Teacher's Contact Time - Sept 13 2007

1. New Awards

Montfort is due to receive some sustained and new awards. It has been a meaningful year. The news is embargoed till the awards ceremony at the Ministry of Education.

2. Montfort Long Service Awards

The following teachers received awards for their long service to the school.

Mrs Lim Song Chua, Mother Tongue HOD - 5 years
Mr Tan Hee Pheng, PCCG - 5 years
Miss Ang Guat Hong - 5 years
Mr Towhid - 15 years

3. Vision-Mission-Values

Mr Simen read and shared a meaningful passage from Jack Welch's book entitled Winning. Welch was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001. Welch gained a solid reputation for uncanny business acumen and unique leadership strategies at GE. During his tenure, GE increased its market capitalization by over $400 billion.

The following points were mentioned:

a. The vision, mission and values of any organization is mutually reinforcing and extremely important. The connection between them is the key ingredient to success.

b. Organizations fail and breakdown because of little day-to-day incidents which fail to connect with the mission, vision and values. Conversely, organizations succeed because of the little day-to-day incidents which connect with the school's mission, vision and values.

c. The mission ,vision and values is translated into a Behavior Over Time (BOT)graph. Our BOT ensures that we are consistent and not seond guessing. It looks good

d. The organization's vision, mission and values sometimes intertwines and clashes with personal vision, mission and values. The more they intertwine and are combined as one, the better the performance and the happier the individual. It ensures that you act with initiative based on the organization's values, avoiding being a schizophrenic, paranoid, fear-driven member of the organization always awaiting further instructions from the immediate boss.

e. Your personal values is 'What I want'. The area which intersects with the organization values is 'What I need'. It makes you feel more involved.

g. It's not about number of programs. It's about points of leverage for programs. One time preperation and multiple deliveries / results

4. National Education Matters

There was a continued appeal to be vigilant about NE matters.

NE indices describe current reality accurately and help us devise better communication plans and programs. Our goal was to cover up these gaps and we have done very well. The school's plan was to focus on National Education at the begining of the year and we have done well.

NE goes beyond programs but must and should filter into the day-to-day events and little daily anecdotes of life. Mr Simen shared about how he saw Chinese students holding sepak takraw balls and playing them at the quadrangle, particularly after badminton lines and takraw lines were drawn into the assembly area. He spoke about how NE should not be left to chance but shaped consciously.

5. Discipline

Mr Simen spoke about discipline matters and reminded teachers to be vigilant and to take heed on such matters.

6. Zig Ziglar and note taking

Mr Simen shared about the US author, salesperson and motivational speaker from Alabama, Zig Ziglar. He spoke about how reading was important and how notes should be taken as you read.

Zig's message: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

Traits Zig considers most important in a leader: Integrity, honesty, courage, commitment, wisdom, humility, consistency, faith.

Zig’s advice to aspiring leaders: Set the example; be a constant student, a “good finder” and encourager.

http://www.leadernetwork.org/zig_ziglar_november_04.htm