Professional Culture and Growth
Position of Leadership – Review
This year, the College undergoes a Position of Leadership Review Process. This is essential to ensure that we have the right leadership structure within the College to support and facilitate:
- Student needs to improve student outcomes.
- Building staff capacity
- Resources within the College, including financial
- Promotion and development of Catholic Identity
- Collegiality and develop career progression for staff who are interested in leadership.
- Integration of essential strategies that align with the College Strategic Plan.
This process commenced with a launch to staff on Tuesday 13 February. Over this term, the following has taken place as part of the consultation process:
- Current POL holder feedback
- Consultative Committee feedback
- Staff feedback through optional Focus Groups
- Strategic team feedback
Another important process is the development of a Leadership Statement. This is an integral part of developing a culture of leadership within the college. Staff were invited to be part of a focus group to develop this statement and we are well on the way to completing this as we commence Term 2.
In Terms 2 and 3, the POL model will be finalised and from here, a recruitment process will begin to advertise each Position of Leadership both internally and externally to find the most suitable candidate for each position.
We look forward to announcing our new POL structure and the successful applicants to you later in the year.
College Photographs
Thank you to all students and parents for supporting the College Photographs last month. The majority of students were dressed impeccably, and we commend them for adhering to the uniform policy.
We have received the proofs and a short time will spent to ensure they are up to our standards before committing to the final print run. A reminder that all photographs are to be purchased online through Arthur Reed Photos.
If you have lost your unique order code that went home with each student, you can contact Arthur Reed Photos directly on 1800 032 028 or via email on their website https://www.arphotos.com.au/contact-us/
New Staff Lunches
On 5 - 6 March we held new staff lunches with all our new teaching staff that commenced with us in 2024. This was an informal opportunity for new staff and members of the Executive Team to come together and discuss how their first few weeks have been at Marist-Sion College, the positives, and the challenges. There was some very honest discussion around the challenges of moving to a new school but also incredibly reassuring from the staff that they made the right decision and are enjoying their time settling in and getting to know the students and staff.
We will be holding a new staff lunch early next term for our new Education Support Staff. We look forward to meeting with them and getting their feedback on their induction and life at Marist-Sion College.
University Visits – Federation University and Australian Catholic University (ACU)
In an increasingly challenging workforce and teacher shortage, our employer, Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited (DOSCEL), has been engaging with universities to promote work in Catholic Education.
On 28 February, I was accompanied by our Director of Staff Development, Mr James Mazzolini, to Federation University Churchill to meet with students during their Orientation Week. We were pleased to see some of our alumni enjoying their university studies and we spoke to many first year Education students who are looking to do their placements in the Catholic sector.
On 13 March, I attended the annual ACU Career Expo afternoon where representatives from all Diocese across Victoria had the opportunity to speak to the students completing a Bachelor or Masters of Teaching about the benefits of working in Catholic Education. We then moved into the Cathedral Hall where schools had set up stalls to promote their College as a place of choice for placement and work. There was a lot of energy in the room and some great conversations around working in a regional Catholic School and the benefits of living in Warragul.
We see this as important future proofing work for us as we look for more longer-term recruitment strategies.
Senior Leaders Meeting
On 4 March, our senior leaders in both the teaching and non-teaching areas of the College gathered at the West Gippsland Arts Centre to work with Matt Lashbrook from the Table Group. Matt also has worked with Executive Team prior to the school year commencing.
Matt is a principal consultant who works with organisations to build organisational health. It was a wonderful session involving leading with vulnerability and courage and understanding the importance of having effective organisational health to help us be impactful leaders driving school improvement.
We are fortunate to continue our work with Matt throughout 2024 and we look forward to more robust and strategic conversation on our leadership.
Georgie Erpisimidis
Deputy Principal – Professional Culture and Growth