regard for others by being polite, like the civility you showed in speaking kindly to someone who has hurt your feelings. Civility comes from the Latin word civilis, meaning 'relating to public life, befitting a citizen,' in other words, being friendly and nice to everyone. It could be argued that common decency is therefore just the act of being civil.

In schools we often refer to the whole notion of 'standards' from a deficit perspective as the 'Dead dog principle'. Not a very pleasant reference I know but one that refers to the standard that all walk past and pretend that they don't see. It is up to all of us to uphold the standards that collectively we agree we stand for. Here at Uralla Central School this is perhaps best encapsulated by our belief that Uralla men and women should 'Stand tall and Walk proud!'

Far too often individuals let themselves and the rest of us down by not adhering to that simple principle - am I standing tall? Am I walking proud?

What are our expectations?

For me 'Stand tall, Walk proud!' covers it all but the NSW Department of Education has a Code of Conduct for all employees, there is also a Workplace Charter of Dignity and Respect. For students the expectations are just as clear and are set out as follows in the 'Behaviour code for students'.

'NSW public schools are committed to providing safe, supportive and responsive learning environments for everyone. We teach and model the behaviours we value in our students.

Students are expected to:

Respect other students, their teachers and school staff and community members
Follow school and class rules and follow the directions of their teachers
Strive for the highest standards in learning
Respect all members of the school community and show courtesy to all students, teachers and community members
Resolve conflict respectfully, calmly and fairly
Comply with the school's uniform policy or dress code
Attend school every day (unless legally excused)
Respect all property
Not be violent or bring weapons, illegal drugs, alcohol or tobacco into our schools
Not bully, harass, intimidate or discriminate against anyone in our schools

Schools take strong action in response to behaviour that is detrimental to self or others or to the achievement of high quality teaching and learning.

What is my point? What happens in schools relates to us all and we all have a role to play in that. What we as teachers do has both a proactive and all too often a reactive quality to it. Our goal remains the same as yours - to ensure that the students at Uralla Central School are provided with the best facilities, the best resources and the best educational opportunities that we can provide.

As always cherish your children, for the days are long and the years are short.

The capacity to learn is a gift;

The ability to learn is a skill;

The willingness to learn is a choice.

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) Author of Dunes

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968)