Just yesterday I visited one of our teachers at 6 o'clock in the evening to discuss some school matters, and found that one of her students and his mother were at the teacher's house doing practice writing for English letters.
 
Our teacher explained that she tutors the child each evening in her own time, because he has some difficulty focussing with other students, and he needs the extra help to catch up with the basic skills of writing.
 
This is not an unusual occurrence for me to see teachers spending extra time out of school hours helping students in their studies, which attests to the dedication and commitment of teachers at SMIS to give students the very best chance to excel in their studies.
 
Also, in our staff meetings, and in private talks with teachers, I am always impressed by how much the teachers at SMIS care about the education being given to the students, and how all the teachers are very much aware of the need to keep improving our skills of curriculum development and delivery to make sure we are giving our students the very best education in all areas.
 
The 'core business' of a school is education: teaching and learning. So beyond mission statements, long term plans and financial considerations, the most essential measure of the effectiveness of a school is the attitude of the teachers, and how much they are focussed on getting good outcomes for the students, and how much they are dedicated to practically delivering these outcomes.
 
It is extremely encouraging that the teachers at SMIS have such a strong focus on successful student outcomes, and are very dedicated to achieving these outcomes for the students.
 
This positive outlook from the teaching staff means that we can continue to work as a team to improve our capabilities in terms of resources, planning and teacher development, so that SMIS can continue to provide a first class education in all aspects of students' needs.
 
In a very real sense then, our teachers are our real wealth at SMIS, and it is our commitment to protect and develop this wealth more and more as the years pass, to make the standard of teaching and learning at SMIS second to none.