Michele Marquet, Acting Head of School
Dear Cranbrook families,
The wonderful Mother’s Day celebration so many of us enjoyed last week at the Senior School, was one of several events we held to honour the powerful impact women have in their children’s lives. Both of our Pre-schools held special morning teas and a delightful Mother’s Day event was held at the Junior School with all the usual entertaining activities on offer. Our school community is one of the most fantastic parts of Cranbrook and events such as these show the strength of the relationships our families and the School share, and demonstrate the warm and supportive culture we have come to appreciate about Cranbrook. Thank you to the CSPA, the Foundation and our school staff who ensured these events were such a joy.
As I mentioned last week, we have been undertaking a broad survey of our culture to increase our understanding of the experience of our students, staff and families, so that we reflect a welcoming environment to all, and provide the very best opportunities for our community to experience a respectful and exciting environment for learning.
Last week, I described some of the work currently underway with our students to help us better understand their experience of Cranbrook and develop effective ways we can offer the right opportunities to help them feel a genuine sense of belonging.
We have also been working with our staff to provide them with avenues to share their experiences and what they value about our School, as well as suggest areas to strengthen the culture in the years ahead. As part of the AIS Wellbeing Project the School is undertaking in 2024, the staff were surveyed about school culture. They also are participating in a larger Staff Culture Survey being conducted by an external company to delve more deeply into their experiences and we look forward to using the learnings we gain through this process to inform new initiatives in the future.
The School values feedback from all members of our community and we are also eager to hear from our parent community about their experiences and what they value about Cranbrook. Later this year, we will be conducting some research with parents to gain their perspectives. By better understanding what all members of our community value and experience as part of our school, we provide an exciting opportunity to reflect, learn and bolster Cranbrook for the years ahead.
As the year continues, we look forward to updating you on the changes that flow from this valuable project and the many other initiatives currently underway as we seek to better understand our culture and how to strengthen it for the benefit of the whole community.
Kind wishes,
Michele Marquet
Acting Head of School