Perhaps I’m showing my love of action movies too much in my blog, but the first thing that came to mind in looking at module 4.1 about Mission and Vision statements was ‘Mission Impossible’. While I hope that the mission of my school will not self-destruct in 5 seconds, it did start me investigating if my school had mission and vision statements in place.

Upon researching my school’s website, I only came across a vision statement which says:

‘At B*** Public School, we believe that every student should be challenged to learn and to continually improve in a respectful, inclusive, and high expectation environment. We support the development of students with a focus on student wellbeing, student academic growth and social success. Teachers, parents, and students will work in partnership to achieve this vision.’

According to Olsen (2016, November 10), a vision statement should be a statement of where the organisation is going and why it is going there. Olsen (2016, November 10) also includes a checklist to see if it is a vision statement which includes the following:

• 5+ year goal
• Written in future tense
• Directional
• Audacious
• Descriptive

She also suggests that you can start the writing process with a statement like ‘We envision…’.

Using these suggestions for my school, the vision statement fits in most of these categories.

Thinking about the library in the school I have created a vision statement for it:

‘We envision a school library which enables students to be social, literate, innovative, ethical and critical thinking learners.  Students will belong to a community of learning and literacy, where they are actively encouraged to become seekers of ideas and information.’

Unfortunately, my school does not have a mission statement… yet.

Olsen (2016, November 1) reports that a mission statement should be about why an organisation exists. It should be sustainable over time, have a staff connection and be memorable. It should also be short enough to print on a t-shirt (and want to be worn on a t-shirt too)!

I wonder what my school will come up with for a t-shirt…

References

Olsen, E. [virtualstrategist]. (2016, November 1). How to write a mission statement [Video}. YouTube. https://youtu.be/1xs4I349cdc

Olsen, E. [virtualstrategist]. (2016, November 10). How to write a vision statement [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7yBUBmciQBk