School Assembly S3E6: Setting the teaching direction and a Series 1 and 2 update

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Hello, Happy New Year and welcome to the first Teacher podcast of 2025 – I’m Jo Earp. School Assembly is the podcast series where we find out what it takes to build a new school from scratch. In Series 3 we’re following Dan McShea, Foundation Principal of Notre Dame College on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It’s the start of Term 1 here in Australia, and that means the school is just about to open. We’ll be catching up with Dan to talk about the big day in the next episode, but we also caught up just before Christmas for our monthly chat and the topic for Episode 6 is setting the teaching direction. And it’s a special, bumper episode this time out as I’ll also be checking in on Ray Boyd and Rachael Lehr, who we followed in Series 1, and Series 2 principal Jo Camozatto to find out what’s been happening. I’ve really enjoyed putting this episode together – I hope you enjoy listening.

Jo Earp: Hi, Dan, so we're actually recording this one a bit in advance because I was thinking you'll have quite a bit going on what with opening a brand-new school and everything in the week that we're due to release this episode. So, I thought we'd catch up early. The topic for today is, oh it's a meaty one, it's teaching and learning – and it all really boils down to this. So, one of the things that you do as a Foundation Principal is setting the teaching direction. Has that been a priority, then, along with the initial get togethers you've had with new staff?

Dan McShea: Yeah, absolutely, this has been a big focus. And what a great job opportunity it is to be able to set a direction and then be able to recruit the right staff who will be able to bring that to life, and to do so with consistency. And look, we've had the opportunity to present and unpack 2 key documents with our staff during our formation days. One was our Notre Dame Way, which is our way of working and of being, and the other is what we've called our Education Strategy. We were able to put that in front of our staff to get some feedback on it, to get some information about their comfortability with some areas of it, because that'll become our ‘playbook’ for 2025. Operationalising those 2 documents will, in fact, be our main 2 goals for the start of our school next year.

JE: Ah, it's interesting you mentioned that word ‘playbook’. So, we followed Ray Boyd and Rachael Lehr in Season 1 of School Assembly at Dayton Primary in WA, and they created an Instructional Playbook. What approach have you taken at Notre Dame, in terms of the content of that?

DM: Yeah look, it's a big question to answer. It's a coming together, it's a convergence of so many things. There's our ‘P-12ness’, there's our charism, there's our mission; ultimately, we believe that learners thrive in environments where they're known and loved and have a strong sense of belonging to optimise wellbeing.

Over the last few years in our system, we've done a lot of work with [Lyn] Sharratt and [Michael] Fullan and [John] Hattie, and we've tried to converge these and other key documents – the high-impact strategies, [What works best] reports out of New South Wales – and we've put all that together and tried to come up with a simple document as a statement of beliefs about learners and learning, and that's our Education Strategy. We've matched that with teacher commitments and student commitments, and that's a public facing document, and that's what we've unpacked.

Also, our need to be, words from our mission, high expectations, innovative and our Marist charism which has its own pedagogy. And so, we've tried to bring all those things together to create a one-page document with 12 statements of belief about learners and learning and a corresponding commitment from teachers and students to see that lived.

JE: You mentioned that you've done a lot of work over the years in the system with, you know, the work of Michael Fullan, and John Hattie, and Lyn Sharratt, how important is it that you look to that evidence base then? Because I guess as a principal, if you're trying to sell it as well – you know, it's good to have that evidence base, isn't it, you're selling it to not just the staff, but the parents as well, the students as well.

DM: Oh, 100%. People need to have the confidence; they're entrusting you with the education of their young people, so we need to lean on research that's got some weight to it. And that's why we've looked in so many places to bring together things that are consistently coming through in those places, and that resonate with staff and give parents the confidence that their child's going to learn and be successful in that environment.

JE: Just picking out one of those people, then. So, Lyn Sharratt for example, she’s about putting faces on the data and that data-driven approach. So, that's something that you'll be focusing on then – getting to really know each individual child, where they are at, what they need next, what the data is actually saying, isn’t it.

DM: Yeah, absolutely. And that's, you know, that's important – staff, they want to do that, they want to be empowered, they want to know their learners, they want to know what they need to do to help them improve. And we've got to help them develop the capacity to be able to do that with confidence. So, by having a consistent whole-school approach to that and clear ways of working, we're actually really helping our staff to be better teachers, to have the confidence in their capacity and to learn from each other.

JE: Yeah, and like you say, have that simple document that they can refer back to. But I think it takes a while, doesn't it, to embed and get that consistency across all teaching staff, because you're going right the way across [the school] – part of that though, I should imagine, that'll be modelling, then, and observation, and feedback?

DM: Yeah, absolutely. And we want to try and find a really comfortable, safe way for that to happen. So, what we've done in this context – and it's amazing to have the time and the right people to sit down and really nut this out and really work out how it could land for staff – so, we've got this document and then we've tried to align our staff Reflective Journal with that document. We want to create a culture where staff want to go and observe each other in the classroom, and we've created some ‘look fors’ around those class observations, that align with that teaching strategy. So, teachers will go … ideally, they'll arrange classroom observations of each other – they'll be going in there as the observer to learn from the other teacher. That'll be a part of our professional development process for our staff.

JE: And what role does the leadership team play in that sort of modelling and feedback? It's interesting that, yeah, that as classroom teachers they're going into each other's rooms to observe as well, which is great. It's not just like a, you know, ‘oh, here comes the principal, coming to watch me...’

DM: A checklist, yeah!

JE: Yeah. But what role will you play in that?

DM: Oh, look, I'll be certainly conducting those observations myself, but going in as a learner also. We need to model good pedagogy when we're delivering to our staff. We need to be hearing from different people's voices as well all of the time as we approach that staff meeting time as a mechanism for improving capacity in each other.

JE: It's tricky with any group of staff, I think, that observing and that cycle of feedback and so on because there's a lot of trust needed, isn't there, in that process. How do you build that in a new school? Is that something that you'll kind of ease into? Is that something that, you know these get togethers you’re having ahead of the school year, you're building that trust, there's an element of that in it?

DM: I just created a document that I wish I had had written earlier, which I'll use for our recruitment for the following year because I want to make it clear that this isn't for the average teacher, this journey. And we have put it on these foundation staff that they are going to have to be the keepers and the holders of the story and the culture. So, I think it'll be quite easy to start like this with the people that we've got because they're wonderful people and they're up for it, I think. And if that just becomes a part of what we do next year, then I'm hoping that we can maintain that as new people join us the following year.

JE: So, you've been very clear about the expectations, yeah.

DM: Yeah, we've been clear about it, but we won't be easing into it. But also, there won't be different things coming at them all the time, because this is it. And we want to be consistent with those 2 documents: they’re our goals; that's our playbook; that's where we're going; that's what our professional development for staff will align with. And yeah, we do expect them to be collaborative, but I think they'll experience that in a life-giving way, and I don't think there's a lot of fear in that.

JE: Great point. Participating in professional development then, that's a crucial part of any teaching and learning approach and, you know, the approach that you take to the pedagogy there. I see from the updates that you've posted this year though, and I know from our discussions that we've had in previous episodes, you make sure you're a part of that PD too – it's not just something happening to teachers, is it?

DM: Oh yeah; no, I think those days are over hopefully. We've got to be in the room and learning with our staff and learning from each other all of the time. And look, we've got some really, really experienced people. We've also got 3 graduates and early career teachers in our staff, which is so exciting. It is so exciting for what they bring to the table, in terms of energy and enthusiasm and the gifts that they bring. But it's great to have [those] different stages of career for people to learn from each other and who are wanting to do so. So, yeah, we've all got to be participating in and enriching that professional development.

JE: Yeah, because I know in [previous series] when we've spoken about the mix of staffing as well, you know people have said before that yes, there's an element of that finance to it – you know, you've got to sort of balance your budget in terms of who you're taking on, the level they’re at – but really what you want is that really nice mix. Like you say you want your graduates in there as well, and people that are at different stages of their career, don't you?

DM: Yeah, absolutely. Oh look, you know, the finance is a bit of a bonus, but it's not the reason – I think those graduates bring so much to the table and also bring out the best in the experienced staff as well. So, absolutely, you do want that strategy around what age and stage of career people are at across your staff.

JE: I don't want to look too far ahead (because you've just finished these documents and that's what you're going to be going with) but how often will you then sort of come back to them, monitor, review, how often will that happen?

DM: We’ll certainly shape them, and they'll continue to be tweaked and to evolve. However, those 2 main documents, we don't see them changing greatly over the next 3 to 4 years. We want to stay the course on that, and we're pretty confident that we'll see some good results on the back of that.

JE: Ok then, so we're going to end on our usual 3 questions then. So, it's biggest achievement, hurdle (or challenge, whichever you want to say), and a key learning as well.

DM: Biggest achievement’s probably the coming together of some of those ways of working documents, and behind [those] there are documents with signature practices for how we approach literacy and numeracy, and our philosophy on homework … and seeing those all come together in the last couple of weeks has been pretty exciting, because we think that that gives really good clarity to our staff and our families.

Our biggest hurdle has probably been in that as well, just trying to tie things off. There's been so many great ideas floating around but bringing that all together in this last period, to have it ready in a place that staff are going to be able to pick it up and run with it, and it'll be able to be actioned and not forgotten about.

And yeah, that key learning has just been clarity of communication. How do we get everything that's in our heads right now, make it clear to staff at the beginning of the school year? So, we need to be clear amongst the leadership team and really clear in what we're communicating to our staff at the beginning of 2025.

JE: Excellent. Well, congratulations on everything that you've achieved so far, [I know] there's been a lot of hard work from a lot of people there, not just yourself. So, congratulations on that! And good luck with the big opening – the next time we speak, you will be open, it will be the start of Term 1, and I'm sure you'll be having a lot of fun.

DM: Yeah, good fun, I can't wait Jo. Great to talk to you again, and we'll see you soon.

That’s the latest from Dan McShea, but after the break I’ve got a special New Year treat in store for you as I’m joined by our leaders from Series 1 and 2 – Ray Boyd and Rachael Lehr from Dayton Primary School in Perth, and Jo Camozatto, from Bemin Secondary College in Melbourne.

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JE: Hi, Ray and Rachael, it's fantastic to catch up with you again. It's about a year since we last caught up and, of course, it's 2 years since you opened at Dayton. Big question, how are things going?

Ray Boyd: Yeah, really good. The hardest bit's trying to cope with the growth and make sure we get the staffing right. For example, we put on some extra staff for the start of next year and then we had 40 kids that have left because their parents, they’ve moved out of area, they've gone to other schools or overseas. So, it's always a juggling act at this time of the year in a new school as we try to work out exactly where we sit with our student population.

Rachael Lehr: And to put that into context, Jo, last year (in 2023) we opened with 200 students, and now we finished the year 2024 with 311 and we're looking to have about 370 to start [2025], so we've almost doubled our students in those couple of years. It's a lot to keep managing and shuffling around all the class lists as you can imagine.

JE: I'm interested, as a new school, are you kind of still in that growth phase? Like, certainly with enrolments, but does that count with buildings as well, or is the building side of it … because some schools like open in phases with buildings, don't they. How's that working?

RB: No, all the buildings we've got are here – so they're all finished – but there is a lot of building within the community, so we're growing. As the building industry catches up with itself, more families start to move into the area; even though we've got a fairly tight intake area, a lot of that's vacant space still at this point in time.

RL: And we've been carrying a lot of empty classrooms in the school. So, this year we had about 6 that were empty, next year we're looking to only have 2 – so we've added on all those extra classes and an extra kindergarten. So, we are definitely filling our space that we've got here.

RB: And our staff have probably tripled in size from when we opened.

JE: Yeah, so how many staff do you have currently?

RL: I think we ended with 38, at the end of this year, so we put on a few over the year. We did a restructure in the middle of the year, which added an extra class, extra teacher, and we've had to put on a lot of Education Assistants (students coming into the school with special needs) so they've boosted our team as well.

So, we've been quite intentional. I mean, we talked with you last year and even when we were building our team about how we really wanted to get the right people on the team. So, we've been working hard in that space trying to keep getting it right. We feel like we got it right at the beginning, so everyone that we add to the team we want to be the same kind of crazy, passionate educators that love kids and can put up with us.

RB: And a hard bit – as anyone who does reading would know – every time you lose someone or add someone, you get a new team. So, we lose someone it's a new team; we get someone it's a new team. So, it's just trying to find how the people fit into the community. It's great to interview and talk to people, but until they get their boots on the ground, we never really know how it's actually going to work out.

JE: I'm interested just like in terms of how you're thinking about the stage that you are at now, do you still kind of think yourself as a new school or is that kind of gone now?

RB: Oh no, definitely still a new school. Everything we do is either it's the first time or a second time. There are some things we've got in place like the Leaver’s Ceremony – that’s sort of locked in now – but we're still playing with what our Interschool Carnivals will look like (if at all), we tried a few things in that space, getting the kids access to various programs and things. We still haven’t introduced Instrumental Music – so that's something that we hope to bring in – while our Music Specialist finds her feet a little more. So, definitely see us still as a new school; probably a new school phase until maybe our fifth year, I would think.

RL: And we're still working in the Curriculum and Pedagogy space. As you would have known, we had our Instructional Playbook which we gave to our staff when they came on board, but even that there's bits of that we never really unpacked. So, over the course of the last 2 years we've added in more. This year we've been really focusing on reading instruction – so there's new things in there. The lucky thing for us is that we're not really trying to change a lot of practice in our school in terms of shifting the teachers’ mindsets, we're just kind of refining a little bit from how we've been doing things to make sure we're getting things right around literacy, in particular. Super passionate about making sure that all of our students leave Dayton able to read, because as I said to our students at the Assembly the other day, it'll open all the doors for them in their future.

JE: So, would you say that's been one of the big achievements and the focus for this year then, the literacy stuff, the instruction, the focus on that – trying to get that pathway sorted and the curriculum embedded?

RL: I think for this year. Last year [2023] we looked a lot more at daily review and just our instructional pedagogy overall in terms of explicit instruction. So, this year we shifted gears a little bit. We did go back over that all again, which we do every time we meet as a staff at the start of the term, we review what we're all about at Dayton. But yeah, we did shift into the writing, the daily sentence writing, shared reading and how that looks, just to ensure consistency across the school. And I think the thing that speaks most to that is our results – and Ray is the data nerd, so he can talk to you about that. But we are really proud of our results. 

RB: Probably the biggest shift we've had – when we started back in 2023, we had all the curriculum in place but having it on a piece of paper and actually seeing what that looks like in a classroom are 2 very different things. So, this year particularly, Rachael spent a lot of time in getting the staff to … we've got a Literacy Committee, Numeracy is starting up too. So now it's getting the kindies and the juniors and the senior classes, the teachers together and going ‘OK, what does this look like and how does it transition through those years?’ So that's where that fine tuning comes in place and that's where we've still got a lot of work to do in that, and the same in Maths; and trying to identify what structures work and what structures don't and where we need to shift things.

JE: And Rachael mentioned there you've had some great results already. What kind of things have been happening re the student outcomes?

RB: Oh, look, our data’s just incredible. I said to the staff, having been in a school for 16 years previously to this one, the timeframe that we've had in terms of moving the students, we saw growth in our first year in 6 months, incredible growth. But between 2 years that same growth has been in there. So, we couldn't take any credit for the 2023 NAPLAN data because it was 5 weeks into school, but we've taken credit for this year – there's almost been a complete flip, a mirror image of where the kids were to where the kids are now.

And as anyone in school-land knows, next year will be the first year where schools will actually be able to do a comparative data analysis between the kids that sat NAPLAN in 2023, and the kids that sat NAPLAN in 2025. But our off-NAPLAN cycle – our PAT data – and our on-cycle NAPLAN’s all showing these huge growths right across the board. So, when we look at PAT, on average the growth according to the averages is about 8, and the majority of our kids are 10s, 11s and 12s in terms of that jump; so, it's been quite significant.

JE: Wow, that's fantastic! That must be so amazing to be part of that because you've set it up – it's you that set it up. It’s not often you get to do that, is it.

RB: It is, but it's nice to be able to say to the teachers ‘this is the work that you've done, and this is a direct result’. Again, Rach and I can set it all up, and Nat MacMillan (who's new to our team) can set it up, but the teachers have to actually enact it. And the fact that we can show them some (I know it's data), but we can show them through statistics ‘this is the impact that you're actually having in your school’.

And probably the biggest … we noticed at the Leaver’s Ceremony this year, the kids were there for nearly 40/50 minutes, the same with the Book Ceremony – you could hear a pin drop. So, we've got our entire school… and again, that's because the expectations in the classroom are now carrying into other environments. And the kids were so respectful, literally you could hear a pin drop. It was phenomenal.

RL: Yeah, we speak a lot about being both warm and demanding at Dayton. So, relationships are high, we prioritise that, but matched with that are those high expectations, the structures and routines. And you just see that, the kids feel safe, they know what to expect at Dayton. They're actually just happy to be learning and even making mistakes. Like, I've just really seen a shift in them … their belief in themselves as learners, that's right from kindy, but they're just in there, so keen to learn. So, I think our team has just created this sense of urgency about learning, but also fun and engagement that's actually flowing through the whole school.

JE: So that confidence is there, isn't it as well? 

RB: Very much so.

JE: Yeah, because that's important, we know that don't we … I mean, teacher confidence is one thing, but student confidence makes such a difference, doesn’t it, in terms of that resilience and keeping going and realising, you know, you've got to keep going with it and you are capable of it, you are capable of it rather, than that anxiety.

RL: Yeah, and that's like … one of the kids told me the other day ‘we can do hard things’ and so I think that's a bit of a saying around the school as well – acknowledging that things might be hard, but it's worth it, nothing good ever comes without any hard work, I don't think.

JE: Well, you certainly put plenty of that in! So, you should be reaping the rewards for years to come. Every time I speak to you, you're doing amazing things. Anything in particular you want to flag up for, oh my gosh, 2025?

RB: Yeah, just keep doing what we're doing and hopefully keep the team on deck and just refine what we're doing and hopefully get more results. The results, as you said, teacher’s confidence feeds into that self-efficacy and collective efficacy and every time the teachers achieve something that gives our leadership group a bit more positivity in what we're doing.

You heard me mention earlier, we've got another teacher, or another leader in our team, Nat Weinbrecht. We’ve got to blood her a little bit in terms of getting her head around everything, but she's been doing well. So, we're looking at splitting the workload a little bit more probably is one of our focuses for 2025, with 3 people on deck instead of 2, Jo. 

RL: And just continuing what we've done with a bigger team and a bigger group of students. It's a little easier to get whole school alignment and everyone working on the same page when there's fewer of you. There is that challenge in as we grow, as we've doubled in size, that we still have that whole school alignment, everyone on the same page, working for the same goal, and our vision of being a school of excellence, and having every child feel like they belong – that leads to success. So, I think, yeah, just doing the same things, but on a bigger scale, so, scaling it up.

That’s Ray and Rachael, who we followed in Series 1 of School Assembly. A reminder you can find all the episodes from that series on the Teacher podcast channel. So, to finish off this special episode I caught up with Jo Camozatto, Foundation Principal of Bemin Secondary College in the Melbourne suburb of Truganina. We followed Jo in Series 2 of School Assembly, and it was something a little bit different because Bemin is a dual campus secondary, so 2 sites to set up. Let’s find out how things have been going. 

JE: Hi Jo, how's that first year gone?

Jo Camozzato: Well, hello to you too, Jo. Nice to hear from you again and have a chance to talk to you. I think the full year's gone quickly but also, I think it's been pretty successful, action-packed, challenging, rewarding. For some of us it's hard to believe we've been open a year. Some people were reminiscing yesterday; they could still remember certain funny moments. I've actually forgotten everything because I'm just living in the moment every day that, you know, even the beginning of the year seems a really, really long time ago.

JE: Have you found yourself getting into that rhythm then? How long did that take to happen then with the new school? Have you found yourself getting into the rhythm yet?

JC: Yeah, I think you know probably at the different campuses, the rhythm was a little bit different. I think at the junior campus, the fact that we had less students and the age that they were – so you know, we started off about 125 years 7s and they were on that traditional pathway to high school. I'd say they found their rhythm pretty quickly in less than a term.
I think with the older students at the senior campus, I think overall we probably hit our straps with the students, and they settled and found their rhythm, you know at 15/16, by the end of Term 2, so nearly 6 months in.

And I think also for staff, you know, the second half of the year has been a little bit more, I wouldn't say calmer, but just understanding where we're going, what we're doing, than the first half. Because it's really full-on when you open a new school, and the cognitive load is high for the teaching staff and the education support staff, and then we also have the excitement of the students and the students adjusting to their new school or new experience going to senior school.

JE: And the other thing that was different about your school was it was dual campus, wasn't it, which is like 2 schools basically you're doing at the same time.

JC: Yes, it has been, and it has been a challenge. I mean, I don't want to take away from my primary colleagues who when you open a new primary school, you do open prep to 6 and (or prep to you know, whatever in each state). So, people might go ‘well, they open at every year level’, but they're on one campus. This is like opening 2 schools, but also trying to make sure that you continue to build the one school culture while recognising that the 2 campuses serve different age groups and different points of adolescent development.

JE: I caught up with Ray and Rachel, who we followed in Series 1, and they were saying, you know, they're still in that new school mode – they're still a new school, and that'll be the case for about 5 years, they think, while everything kind of works through. Is that kind of a similar kind of timeline for you? Because there'll be lots of firsts again next year and the year after with different things happening for different students and different things being brought on. How does it work in your context?

JC: I think it's similar, but I think it's also like put the fast-forward button on. Because we've started 2 high school year levels at 2 different points, our current year 10s will be at their final year in less than 5 years, [in 3 years] we will have a full capacity secondary college across 2 campuses. However, the new school feeling is around I think at least for the next 3 years, because we're bringing in more staff than we currently have for next year. So, there'll be more people, you know, like the current staff, there will be … well, it is what I've just said! There'll be all these new people coming in and there'll be more of them than us, so to speak.

And that will repeat itself, I believe, due to the growth out in this area for the next 2 or 3 years in a row before it settles. Because next year we have 311 year 10s coming in and our year 11 cohort has grown another 30 students on top of what we took in this year at year 10.
So it just results in more and more staffing. And the junior end of the school is also growing – our year 7s were at 125, but our year 8s, they go into year 8 with a whole class added of students who are in our area that now want to come here, and at year 7 we're now taking in over 170 students. So, this is massive growth.

So, it's also that addition of the fact that you're … well, you're nearly tripling actually. we're nearly tripling in size, which is quite frightening. And there will be another layer, hopefully if we're funded for stage 2 build on the senior campus in the next 3 years, where there'll be like other new buildings. So, the newness continues even in a physical sense as well.

JE: So, there's plenty going on then, for next year. What would you say your main focus is for next year? If you could narrow it down to one or 2 things you really want to either embed or achieve next year. We're talking to you, by the way, at the end of 2024 – so, what are you thinking about for 2025?

JC: I think we want to continue to move in the direction that we've started, which is to set high expectations for our students and our staff. But really, we also need to make sure we integrate all our new people. And when I say integrate all our new people into our current school culture, which we're still building, all the new staff and all our new students and continue to refine our ways of doing that. And I'm not saying that we have all the answers to that, but obviously, every time we experience it, we realise what else we need to do or roles that we need to create to support these kind of growth spurts, if you like.

So, you know, I've added a Transition Coordinator into the mix, who's part youth worker, part Transition Coordinator. I've added a leading teacher or middle-range leadership position, building teacher capacity. I've sort of strategically tried to create roles that will also support what we're trying to achieve. That's probably the simplest thing I can sort of talk about today.

JE: And as you say there, a key part is high expectations – and that was something that came through in the chat earlier with Ray and Rachel. You know, those high expectations right from the beginning. You know, you're setting off on the right foot, and that's what people expect, isn't it? That's what people expect. It's what the parents expect it’s what the teachers expect. And you know that it's making sure the students are on that page as well.

JC: Yeah, I think everyone expects that. But to deliver it is a very different story. And delivering it requires a strong commitment from the students, their families and the staff. And no doubt that if you're working in a new school, you need to have commitment. And I don't know if new schools are for everyone, but you know, that's actually what's required. And you have to hold your stance. I think I've talked about this before. As the principal, you have to hold true to why you're doing things and why it's important – because a lot of things come at you in that sort of rapid growth time, and a lot of people come at you with different ideas, which may not be on the same page of what you're trying to achieve for the community and the students at large.

But I will say we've had a wonderful response from our parent community this year. We’ve found them to be highly supportive, highly full of gratitude for the work we're doing. I've been really, you know, touched by I think they're positive comments and the way they speak to us and just the way they acknowledge the work that we've done. So, that's really special.

Because you don't realise how important schools are until you open a school in a suburb where there's no school. And people are really happy to see schools, you know, that's what … they've come out here, they've built their new houses, and they want their children to go to school locally. So, when the school arrives, it's a really big deal for them; and this community has certainly welcomed us in Truganina North.

JE: That's great. Well, it's good to hear that you've had a great 2024, great opening year, and well done on everything that you've achieved so far. And I know that there's so much hard work that's gone into that from everybody, from all quarters, not just from yourself, but all the team there. So yeah, congrats to everybody so far and best of luck for 2025 to you and the team and the students and all the families there.

JC: Thank you. And I look forward to chatting to you next year and we'll see how big we are then!

JE: Yes, can't wait for that. We'll catch up with you again in 2025/2026. Thanks very much Jo.

We’ll, that’s been a bumper episode to start 2025 – all our School Assembly leaders in one! I certainly enjoyed it, and I hope you did too. Thanks for listening. We’ll be returning to our normal format for Episode 7 of Series 3, when I’ll be chatting to Dan about the school opening its doors to students for the first time – so, there’ll be a real celebration feel to that one. You can keep listening now, whether it’s going back to catch up on Series 1 with Ray and Rachael or Series 2 with Jo, or any of the other Teacher podcast series – there are more than 300 episodes in our archive to choose from. Find those wherever you get your podcasts from. Hit the follow button to make sure you don’t miss out on new episodes, and please leave a rating and a review while you’re there. Bye!

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