KITE
Cultivating Excellence: Orientating our 2025 Professional Learning Journey
“Actions [that promote] self-efficacy and coping skills through the provision of effective induction, coaching, and mentoring and meaningful professional learning that is sustained and authentic”
- Dr. Donna Cross, 2023
Dr. Cross, a leading expert in the field of student mental health, highlights that to build self-efficacy within an educational environment requires “meaningful professional learning that is sustained and authentic.” Through the Kambala Institute of Teaching Excellence, our strategic and evaluative approach to professional learning reflects our quest to ensure we remain a leading girls’ school.
Within KITE, our Middle Leaders in Action program with Heather de Blasio commenced on 24th January. An accomplished coach, educator, and co-author of Five Ways of Being (2020), de Blasio led our opening session on the dispositions associated with ‘being interdependent, being strategic, and being accountable.’ This set the tone for collaboration amongst middle leaders on priority areas, including enhancing senior study skills, fostering global mindedness, and ensuring seamless school-wide transitions.
For our first whole staff day on 28th January, Daniela Falecki, a former teacher turned educator of adult wellbeing, provided practical strategies for assessing energy levels and managing the ongoing balance between work demands and available resources. She emphasised our ability to “recharge and take control” of wellbeing at work, with positive staff feedback commenting: “[The workshop] reset my understanding of wellbeing as being mostly my responsibility,” and “it reminded me that I do have the tools needed to lift my energy.”
Our second teaching staff professional learning day focused on cultivating safe classrooms that foster sisterhood. As our Principal, Ms Danvers, emphasised, “Great teaching begins with clear expectations—when teachers invest time in establishing routines and boundaries, they create a foundation where students feel safe to explore, engage, and excel.” This session allowed teaching teams to translate these principles into actionable strategies in their classrooms, while also preparing for an exciting learning journey ahead for our students.
With many more professional learning opportunities on the horizon, we will continue to build “sustained and authentic” programs that ensure our culture of excellence is nourished to thrive.
KITE News: Amplifying our Voice
In other KITE news, we are proud that Samantha Gooch (Deputy Principal - Pastoral Care) is facilitating at the International Congress for School Effectiveness & Improvement at the University of Melbourne on Wednesday 12th February.
ICSEI 2025 is a global forum where researchers and policymakers exchange knowledge, ideas, and solutions to redefine education in a fragile world. After having their research submission accepted by the Congress, Samantha is facilitating alongside two colleagues from other schools she has collaborated with on this project, offering insights into the application of leading cultures of thinking.
Here, Samantha exemplifies our positioning as a school that places thinking at the heart of our pedagogies. By participating in this international forum, she amplifies our voice and makes a meaningful contribution to the educational landscape.
Ms Lauren Walsh
Director of KITE