My Visit to Hatton Vale State School LISE MEDD | Principal, George Webster Elementary School, Toronto, Canada The article’s author with Ashley Lawless, Principal of Hatton Vale State School. DURING THE JULY/AUGUST summer holiday period in the includes playground structures, a netball court, rugby pitches Canadian education system, I had the privilege to participate and open area play spaces. I was particularly blown away by in the Ontario–Queensland Principal Exchange Program, the learning gardens and koala highway that were also on the facilitated by QASSP and the Ontario Principals’ Council school property. (OPC). This professional learning opportunity allowed me to The next several days gave me the opportunity to see experience being ‘Principal for a Week’ at Hatton Vale State the programming in the classrooms including the School, a 25-minute drive west of Ipswich along the Warrego ‘beeee’haviour program developed by the Master Teacher. Highway. My principal exchange partner, Ashley Lawless, The high expectations around behaviour was evident in the helped me to gain an understanding of the Hatton Vale respect that all students displayed toward each other and State School context and to visit a variety of other schools in their teachers. the Lockyer Valley in order to appreciate diverse models of I was also given the opportunity to observe the Daily schools in this vast rural area. 5 CAFE reading program, emphasising differentiated Hatton Vale State School has 540 students and is sited on instruction methods for literacy. The school’s Head of 1.5 acres of land. During my first day, I was given a tour of Curriculum has been working on establishing the program the school grounds, visiting the various buildings that dot the throughout the school with the support of the rest of the landscape. These house not only classrooms, but everything leadership team. The students’ understanding of their from office spaces to the large hall where students meet every strengths and needs in reading was evident. The teaching Monday for assembly. Taking the outdoor hallways between staff were well versed in the program and made it a priority buildings and being able to appreciate the beautiful ‘winter’ at all levels. weather was a wonderful and unique experience. Ashley had also invited his superintendent to visit. Surrounding the buildings is an extensive play area which This was an eye-opening experience as he explained the DECEMBER 2019 THE QUEENSLAND PRINCIPAL 51 processes of becoming an administrator, as well as speaking around the world has given me the opportunity to reach out to me about the data driven work that supports the school and access their support and expertise as I move forward improvement programs in each of his schools. from this experience. The final opportunity I was offered was to visit other Some of the other observations that I made where the schools in the area. Wow, that was different! In my very Queensland experience is similar to that in the Toronto urban community in Toronto, there are many schools in a District School Board include: very densely populated area. My Queensland experience had > The inclusive model, which has seen a big push in me travelling at least 20 to 40 kilometres from one school Toronto throughout the last 10 years and is well established to the next. in Australia. The first school we visited was Laidley State School. > The infusion of Indigenous education into our curriculum. The school was similar in layout to Hatton Vale, but their > Parent involvement including having a parent council school improvement goals looked slightly different, with an meeting once a month, with the focus on how our parents emphasis on Indigenous education. The highlight for me was can support the students and staff at the school. their outdoor rope course which is used as a team building > We all appear to value the opportunities that music, opportunity for students as well as staff. sports and The Arts give to enhance our students’ The next school was by far the smallest I have ever academic experiences. visited, with only 36 students (the average size of one of In addition to all the professional gains, I was able to stay my four kindergarten classes) and 4.5 full-time equivalent with Ashley and his family who were gracious hosts. Ashley staff. Although there is a vast rural community in Canada, and his wife Meagan gave me the opportunity to live like I had not experienced such a small school. The Principal at a typical Queenslander, completing my whole Australian Thornton State School spoke about her tight-knit community experience. I enjoyed my mornings on their outdoor porch and how it allowed her to develop meaningful relationships watching the colourful parrots and budgies in the eucalyptus with all her staff and students. The highlight of that visit was tree. Their three children – Zoe, Josh, and Luke – helped me the Principal explaining that the biggest disruption they have to work on my Aussie accent, and I was able to taste and is when cattle from the neighbouring farm wander into experience the local produce. the schoolyard. After my stay, I continued my vacation with a trip from I cannot emphasise enough what this opportunity has lent Brisbane to Sydney with many stops in between. I can to my overall professional development and appreciation confidently say it was one of the most beautiful experiences of other education systems. Through my observations I I have had in all my travels. have brought back ideas and models that will enhance the Thank you to QASSP and the OPC for supporting this programming in my school. exchange opportunity. I would highly recommend it to all my I have gained an appreciation for the graduated colleagues. I of course want to express a very special thank principal training system, which affords new principals the you to Ashley Lawless, his family, and the staff and students opportunity to get a gradual understanding of how to run a at Hatton Vale State School for this wonderful opportunity. smaller school before diving into a large school. I have witnessed the effects of a whole school behaviour philosophy and program. I have seen the good use of outdoor space. Having divided play spaces allows students to have room to socialise with students their age, decreasing the amount of inappropriate Learn about Ashley Lawless’ experiences work shadowing play and bullying behaviours. Lise Medd at George Webster Elementary School in Toronto, The investment in human resources I witnessed has in the June 2019 issue of The Queensland Principal. given me insight into how to organise my administration staff. Focusing on their strengths in curriculum and special Contact QASSP Director of Professional Learning, Dr David education, ensures all students’ needs are being addressed. Turner, if you are interested to participate in the Global Gaining professional friends and colleagues from halfway Principal Partnerships exchange program. DECEMBER 2019 THE QUEENSLAND PRINCIPAL 53.