The Principal of Batemans Bay High School has attended a “high-level strategic leadership course” at the famous Harvard University in the United States of America.
Ms Paula Hambly won a highly competitive scholarship to attend the course and was one of only three Australian principals to get through the application process.
“We were excited to hear Ms Hambly describe how the knowledge gained from the Harvard course will be applied to the process of renewal and rebuilding that is already underway at the school,” said P&C President Alex Malcolm.
“The course was very timely as our school is going through a period of change management looking at all our systems and processes,” said Ms Hambly.
“Brilliant workshop facilitators pushed me and other educators to think outside the square and be brave in design thinking which is all about creative problem solving and putting student needs above everything else,” she said.
“The underlying question posed at the workshops was how can a highly strategic way of thinking and leading have an impact on relationships with students, teachers, families and community and how can this set students up for future success.
“I am eager to work with my teams at school to move beyond mere involvement of parties but to actual engagement. This means listening to students, teachers, families and community and using what we learn to make the best decisions, take positive action in the classroom and partner with families in children’s learning.
“It was great to reflect that dedicated teachers in my school, working together, were already making big gains, a good example being our Transition Program- Year 6 into 7, Year 8 into 9 and Year 10 into 11.”
The application process was reportedly tough with only three Australian principals granted scholarships.
“The experience reignited my passion for leading learning and the desire to pursue further professional learning to equip me to work well with my school teams in our goal to make Batemans Bay High School the best place it can be,” concluded Ms Hambly.
