One school, many hats with Sarah

In this episode, I chat with Sarah, an inspiring educator who has spent over 15 years balancing her passion for teaching with family life. Sarah’s journey took her from a sports-oriented education to various leadership roles, including acting deputy principal. She shares valuable insights into the significance of working with intermediate-aged students, the impact of extra-curricular activities on skill development, and the importance of embracing new roles to enhance both personal and professional growth.

Sarah also discusses how she manages the delicate balance between her career and family, offering practical tips on staying organised and managing stress. Drawing from her own experiences as a parent, she emphasises the importance of empathy and understanding in teaching. Through her story, Sarah inspires educators to embrace opportunities, maintain balance, and strive for connection with their students and themselves. 

Hosted by Debbie Ross
Find us on Instagram & Facebook: @nurturingeducators

For more information, guest recommendations, and sponsorship opportunities 
or to chat, please email: nurturingeducators@gmail.com or visit  www.nurturingeducators.co.nz

Thanks for listening! 

Transcript

Passionate Educator Shares Teaching Journey

Debbie 0:06

Welcome to Nuturing Educators , the podcast that shares inspiring and insightful conversations with passionate teachers dedicated to education and well-being . I'm your host , Debbie Ross , and each episode we will explore the personal stories , challenges and successes of educators from all walks of life . You'll hear practical tips and strategies to help you thrive both in the classroom and beyond .

Debbie 0:36

Hi everyone , on today's episode , I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Sarah . Our families have been friends since we were little , so we've shared countless fun memories over the years . It's been especially meaningful to navigate the world of teaching together , where we can relate to the highs and lows of the job . I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did .

Debbie 1:01

Welcome , Sarah .

Sarah 1:02

Hey , hey , debbie ,

Debbie 1:03

How are you doing ?

Sarah 1:05

Pretty good . Yeah , it's the summer holidays , right now , so that's super stoked .

Debbie 1:10

I Know, Yeah , Got to go back next week though .

Sarah 1:12

We do yes , so I've got to start waking up early again , getting back into routine , which is always fun .

Debbie 1:20

Yeah Well , thanks for being here with us today . Do you want to just tell us a little bit about yourself before we get started ?

Sarah 1:27

Yeah , so obviously named Sarah . I am married , my wonderful husband Marco , and we have three daughters who are older now 23 , 19 and 16 . So we're kind of out of the really hard phases and into enjoying them as young adults , which is fun . Well , I love sports and being outdoors . Played football my whole life but have tried pretty much every sport you can think of and just love yeah , just love being active . Definitely a someone that likes to be busy , that , rather than than still . Active , relaxer .

Debbie 2:05

Nice .

Debbie 2:05

So how long have you been teaching for ?

Sarah 2:09

So I started my journey way back in 2006 , and I was sort of a director of sport and did PE teaching at this school for three years and then I had my youngest daughter and so I was away for two and a half years and then I ended up back at teaching and so been there ever since . So altogether it's like 18 odd years .

Debbie 2:34

Great . What inspired you to become a teacher , Sarah ?

Sarah 2:38

I think I've always loved , like I said , sports , and so when I thought teaching , it was always with regards to PE teaching in particular . I couldn't imagine being in a classroom teaching maths or English or anything like that , but it was between that or being in the police which I also really really thought about . I had my daughter quite young at 20 , and so it was a lot easier just to think about teaching and it's ended up being a great career choice , with having kids and getting the school holidays off and being able to fit um school and around the kids , or the other way around sometimes but um yeah , I've really enjoyed the last 18 years

Debbie 3:20

what um , age group do you

Intermediate age is a fun age to teach

Sarah 3:23

Yeah , so I obviously did Health and PE at uni , thinking I'd end up in a high school doing Health and PE teaching and didn't like , loved my placements and things like that , but job at an intermediate just doing Health and PE there and have just absolutely loved it and stayed . So I work with , yeah , 11 to or 10 to 13-year-olds yeah , it's a really fun age I don't know , there's just something about . There's a lot of changes that happens in a kid's life at that age group and as they go through or start puberty and things like that . It's just really cool being a part of that stage in kids lives and generally they still love to get out and try things . You know they're not too hung up on anything yet , although that's changed a lot over the last few years . But yeah , it's just a really fun age to be around .

Diverse Roles in Long-Term School Career

Debbie 4:14

Being in the same school for quite a long time . Do you want to share a little bit about the different roles that you've had ?

Sarah 4:21

Yeah , so I have ended up just being at the same school my whole teaching career , which was not in the plan . But when I went away and had my daughter , I ended up back at the school that I had left , thinking I'd just stay there for a bit till I found something different and have stayed so obviously started off just doing Health and PE and and Sports coordinating anything sport related at the school , and then I became the Head of department there and just a small department , obviously an intermediate . There's not too many teachers needed in that space .

Debbie 4:54

But a lot to organise .

Sarah 4:55

But lots to organise .

Debbie 4:57

Yeah .

Sarah 4:57

And a lot of the teachers . So there were teachers taking some PE lessons who weren't trained or really it's not their favourite thing to do , so building confidence in those other teachers as well in that role and supporting them with planning and lessons and things .

Sarah 5:13

So yeah , I became Head of department there and then the job of Dean came up . So I became a Dean and we sort of alternated . You'd start as year seven dean and do them for the two years year 7 and 8 , and then go back to year 7 . So yeah ended up doing sort of a half teaching load and half deaning load . So the pastoral care , which was great , yeah really enjoyed that and just working in a different space with the kids and I think obviously being a health teacher and understanding haora and the need for personal well-being , yeah has really helped in that role as well .

Sarah 5:52

Oh , that's um yeah and just working with the families too , getting to know sort of a bit more about the background of students and working with them .

Debbie 6:01

I guess that's quite helpful , being in a small , smaller school that you get to know the whānau and the kids a lot better than if it's a really big one .

Sarah 6:11

Yeah , I mean obviously there's only two year levels . The school was quite large when I first started there and unfortunately the rolls dropped a bit , so we had about a thousand kids when I first started and then it sort of dropped and now we sit at about 450 , which is quite a nice number like we could do with a few more students .

Sarah 6:27

But , like you say , yeah , you do get to know the kids really well . You know I could name every kid in the school and you get to know a lot of the parents and whānau as well .

Debbie 6:37

So , having done these different roles , what would your advice be to other teachers who potentially would like try something new ? Is it worth doing ?

Sarah 6:49

Yeah , absolutely . I mean , I suppose that's what's helped with me being at the same school the whole time is that I've done a few different jobs and been a part of quite a few different parts of the school and I mean , to be honest , when the dean role , when I was approached about it and asked to apply , I wasn't even sure if it's really what I wanted to do . But I do love working with students and so I didn't want to give up teaching .

Sarah 7:14

So the dean role , you know that being in the classroom , so the dean role was really good because I still got to be part of the Health and PE and I still ran that department at the same time as being a dean . And I just say , just go and try it like , apply , put yourself forward . And you just don't know , because being the dean as well , it led into me being acting deputy principal for two terms and again I was like , oh , I don't really want to be deputy principal . It hadn't really been on my radar , but I was approached because our principal left and you know , things changed .

Debbie 7:46

How did you find that experience ?

Sarah 7:47

Yah , so that solidified the fact that I don't want to be a deputy principal . Okay , and not because it's just not for me like .

Sarah 7:56

I was then out of the classroom and it felt like a lot of time in the office dealing with . I was the pastoral deputy principal , so you know you're seeing students who are having a rough time majority of the time that's what you're dealing with and that can be quite draining . But also there's just so many kids in the school that I felt like I wasn't connecting with anymore . And yeah and I mean it was only two terms , but I was like , yeah , this I need the teaching aspect as well , like being in the classroom being part of all the sports .

Sarah 8:27

That's where , yeah , where I kind of thrive , and so I was happy to hand that back to our deputy principal again we got a new principal .

Debbie 8:37

Oh well , good on you for giving it a go, and I'm sure they really benefited from the time , time that you . did do

Sarah 8:44

Yeah, I mean I must have done something right , because they were asking me if I was sure I didn't want to continue . But no , it was yeah .

Debbie 8:51

Good experience ?

Sarah 8:51

Yeah , absolutely .

Sarah 8:53

But yeah , basically just go for it . You know , and you're never stuck Like , if it's not working out , you can say look , this isn't , and change and drop it and things .

Debbie 9:08

So that was a little bit about the deaning and then the deputy principal . What about headed department ? What do you find rewarding about that role ?

Enjoyed Head of Department

Sarah 9:18

Again . I suppose , without even realising it , I am a little bit of a control freak . I like having a bit of control over what's happening in our school in that area . No , not really that stuck up on it , but I like putting things , like planning things and trying things and then seeing it in action and going , oh , that did work , oh , we won't do that again . And planning a new unit and changing things up . But the chance to , yeah , sort of have a lot of input into that and because we're a small team , you know , I was very much doing a lot of the planning and then just sort of working with others as well and helping other teachers grow . And I've been a mentor teacher for a few BTs that have come through . And yeah , it's just I like I didn't realise I would like planning and organising things so much , but I do , um , so yeah it's been fun .

Debbie 10:13

Sounds like you've had a very rewarding career so far .

Sarah 10:18

Yeah , you know it's has been good . I even though sometimes I think , man , I've just been at the same school the whole time and is that the right choice ? Yeah , I've done a lot and the staff have been great . The kids are great . We're sort of a lower decile school not that deciles are anymore , and it's just a really fun place to be .

Balancing Teaching, Leadership, and Family

Debbie 10:39

t you like to share with us a funny teaching moment ? I know you've got plenty of them , I'm sure, any of them spring to mind ?

Keeping things fun and light

Sarah 10:51

I suppose I think it's just funny when you just get up and make a bit of a fool of yourself for the kids and they think it's hilarious and you've just got to put your shame aside . Um , you know , and so in assemblies and things like that , I'm quite happy to be the first one to go yeah , yeah , I'll go up on stage and do whatever it is that it's been doing , yeah , so there's just sort of just those times where you're just being a complete fool and you think if any of your friends saw you right now , they'd be going well , what the heck is she doing ?

Debbie 11:25

But the kids appreciate it because they see you more as a real down-to-earth person , not , yeah , teach you up on a pedestal , yeah exactly , and I mean sometimes maybe they're laughing at you , not with you .

Sarah 11:38

But you know it's good , exactly , and just seeing the joy on their faces .

Debbie 11:43

Oh , that's neat .

Sarah 11:44

We've had eating challenges where I've had to eat like really spicy noodles , which I don't do very well .

Debbie 11:51

Have you been dunked ?

Sarah 11:53

And I haven't been dunked; I have been flour bombed and just different things like that

Importance of extra-curricular

Sarah 12:01

.

Debbie 12:02

So you've run a lot of extracurricular activities outside of school over the years . Why do you think they're important to keep up ? Because I think these days it seems that a lot of those things have got so many RAMS forms and bits and pieces in place . But why do you think it's important for students to have those opportunities ?

Sarah 12:29

Yeah there's just so many like life skills and growth that comes from EOTC and extracurricular stuff . So , and something as small as time management and making sure that they turn up to trainings or the planning or whatever's happening beforehand to those interactions with other people and sometimes it's interactions that are in a stressful situation and you've got to , you know , building that resilience . Sometimes it's interactions where it's just absolutely hilarious you can see they're having this great time . Yeah , it's just those life skills . You can read and write and do maths and all that other stuff as well , which is great and very much needed . But if you can't interact with people and work through anything that's tough and come out the other side , you just get a lot of learning from doing those extracurricular activities .

Sarah 13:22

Unfortunately , now you are battling with cost . It's just getting really hard to do things because of cost . It's so limiting and families are really already pushed with just life in general . That extracurricular is an extra . You are battling students needs to game and do all this other like individual stuff . You know they're just scrolling phones and quite happy to sit at home and do that for hours on end , but I really think they need to get out of their comfort zones and interact with others one-on-one and face-to-face , but yeah , there's just so much learning that happens in those areas .

Sarah 14:01

I make sure I spend a lot of time . I do put in the hours outside of school and during my lunch times and breaks and things , because I see the importance of it and the outcome for our students .

Debbie 14:14

Amazing . So a little bit about balancing teacher life with family life . So you said you had three daughters . How was the juggle of teaching and your leadership roles while raising those three daughters

Juggling teaching and parenthood

Debbie 14:28

?

Sarah 14:28

You know , I thought about this question and I looked back and I was like I just don't remember it being too hard which is good mean it seems a while ago .

Sarah 14:37

They've all been pretty self-sufficient for a while now . I'm pretty good at just making things work , like you just have to , and I was really lucky to have supportive family Like my mom and my husband's mom . My mother-in-law were able to help with the girls you know , outside of school time and and when they were , even before they were school age they would have them during the day while I was at work , so they weren't necessarily in kindy or care for as long and you just you work at night when they've gone to bed . And having the holidays off is what's what makes it so good . The kids are at home . I'm at home , you're not rushing around trying to sort care for them in the holidays .

Sarah 15:19

Quite often I became the place where the friends would come as well because the parents had to work , but that worked well because then I entertained my kids while I had work to do . But you just kind of , you just make it work and then take the down time . I like I made sure I kept up my sport and my own personal activities to have that kind of break from everything that Sarah time when I wasn't Mrs Sciarone and I wasn't mum , I was Sarah and , yeah , that was really important as well .

Debbie 15:50

Oh , good on you that's so important to look after yourself , as well as your family and your students .

Sarah 15:57

And I think , as parents parents you just do it and before you know it , they're teenagers and they're driving themselves around . You're like , wow , how did I used to fit that in ? But you do , and it's yeah you just make

Routines to be organised

Sarah 16:08

it work .

Debbie 16:08

Was there any particular strategies or routines that helped you with staying organised both at school and home ?

Sarah 16:16

I suppose I just like keeping on top of things is really important , like I mean , I am one to sort of leave things to the last minute , but certainly , yeah , just trying to keep on top of things . The kids were in pretty good routines with bedtimes and things like that , you know , preparing lunches the night before and getting , once the kids are at certain ages , getting them involved in that as well .

Debbie 16:37

Oh good .

Sarah 16:38

Yeah , so routines obviously help and just yeah , just trying to stay on top of things to not get that burnout of it all just piling up and yeah .

Debbie 16:47

Were there any particular challenging moments where you had to balance work and home life ?

Sarah 16:55

I don't know . Yeah , I mean you look back . I suppose maybe with rose-colored glasses as well , I was like , ah , we got through that and it wasn't so bad . But when you're in the trenches you know there's there would have been things that were a struggle , and I mean I was lucky to have a supportive husband as well and and he was pretty hands-on with the girls too , so you know that helps as well . Yeah , I don't know if there was any particular challenges , the stuff that comes up and you just deal with it and get through it and then you're like , oh , that's gone and carry on .

Debbie 17:29

Do you think being a parent has helped with your teaching and leadership style ?

Sarah 17:36

Yeah , um I'm generally a pretty calm person , so I sort of was able to bring that personality to teaching and the kids . But obviously you're sort of practicing at home and then taking that to the yeah and seeing what stages the girls are going through and going oh yeah , these are my students as well .

Debbie 17:59

So it can be quite helpful .

Sarah 18:01

Yeah it's kind of interlinked a little bit at the different stages .

Sarah 18:04

All three girls came through my school at intermediate age . They did year 7 and 8 with me , which was quite fun having them there . I was a cool enough teacher that they weren't too bothered about being at school with mum . So yeah , I think you just it does influence and it's just sort of you kind of grow together as a parent and a teacher . You know you're just doing it all at the same time and trying things out and seeing what works . Sometimes your kids annoy you . Most of the time your kids annoy you some of the time your kids annoy you so much more than your students, but yeah .

Debbie 18:40

Do you find that it gave you a little bit more compassion towards your students because you could understand a little bit what your daughters went through and then what they're going through ?

Sarah 18:50

And I think actually it probably helped more in the deaning role when I was dealing with parents and them being able to say to them look , I've got a 12-year-old kid , I get where you're at right now with your or I've had these kids . You know , I've got daughters as well . And it just sort of opened up those conversations with whānau when I was having to have meetings with parents and caregivers and sort through stuff , and sometimes you've got whānau coming and going . We just don't know what to do . You know this kid's behaving in these certain ways and , yeah , I certainly was able to understand where they were coming from and , yeah , give them some tips or things that maybe worked for me, not that it works for everyone , but yeah , just having that compassion and that understanding and empathy for the parents .

Sarah 19:38

So in the deaning role , yeah , it's definitely really helpful

Debbie 19:42

Amazing , so probably just a couple more questions, and then we'll wrap up . Is there a little bit of advice that you would give to educators who are trying to balance career and family

Know when to say NO.

Debbie 19:55

?

Sarah 19:55

Yeah , as much as your career is important , it's not everything . And so I got quite good at saying no . Well , I'm not very good at saying no stuff , but I also the teaching . You know I absolutely want my kids to achieve and what they're doing at school . But I also knew when to stop and you know if there was just too much going on , it was like no , this is too much .

Sarah 20:23

You've got to be able to say no , because your family is what's important . You know you want your kids to do well and to have you there and supporting them , and if you're constantly thinking about work over your family , I think that's detrimental to your long term , you know . So , yeah , and just making sure you sort of seek support when you need it , have those teacher friends around you . They might not even be at the same school as you , but sometimes you've just got to rant to people and it's okay to rant and it doesn't mean you're hating your job and hating life , and you know , but it's just getting your those feelings and emotions out . Speaking about it with people and sometimes just saying it out loud is enough, and sometimes you get some support back . But yeah , you've gotta , you've gotta be kind to yourself and understand when enough's enough . And yeah , hold back or push back a little bit .

Debbie 21:18

Great advice Sarah .

Debbie 21:21

All right, so So just one more to finish up . Looking back at what you're most proud of , what would be one or two things that you can say yeah , I did a good job on that .

Sarah 21:31

Well , I mean career-wise, I think , just putting myself out there and doing the different roles that have come my way .

Sarah 21:38

And I am kind of proud to say I've been at the same school . It's odd to you know , not everyone stays at one school for 18 years and I think there's two other teachers at my school that have been there around the same amount of time . But I kind of like that . I have dug it in and stayed there and , you know , maybe there'll be some regret later that I have haven't moved around a bit more .

Sarah 22:00

I don't know . I'm proud of what I've done with the school and and what we've gone through , because there's been a few different things happen at school and you know we've got through that um . And then family wise . Well , just seeing the kids like I said , they're 23 , 19 and 16 now just the fact that we've got through the teenage years without too many hassles , you know there's obviously there's things happen, but they're out the other side t they're doing really well . Yeah , I'm just yeah super proud that we've managed to stay together as a family unit , because it's not always easy and obviously stuff happens and you work through it . Yeah , pretty proud of my girls . They're amazing Well , thank you so much , Sarah .

Debbie 22:47

hey're really appreciate the time that you've put in for us today and I know that there will be teachers out there that will get some really good bits of advice from what we've talked about . Appreciate you coming in .

Sarah 22:58

Thank you . Hopefully I haven't just blabbed too much .

Debbie 23:02

It's been great thanks . thank

Debbie 23:07

Thank you so much for listening . If you enjoyed today's episode , don't forget to hit the subscribe button , leave a review and share it with your fellow educators . Let's keep these important conversations going . For more information , follow us at Nuturing Educators on Facebook and Instagram . Until next time , take care .