Our School. Our Stories. Our Vision.

by Susie Clifford, Director of Learning

Our learning spaces in our new campus have been designed through the lens of our mission, values and beliefs about learning and teaching. It is not just about space, it is about how we learn, what we learn and the opportunities we can create as a school for ourselves and for others. And it is about vision.

We are working with NoTosh to help us articulate our vision of learning and teaching and to develop our Strategic Plan. NoTosh is a strategy consulting company and educational think tank who works with schools around the world. They are guiding us through the process of gathering and documenting stories from our community that will help us shape our direction for the future.

We are asking ourselves: who do we want a YIS student to be? The articulation of our vision of learning and teaching will be a combination of the impact of our current learning experiences at YIS and aspirational ideas about what we want for YIS students in the years to come. With this clearly stated, we can develop our Strategic Plan and ensure our programs, practises and decisions are informed by our vision. This will have an impact across all aspects of our school with our community having voice and input.

Gathering Stories - the process
Ewan McIntosh, the founder of NoTosh, and his team have worked with the Senior Leadership Team and the Board to generate ideals and aspirations. We have a YIS Design Team who are reaching out to our community to gather insights and understandings about YIS with a focus on: 

• What do we love about YIS? 
• What about YIS do we want to keep? 
• What would we like to change?

The team is made up of students, parents, Board members, staff and leaders. They will be gathering information over the next month in a variety of ways including interviews, brainstorms, conversations, thinking routines and informal discussions. NoTosh will then synthesise all of this information, presenting to us key ideas, common thinking and new ideas as well as insights from different members in our community. It will be this combination of stories, information and data that will form the basis of our vision statement and Strategic Plan.

If you would like to share your ideas about what you would like to keep at YIS, please add your thoughts to this padlet. 

It is an exciting time in the history of YIS. Our move to a new environment is more than a change in physical space. It is about taking with us who we are as YIS as well as exploring our potential. We have a unique chance to look at learning with fresh eyes and create innovative and intentional change in line with our mission, values and beliefs and our strength in knowing who we are as a school.