From the Principal 1 May 2020

I think most of us would agree that living in a ‘locked down world’ is less fun than what we call our personal ‘normal’. There have been plenty of fun videos posted around the web that show quirky ways people are responding. They lighten the day, they put a smile on our face and they seem to generate the next crazy wave of fun ideas. We have seen many ideas published about how to manage the new world. 

My brief comments that follow are in that vein but I apologise in advance for not creating a crazy video. My less nutty alternative has come from cruising the Harvard Business Review. I came across the following article. It is about the power of good questions to improve life and success. It is about how to ask them. How to listen and how to respond are part of the good sense covered in the article. It is worth a read (a commitment of 5 minutes). From this, I thought I would create my own list of questions that might help those who want to be positive in their response to whatever you are facing in the disruptive Coronavirus world in which we live.

They are:

1. How are things going? (If things are not going well, are you intending to keep doing the same thing?)
2. How has the current COVID-19 situation affected your world personally?
3. What steps are you taking to look after yourself and grow? (Why wait for the lockdown to pass!)
4. What do you make of your life currently? How are you connecting to others? Is it working? Are you relating to anything at the moment...to others? (If you are doing things that are not successful, have you asked...”why are you still doing those things”?)
5. What goals are you setting yourself to keep moving forward?
6. What decisions are you making to move forward in a happy way?
7. What are you doing to put sensible actions into reality?
8. What support do you need right now? What support will you need next week?

These questions are best considered with another person to listen to your answers. That will keep you honest!

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Paddy Nicholls to the role of Chair of the School Council. This follows the resignation we received in mid-April from Mrs Elizabeth Gillam. Our out-going Chair is due our sincere thanks for her three years of dedication to this challenging volunteer role. Elizabeth has led the Council through many challenges and guided the process of the appointment of the new Principal. During this time she has worked with many stakeholders, and has been focussed on achieving the best for the School. This has been a result of her deep loyalty and commitment to the Glennie community. The School’s commitment for every girl to be All She Can Be® has been of personal importance to Elizabeth and has guided her approach to leadership of the Council. As school life returns to ‘normal’, I look forward to the opportunity of formally hosting an event at the School where our community can thank Elizabeth for her significant contribution to our school.

Our new Chair, Paddy Nicholls, has predominantly pursued a career as an educator within the TAFE sector. She has held senior leadership positions within a number of TAFE Colleges around Australia, although her career has been largely Queensland focussed. She has successfully led and managed the re-invention of a number of these organisations. Significantly, cultural change has been a leadership focus. She is proud that this has been achieved while maintaining financial stability. Amongst her wide Board experience, Paddy is a past Chair of the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE, she has been a Board member of Federation Health and has participated in a number of government reviews while in her many leadership roles. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences and has deep connections throughout the Toowoomba community. We are delighted that she has stepped into this role. Paddy looks forward to meeting the wider school community in the coming months.

I wish all an enjoyable week ahead.

Mr Peter Crawley
Principal