After more than two decades as a school principal across three educational jurisdictions and two states in Australia, I\u2019ve reached a personal and professional crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past ten years, I\u2019ve had the privilege of leading a thriving school on the beautiful Mid North Coast of New South Wales. It\u2019s a place I\u2019ve poured my energy into, a place that has shaped me as much as I\u2019ve shaped it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a moment many leaders encounter: the plateau. When you\u2019ve led long enough to know every corner of the school and every nuance of the community, routine can settle in. For some, it\u2019s a signal to step aside and leave on a high before comfort replaces challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For others, it\u2019s a prompt to grow again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a lifelong learner, I\u2019ve come to recognise a deeper need for challenge. That realisation hasn\u2019t been easy. Like many who wrestle with major career decisions, my choice isn\u2019t just about me. There\u2019s a family to consider including children, mortgages, a spouse\u2019s career, ageing parents, extended family, and friendships that anchor daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a school principal announces they\u2019re leaving, people see only the surface. They ask, \u201cWhat does this mean for us?\u201d Fair question. But what often goes unseen are the long conversations, the weighing of costs and benefits, the hopes, fears, and practicalities that sit just below the surface like the iceberg beneath the waterline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the full support of my family, I\u2019ve decided to resign from my current principalship to take up an international leadership role in Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This blog will chronicle that transition, initially for my family, who will remain in Australia until our youngest completes the HSC in 2015. But it will also serve as a reflective outlet, a space to document the challenges, discoveries, and growth that come with stepping into the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope this space becomes more than a personal journal. Like other expat blogs I\u2019ve followed, I hope it offers useful insight for educators, leaders, and anyone considering a leap into the next chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nChange is never simple. But growth rarely is.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
What would it take for you to leave something successful in pursuit of something unknown? And if not now, when?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After more than two decades as a school principal across three educational jurisdictions and two states in Australia, I\u2019ve reached a personal and professional crossroads. For the past ten years, I\u2019ve had the privilege of leading a thriving school on the beautiful Mid North Coast of New South Wales. It\u2019s a place I\u2019ve poured my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-professional-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4968,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions\/4968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}