The Teachers Mentoring Scheme is a system that our school intends to build up. Every senior teacher will be grouped with 3 to 4 junior teachers to form a Companion Team under this plan. It is similar to the relationship between a tutor and a student in university, but closer. The senior teachers (being called as mentors) care not only about junior teachers’ (mentees) problems in teaching, but also other items related to their daily life and work. The arrangement gives expression to the training of administrative talents, and there is better communication and understanding between the mentors and mentees. Sometimes teachers (especially the new teachers) may not know from whom they should seek help, or may be too shy to ask for help.

However, under this Teachers Mentoring Scheme which clearly designates whom they should look for when there is a problem, teachers no longer need to feel sorry or awkward when they need help as this is part of their rights. Teachers under the same team will also build up a close relationship more easily and be mutually supportive. As everyone works as a team, mistakes can be avoided.

Designated meetings between the mentors and the mentees are also to be carried out in this plan. There should be at least 4 recorded meetings throughout the year. The first meeting will be at the beginning of the year and the mentor will help the mentees set a goal, analyse their strengths and weaknesses, understand their mentees’ difficulties and opinions about the school. The second one will be in mid-November. The third comes at the end of March while the final one at the end of academic year. From the second meeting onwards, seven categories of evaluation with clear indices on teachers will be added: 1) personal accomplishment; 2) team spirit; 3) leadership and management; 4) academic development; 5) student development; 6) school development and 7) I.T. development. For those outstanding teachers, they will be awarded a certificate as encouragement.

Under this scheme, middle-ranking administrative teachers (chiefs and subject panels), with their abundant experience and knowledge, facilitate and motivate other teachers’ professional development, while the junior teachers’ (generally with less teaching experience) vigour and creativity challenge the middle-ranking ones, who may then reflect and innovate. This is the definition of a “learning organization” in which the interaction among teachers leads to an excellent teaching team. Moreover, in formal and informal meetings, the mentors can adequately explain every decision made by the school, to which teachers could also express different opinions. The strong cohesion among teachers can only be achieved with an efficient and effective Teachers Mentoring Scheme.

Bearing the motto “All are educable”, our teachers share common features such as caring for students, enthusiastic in teaching and promoting team spirit. We are pleased to see that teachers who have outstanding achievements both in teaching and non-teaching fields are commended.

Every year, ” Joint School Teachers and Staff Commendation Ceremony” will be held in order to commend and encourage those outstanding teachers, to share valuable teaching experiences, and to consolidate a better team spirit.

In late August every year, a commendation session will be held. Every teacher has the opportunity to be nominated and the awardees will receive a certificate of commendation in the Joint School Teachers and Staff Commendation Ceremony.

Every September, 3 outstanding teachers and 3 outstanding staff members will be awarded a trophy in the commendation ceremony. For the outstanding teachers and the outstanding staff in the 2 DSS schools, they will be awarded $6,000 and $2,000 respectively as well. 

Introduction

In order to develop teachers’ professional knowledge, there will be one Joint-School Teachers’ Professional Development Day and two School-based Teachers’ Professional Development Days, which cover the improvement of skills in teaching, development in teaching strategy and consolidation of team spirit, so that basic knowledge of students can be strengthened while efficiency of teaching will also be enhanced.

Objectives

To probe for better teaching modes and strategies through workshops and group discussions in Teachers’ Professional Development Day.

Teachers are able to grasp the most updated professional knowledge through exchanging opinions in the workshop. Teachers may also promote sustaining professional development while on the other hand striving for a better performance in teaching through life-long learning.