Shelly Treleaven

EEA 642 - Internship 2

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

January 8 - 9 Acting Admin @ Terrace Ridge School 16 hrs/ 16 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Fostering Effective Relationships - 1 (a) acting with fairness, respect and integrity; (b)
demonstrating empathy and a genuine concern for others; (c) creating a welcoming, caring,
respectful and safe learning environment.
Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise; (b) actively seeking out feedback and information from a variety of sources to
enhance leadership practice; (c) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational
research to inform effective practice

Reflection:
I’m not going to lie, this was the most challenging activity that I have taken on as part of my
professional growth. I spent most of the first day explaining to fellow teachers why I was the
acting administrator. Some of them seemed to understand, but I was met with a few
discouraging remarks with regards to wanting to pursue a leadership role. Things like ‘you
want to be a principal?’, ‘why you?’, ‘why are you bothering to take your masters, is it about
the money or power?’, but the most dejecting were the people who would not talk to me at all
about it. I was anticipating more enthusiasm and support, but was surprised that I was met
with push-back and doubt.

The best learning that I took from this activity was when I was supervising students in the
library and I questioned the reading choice of a student. Without realizing my own bias, I had
attempted to impose a practice that I employ as a teacher in my classroom, with a student that
had little, to no connection to me. I recognize that this was a mistake. I not only should have
checked to see what the expectations were to have been prior to imposing mine but I was
perceived as being very judgemental in my actions with this student. This is not a new area
that I have been made aware of. How others perceive me is often not in line with my
intentions. I will need to develop a personal plan on strategies to support my growth in this
Commented [1]: I wanted to thank you for being acting
area. admin while Marica and I were away. As far as being
acting admin again, I would have no reservations in
having you in this role. :)
As my feedback was limited and I have not been asked to take on this role again, I am
I am sorry I didn't communicate this with you more
assuming that I will need to further develop my leadership skills before I will be offered this clearly! I know that I haven't asked you to be acting
opportunity in the future. admin because you have such a challenging class and
having you out of your room would have created more
work for you in dealing with issues.
Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:
January 11 Environmental Team Meeting 1 hr/ 17 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Fostering Effective Relationships - (c) creating a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe
learning environment.
Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise.
Embodying Visionary Leadership - (b) recognizing the school community’s values and
aspirations and demonstrating an appreciation for diversity; (e) promoting innovation, enabling
positive change, and fostering commitment to continuous improvement; and (f) accessing,
sharing and using a range of data to determine progress towards achieving goals.
Developing Leadership Capacity - (a) demonstrating consultative and collaborative decision-
making that is informed by open dialogue and multiple perspectives; (b) identifying, mentoring
and empowering teachers in educational leadership roles.

Reflection:
This group meets periodically to develop learning activities or projects for the school. In the
past few years we have become a Jane Goodall School which requires that we engage in
student-centered projects that support our environment. We also have a teacher on staff that is
extremely passionate about the watershed and has developed a school-wide initiative. This
group meets to support teachers when developing their projects or to spearhead the larger
projects. At this meeting it was established that I would organize a school-wide fundraiser that
would support our grade 7 Peace Garden initiative.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

Jan. 12 - April 30 Make it Sow and Vesey’s Fundraisers 8 hrs/ 25 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Developing Leadership Capacity - (d) creating opportunities for students to participate in
leadership activities and to exercise their voice in school leadership and decision making; and
(e) promoting team building and shared leadership among members of the school community.
Managing School Operations and Resources - (a) identifying and planning for areas of need.

Reflection:
This was not initially a part of my Internship, but as I took on this project I saw how it would
support my leadership development and engage the students in a valuable learning opportunity
as well.
I explained to the students both the purpose and the goal of this project, and we then came up
with a plan of action for the fundraiser. I was able to create a committee of students that
assisted with the compilation of order forms and with distributing them throughout the school.
They also were to create the advertising for this activity as well. Once orders were received
we worked together to determine the summary of orders and created a method of organization.

Once the order was received the team had to divide the shipment and deliver it to the various
classes. We had some errors so this also provided some learning opportunities.

My greatest struggle with this project was that I often had to fight the urge to ‘just do it
myself’ as it would have been significantly easier. It takes a great deal of time to instruct
students through this process! In the end, the students learned a great deal about fundraising
and goal setting as well as organizational structures.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

February - June Grade 7 Peace Garden 4 hrs/ 29 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Fostering Effective Relationships - c) creating a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe
learning environment; (d) creating opportunities for parents/guardians, as partners in
education, to take an active role in their children’s education; (f) demonstrating a commitment
to the health and well-being of all teachers, staff and students; (h) engaging in collegial
relationships while modeling and promoting open, collaborative dialogue; (i) communicating,
facilitating and solving problems effectively.
Embodying Visionary Leadership - (a) communicating a philosophy of education that is
student-centred and based on sound principles of effective teaching and leadership; (e)
promoting innovation, enabling positive change, and fostering commitment to continuous
improvement; and (f) accessing, sharing and using a range of data to determine progress
towards achieving goals.

Reflection:
I had this idea of turning an outdoor space that had been altered, into a space where students
could gather to relax, sit with their class for learning activities, or just enjoy the quiet space.
Our school has had portables added to a space that had been where our older students typically
would gather during our break times. As a result of this addition the space has been fenced off
for the entire year and due to construction, the ground had been turned into a dirty mess. Even
though this space would have been re-seeded with grass, I had a vision for much more.

Thankfully I have an enthusiastic teaching partner who saw my vision and got very excited
about the idea and connected it to her science curriculum. She has taken on much of this
project, but as the original visionary and the gardener of the two, I have been helping guide the
project. I have a number of contacts in the business community as I formerly owned a
business, so I was able to garner some financial support for our project as well as running the
fundraiser that also added to the funding for this project.

At this point we have planted 5 fruit trees, 5 saskatoon bushes, raspberries along with a spirea
bush. The students, with adult supervision, have built three raised garden beds that they have
stained and lined as well they have sealed the 6 concrete tables that have been installed. Commented [2]: Thank you for your vision for TR not
only now, but for the future... it is exciting to be a part of
it!
Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:
February 9 Presenting at Professional Development 4 hrs/ 33 hrs
Day
@ Terrace Ridge School

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise; (b) actively seeking out feedback and information from a variety of sources to
enhance leadership practice; (c) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational
research to inform effective practice; (d) engaging members of the school community to build
a shared understanding of current trends and priorities in the Education system.
Embodying Visionary Leadership - (a) communicating a philosophy of education that is
student-centred and based on sound principles of effective teaching and leadership.
Leading a Learning Community - (d) cultivating a culture of high expectations for all students
and staff. (g) creating an environment for the safe and ethical use of technology;

Reflection:
This started out as an assignment for my technology class but morphed into a fabulous
teaching opportunity for me. I was given roughly 20 minutes during a Professional
Development day to share a couple of technology tools that I had been working with.

I spent a great deal of time prior to the PD day, researching methods to share these tools and
creating the presentation. I also sent out a survey to the staff in order to determine what tools
they wanted more information on and to gauge how open to learning they would be. I was
grateful that almost everyone was willing to engage in this type of learning.

I was nervous when I got up to present and ended up having some technical difficulties but
everyone was patient and flexible. At the end of the instruction, I offered to assist or support
anyone one-on-one if they were interested. I was thrilled that 4 different teachers approached
me afterwards and I spent time with them individually supporting their learning.
As a result of this activity, I have been asked a number of times to support fellow staff with a
variety of technology tools. This would indicate that while I did not feel very successful as an Commented [3]: That's AWESOME!
acting administrator, this type of informal leadership has been embraced by my peers and even
sought after.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

Feb 9 - June 15 Website Creation and Maintenance 10 hrs/ 43 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling a Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise; (b) actively seeking out feedback and information from a variety of sources to
enhance leadership practice; (c) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational
research to inform effective practice

Reflection:
This has been both a part of a class as well as the ongoing building of my professional
portfolio. I have had to decide whether to have this site fully public or whether to only have
those with the link be able to access it. I have been sharing my link to the website, still have
not decided whether to open it up completely. I have found that making certain that I am not
infringing on any copyright laws has been a daunting task as I want my site to look good, but I
also want to remain ethical at the same time. This will continue to be a work in progress.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

March 24 Reading: Make Your Bed: Little Things 2 hrs/ 45 hrs
That Can Change Your Life … And Maybe
The World by William H. McRaven

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (b) actively seeking out feedback and
information from a variety of sources to enhance leadership practice.

Reflection:
This was an easy book to read but has a profound message. It was based on ten life practices
of a retired military Admiral that he developed over his training with the Navy Seals.

They are:
1. Start your day with a task completed
2. You can’t go at it alone
3. Only the size of your heart matters
4. Life’s not fair—drive on!
 5. Failure can make you stronger
6. You must dare greatly
7. Stand up to the bullies
8. Rise to the occasion
9. Give people hope
10. Never, ever quit!

His message was told in a very clear fashion that focused on how to do things that mattered.
The idea that you make your bed was that if you start your day with a completed task, you
have started your day with a win … and you are already on a roll. He used stories from his life
to illustrate his different points which explained how once you know what you are wanting to
achieve, you are the only person who has the power to get you there. All of these connect to
leadership in that they define your character.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

March 27 & 28 Reading; The Leader Who Had No Title by 7 hrs/ 52 hrs
Robin Sharma

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (b) actively seeking out feedback and
information from a variety of sources to enhance leadership practice.

Reflection:
This will be a book that I will read multiple times and probably look back on as the impetus of
great change in my thought process.

This book tells a story in a fable format and shares the philosophy that leaders are leaders …
and that a title will not make you a leader. This may sound absurd, but I never really thought
of it this way … I believed that it was the title that gave you authority to be a leader, and one
had to have authority or permission to be a leader. Boy did this book change that thinking!

There were a number of interesting stories contained in this book that made it relatively easy to
read. The principles of leadership were offered as conversations with ‘expert’ leaders.

The first shared 5 rules for qualities of a leader using the mnemonic IMAGE; Innovation,
Mastery, Authenticity, Guts, and Ethics.

The second set of 5 rules for leadership behaviours using the mnemonic SPARK; Speak with
Candor, Prioritize, Adversity breeds opportunity, Respond versus react, and Kudos for
everyone.

The third mnemonic was about building relationships, HUMAN; Helpfulness, Understanding,
Mingle, Amuse, and Nurture.

The last mnemonic was to inspire personal growth, SHINE; See clearly, Health is wealth,
Inspiration matters, Neglect not your family, and Elevate your lifestyle.

After reading this I started to see myself as a leader. I started to realize that there are many
opportunities to offer leadership in my life, and I don’t have to get a masters, or become an
administrator to be a leader. This idea felt profound to me. Sharma shared how leadership is a
choice. If you want to be a leader you just have to act like one.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

April 5 Meeting to talk about ULead Conference 1 hr/ 53 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling a Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise; (b) actively seeking out feedback and information from a variety of sources to
enhance leadership practice; (c) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational
research to inform effective practice; (d) engaging members of the school community to build
a shared understanding of current trends and priorities in the Education system.

Reflection:
Another cohort member, Vanessa, also decided to attend and we met the week before the
conference to discuss the various sessions and to see if we wanted to attend together. As we
were both rather anxious as we felt we might feel out of place at this conference we chose to
choose sessions together. We spent a significant amount of time looking through the various
sessions and discussing how the sessions connected with our Capstone projects and made our
choices based on mutual benefits.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

April 13 Youth Tech Nation 10 hrs/ 63 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Fostering Effective Relationships - (g) acting consistently in the best interests of students; (h)
engaging in collegial relationships while modeling and promoting open, collaborative
dialogue; (i) communicating, facilitating and solving problems effectively.
Embodying Visionary Leadership - (a) communicating a philosophy of education that is
student-centred and based on sound principles of effective teaching and leadership.
Leading a Learning Community - (d) cultivating a culture of high expectations for all students
and staff.
Reflection:
This was a conference for students that is held on a non-school day. For the past 3 years I have
engaged a group of students to present at this conference in order to develop their presentation
and leadership skills.

We met 3 times prior to the conference to determine the concepts that the students were going
to present. We then had to develop a presentation tool and practice, and then I spent time
reviewing with them strategies for teaching their peers.

The day of the conference I had to deal with the concerns of the group as none of them had
ever presented to anyone other than in the classroom. Confirming that they understood the
content and that they felt confident in their presentation I reassured them that they were
prepared (not unlike what I have to tell myself before presenting outside of the classroom).

Once the group completed their presentation we attended a variety of other sessions. We took
time after each session to reflect on the presentation itself, its content, and if it was something
that as a class we ought to include. The students were excited that some of the ideas that they
learned about that day, they were able to then return to the class and share them with their
classmates. It was a tremendous learning experience for them!

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

April 15 - 18 Professional Development 25hrs/ 88 hrs
ULead Conference 2018 @ Banff

Leader Quality Standard:

Fostering Effective Relationships - 1h. engaging in collegial relationships while modeling and
promoting open, collaborative dialogue
Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - 2a. engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise.
Reflection:
I will start off by saying that, to date, this was the single, most impactful activity, I have
encountered that has increased my desire to become a formal leader in my school division that
I have experienced.

I had made the decision to attend this conference to boost my hours for internship and to see
what leadership learning at a conference might be like. When the day finally arrived, I was
extremely nervous. Vanessa and I travelled together and talked the entire way about our
learning thus far in the cohort as well as the sessions we had planned to attend. We knew some
others, both from our division as well as from our cohort, that were also attending the
conference and had been asked to join them at the same hotel.

From the moment we arrived, I felt the learning began. The others staying in our room
(besides Vanessa and I) was a principal and two vice-principals. They greeted us and we then
went to another room where there were an additional five principals and another vice-principal.
I thought it would be very awkward, but they were gracious as they welcomed us both to join
in the conversations - even though there were times when all we could do was listen. Their
conversations were insightful to the inner workings of schools along with the relationships that
they had with each other and their staffs.

There had just been an announcement that there had been significant cuts to the funding for
Inclusion coaches and Family School Liaison workers as well as a reduction to the Educational
Assistant funding. The conversations were around the strategies to manage the people within
their building to maintain support for students without exhaustive costs to their teachers and
themselves. They shared with us that the load will need to be picked up by someone, and that
they were ultimately the ones responsible. They were very animated and often the
conversation was heated as they struggled to justify to themselves and each other how the
changes were even possible. Hearing the back side of these conversations offered a significant
insight to the very real struggles for the leaders in our buildings that, as a teacher, you would
be unaware of.

The keynote speakers at the conference were inspiring. The

From the moment I woke up to the time we stopped talking before we went to sleep, I was
immersed in leadership learning.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

May 18 & 19 Reading: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a 4 hrs/ 92 hrs
F*ck by Mark Manson

Leader Quality Standard:

Embodying Visionary Leadership - (e) promoting innovation, enabling positive change, and
fostering commitment to continuous improvement

Reflection:
I was not going to include this book on my list of leadership activities, and while the language
is rather crude, the message is empowering. Stop caring about everything and expecting to be
amazing at everything and recognize your limitations and embrace them. Really care about the
things that need to be cared about. The author uses the analogy that when a child is learning to
walk, when they fall they don’t quit and say “walking is not for me, I’m just not good at it.”
He states that “if we are unwilling to fail, then we’re unwilling to succeed” (p. 151).

This book explains why as a society we ought to encourage failure more. Our students need to
learn that the only true way to succeed is through willing to fail. I love this idea, celebrate
effort and commitment.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

May 2 Meeting with Gloria Antifaiff 1.5 hrs/ 93.5 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise; (b) actively seeking out feedback and information from a variety of sources to
enhance leadership practice; (c) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational
research to inform effective practice; (d) engaging members of the school community to build
a shared understanding of current trends and priorities in the Education system.

Reflection:
When I went to meet with Gloria I was nervous as I wasn’t entirely clear what the purpose of
the meeting was going to be. It turned out to be a tremendously supportive meeting that helped
me to focus on a specific topic for my capstone project. It was encouraging to have her engage
in the reflective process of what was my ultimate goal and how would this be used. She even
seemed to be excited about my ideas - which also was encouraging.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

May 4 - June 2 When by Daniel H. Pink 8 hrs/ 101.5 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (c) seeking, critically reviewing and
applying educational research to inform effective practice
Leading a Learning Community - (b) creating an inclusive learning environment in which
diversity is embraced, a sense of belonging is emphasized, and all students and staff are
welcomed, cared for, respected, and safe.

Reflection:
The primary goal of this book is to explain how WHEN you do things has an effect on its
success. I found that there was a great deal of information that was dense to read as the impact
on myself and ultimately will have on my classroom will be significant. I recognize the sleep
cycles better in my colleagues as well as the students and how this impacts their ability to
perform. There was an entire section of the power of group timing. The significance at school
is getting consistent and predictable routines in place to enhance the over function of the
group. I am excited to begin employing many of these strategies in my classroom next year. I
have alway been a bit of a creature of habit and now I understand that building this structure
for my students is research proven to be impactful on their learning.

I loved how this book shared the research on how studies were completed and then shared the
qualitative analysis of the data.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

May 24 Meeting with Brent (and Cohort members) 1.5 hrs/ 103 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - (a) engaging with others such as teachers,
principals and other leaders to build personal and collective professional capacities and
expertise; (b) actively seeking out feedback and information from a variety of sources to
enhance leadership practice; (c) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational
research to inform effective practice; (d) engaging members of the school community to build
a shared understanding of current trends and priorities in the Education system.

Reflection:
Brent called this meeting and was I ever glad. I was the first to arrive, and the purpose was for
anyone interested to get feedback about where we are at in our program. Whether that was
support for an upcoming assignment or capstone questions, he was open to help. It was a
fabulous way to get together. It was a nice relaxing setting and every person in the end sat at a
different table and Brent moved to sit with you when you had questions.

As I had met with Gloria just a couple of weeks earlier I had ‘capstone’ on the brain. What
was cool was that we were allowed to use our capstones, as the ‘topic’ for the Project Based
Learning plan we were to create for Brent’s class. That said, I wasn’t really sure what that was
supposed to look like. Brent spent time going through the project and how to connect the
various goals to my capstone.

After Brent left, Rolanda and I stayed and continued to work and support each other through
the process of building our capstone projects.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

May 23 & May 29 School Supply Requisition & Maintenance 3 hrs/ 106 hrs

Leader Quality Standard: Managing School Operations and Resources - 8a. identifying and
planning for areas of need; Developing Leadership Capacity - 7a. demonstrating consultative
and collaborative decision-making that is informed by open dialogue and multiple
perspectives.

Reflection: As the Athletic Director for the school I have been the primary contact for
equipment needs for our K - 7 students. As part of this role this year, I was asked to look at the
needs for the school and within the allotted budget, organize an order of supplies and
equipment. Once the order arrived it was then my responsibility to make certain the the order
was complete and everything was appropriately labelled, stocked, and prepared for student use.

I was surprised initially at the small amount of money that had been allocated for the
maintenance of equipment for our physical education and athletic programs. That said, it was
a privilege to be asked to take on this task. I was allowed to see what had been set aside from
previous orders and was able to determine the needs, independently, for the school.

I did request feedback from other teachers to see if they felt there was a need that I was
unaware of and took their ideas into account when placing the order.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

June 7 Dinner meeting with Rolanda Eadie 2 hrs/ 108 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Fostering Effective Relationships - (b) demonstrating empathy and a genuine concern for
others.

Reflection:
I almost feel guilty including this, but Rolanda and I only got to know each other through this
masters program. We spent the entire time sharing our experiences thus far and supporting
each other with our frustrations, challenges and successes we have been facing this year at our
schools. We choose this evening as we were going to our meeting about our capstones later,
and our anxiety had been building throughout this past couple of weeks.

Making certain to foster professional relationships is an important part of the leaders role. As I
have become aware that once your peers know that you are potentially aspiring to lead, the
way they respond to you changes. These like-minded colleagues will be an invaluable support
as I work to challenge myself through this masters program.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

June 7 Athletic Director Meeting 3 hrs/ 111 hrs
Leader Quality Standard:
Fostering Effective Relationships - 1(f) demonstrating a commitment to the health and well-
being of all teachers, staff and students; (g) acting consistently in the best interests of students;
(h) engaging in collegial relationships while modeling and promoting open, collaborative
dialogue; and (i) communicating, facilitating and solving problems effectively.

Reflection:
These meetings are held twice per year for all the Wolf Creek Athletic Directors. This one was
to gather and celebrate the year’s successes and recognize the challenges as well as develop the
plan for the next school year.

I was asked to take on the responsibility of Athletic Director 4 years ago for our school. This
role has allowed for me to develop leadership skills in area that I feel confident and
comfortable. I have always been an active sport enthusiast and I have a passion for athletics in
school. This is the first year however that I have been truly offered the ability to take on the
leadership role at the school.

During the meeting the group dealt with a number of concerns and as a team we developed a
resolution and a plan to move forward. The group members are primarily the dedicated
athletic teachers in their buildings and as this is not my role, I represent a unique perspective to
the group. In this setting, there have been times when it has been awkward to voice my
opinion, but as I represent my school I always speak up and make certain that our voice is a
part of the ‘pool of shared meaning’ as explained in the book Crucial Conversations. This way
decisions are always better than they would be if made independently.

I look forward to remaining the Athletic Director for our school and potentially growing my
role over the next couple of years.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

January - June Internship Reflection 15 hrs/ 126 hrs

Leader Quality Standard:

Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning - A leader engages in career-long
professional learning and ongoing critical reflection to identify opportunities for improving
leadership, teaching, and learning.

Reflection:
I am a reflective person as I journal every day. I have a personal journal that I generally reflect
on events that I am experiencing both personally and professionally, but it is for my eyes only.
I also have a reflective journal that I have started in my classroom. This has been largely due
to recent events that I have found I will need to remember details so figured taking a bit of
time a the end of every day would be a great place to start. Because of these two other journals
that I maintain, I did not keep this one as up-to-date as I should have. I had the information,
just in other formats. I wonder if I ought to have considered using the format of my personal
journal … or if that even would have been an option.

The process of committing to a specific amount of reflective learning each month was not as
successful for me as I thought it would have been. As a result of this learning, my goals for
my capstone project have been outlined by the week and day rather than a month at a time. It
was too easy to leave the reflection to the end of the month, which turned into the end of the
next month, which made the reflection less authentic. I believe that I need more specific goals
that require accountability consistently.

Date: Description of Activity: Duration/Total:

January to June Personal Communication with Darin 5 hrs +/ 131 hrs
Ratzlaff

Leader Quality Standard:

These conversations covered most of the Leader Quality Standards so I am not going to list
them all.

Reflection:
I don’t think I can thank Darin enough for his patience and commitment to building my
capacity to be a leader. I have had numerous opportunities and challenges this year and I have
been fortunate that Darin has been open to taking the time to talk me through the various
circumstances in an open, caring and supportive way.
As a result of my time as Acting Admin there arose a concern about standards and consistency.
I did not mean to create contention, but I did. I have since become significantly aware of how
my words can illicit a response and impact the moods of others. I have been actively seeking
coaching from Darin to grow my skills around communication. As I said earlier, I will at
times struggle with not articulating my feelings as they are intended and I have been doing a
significant amount of reading to build my knowledge base on how to support my growth in this
area. I know however that I need to have someone to share the new learning or perspectives
with in order to deepen my understanding and thankfully Darin has been willing to do this for
me.

I have recently been informed that Darin will be remaining as the Acting Principal at our
building for an additional year which will allow me to continue to grow under his guidance and
tutelage. I look forward to building my capacity as a leader within our school and division
over the next school year.
Summary:
In my initial proposal for my learning for this internship I had listed a number of books that I
intended to read. I struggled to keep up with the other expectations and still have a number of
books stacked ready for me when I can find some time. I also indicated that I was also going to
include a number of the articles that I was reading for my classes. Given the other opportunities
that I was able to include I chose not to add the reflections into this log.

I feel that I have a direction for my capstone project and this will be the focus for my learning
over the next number of months.