Monday 6th August was a big night for the Rotary Club of Port Fairy when it inducted its newest member, Michael Crowe at its Dinner Meeting at the Star of the West Hotel. (see story)

The evening was also marked by an inspirational talk delivered by guest speakers, Mark Chapman, the Principal of the Port Fairy Consolidated School, assisted by senior teacher, Debbie Dowell who is part of the School’s leadership team.

Mark ChapmanMark and Debbie outlined the programs being undertaken at the school, its core values and its vision for the future to serve the Port Fairy community.

Mark recently returned to Port Fairy to take on the role of School Principal from the start of Term 2, having taught there earlier in his teaching career.  After spending time in recent years as Principal at Allansford Primary School, he was pleased to discover on his return to the Port Fairy Consolidated School that the essence of the school remained strong and he was taking on the new role with the support of experienced and dedicated teachers.  He was proud to be associated with a team that had a “yes mentality”, were forever optimistic and strove to foster interaction with, and valued the role of, parents.  Teachers understood that parents have a critical role in the success of a school and their own child’s development. 

He has found that the Port Fairy Consolidated School has a real heart and inner strength and, as Principal, he will be endeavouring to showcase what the school has to offer to enable students to both grow emotionally as well as scholastically.  Supported by the school’s leadership team he will be fostering a balanced curriculum with emphasis on numeracy and literacy but offering a diverse education by building on the strong focus that the school possesses in art and environmental programs.

He was particularly proud of how the school has developed its Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden project and reported how amazed he was to attend the recent, annual Parent’s Dinner that is entirely cooked and catered for by the senior students who turn on a 5-star feast for their parents.

After 30 years in the teaching profession, having started out as a prep school teacher, Mark finds it amusing that his original “preppies” are now turning 35!  He has a strong connection with social work, not just because his wife, Helen, works in the field but because he has always been passionate about working with disengaged and indigenous children.  This passion has seen him undertake teaching roles and engage in study exchange programs in the USA and other countries.

Mark and Debbie reported that all states in Australia are moving towards a national curriculum.  Although supportive of this, they also had some concerns.  Believing that Victoria leads the way in teaching outcomes they are concerned that such standardisation may result in Port Fairy Consolidated having to “step back” in some areas, particularly in their biodiversity programs where developments at the school in recent years has seen the mantra of caring for the environment become embedded in student culture.

The school’s leadership team has a “quality teaching” focus and Mark described how teaching has changed over the years compared to when most of the Rotarians present went to school.  These days, it is not uncommon for students to negotiate with teachers about their learning pathways.  He believed this leads to more motivated students when they have a say in what they are learning and how they go about their subjects.  

These days, the need for feedback is paramount and Mark emphasised that this is now a two way process that is often driven by the students.  He acknowledged that these changes can be a challenge for older, more traditional teachers but the accent was always on positive outcomes.   The parent–teacher interview process has also evolved and it is not uncommon to have a session where the students themselves showcase their work to parents.

The Port Fairy Consolidated School’s vision for the future is to develop a strong learning community that always strives to improve student outcomes.  Above all, teachers must act as the activators of learning.  It is also important that the school is able to respond to local, community needs.  He emphasised that the modern teacher now had to work with parents “beyond the school gate” to enhance the learning experience for their children and, as such, the Consolidated School has a strong parenting program.

Debbie highlighted the need for constant and on-going communication in the household between parents and their children and is particularly important in regard to literacy, where there was found to be a large discrepancy in the breadth of vocabulary and words used from children emanating from a home with professionally skilled parents to those coming from lower, socio-economic backgrounds.  This discrepancy therefore had the potential to magnify differences in the classroom when it came to reading skills.

In this regard, the Consolidated School was fostering a program during 2012 – the International Year of Reading – where they want up to 228 adults on 27th August to visit the school and share a reading experience, one-on-one with a student, for around 30 minutes.  It didn’t matter whether it is reading from a book or reading an article delivered on an iPad!  Debbie encouraged Rotarians to assist in this special project and handed a flyer to all present seeking their involvement.  (Download flyer on The Great Reading Challenge).

The evolving curriculum, with its emphasis on meeting community needs, means that Rotary can also help by being involved in school programs whether it is helping to develop an environmental hub, building on visual and performing arts programs and fostering the use of IT.  Mark also wants to start “Family Focus Days”, particularly where students are linked to a father or significant family male to develop the bond that is seen to be so valuable to child development.

In closing, Mark talked of a recently adopted program he called “back to the future” which will endeavour to assist marginalised students and to particularly understand why there is an apparent disconnect between students graduating from their school and going on to secondary education in Warrnambool.  He reported that there was a disproportionate drop-out rate among Port Fairy-based students in regard to completing their VCE.  This was of great concern to the Consolidated School and he and his staff hope to find out why.

At the end of what was an informative and inspiring presentation Rotarian, John Clue, thanked both Debbie and Mark for their involvement and for providing such valuable insight into educational trends.

(NB.  Following his presentation to the Rotary Club, Principal, Mark Chapman, wrote an article in their School Newsletter about the value of volunteering in the community....Read)

Below, Rotarians listen intently to Mark and Debbie's interesting presentation while John Clue introduces our guest speakers
Rotarians listen


John Clue