March 29th
Inniu Déardaoin: An-lá inniu.
Attended the FINA World Swimming Championships in The Rod Laver Arena, in the early morning. Amazing to think that The Australian Open Tennis Championships were held here in January. Melbourne has three massive sporting Arenae (MCG and Vodafone Arena) and they are all within spitting distance of each other. After an hour and a half of swimming, we were able to walk to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), for their tour. The ground has a capacity of 98,000 and is even more impressive than Croke Park-which is saying something. It is a magnificent modern facility combined with an awesome history and memorabilia. Even Gerry was impressed. The ground is shared by Cricket and Aussie Rules. Even international rugby is played here. Last week, in preparation for the footy, the 10 cricket pitches were removed to a nursery and replaced with a section of pitch for footy.
Our afternoon was spent in the VPA offices, cutting video and putting the photos into folders.
In the evening, Trish (your wan from Roscommon who has not yet done a “hook turn” in six years) and Jeremy invited us to their place for some home cooking. Jeremy is a great cook and Trish a great hostess-loads of rock shandy and nothing green in sight!
Cóilín’s Wrap-up
Attended the FINA World Swimming Championships in The Rod Laver Arena, in the early morning. Amazing to think that The Australian Open Tennis Championships were held here in January. Melbourne has three massive sporting Arenae (MCG and Vodafone Arena) and they are all within spitting distance of each other. After an hour and a half of swimming, we were able to walk to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), for their tour. The ground has a capacity of 98,000 and is even more impressive than Croke Park-which is saying something. It is a magnificent modern facility combined with an awesome history and memorabilia. Even Gerry was impressed. The ground is shared by Cricket and Aussie Rules. Even international rugby is played here. Last week, in preparation for the footy, the 10 cricket pitches were removed to a nursery and replaced with a section of pitch for footy.
Our afternoon was spent in the VPA offices, cutting video and putting the photos into folders.
In the evening, Trish (your wan from Roscommon who has not yet done a “hook turn” in six years) and Jeremy invited us to their place for some home cooking. Jeremy is a great cook and Trish a great hostess-loads of rock shandy and nothing green in sight!
Cóilín’s Wrap-up
At last, the end has come. No more schools to visit. Time to look back and reflect on the blog and the “Study Visit”.
My lasting impression is how helpful and personable all the principals and leading teachers were in every school we visited. They could not have done more for us and were most generous with their time. Visits planned for one hour invariably took closer to three hours and in some schools a team of people gave of their time. We now have over one thousand photos and ten hours of video, which will be invaluable to us both in terms of our report and also our personal reflections.
We have spent the last number of days in the VPA Office writing and filing and we would like to thank Director Fred Ackerman, President Rosemary White and Ruth Brooks Executive Assistant for their tremendous support and welcome. We would also like to thank Field Officer Howard Looney who organised visits to nine state schools for us. The quality and variety of the schools we visited reflect the planning and foresight he put into his choices.
Bernie Mc Hugh from Resurrection Catholic Primary School St. Albans organised visits to six Catholic schools and again the quality of school and school leaders left us overwhelmed.
The best compliment we can give all of the above was that we got a true Irish welcome. A big thank you to all.
Thanks also to Seaghan Moriarty IPPN Technical advisor, who put up the blog every day for us. We now have the distinction of sending him the biggest e-mail that he ever got! Something to be proud of.
Of course none of this would have been possible without that wonderful invention called “The Bursary” courtesy of DES, IPPN and Allianz. God bless them all.
We were delighted to experience electronic tolling. You pay the fee in advance (daily aboot 8 euro) or within three days of using the Motorways, mainly in Shell petrol stations. If you use the toll road once or a hundred times, this is all you pay. So no fiddling with change, the only problem is to remember or you will face an 80 euro fine. Most locals here get “e-tags” which debits their bank account directly and does away with the danger of a fine.
This place is a paradise for those interested in the healthy outdoor life. At the beach, for example, there are designated tracks for cyclists and rollerbladers as well as a separate one for walkers. They have “Tan Tracks” in many of the public parks which are made up of a fine gravel, for runners/walkers. Who can guess the colour of the gravel? Everybody seems to exercise, as the combination of facilities and weather make it so easy to carry out those good intentions. And of course there is always the wildlife to admire as you exercise.
My abiding memory of the Catholic Schools was how at home we both felt there, but also how much more you are aware of the ethos than even in many schools in Ireland. Even when the principals visited the classrooms, they were all greeted by the children along the lines:
To us the state schools were very well funded and indeed all schools, and we observed all socio-economic types, had an abundance of space. Space to plan and space to work and space to play. This funding came at a cost (Boom! Boom!). The funding was evolved, which meant that the Principals, with the assistance of a Business Manager, had to plan how the budget was spent and this included the salaries of teachers and ancillary staff.
All schools had a tremendous amount of planning time, approx 4.5 hours, per week, outside of school hours. So there were weekly Staff Meetings and weekly planning sessions on the curriculum, as well as time for ISM to meet, all outside of class contact time. All of these were negotiated for extra pay, as part of a wage agreement. Food for thought here.
The State of Victoria does an annual “Attitudes to school Survey” completed by the students and parents. It is done confidentially and the results are published.
In between visiting our 15 schools, getting lost, visiting the VPA, CEO and ACU, uploading all those photos and videos, recharging the camera and laptop batteries, we did also manage to take in a few beach visits (even if the weather turned in the last week, when we had more time) a city tour, a Footy match, International Air Show, visit to a wildlife sanctuary and a couple of world events: The Formula One Grand Prix and FINA World Swimming Championships. Not bad for a “working holiday”! The fact that we will have to spend the next month catching up on sleep is a minor point. It has been worth every minute of it.
Personally, I am enriched having met so many pupils, staff members and principals. Getting a chance to see other schools, with different approaches and philosophies, in action was an honour and also a privilege. It was also quite overwhelming to see all those wonderful ideas and approaches, though I would still prefer to work in Ireland and would not swap St Mary’s for any school I have seen. Nonetheless, I am most grateful for the opportunity and feel most humbled by the whole experience.
Tomorrow Gerry gets his say.
My lasting impression is how helpful and personable all the principals and leading teachers were in every school we visited. They could not have done more for us and were most generous with their time. Visits planned for one hour invariably took closer to three hours and in some schools a team of people gave of their time. We now have over one thousand photos and ten hours of video, which will be invaluable to us both in terms of our report and also our personal reflections.
We have spent the last number of days in the VPA Office writing and filing and we would like to thank Director Fred Ackerman, President Rosemary White and Ruth Brooks Executive Assistant for their tremendous support and welcome. We would also like to thank Field Officer Howard Looney who organised visits to nine state schools for us. The quality and variety of the schools we visited reflect the planning and foresight he put into his choices.
Bernie Mc Hugh from Resurrection Catholic Primary School St. Albans organised visits to six Catholic schools and again the quality of school and school leaders left us overwhelmed.
The best compliment we can give all of the above was that we got a true Irish welcome. A big thank you to all.
Thanks also to Seaghan Moriarty IPPN Technical advisor, who put up the blog every day for us. We now have the distinction of sending him the biggest e-mail that he ever got! Something to be proud of.
Of course none of this would have been possible without that wonderful invention called “The Bursary” courtesy of DES, IPPN and Allianz. God bless them all.
We were delighted to experience electronic tolling. You pay the fee in advance (daily aboot 8 euro) or within three days of using the Motorways, mainly in Shell petrol stations. If you use the toll road once or a hundred times, this is all you pay. So no fiddling with change, the only problem is to remember or you will face an 80 euro fine. Most locals here get “e-tags” which debits their bank account directly and does away with the danger of a fine.
This place is a paradise for those interested in the healthy outdoor life. At the beach, for example, there are designated tracks for cyclists and rollerbladers as well as a separate one for walkers. They have “Tan Tracks” in many of the public parks which are made up of a fine gravel, for runners/walkers. Who can guess the colour of the gravel? Everybody seems to exercise, as the combination of facilities and weather make it so easy to carry out those good intentions. And of course there is always the wildlife to admire as you exercise.
My abiding memory of the Catholic Schools was how at home we both felt there, but also how much more you are aware of the ethos than even in many schools in Ireland. Even when the principals visited the classrooms, they were all greeted by the children along the lines:
Parish priests are managers in the pre-BOM tradition, with sole responsibility for contract renewal for Principal (or non-renewal!) A Principal gets a five year contract.“Good morning Mr. Mc Hugh and peace be with you.”
To us the state schools were very well funded and indeed all schools, and we observed all socio-economic types, had an abundance of space. Space to plan and space to work and space to play. This funding came at a cost (Boom! Boom!). The funding was evolved, which meant that the Principals, with the assistance of a Business Manager, had to plan how the budget was spent and this included the salaries of teachers and ancillary staff.
All schools had a tremendous amount of planning time, approx 4.5 hours, per week, outside of school hours. So there were weekly Staff Meetings and weekly planning sessions on the curriculum, as well as time for ISM to meet, all outside of class contact time. All of these were negotiated for extra pay, as part of a wage agreement. Food for thought here.
- Reading Recovery is done in all schools and has a designated co-ordinator in most schools.
- Long service leave: After 10 years of service, All teachers in both State and Catholic schools, get 13 weeks paid leave.
- Enrichment leave: Only in the Catholic System and only for Principals, every eight years s/he gets 10 weeks paid leave to do some approved study that will be personally enriching.
- Sabbatical Leave: Teachers can accept 80% of their salaries for four years and get a paid leave sabbatical for the fifth year.
- PD-ing the staff: That happens when the staff get professional development.
The State of Victoria does an annual “Attitudes to school Survey” completed by the students and parents. It is done confidentially and the results are published.
In between visiting our 15 schools, getting lost, visiting the VPA, CEO and ACU, uploading all those photos and videos, recharging the camera and laptop batteries, we did also manage to take in a few beach visits (even if the weather turned in the last week, when we had more time) a city tour, a Footy match, International Air Show, visit to a wildlife sanctuary and a couple of world events: The Formula One Grand Prix and FINA World Swimming Championships. Not bad for a “working holiday”! The fact that we will have to spend the next month catching up on sleep is a minor point. It has been worth every minute of it.
Personally, I am enriched having met so many pupils, staff members and principals. Getting a chance to see other schools, with different approaches and philosophies, in action was an honour and also a privilege. It was also quite overwhelming to see all those wonderful ideas and approaches, though I would still prefer to work in Ireland and would not swap St Mary’s for any school I have seen. Nonetheless, I am most grateful for the opportunity and feel most humbled by the whole experience.
Tomorrow Gerry gets his say.
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