Change - good? bad? ugly?

Tomorrow is a big day!
I am moving to a new school and responsibility.

I left my role Manurewa West School on Friday with a mixture of emotions (excitement, sadness, nervousness).
My role there was a complex one, that had evolved quickly from the Scale A teacher role I was employed as in 2013. When I left, I was team leader of the Y1 teaching team and also the person responsible for ECE transition and co-ordination. My role had also previously included responsibility for the whole junior school for a few terms last year when the AP was away on leave.

Saying goodbye is always hard but I know I have left my class to an amazing teacher who will finish the year off well.  Technology is also beneficial here, knowing I can easily stay connected to the wonderful staff I will no longer see each day.

I am nervous about the move though.  There is always nervousness and excited that comes with change and I am left today with lots of questions and "worries".

• Will the staff be nice? 
• What will the class be like? 
• Will the class respond well to me?
• Have a planned with enough flexibility to accommodate needs? 
• Will I remember everyone's names? 

Of course these are all "silly" questions, in that they are the same things we continually ask ourselves.  And they are not the questions that are really concerning me.  There is one difference in this move.  

In this move, I am moving to an established position of responsibility.  This is something new for me.  I have always moved schools to a Scale A position and grown into a leadership role within the school.

In my new role at Bailey Road School, I will effectively be responsible for the leadership and management of the junior school. This brings its own set of questions and worries.

• Can I do the job I have been employed to do?
• How can I manage an area of the school when I don't know "the way we do things" yet?
• How do I quickly establish a rapport with and a picture of the team?
• Will I live up to the expectations people have of me in this role?
• How do I honour what is already there but make changes to progress the teaching and learning of our students?

These are the questions that really matter to me at the moment.  I know I can do this role and do it well, but that little nagging doubt is always there.

I wonder why that is. And it makes me think how it might be similar for our students and their whanau when they move to new schools or classrooms.

So, as I prepare for tomorrow, I reflect - Change = good? bad? ugly?

I think it is all of these and I envisage many upcoming posts around this change I am going through in the future.

I know I will do a great job ..... but I'm still nervous!