Our pupils are a credit to school

Lasswade High head teacher Campbell Hornell with head girl Sarah Judge and head boy Thomas Rietvelt

I observed senior students escorting delegates to the assembly hall and chatting to them in a friendly, engaging and mature manner. I remember thinking what great young people.

Now, at the end of my first term as head teacher my impression of the school being full of outstanding students has been confirmed. My day-to-day conversations with students, their response to things I’ve asked them to do via school assemblies, their sporting achievements, their musical talent and presentation skills at our recent YPI event serve as clear evidence that Lasswade students are a credit to the school and their parents.

As an experienced head teacher I know that one of my roles is to create a culture in the school by which we demand the best from students every day and provide them with the opportunities to make progress with learning, improve their skill set and achieve their goals. I’ve found this is the culture and my intention is to maintain and improve it. I expect students, and staff, to work hard and demonstrate respect. In my assemblies to date with students I have spent time discussing our DREAM values, what they mean, and how we can put them into practice.

I have also spent a lot of time getting to know the staff. Lasswade is fortunate to have a committed and talented staff. They are determined to secure the best possible outcomes for our students.

I feel privileged to be head teacher of Lasswade High. My “induction” this term has given me a clear sense of what needs to be done. I’ll focus our work around three areas – moving forward in Learning, Teaching and Assessment; secondly, improving our curriculum; and finally developing our Quality Improvement practices. I relish the opportunity to lead such a large and dynamic school and look forward to working with all in our school community to allow Lasswade students to excel.