Psychological Resources

Where will I find the strength to lead, as we should? Where will I derive my sense of hope to be the faith leader in my community?

It is my hope that my interactions with teachers, students and parents will leave them feeling empowered. It is also my hope that these individuals will also one day pass this on to people they encounter. My strength to hope will come from the whole of staff, students and parents that make up the school community.

As I have stated in my personal philosophy of education, I believe God expects each of us to continually push ourselves to do his work. As a teacher and Department Head, I have been gradually taking on a greater role as faith leader at Loyola. Currently, I am fortunate to work at a school with committed hard working individuals who see the potential in their students for greatness and find creative and engaging ways of facilitating the educational opportunities for them. This is only possible because of the leadership model of the current principal. He trusts and believes in the professional integrity of his teachers. He gives us room to support our learners while always making himself available to guide and lead us gently but firmly in the right directions. This collective leadership model has proven to be very effective and is one that I would like to model myself.

A school that is a collaborative professional learning community with the common goal to build and sustain a supportive community for student success is my vision of a school which maximizes teaching, learning and knowledge. If I were principal of such a school, I would integrate restorative practices into the school community and would strive to be proactive and positive in all approaches to student success. The school would have an active involvement from all stakeholders in the community - staff, parents, parishes, school council, community partners and most importantly – students. Student engagement is the foundation of any school community and students would be partners in dialogue, discussions and decisions that inform programs and activities in the classroom and the school.