1. Innovative and Creative initiatives:
I accepted the positionas Head of Senior School/ Director of Innovative
Teaching and Learning after the first year of my employmentat the School
and have been in this role for the past 5 years.
It was an honour to be nominated for the NEiTA Teaching Excellence
Award in 2013.
I have set many supportive processes inplace to inspire students to unlock
their potential and believe in their inner uniqueness and to guide them on
their journey of self-discovery.I have created differentenvironments to
accommodate the differentlearning styles of students in order to reach
their potential. I have also inspired other teachers to explore different
approaches to teaching and excite their students in the learning process
and environment. One of the main objectives of these initiatives is to unlock
and enhance the skills that are essential in the 21st Century learning
environment.
I would like to acknowledgethat mostof the initiatives referredto in
this document,are/were possible to refine and achieve due to the
supportof my colleagues– It has undeniably beenpartof a team
effort. It would not have been possible without the supportof
enthusiastic staff members.
Innovation in Teaching has always been a passion of mine.
I have chaired a collaborative group with a primary focus on Innovative
Teaching and Learning. I have also presented creative teaching techniques
and innovative teaching ideas to staff during general staff meetings and
professionaldevelopmentworkshops and encouraged staff to introduce
new ideas in their own teaching and to incorporate the differentlearning
styles. I have applied alternative approaches in my teaching environment
by changing the conventional appearance of my own classroom by
introducing aspects such as coloured walls, colourful beanbags, plants etc.
In this flexible environment, students have the choice of differentsettings in
the classroom (formal and informal) - depending on their needs or the
nature of the teaching / learning.

2. As part of my interest in innovative teaching and my desire for personal
growth, I have visited schools in Finland (Helsinki) in order to investigate
the reasons behind their successes in education and to find ways to
implementmore innovative teaching methods.
I perceive Professionaldevelopmentto be of greatimportance.Apart
from my personalresearch on aspects of learning, the brain and alternative
teaching methods,I have attended many Professional Developmentdays,
with a specificfocus on "Young Minds"and how to inspire these young
minds. For example, I have recently attended a 2 day seminar in Sydney:
"Healthy Minds - How to grow a good person" where the Dalai Lama was a
guest speaker along with 40 other speakers from all over the world. I have
also attended a seminar by Dr. Gary Stager about innovative learning
practices.I feed this information through to fellow teachers and students
during formal / informal sessions.
As part of my role as Head of Senior School, I counciland mentor
students on a daily basis and I am closelyconnected to senior students
and their parents. I often mediate challenging relationship- related
situations between students and parents. I also mediate and facilitate the
online learning processvia Open Access.
Initiatives:
Although some of the initiatives mentioned in this documentmight seem
insignificant and minor, the compound effectof these seemingly irrelevant
ideas and processesundeniably contribute to the success and dynamics of
the major projects and should be perceived in that light.
 I have established annualcareer orientationsessionsfor
students. This includes visits from the different Universities and also
career-specific speakers to address and inspire young minds. I
regularly interact with students regarding career choices and act as
the mediator between the Universities and the students. , I encourage
students to be opento their own potential by constantly exposing
them to innovative and developing 21st
century careers. I stimulate
students to envision their futures and promote different University or
TAFE courses.

3.  In addition to the above, I organise Transitionto Senior School
evenings and Career Information evenings every year. During
these annual events, the challenges,complexities and expectations
of the next year level are explained to students and parents and they
are invited to communicate and interact with all the individual subject
teachers about future subjectchoices and options. These events are
increasingly successfulas more and more parents attend it each
year. This has a positive effecton the students, due to the fact that
more parents support their academic success. The subjectselection
process and determination of line structure are based on sound data
as re are a number of well managed steps in the subjectchoice and
selectionprocess.
 I have explored differentoptions for students and teachers whereby
they could establish Internationalconnections/relationshipswith
other schools across the world,for example IEARN. For example, I
have put one of our students who is studying Japanese via Open
Access,in touch with a Japanese teacher via Skype as an external
tutor. However, further exploration and implementation in this regard
is required and it will open up new possibilitiesforthe students and
teach them all the aspects of Global Citizenship - the interdisciplinary
lens through which to analyse the history and developmentof our
changing world.
 I have put a "Mentor" program in place whereby Year 12 students
are assigned to a teacher to supporthim or her during their final year.
In my role as the Year 12 Homegroup teacher and have established a
"Flexi-time" program forstudents so that they can get use to the
responsibilities involved in being a young adult and sign in and out in-
between lessons and I have established a study Room,
exclusively for Year 12 students,equipped with computers,kettle,
microwave and fridge where Year 12 students can access the
facilities and study independently. The also use this room during their
recess and lunch brakes as an area of socialising. I have also started
an annual Year 12 RETREATwhere students were mentally and
academically orientated for their final year.

4.  I created a SecondarySchoolDisciplinary system in order to
manage learning and disciplinary aspects suchas behaviour
reports, reflectionroom visits, student assignmentreports and
students at risk as well as uniform infringements. This data sheet
provides a snapshot of the Senior School and is a valuable managing
tool.
 I have established a LUNCH TIME Study Room for secondary
students. They have access to the study room when they need to
catch up on assessmenttasks or homework. During this time, they
have access to computers forschoolrelated tasks.
 I recognise the importance of supporting and engaging the parents in
their daunting task and have therefore hosted a parentsupport
workshopon "Resilience".Parents have responded verypositively
to the course.The course was hosted over an 8 -week period and
parenting guru, Michael Grose, designed the course.
 I have organised community events such as an Astronomy evening
at the school where parents and students attended a presentation
about the stars and galaxies and they were able to look through
telescopesat differentheavenly bodies through a in an to encourage
them to learn more about the Universe. I have also organised a BEE
AWARE eveningwhere students, parents and members of the
community were able to attend a presentation on the amazing
aspects on the world of BEES and to create awareness. Live bees
were displayed in an observation box, the anatomy of the bees was
displayed under microscopesand a renowned bee expert conducted
a presentation on bees.
 I have investigatedand initiated the implementation of a
Learning ManagementProgram(CANVAS).
 I have created different Secondary School sub-teams of teachers
with the aim of sharing responsibilityand to ensure staff involvement
and ownership on differentlevels.

5.  I have initiated a “School-interviews website” wherebyparents are
able to make online bookings for Parent–Teacherinterviews and
Career Information Sessions. This processis professionaland
effective.
 I have initiated with the conceptof Team Teaching in Secondary
School,where teachers were able to share responsibility, space and
expertise.
 I have created a continuous Staff support program (especiallyfor
new teachers whereby I have tapped into the expertise of a well-
qualified mentor-teacher to offerindividual support.
 In an attempt to keep students safe on the roads, I have organised
regular Annual Road Safety Presentations and RAA excursions in
Adelaide.Also, in an attempt to expose students to possibilitiesand
future opportunities,I have organised annual StudentExchange
Program and Au Pair Presentations.
 I have initiated and planned (in collaboration with staff) a Workshop
Week, where students were encouraged to "think out of the box" and
challenged to design and create something unique and special. With
the support of staff, workshops were successfullyand enthusiastically
implemented:
The sailing experience (Under instruction of skilled supervisors,
students constructed their own miniature sailboats out of Balsa wood)
Pinhole photography: (Students had the unique opportunity to
develop and create both a dark room and a pinhole camera).
Building a Home TheatrePC: (Students were given components for
a home theatre and with virtually no guidance, the students
researched and put together the computerwhile filming the process
for a tutorial video so that others may also be able to learn.)
Visualeffects: (Students were given the task to film and create a
complexvisual effects sequence).
Lego ev3 robotics:(Students were given a Lego Mindstorms EV3
set and instructed to build and program a robotthat follows a
coloured track, collect a box and bring it back, again following the
line).

6. Design an environmentally friendlyhouse: (Students had to
designa detailed blueprint an eco-friendlyhouse and they had to use
recycled materials to construct a modelof the house).
Engineering:(The students had to designand build a bridge from
pop-sticks that could (ideally) carry the weight of a teacher).
The end-products of the projectwere displayedat the year-end
presentationnight.
 I have initiated and created a curriculum for Psychologyas a
Year 10 elective subject at the schoolin order to give students the
opportunity to get accustomedwith the terminology and concepts and
to learn more about themselves and their behaviour. I have also
initiated Photographyas a first-time subject.
 I have instigated an internationalART projectwith a schoolin
Japan,whereby our students painted a mural in conjunction with a
Japanese schoolover a period of 3 months. The mural was sent back
to Japan and exhibited in a museum as part of the global initiative
between schools all over the world.
 I have researched and introduced the Abacus to the school.
Mastering of the Abacus is taught in the Primary Schoolin order to
improve mental maths and general numeracy amongst our students.
 I have instigated the Robotics program at the school and it is run by
the IT curriculum. The hope is that this program will stimulate student
interest in career paths such as Engineering and Information
Technology.
 I have started a Breakfastclub at the school that has grown form
25 to over 100 attending students. Many of our students live quite a
distance away from the schooland they travel by bus every day. Due
to the early morning bus runs, many of the students miss their
breakfast, and the Breakfast club gives them the opportunity to not
only have a hearty breakfast at school,but also to connect and
socialise with teachers and fellow students. It encourages a positive
community spirit.

7.  I have started a “Coffee Table” concept whereby Secondary
teachers get together on a fortnightly basis to discuss and
communicate educational ideas and initiatives.
 I have initiated a “Study Skills” program whereby our students can
be equipped to study in an effective way. It is based on the programs
and research of Elevate Education. The topics involve Time
Management, Study Sensei and Memory Mnemonics.I have invited
Elevate Education to host a number of sessions to the students in
preparation for the course.
 I have introduced a differentand alternativeChristianStudies
program to the SecondarySchool, whereby the students gather as a
group once a week to attend a joint sessionand then to have
separate class discussions on the content in the following time slot.
 In an attempt to positively engage students in learning and to keep
disengaged students from leaving school too early, I have developed
StudentInitiative Programs (SIP’s). The impact of these projects
has been very positive and was even evident in academic
improvementand behavioural patterns. These programs are driven
by the interests of students and involves the following:
- A group of Year 9 boys are re-building a motorbike (engine and
body). Once it is fixed up, they intend to sell the it and buy into a
new project of their choice;
- A second group of Year 9 boys are fixing up and rebuilding the
body of a Ute by stripping, repairing and repainting the bodyof the
car while a group of Year 10 boys are rebuilding the engine of the
UTE.
- A couple of Year 9 boys are building a BEEVAC and Nuke boxes
for the Bee Amazing project.
- A student is designing a chess set on the 3 D computer
- A couple of Year 10 girls are volunteering at the local Age Care
home, Early Childcare Centre and “soup kitchen” and a couple of
Year 10 boys are engaged in a welding project.

8.  In an attempt to positively contribute to the environment and
community and to teach students an array of differentskills in the
process, I have designed and developed a BEE Amazing project.
Outline of the program:
 Students act as Bee Guardians through their participation in
differentsub-projects orteams. Collectively,this will contribute to
the ultimate goal of increasing the bee population in the area and
contribute to “saving the bees globally”.
 The project runs as a cycle and it will start with the building of
beehivesas part of Design and Technology projects.The
beehives will be built on the Warre Beehive concept,which has a
couple of benefits that will be specificto the project. (The Warre
Hive is a smaller hive than the usual hive which makes it easier to
build, maintain and also easier to handle.)
 Once the hives are built, the Art students paintthe hives in
differentcolours.
 There is a mapping and placementphase,where a team of
students determine the best places in the area to put the hives,
after a study has been made of the ecosystem.The Year 9
Geography curriculummakes provision for this under the topic
of “Ecosystems”.Afterthe mapping is done,there is a negotiation
process with the farmers in the area regarding the placement of
the hives on their farms. Naturally, the benefitfor the farmer is the
pollination of crops.
 The next team of students is the Harvesting and Inspection
team. These students adhere to all the safety aspects regarding
protective gear etc. and the processis facilitated by skilled
beekeepers.The team is responsiblefor harvesting the frames of
honey and inspecting the hives on a regular basis.
 Once the honey frames have been removed from the hives, the
Extraction teamuses the properequipment to extract the honey
at a safe location, where no bees are be present.
 The raw products (honey and wax capping)is passed on to the
next team, the Products Team,to produce the final products
such as bottled honey, wax products such as candles and lip balm
etc. This forms part of the Agriculture curriculum.
 The last team in the cycle is the Entrepreneurs Team,who is
responsible forthe selling and distribution of the products.The

9. income is invested into the project in order to sustain the
expenses.
 The aim of the projectis to have a total of 10 hives within the first
year of operation. The implication is that this projectwill sustain
between 150 000 and 300 000 bees.
 A LOGO of the BEE AMAZING bee guardianship project
(designed by a student) is displayed on the hives. The labels on
the products also reflect the LOGO.
 A competitionforthe design of the logo was launched which gave
the students an opportunity to be fully involved in the project.
The BEE AMAZING project is a fantastic opportunity for students to get
involved in a worldwide quest – so save the bees.Apart from the fun
element of the project,students learn skills on so many levels – This
includes the building and painting of the hives, entrepreneurship
(budgeting, selling, distribution) productrefinement (cleaning of honey
and wax, packaging and bottling) and build up environmental knowledge
by working with the bees.
The blessing to work with developing young adults is an amazing
opportunity to speak into young lives and being a teacher presents the
prospectto positively impact their development.I motivate students to take
control of their lives and to choose a wonderful and successfulfuture.