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A Day with Richard Lord, Principal at SIS Friedrichshafen
Richard Lord has been the principal of SIS Friedrichshafen since March 2023. It is a job that provides a great deal of variety and guarantees that no two days are ever the same. Working with all stakeholders from across the school community offers a unique perspective into life at the school.
7 a.m. I cycle into school and head to the office to check my emails over a cup of coffee and ensure that all lessons are covered for the day.
8 a.m. The first formal engagement of the day beckons and I head to supervise the main entrance into school for half an hour. This is a great way to start the day and gives me the opportunity to welcome students and staff to a brand-new day at school. Having been at the school for over a year now , I know the students well and we talk about their progress in lessons, their plans for the weekend and the latest sports results. Morning duty is also a chance to meet parents and carers informally.
10 a.m. It is time for the fortnightly meeting with my line manager and a colleague from HR. These meetings allow us to discuss important operational and strategic matters on a regular basis and help us to maintain good lines of communication. After this meeting, I walk around the school to check in on lessons, which is really important to me each day.
12 p.m. I meet every section head individually on a weekly basis and today is the primary school meeting with Mrs Huber. We discuss important dates in the calendar, student progress and review our timetable planning for next September.
1 p.m. The next meeting is a performance review meeting with a teacher from the college. These meetings have been invaluable in terms of really getting to know the staff across the school, to gather their feedback, discuss their strengths, build upon these and agree on some targets for future performance.
3 p.m. Next stop is the grading conference for Years 5 to 8. As we approach the end of the first half-year, teachers have been working diligently to submit grades and draft report comments for discussion and voting. This is traditionally a long and focused meeting and, to keep colleagues sustained, Mrs Kübler has prepared a much-appreciated buffet.
6:30 p.m. The working day ends with a parent council meeting. Having previously worked in England, I have found the organisation and democratic function of the parent council an interesting cultural difference. As I cycle home, I reflect on how fortunate we are to enjoy such high levels of parental support at SIS Friedrichshafen.
Author
Principal, SIS Friedrichshafen
First published in emphaSIS Germany, 2024