SLT Hopes and Fears for the 2025-2026 School Year by Helena Pereira Raso

Community Building

2025-08-04 07:08:16 UTC

My hope is to find as many opportunities as possible to build community between teachers and students and to find more opportunities for joy.

My Hope is a even better work environment, making connections and serving the staff and parents community better

2025-08-04 07:08:23 UTC

2025-08-04 07:08:28 UTC

Staff, students, and parents feel joy and pride about being members of the DAA community.

To create a present meaningful connection for all staff and students

2025-08-04 07:08:30 UTC

2025-08-04 07:08:42 UTC

My hope is that we are intentional about how we improve.

2025-08-04 07:08:48 UTC

Supportive, targeted, informed and structured sessions.

I hope that everyone in our school feels connected and successful when they come to our school.

2025-08-04 07:09:05 UTC

2025-08-04 07:09:11 UTC

Resistance to change inhibits progress.

To create a community where people feel that they belong and are valued.

2025-08-04 07:09:17 UTC

Foundations

2025-08-04 07:09:32 UTC

I think establishing a strong foundation for our vision for this year is what we began to do today and it will be important for the work we continue doing throughout this week and this year

2025-08-04 07:09:35 UTC

I hope we can make authentic and visible change to our school (on a wider scale) so parents can see the impacts and know what we already do - DAA is a fantastic place for kids!

Build positive strong relationships

ramakhalid — 2025-08-04 07:09:40 UTC

I really hope to build positive relationships and connections with colleagues, students and parents.

Resistance to change, to try something new

2025-08-04 07:09:48 UTC

2025-08-04 07:10:00 UTC

Genuine connection and collaboration

2025-08-04 07:10:13 UTC

My hope is that DAA continue it’s excellence and achieve new milestones.

My fear would be not achieving the working environment needed, or missing the final purpose , which is the student’s success.

2025-08-04 07:10:17 UTC

2025-08-04 07:10:27 UTC

I hope this year brings a sense of belonging, success and joy to our community. Let's make it a year where everyone feels heard, valued and seen for who they are and what they contribute.

Loud Eyores

2025-08-04 07:10:28 UTC

Change

2025-08-04 07:10:33 UTC

With the amount of change happening this year my fear is that our people become disconnected.

2025-08-04 07:10:36 UTC

Oversight and overstepping from corporate may inhibit great practices or ideas.

2025-08-04 07:10:39 UTC

Establishing a foundation upon which we identify priorities and build systems and process to achieve our goals.

2025-08-04 07:10:52 UTC

Too many “new” initiatives and changes can sometimes feel overwhelming for people, so we will have to be intentional about creating a sense of stability and focus.

I hope we become aligned as a K-12 with shared goals and values, that we embody the culture of Kindness and Leopard pride and we respect each and everyone’s position and role in the school and recognize their value and impact.

2025-08-04 07:11:03 UTC

ramakhalid — 2025-08-04 07:11:05 UTC

Always be open to new ideas.

2025-08-04 07:11:21 UTC

Kindness and respect for everyone’s voice

An environment where all community members feel safe and supported. A place where students colleagues are appropriately challenged.

2025-08-04 07:11:23 UTC

We don’t see change

2025-08-04 07:11:29 UTC

My hopes for this year are…

2025-08-04 07:11:31 UTC

we will clearly define our culture as a school and all (teachers, staff, students, parents, admin) embody these qualities in our daily interactions.
equip our students with the tools they need (including emotional safety and growth mindset) to be able to achieve to their fullest potential
Empower my colleagues to be problem solvers, advocates for change, and self-motivated

Sharing our work with the larger community to model our reflection, humility, hopes and planned actions

2025-08-04 07:11:40 UTC

Positivity, growth, connections; and a culture of kindness, learning, care, and joy

2025-08-04 07:11:47 UTC

Fear of falure that will bribe the community from the joy of learning and the beauty of the journey.

2025-08-04 07:11:50 UTC

2025-08-04 07:11:54 UTC

This work must be the foundation upon which we build our goals. Without connection we won’t achieve our other goals

usanchez_daa1_1 — 2025-08-04 07:12:22 UTC

A more tech-powered community

2025-08-04 07:12:22 UTC

Collaboration, focus

I believe the work and reflection we did today was great, and needed to be done more often.

2025-08-04 07:12:27 UTC

Its important to reflect on what can we do better and set a plan of action for it.

The modeling of the culture we want to see would be something to really work on as a group.

I believe establishing a strong and clear foundation is the key to success.

ramakhalid — 2025-08-04 07:12:31 UTC

Respect and Support

2025-08-04 07:12:40 UTC

I hope that this year a majority (if not all) of our teachers and staff, students and parents, feel supported and respected at DAA. I hope that I will play an active role in ensuring that this is the culture of our school and that I continue to grow in cultivating a positive culture.

2025-08-04 07:12:42 UTC

Building a caring community and classrooms is foundational to our work. Leveraging the great relationships with staff we have into action and accountability will be the next step.

usanchez_daa1_1 — 2025-08-04 07:12:51 UTC

Chaos. Lack of identity.

ES-NB

2025-08-04 07:12:56 UTC

I loved how the process of defining “The best day” ever started at the individual level, then to a small group and finally shared out with the wider group. It’s a great way to honor the individual voices, while highlighting the priorities of the collective group.

The guiding questions helped support goal clarity and keeping conversations focussed, without curbing curiosity.

Summarising at the end through the three concise goals. Provided validation and reaffirmed the group goal.

I think building trust in a strong foundation to lead us to greater growth and success

2025-08-04 07:13:16 UTC

usanchez_daa1_1 — 2025-08-04 07:13:19 UTC

Setting the guidelines.

Modeling humor and humility to build psychological safety for our new and returning staff.

2025-08-04 07:13:21 UTC

One of my fears this year is…

2025-08-04 07:13:27 UTC

that we will try to bring about change/new initiatives too hastily and they will only be surface-level rather than deep and meaningful.

usanchez_daa1_1 — 2025-08-04 07:13:38 UTC

Active listening.

Culture of Kindness, Positive attitude, modeling culture, have the best day ever ( everyday). Those are the highlights for me on my line of work.

2025-08-04 07:13:44 UTC

Others having a disproportionate influence on our ability to make progress towards our best day.

2025-08-04 07:13:59 UTC

Genuine connection and love for our DAA community

2025-08-04 07:14:20 UTC

With a solid foundation, we can build high and strong. Schools are communities that are founded on relationships and trust. Clarity and common language are key.

2025-08-04 07:14:22 UTC

ramakhalid — 2025-08-04 07:14:28 UTC

Collaboration, sharing ideas, listening to colleagues and support

2025-08-04 07:14:47 UTC

Providing support, leveraging connections, clarity around goals.

Out of Control

2025-08-04 07:15:16 UTC

I fear the things that are out of our control and supporting our staff in managing those changes .

Having a common understanding of our culture and going into detail on points discussed today

2025-08-04 07:15:23 UTC

NB

2025-08-04 07:16:07 UTC

I hope we can continue to build on the great foundations in place, while prioritising innovation, service, kindness and a strong sense of gratitude and belonging.

Insights gained from relationships you build can guide you in setting goals that improve communication and collaboration.

2025-08-04 07:18:59 UTC

Listening, collaboration across divisions/departments

2025-08-04 07:24:11 UTC

Fears

2025-08-04 08:04:39 UTC

The scarcity of time and some people’s resistance to change!

Insights will set the foundation for the whole school as well as divisional team setting.

2025-08-04 08:05:45 UTC

My Hopes:

2025-08-04 13:41:19 UTC

I hope to create a school environment where every day feels fresh, joyful, and full of meaningful learning, for students, teachers, and parents alike. I envision a culture where engagement is high, collaboration is natural, and success is felt widely. I want to walk through classrooms and witness curiosity, excitement, and authentic dialogue. I hope to carve out protected time to plan intentionally with colleagues, deepen relationships with students and teachers, and build momentum toward something truly special. My ultimate hope is to lead with purpose, connection, and a sense of collective possibility and efficacy.

My Fears

2025-08-04 13:42:14 UTC

My fears center around the risk of losing focus or balance amidst competing demands. I worry about not being able to fully honor the time needed for deep planning or meaningful relationship-building. There’s also a fear that if consistent communication or intentional connections slip, trust could erode. I fear the weight of initiative fatigue, and that the joy or authenticity in our culture could be unintentionally compromised by pressure or misalignment.

Relationships and Culture

2025-08-04 13:43:33 UTC

Today’s focus on relationships and culture reinforces that any meaningful goal must be rooted in connection and community. The commitments to trust, transparency, celebration, and inclusivity provide a foundation that must underpin our academic and strategic goals. If we aim to build a supportive environment—both instructionally and emotionally—our goals should reflect that dual lens. Relationship-building isn't separate from goal-setting; it's the framework through which goals gain traction and meaning. The work reminds us that how we pursue goals is just as important as what the goals are.

Strategies

2025-08-04 13:46:12 UTC

Several strategies stood out that I’d like to bring into upcoming team meetings:

Intentional groupings to foster diverse perspectives and targeted collaboration

Movement and collaboration to keep energy high and ideas flowing
Engaging dialogues that prompt reflection, idea exchange, and authentic discussion
An approach that supported an inclusive, energized, and purpose-driven meeting
Intentionally build the kind of professional culture we want to model for our classrooms and entire community