School-Caledonian+PS

C **aledonian Primary School is located in the Ballarat suburb of Brown Hill, and has a current enrolment of 170 students. I am a full time teacher in a Grade 4 classroom. For the past eighteen months, I have been responsible for the curriculum co-ordination in the school.** **Since the beginning of Term 3, I have been coaching two teachers. One teacher is a first year graduate who has only commenced teaching at our school since the start of this term. The other is a teacher with five years teaching experience. Both teachers volunteered to be coached and have been enthusiastic participants.** **I've twice conducted coaching conversations, the first time without taking notes. I found that this didn't really work for me because I had difficulty recalling aspects when I tried to write notes on the conversation much later in the day. Last time, with my partner's permission, I recorded the coaching conversation. This enabled me during the actual conversation, to refer back to clarify the teacher's goal and her options.** **I have enjoyed the professional development days so far and feel comfortable in knowing that I can undertake my coaching journey at a pace that I'm comfortable with. I learnt a great deal from listening to Cathy Toll today ( and noticed that she took notes during the coaching conversation that she demonstrated to the group). The professional dialogue with my colleague yesterday when we moderated student writing samples was very beneficial as well.** **Cheryl Tunbridge.**


 * Thoroughly enjoyed Days 6 & 7 and learning so much along the way. Returned to school feeling positive and more confident that I can perform well in my role as a literacy coach. Lots of factors are getting in the way at the moment at school; teacher absence, other school activities organised within the coaching block (I have three hours devoted to coaching on Thursdays), moving classrooms etc. there has been a lack of continuity with the coaching program. I keep reminding myself that these are things out of my control. All I can do is my best and stay positive.**