Yesterday, today was tomorrow and tomorrow, today will be yesterday So ring out the old ring in the new (George Harrison)

Christmas is done but Santa's influence remains: Three lessons about leadership from the big jolly guy!

Happy new year blogosphere!

Another year over, a new one just begun (John Lennon/ Yoko Ono)

Our 2019 Year 10 girls decorated an entrance way with this chalk mural. They are an incredibly talented bunch and great leaders/organisers.

As 2020 ticks around in the coming days, it's fun to speculate about the coming year. 

Let's hope it's a good one!

Me, I'm just the lucky kind (The Beatles)

Today's Baggy Trouser homage is to George Couros - nails it!

Emotional rescue (The Rolling Stones)

EI EI EI O

Emotional intelligence is hugely important in my job (Principal of two campuses). I can't see how anyone could be successful in this position without it.

Here's a list  of 19 things I aim to do that are considered important components of Emotional Intelligence.

Knowing me, knowing you, it's the best I can do (Abba)

This question, posed by George Couros, is a good one.

If integrity is doing the right thing, even if no one is watching, then the other side of that coin is doing the right thing when everyone is watching.

Integrity doesn't get to take a holiday. Unlike me.

Transformer man, unlock the secrets, let us throw off the chains that hold you down (Neil Young)

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Now that it's our looooooong summer holiday break (yay) my Baggy Trousers' posts will probably centre on passing on great posts from elsewhere. Seth Godin, for instance, is a very reliable guy!

Here he is discussing how the brightest students don't transition to leadership positions (as a school struggler and a repeater of important years I am an embodiment of that belief). 

Here's the post. Enjoy.

No matter where our paths may wind we'll remember always Graduation day (The Beach Boys)

Photo by Keith Luke on Unsplash

Post graduation day today.

Things went really well but those events are always a kind of out-of-body experience for me. 

I somehow watch myself performing and being super critical. My mind is going haywire as I speak - little micro decisions going on about words to accentuate, ad libs to avoid or ad libs made and immediately regretted and then the critical brain kicks in: move on, how is it going?, speed and pitch, calm down!, breathe!, focus! and so on ad nauseam until it's done and I'm sitting at home. But even then phrases I've used, verbal stumbles I've made - all tumble around in my head.

A colleague sent me a picture of me speaking at the lectern and it doesn't look like how I imagine myself. I look calm.

But pictures don't lie. Or do they?

Anyway, Graduation/Prize-giving: done for another year.

That's a relief!