As we started the new teaching year I decided to make a teaching “New Year’s Resolution” in the form of things I wanted to keep doing, stop doing and start doing.

KEEP

I was humbled to work with a very organised teaching partner last year (kelly) who taught me some life/teaching hacks to stay organised and on top of my workload. We would plan and organise our work to ensure we worked smarter not harder. Some of this included writing endless lists. It seems small and perhaps … but it really helped to prioritise tasks that needed to be done and not feel so overwhelmed by the never ending to do list of a teacher. This year I also want to keep doing things in advance instead of, like previous years, in stress induced state trying to do things last minute.

STOP

I would like to stop working endless hours into the night. I have started this by making a ‘go home’ time each day. This differs from day to day depending on meetings and time of year (i.e. reporting time). However, I have ensured that at least one day a week I give myself an early mark and leave very soon after my work day has finished. This will ensure that I can achieve a work/life balance, beneficial to my overall wellbeing. 

START

This year, at St Luke’s, we started with a focus on Wellbeing. In my learning space, Lion’s Den, we decided to start the day with a song as well as an inspirational quote to motivate the students for the day. We also ensure we have regular brain breaks throughout the day (which is something I will keep doing from last year). I hope to start and continue to have a big focus on student wellbeing in 20221