Pakenham+Secondary+College

Pakenham Secondary College is situated in the Southern Metropolitan Region in the Cardinia Shire on the Princes Highway between Berwick and Warragul. We have 970 students and are expecting a slight drop in enrolements for 2011. Although I am Primary trained I have enjoyed seeing a lot of students that I taught at Pakenham Consolidated School mature into fine teenagers at our College. It has been fantastic to actually follow their progress. My role this year is Instructional Coach through the National Partnership Program, with a focus on Improving student's Literacy capacity through reading for understanding and developing an awareness of curriculum literacies. I have been priveledged to become a part of a wonderful team of hard working educators to help our students become learners for life. Our students are at different stages of connectedness to school and learning, and after many years of change in leaders within the College, have begun the journey of placing students at the centre of learning. With the collaboration of leadership and the staff at PSC, we are rebuilding the foundations of an orderly environment with consistency in expectations for all students. We are now embarking on the Teaching and Learning of our school community. We are currently going through the staffing process for 2011, and I have been fortunately, honoured the Leading Teacher role of Teaching and Learning Educator. I am tickled pink! Such an opportunity! Now that 2011 has come around quickly, I also find myself in the role of Library manager as well as maintaining my coaching. Not sure how I will juggle the workload - it will be an interesting journey. =**One thing about my journey over the past twelve months, I have certainly opened a can of worms in terms of the vastness of coaching. //__I used to think__// that it was all about going into my coachee's classroom and observing the dynamics, environment, learning, teaching etc. that was occuring. After observing a class we would then sit and chat upon what we agreed was the focus of our coaching time. This would develop into a coaching cycle. Sometimes we would achieve an outcome, other times we would be left floundering about where to go. We also found that having the time to fit the coaching cylce in was a task in itself. Very difficult.**=

=**//__I now think__// that the most important part of coaching is the relationship that you build with the coachee! I have learnt that the most valuable conversations are the incidental ones whereby a more natural conversation is of far greater importance, to really ascertain where another persons 'thinking is at'! Coaching for me now takes on a variety of approaches depending upon the nature, and comfort zones of the coachee. Coaching has been a journey that has taken me into other people's worlds and question 'where my own thinking is at'!**=