Jessie McLean

Calamvale Community College

In her relatively short time at Calamvale Community College, Jessie McLean has already established herself as a natural leader within the school community.
 
Jessie’s Year One classroom is a place of innovation. She is constantly trialling new teaching practices, setting a high standard for professional development and reflection among the school’s teaching team.  
 
The most impressive thing about Jessie is the spirit of collaboration and teamwork that she champions. Rarely does she develop her own skills without offering to share her new expertise with her colleagues.
 
After trialling new teaching practices in her classroom, Jessie regularly presents her findings to the school’s teaching team and helps them implement similar techniques in their own classes. 

She often opens up her own classroom to her colleagues, giving them a chance to better understand her teaching and planning processes.
 
Lately, Jessie’s focus has been on improving the ways in which reading skills are taught and assessed, which led to the school adopting several new programs targeting reading improvement under her guidance. 

Jessie has also been working diligently to lead a new student engagement strategy, which has seen the school introduce a new house system to promote good sportsmanship and positive team culture among students.
 
Jessie’s creativity has shone in this leadership role; she has developed a rewards system to encourage student engagement, organised fortnightly games to promote house spirit, and led a team of teachers tasked with promoting house culture in the school.
 
Congratulations Jessie on your nomination.
 
By Claudia Farhart.