Code Black Alert

There was a gunman loose in Melbourne yesterday and we received this alert. Some schools had to ‘lock down’ because of the danger.

CODE BLACK ALERT

This email has been auto generated by IRIS to notify you of a Code BLACK Alert incident

IRIS Incident 57429 Alert

This email has been auto generated by IRIS to notify you of an incident received by Emergency & Security Management.

Incident No:	57429
Category:	Police Operation
	Police Matter
Date:	21/06/2010 11:31:00 AM
Principal:	Glenn Fankhauser
Principal No.:	9755 4527
Location:	Rowville Secondary College
	Paratea Drive, Rowville, 3178
	On Camp or Excursion
	During School Hours
Region:	EASTERN METROPOLITAN
Incident Details:	Rowville S/C reported that a group of students are on an excursion in the city where a highly pubicised Police operation is in progress.

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Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education & Early Childhood Development.

Alert Key

Alert Level	Action
Standard	Standard Incident
Green	Information Only
Amber	Increase levels of vigilance & preparedness
Red	Inform school / community & take appropriate actions
Black	Implement School Emergency Plan

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IRIS Incident Reporting Information System - Keeping our Schools Safe

Working Bee

On Saturday last we had our second Working Bee. Parents volunteer to come to the school for a couple of hours to do some work. The first Working Bee entailed lining the basketball court, small paint jobs, gardening and window cleaning. This one had more indoor work, window cleaning, chair and table cleaning, removing cobwebs, weeding the gardens and sweeping paths. Each family attends one Working Bee a year and there are four in total, one per term. It is another example of volunteerism at a different level to home. Most sporting groups have Working Bees, it is a part of life here. The PFA also do a huge amount of catering and fundraising but this is separate from them. I will write about the amazing amount of work that they do for the school, later in the year when I have a better overview.

Merri Munchers

Last week I was invited to 'Merri Munchers' a social club of professional people who meet once very two month s for a meal and some wine tasting. (Merri is the name of the local river) Mark’s daughter Jane had mentioned me at work, she is a nurse at the local hospital, and Dr. Nick Houghton invited me to join them on Wednesday last. I have decided to say ‘yes’ to as much as I can on this exchange and had a very pleasant evening, where I met some very interesting people and enjoyed the stories they told about their lives and the paths taken to date.

RFID and GGS

Next port of call was Geelong Grammar School (GGS) a magnificent complex on 400 acres near the centre of the city. We passed their own Equestrian Centre on the way in and saw their fleet of boats in their own harbour as we drove from one of their libraries to the other. We did not visit their third library. We saw their recently opened new 'Centre for Wellbeing' which is only a gym and swimming pool. The fact that it cost $16 million meant I suppose that they had to give it a fancy name. (Okay it does have a diving pool, weights and fitness rooms, dance studio, medical centre and classroom facilities!) The head librarian was a Fran Walsh whose ancestors come from Galway. She is going to send me her family tree to see if we are related! We visited The Fisher Library (Grades 7-12) and The Panckridge Library (Grades 3-6) magnificent places both. The photos are in the slide show on the left. The photo above shows a poster on the wall which explains RFID. If you click on it it gets bigger-clever or what? To quote Fran: "Bar codes are yesterday's technology". They have approx $380,000 worth of the technology which I cannot imagine many libraries in Ireland can afford, never mind any schools. (We are hoping to design something costing about $10,000 with the company, which would suit the minimal needs of primary schools.) All the staff had on campus accommodation and it came as no surprise to learn that Prince Charles was a past pupil. I wonder does he come back to the reunions? and if he does do they make him wear a name tag? I would love to go back and visit the Junior and Middle Schools and to soak up more of their 150+ year traditions.

Belmont Library Geelong

Visited this library today to see RFID in action, once again. Not as impressive as Mount Gambier and a far more traditional set up. The RFID was working very well and we picked up some new ideas. We are going to approach the company (FE Technologies) and ask them to design a technology especially for our needs, which will combine teacher check-in and check-out with self-check. The self-check stations cost around $14,000 so that is out of the range of mosts primary schools-but not all as you can gather by my next posting. I intend bringing the system back to Trim for our new library. FE Technologies system is not in any Irish schools or libraries.

Not a coat in sight.

The weather has been cold in the last week, especially in the mornings, when it can dip to two degrees with wind and rain also. During 'wet day supervision' today I checked out the Grade Six cloakroom and there was not a single coat hanging up, yet yesterday they were shivering with the cold in the yard. Strange.

Code Green Alert

This was sent to our school today:

CODE GREEN ALERT

This email has been auto generated by IRIS to notify you of a Code GREEN Alert

IRIS Incident 57205 Alert

This email has been auto generated by IRIS to notify you of an incident received by Emergency & Security Management.

Incident No:
57205

Category:
Alerts & Warnings


Extreme Weather Alert/Warning


Date:
16/06/2010 1:49:00 PM


Principal:

Principal No.:

Location:
Emergency & Security Management


109 Reserve Rd, Beaumaris, 3193


Off Site


Outside School Hours (Monday - Friday)


Region:
CENTRAL OFFICE


Incident Details:
Extreme weather warning with damaging winds averaging 50-65km/h with peak gusts around 100km/h are forecast to develop late Wednesday for Western, North Central, Wimmera, Central, West and South Gippsland and Northeast forecast districts. In Alpine Regions winds should average 55-80km/h Wednesday night and Thursday morning with peak gusts to 130km/h



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Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education & Early Childhood Development.

Alert Key

Alert Level
Action

Standard
Standard Incident

Green
Information Only

Amber
Increase levels of vigilance & preparedness

Red
Inform school / community & take appropriate actions

Black
Implement School Emergency Plan



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IRIS Incident Reporting Information System - Keeping our Schools Safe

Release Time For Reports

As explained earlier all classroom teachers get release time of two and a quarter hours per week for their prep. Posts like ICT get further release time of around another 45 minutes. And still the creatures work long hours. Next week is the end of Term Two, all terms are ten weeks long. Reports are issued at the end of Term Two and Term Four. Reports are due to the office today and I will write a little about them in a few days after I have ‘had the experience’! So last week, this school employed a sub teacher for a day so that the teachers could do report writing. They chose a day to suit themselves. A sub teacher gets $290 a day. We are a six teacher school (137 pupils) so the total cost to the school was $1740. The same will be repeated in Term Four. It is a lot and I have a plan to save the school the money, the next time. Now, I could tell you but I would have to shoot you!

The good news is that as I only have one and one third days teaching per week (P.E. and Library) I do not have to write reports. I worked in an equivalent sized school in Ireland from 1986 to 1998, with no release time, my own class reports to write and the rest of the teachers’ reports to read. This is bliss, or it would be if it was not 12 years since I had been a ‘working’ principal.

The Queen's Birthday

Yesterday was the Queen's birthday (peace be upon her) which is why we had the day off. I should have got something for her, I wonder does she have an MP3 player?

National Celtic Festival

I have just discovered 'Beoga' as you can see from the picture above. Classy, powerful and 100% Irish. I had never heard of them before and now I am a fan. 'The Craic Hooers' were also there and the three girls ( Sharon, Avril and Michelle) went down a bomb. They have picked up quite a following and their cd is very good. They sang a song in Irish which they composed, called 'Cóilín, Padraig, Séamus' . It was about the imigrant in Australia, which they dedicated to me. I was honoured but did not get a chance to ask them for a copy of the words. I also forgot to get my photo with them for this blog. I will have to catch up with them in Ireland if i don't bump into them again before I go. Bhan Tre from The Koroit Irish Festival were also there and one of them told me that I sang very well in The Danny Boy Competition, she was obviously in the audience in Koroit, and drunk to boot (only kidding!) Claymore were again a big hit and Oisin and I got to catch up twice more with John Spillane. The jokes, though the same got funnier. It is very much the sense of entertainment and atmosphere with John rather than just the songs. The Message, Gary Og and The Borderers were other highlights. The Bushwackers weren't bad either. It was nice to spend some time with Oisin and the venue was not as vast as Port Fairy and you had a better choice of food as there were many restaurents just across the road from the main arena. The weather was cold and we needed jackets and coats. Indeed there were large heaters heating all the venues. I was so glad that I went. I was originally supposed to stay with Ruth, a friend from 2007 but that fell through. It was too late to get accommodation but luckily I contacted Janet who is also on exchange and lives nearby. We were able to stay with her. She and her son Lee went on Saturday and being Scottish enjoyed the various artists. Janet was a great host and we look forward to seeing her in Warrnambool soon. I must organise a weekend for the gang of exchangees...

I'm a Statistic!

This is a long weekend and the traffic police were out in force. They are very strict on speeding here-Gerry got two tickets for being only four kph over the limit in 2007! and now I am sad to report that I have joined him. Three thousand motorists were caught for speeding this weekend. Yours truly was tipping along on Saturday morning heading down to Portarlington to The Celtic Festival and being a little careless, when a squad car was driving against me and turned around to pull me in. The roads here are good, long and straight for the most part. Yet the motorways are mostly 100kph and often have 80kph. There are cameras everywhere, unmarked cars that lie in waiting and now I have discovered cars that drive up and down the roads, especially on long weekends. On the way back into Warrnambool tonight we go from a single lane which is 100 to a dual-carriageway which is 70! It is like having to do 70 down the Nass Dual Carriageway. The poor divil in front of me did not slow fast enough and an unmarked car pulled him in. I was relieved to get home without incurring further fines. You really have to concentrate and in built -up areas there can be three different speed limits so you have to note the signs.

John Spillane in Crossley

 

Déardaoin seo chaite tháinig sé go dtí halla cúpla míle ó Koroit. Shane Howard a thug ann é. Ní raibh mé riamh aige agus caithfidh mé a rá go raibh sé an-ghreannmhar. Is mór an trua nach raibh níos mó ná trocha duine ann. Bhí ple agam leis ina dhiaidh faoi foghraíocht 'Oró 'sé Do Bheatha 'bhaile' agus cheartaigh sé mo chuid gramadaí! Tá Gaeilge mhaith aige!!

Winter Sports

I got a call about four weeks ago asking me if the school wished to enter The Winter Sports. I was amazed: these guys do skiing or maybe ice hockey! After a little chuckle, I was informed that they were Football and Netball. So, on Friday last we had the first round of Winter Sports. I could not attend as I had a principals’ meeting and also a visit from the parliamentary Secretary for Education, both in our school. Our teams went to Port Fairy, about ten minutes away and played a series of matches. The boys (girls do not play footy) won two out of four matches and the girls won all their netball matches. I spoke to both teams on their return to again apologise and to say that I would definitely be at their next match, only to find out that, for the boys, there would be no next match. The competition has many rounds but if you don’t win there are no more. Survival of the fittest only.

Visit of Parliamentary Secretary

Steve Herbert, the Parliamentary Secretary for Education in Victoria, called to see me on Thursday last after school; and on my invitation, attended the Zone Principals’ Meeting the next day. We got chatting on the Thursday evening and he invited me to a meal with himself and Lisa that night, to continue the conversation. I had a great night and have been invited to Melbourne to stay with them in July. I am looking forward to catching up with them then. He is passionate about education and very interested in the Exchange Scheme. He had visited DES two years ago with permission from the Premier, to sign a Bi-Lateral Agreement. It did not happen but last year when I was trying to get the same signed, his visit had prepared the way. If the Exchange is to be continued beyond this pilot, it will have to happen at a political level, especially as there will be funding issues. I have been trying to get as many articles as possible printed here to support the case and having someone like Steve behind the scheme will be a great help. Also, there are issues here with the funding of Catholic Schools and the principals here were able to lobby strongly.

MCG and Meal

The ITA organised a trip yesterday to 'The G' where we saw Carlton defeat Melbourne. Fantastic atmosphere in a magnificent stadium. Setanta Ó Halpin was playing for Carlton and scored a goal. He has been playing very well this year, but this was one of his poorer matches. He still has difficulty shooting with the oval ball. In 2007, when I saw him play he was in the backs for that very reason. Now he is their full-forward. The ball did not 'stick' yesterday but that happens.
All bar one of the 'fellows' were there so it was great meeting up with them all. We went for a meal afterwards and then I went back with Matt, Cheryl and kids from Ontario. Had a nice brunch with them this morning before returning to Warrnambool. We are all going to Australia versus The All Blacks on July 31, as the whole family are Rugby fans. It was nice to spend time and get to know them better. It was also nice talking to the other 'fellows' as we have many experiences, both good and bad, that are common.

Responsible Serving of Alcohol

Oisín joined me last week hoping to get a job in some of the hotels or bars in Warrnambool. He is on summer holidays from College at home but it is winter here. Despite this there appears to be work all year round. In order to work in a bar he had to do a course on the ‘Responsible Serving of Alcohol’. The costs vary but we got him on one for $80over two nights. He then had to sit an exam based on the course which covered excessive consumption; alcohol and the law; who is responsible? facts about alcohol; strategies for responsible serving; functions; refusing to serve and golden rules for bar staff. If a bar takes on someone without the RSA licence they can be fined up to $10,000. I had done the rounds last February to see what the job prospects were and in the last few days Oisin called around with his CV. He had two interviews on Thursday last and started work in a local hotel today. As luck would have it a friend told me that a worker there had broken his collarbone! Perfect timing.