Living in the Northern Territory brings significant experiences which one may not have living in a larger state. The sad passing of Queen Elizabeth 11 gave us all time to reflect on meetings with her in Alice Springs and no doubt those living in Darwin will have their own memories. I remember her having a very engaging visit to School of the Air. At St Philips some of our year 9 students had an opportunity to meet her personally. 30 students were chosen to meet the Queen in the classroom at the Desert Park.

Two weeks before her visit a practice was held under the direction of Palace Officials, to ensure everyone was well briefed and ready. I recall that the intended time she was to spend in the classroom was about 12 minutes so she could keep to her frantic schedule. We were told that the Queen really liked children and she would enjoy the occasion. Everyone was excited but a little anxious. The students were broken into six groups of 5. A spokesperson from each group was chosen who would be the only one to speak to the Queen about the project they were undertaking as a class.

The day came and we assembled in the Desert Park classroom. All of us, adults and children were nervous about the visit. Then the Queen arrived, no fanfare and I greeted her with a simple, “Good afternoon Your Majesty, welcome to our class.” She smiled, greeted me and I introduced her to the class teacher who was with me for the occasion. I emphasise that her visit was to be 12 minutes and part of her Desert Park tour. As I have noted, only one student from each group was to speak to her on behalf of the others. Well, she ignored the timing and this plan and proceeded to visit each group and speak to every student individually. Consequently the 12 minutes allotted for the visit evaporated, becoming much longer with each student feeling very special. I can really say she really enjoyed speaking to each child there. I felt very privileged to be part of her visit as we all did, and I have never forgotten the importance she placed on each child as an individual. The classes we teach may have a general name (e.g. 9c or 1 Smith) but they are all made up of very special individuals.

One always hopes that the programs we offer at our schools give the chance for individual students to show their strengths. As we know, not everybody is good at everything but if the variety offered is diverse then there is a greater chance that all students’ abilities will be seen. A fertile place for this is on Outdoor Ed camps. So often students who may not have been popular at school and indeed not noticed achievers would start a camp as a person who was really unknown. The camp would present a raft of new challenges and many of those particular students would rise to these occasions and gain a new respect from their classmates and the staff. Some returned home after a camp as the group hero with a much elevated self-esteem.

When taking an assembly for the whole school it was easy to see it as the “Assembly”, a homogeneous meeting and address it accordingly. Then the realisation would dawn that each person assembled would have their own individual experiences, feelings and needs for the day. Some students may concentrate on what is being said, some half concentrate and therefore get half the message or be “zoned out” completely within their own thoughts. I guess if you think your words of wisdom are reaching everybody you will most probably be kidding yourself. Communicating to a group of individuals is indeed a challenge. When I started my time as a Principal my talks to students were much longer than when I retired. By that time I used to only make one or two points and to gain people’s attention, have something really unusual that I presented. I even took my dog to Assembly as an attention “grabber” to illustrate a point. Wordy presentations never worked for me.

If a Principal really wants to make a point, they probably have to present it several times and in different ways. Something really important may be illustrated by a tree, simple sculpture ideally made by a student or cairn of rocks or indeed a large rock, perhaps a small garden located in the school grounds. These are to bring students’ attention to a particular idea, encouraging them to ask the question, “why is that there and what does it mean”. I believe a school campus should be a place of meaning with lots of things projecting meaning. Students’ attention can be drawn to these items many times during their school career. I am a great fan of story boards which can be placed around a school - not hard to do and very affordable. These items of meaning can be used by staff in “treasure” hunts which are fun and become games of meaning.

For seven years I had a particularly good School Dog, Sketch. She was a Heeler, Staffy and everything else crossed. The kids loved her. Every recess she left my side and went and had recess with a group of girls as they sat in a circle near a particular tree. She had her regular position in that circle. No doubt they fed her. Her presence added a softness to the school. She came with me to all my classes and remarkably would sit next to a student who most likely needed some extra attention that day. How some dogs work this out, I don’t know, but some are really good at it. When I was in my office Sketch would curl up on a chair relaxing before the next engagement. During her time she met many dignitaries and was always a conversation starter and crowd pleaser. She used to attend every assembly - after all it was in her job description!

The students loved having her and would be amused when she climbed the lighting bridge in the hall and looked down on them with a stare of authority. I lived on the campus and every morning as I went out the front door she would jump the fence noisily but with style and walk down with me. The students would greet her with, “Hi, Sketch you are so cute!” She knew that, but loved hearing it each day. I guess in helping a school relate to the individual it is important to soften it, make it less institutional, have items of character, intrigue and fun and if they are particularly your school’s it helps to “individualise” the school and therefore make it unique. It becomes to the students “their” school.

As Principal I believe it is your job to bring to the attention of the staff and students the items of character and to encourage staff to use these with their students. This process is endless and I believe should be well forward in a Principal’s mind otherwise it may fall and lie there becoming dusty in the business of the day, the weeks and the year. Individualise, individualise individualise all the time - it could be a theme for a song but something a Principal should be delighted to sing.

Chris Tudor,

Principal Liaison & AISNT Historian