Author Archives: mwalker

Chinese New Year at EPS

Posted on February 16, 2015 by mwalker

  This morning at assembly we had the traditional “lion dance” to celebrate Chinese New Year. Its also the 3rd assembly for the new school year and one could tell from the wide eyed 4-5 year old prep students they … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Chinese Language | 2 Comments

Growth mindsets and school wide learning cultures – a perfect mix!

Posted on December 8, 2014 by mwalker

I’ve written before on growth mindsets and this year teachers were keen to include young people developing growth mindsets as a key principle in the new strategic plan. A few teachers are now mentioning this to some parents who have … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Instruction, Teaching | 1 Comment

An Indigenous Experience!

Posted on December 7, 2014 by mwalker

Last month we had a visit from some students who live in a remote indigenous community in Western Australia. The visit was organised by one of our former teachers, Nicole. The students were a little overawed initially by the size … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, school | 1 Comment

Provoking student interest in learning

Posted on December 2, 2014 by mwalker

I say again I’m in a fortunate role as principal to see some amazing products and processes of learning and I’m guilty of not sharing these as often as I should. So here goes: the first two photos show an … Continue reading →

Posted in curriculum, differentiation, Instruction, Teaching, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Student feedback to teachers – just ask them we did!

Posted on December 1, 2014 by mwalker

We were working with Kath Murdoch this afternoon on using our student feedback to adjust the 2015 curriculum plans. Our students provided the followed recommendations to teachers which I thought were worth sharing: less teacher talk: which we are thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Feedback, Instruction, school, teacher efficacy, Teaching | 2 Comments

A teacher letter to parents

Posted on November 25, 2014 by mwalker

Recently a young teacher sent a blog link to our staff email distribution list to read. The link went viral as I think it hit a spot with teachers about one of their frustrations. Apparently some schools have published the … Continue reading →

Posted in parenting | 1 Comment

The Power of Ummmmmm!

Posted on November 25, 2014 by mwalker

  This is a video of Kath Murdoch, an educator we have a long association with at EPS, taken in at a Ted X talk in Canada recently. Her presentation features young people from my school. I must say hearing … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | 1 Comment

Ice Bucket Challenge

Posted on October 21, 2014 by mwalker

Recently the students at my school set the school leaders a challenge. If they walked more than 6000 laps during the school walkathon and collected their sponsors money we had to do the ice bucket challenge. Well they walked 9000 … Continue reading →

Posted in school, Video Clips | 1 Comment

terra-cotta warriors

Posted on October 3, 2014 by mwalker

I stumbled upon this short clip on the Terra-Cotta Warriors yesterday which I think gives a great short overview on this natural wonder I visited last year. It’s worth a view for those interested in history.

Posted in China, history, Video Clips | 1 Comment

Medical miracles

Posted on September 29, 2014 by mwalker

  I have met Tony a few times most recently at a dinner at my golf club where we spoke casually about a number of things but I must say I felt proud of him when he was featured on … Continue reading →

Posted in disability, Family, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Shirley Clarke says tell students the truth if their work needs work.

Posted on September 25, 2014 by mwalker

  I’m re-reading Shirley Clarke’s book first published in 2008 on active learning and formative assessment. One of the points she makes in the book is the link between higher self-esteem and a growth mindset. We need to show enthusiasm … Continue reading →

Posted in Feedback, parenting, Teaching, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

School timetables are factors in lesson structures!

Posted on September 3, 2014 by mwalker

I have a wondering whether a school timetable influences the way instruction is planned in classrooms? Now I know the answer is obviously yes from a practical perspective but the deeper question I’m pondering is do those timetable influenced instructional decisions … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction, school, school structures, Teaching, Video Clips | 1 Comment

A twist on parent teacher interviews

Posted on August 28, 2014 by mwalker

This week we completed our 2nd round of parent teacher interviews. They were held in August, which is just over half way through the academic school year. So what’s different you might ask? The students 1/2 year written reports were … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, school, Teaching, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

What might Benjamin Franklin have to say to our young students?

Posted on August 19, 2014 by mwalker

  At Monday’s school assembly I used Benjamin Franklin’s story to talk about the importance of effort and persistence as we strive for personal excellence. “energy and persistence conquer all things” Benjamin Franklin I talked about his childhood days in … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Leadership, Reading, school, Teaching, Video Clips | 1 Comment

“I am eleven” a tremendous resource to explore intercultural understandings.

Posted on August 19, 2014 by mwalker

I just had to share this resource which I have just ordered for my school. I and I should say we are really just starting to get immersed into the intercultural understanding space in schools. It’s an really interesting space … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Sister School, Teaching, Video Clips | 7 Comments