Deputy Principal

PETER CUMMINS

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

Supporting International Colleagues

Oakleigh Grammar has again agreed to take part in a major project with Monash University and the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The project “Building Leadership for Change through School Immersion” aims to contribute to the realisation of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan 2030, and transform school education across the Kingdom by exposing Saudi teachers to best practice in teaching and learning around the world.

This year we are hosting three female Saudi teachers over four placement periods in Terms 3 and 4. The purpose of the school placement is for the Saudi teachers to be immersed in the learning culture and practice of a top performing Australian School, and observe classes, interact with teachers, and be exposed to new and innovative ways of teaching and learning. To support their learning, each Saudi teacher will be mentored by an Oakleigh Grammar teacher.   

The school placement will be three days per week (Tuesday to Thursday). On a Monday, the Saudi Teachers are at Monash University taking part in seminars on teaching and learning practice. The participants will also be working on a project for implementation in their school once they return to Saudi Arabia. It is hoped that through the school immersion experience, they will find inspiration and ideas for their project focus.

As an IB World School, our aim is to foster and develop intercultural understanding, international mindedness and global engagement, and how better to do this than to be a key player in this international education program, and contribute to the transformation of school education across Saudi Arabia.

PETER DICKINSON

Deputy Principal - Operations

Staff and Student Wellbeing

As part of our School’s commitment to supporting the wellbeing of our students, we are also committed to the welfare of our staff – good mental wellbeing for children starts with good mental wellbeing for educators.

With this in mind, we began Term 3 with a professional development session for all teaching and non-teaching staff with a guest speaker, Marie McLeod. An engaging and energetic presenter, the basis of Marie’s presentation was a framework or road map for wellbeing that incorporated six domains – engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, health and positive emotion. She provided us all with many pieces of practical advice to ensure that we were able to “fill our buckets” in each of the six domains.

Late last term a number of our senior staff also participated in a two day Youth Mental Health First Aid Course; a nationally recognised program designed to teach people the skills to help someone who they are concerned about from a mental health perspective. In much the same way as the traditional medical First Aid Officer is able to administer first aid for minor incidents before handing over to a professional medic, the same approach is applied for mental health needs. 

The City of Monash has also provided funding for all of our Year 10 students to undertake this course during the second semester. I believe that this is an important initiative that will benefit our students as we continue to focus on the importance of mental wellbeing in our Community.