President’s Message

Change…

We only grow when we challenge ourselves and our thinking by looking at new and innovative ways of doing things. Albert Einstein described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The same principle applies to the way we look at our work and how we continually motivate ourselves to deliver our best each day. Traditional thinking around motivation centres around a payment based system, but new research is suggesting that purpose is a far greater motivator than just monetary compensation.

Thought leader, Jason Fox, focuses on shifting the conversation about motivation from payment to purpose in today’s creative and collaborative work environments and how we can incorporate the principles of gaming and game design into developing useful motivational frameworks.

Most people are intrinsically motivated to do good work, it’s the job of school leaders to foster this motivation and help ensure staff, or volunteers can see the results of their efforts. A clear sense of progress can be one of the biggest motivational tools management can use to keep staff motivated and moving forward.

Seeing and feeling progress is also a great motivator outside of work.

In my mid-forties, I found myself more unfit than I was comfortable. I was slightly overweight and decided that I needed to start taking positive steps to get back to a healthier place, both mentally and physically. As I began to see the results slowly start to show, I knew that I was on my way towards my goal of becoming a happier, healthier person.

A few years later I decided that if I was going to maintain the exercise regimen, there needed to be a link to something that I enjoyed for extra motivation. I set benchmarks to track my progress and celebrated each milestone, but it wasn’t always easy. When I first started getting serious about mountain biking, I lacked technical skill and discovered that glute strength and proper activation were something that I needed to focus on during my training. As my fitness and skill progressed, I could push boundaries a little more, and learn from the challenges and setbacks along the way.

Last year, I travelled to the United States and enjoyed five days of riding through Moab, Utah. Riders come to Moab from around the world for its scenic vistas and a vast assortment of trials suited to riders of all levels. I committed to some more challenging rides to keep me focused during the lead up to the trip. One of my favourite rides was the famous Porcupine Rim Trail – a 25km rapidly descending trail requiring reasonably advanced technical skills. It wasn’t a perfectly executed ride, but it was very satisfying to complete it.

Change starts with an idea – and ideas need to be nurtured and given a chance to succeed. Embracing innovative ideas around leadership and motivation can help us drive the change our schools need to stay competitive and relevant. Whether it’s in the form of technology, management systems, engagement strategies, or culture – or a combination – embarking on projects to test and monitor new ideas is crucial. This won’t be easy, but as School Advancement Professionals, this journey starts with us.

David Osborne 

NSW-ACT Chapter President
B.Bus CFRE F.Edplus EMFIA

NSW-ACT Chapter Conference 4-5 September 2017 – Through The Looking Glass

Why attend an Educate Plus Conference?

Hear what one of our members has to say about our conferences…

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the best. The NSW-ACT Educate Plus Conference will be a place of enriched collaboration with like-minded colleagues from the Education sector and experts from various other industries, offering a unique experience designed to equip delegates with strategies and insights into what it takes to succeed in the areas of advancement in today’s fast-changing world.

Download our Conference Program for more information on our speaker line up!

Register NOW before the early bird rate ends on 30 July.

We wish to sincerely thank our NSW-ACT conference sponsor:

Australia’s oldest accredited media agency (circa 1926). It was the ideas business back then, it still is today. Leonards have maintained a philosophy that all communications, marketing strategies or content must revolve around your brand, your message, your objectives.

Fundraising SIG Report – Increasing Alumni Participation in Giving

On 10 May we held a Fundraising SIG at Abbotsleigh in Wahroonga called Increasing Alumni Participation in Giving. We heard from Byron Barnes (CFRE), Deputy Director, Philanthropy at UTS as well as from Yvette Vignando, Director of Development at Abbotsleigh, about their successes with alumni participation in giving programs, as well as challenges they have faced.

The approximately forty participants then broke out into teams to brainstorm topics around alumni giving which were shared with the group. The afternoon provided a brilliant opportunity to network and learn from one another, as both more and less experienced practitioners attended the session.

Marketing & Communications SIG Report – Engaging with our Wait List

More than 40 EducatePlus members took advantage of the Special Interest Group Round Table Session at Santa Sabina College on 16 June.

Facilitated by Yvette Graniero, Santa Sabina College’s Director of Community Relations, the participants split into six smaller groups after Yvette’s general presentation on the current drivers of school choice. Some participants were surprised to learn that enrolment processes (engagement, communications, support and relationship building) were key in achieving school of first choice status among prospective parents. The influence of engaging mothers (who drive 60% of enrolment decisions) and the ability of well-staged events/engagement to turn around 50% of school choice decisions were also noted.

The groups brainstormed and shared knowledge on how to get the best out of schools’ databases, communications, events, technology and relationship building strategies. There were different approaches as to how early and how often in the wait list cycle prospective families should be engaged. Using social media, posting video content on websites and staying in touch several times a year with prospective families via EDMs, invitations and publications were all cited as effective techniques.

Alumni SIG Report – How to engage your Alumni in a mentoring program

Forty three registered for the Alumni SIG held on 7 June at Shore. Alexandra Macaulay, Alumni Manager, Shore and Nicole Crabb, Director of Development at Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School worked together on this SIG. The presentation from Michael Light and Simone Allen from Mondo Mentor was well received by attendees. Mandy Loomes, Director of Alumni and Development at Barker College provided an interesting case study as Barker had worked directly with Mondo Mentor to successfully run a mentoring program for their past students.

This is a hot topic amongst alumni practitioners and this presentation provided much food for thought for attendees. Discussion amongst colleagues during the SIG was particularly valuable for sharing ideas.

Mentoring is a topic that will feature in the Alumni stream of the upcoming NSW/ACT Chapter conference.

Admissions SIG Report – Do you have your ducks in a row?

On Tuesday 16 May 2017, the NSW Chapter of Educate Plus held a Special Interest Group at Ascham in Sydney.  David Ford, of Emil Ford Lawyers, presented a summary of his paper Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Students to over 50 guests.

The key message for schools and those who work in them related to the overarching duty of care to all their students in all area of school life and particularly for those who identify as LGBTI.  David also explored Australian and NSW anti-discrimination legislation to demonstrate what could be unlawful discrimination in the school’s enrolment processes and in its communications and dealings with LGBTI students.

David’s thorough and very informative session provided the group with important ‘takeaways’ including:  be ready with policy and procedures for your organisation; be ready with trained staff who understand and are able to communicate your policy clearly and be readybecause every school will need to be . . . get your ducks in a row now!

David Ford’s full paper can be downloaded at http://www.emilford.com.au/education-schools/free-education-law-papers-and-resources/

Thank you to Ascham for their hospitality and support with this SIG, and to Jo Hutchens and Myfanwy Stanfield for organising another wonderful event.

Welcome aboard new members!