Rona Mackenzie

By Rona Mackenzie Rona Mackenzie

It feels as though December crept up on us, and the academic term has suddenly drawn to a close. 2015 has, without doubt, been the busiest year of my career so far.

It started with a bang when I hit my 40th birthday in late January and set myself the goal of achieving forty challenges in the subsequent twelve-months. That set the tone for a year full of personal and working challenges.

On reflection there are a number of events that have been significant. My forty challenges began in an exhilarating fashion on the Italian slopes, learning to ski and cross country ski, then led me to the north of Scotland to learn to use ice axe and crampons in preparation for my Russian expedition in August.

My plan to give blood was thwarted by my unhelpful lack of accessible veins, but led me to an unexpected encounter with the charity, Delete Blood Cancer.

Through my tweets about giving blood I was introduced to a fellow tweeter, whose son has blood cancer, and they were able to show me that I could contribute in a small way towards potentially beating this terrible illness.

The challenges continued in a random fashion. I’ve milked cows, learnt to clay pigeon shoot, tried meditation (unsuccessfully!), been to the ballet and opera, climbed the Stenigot Tower with the Royal Air Force and tried to slack line!

I went to the Queen’s Garden Party, visited Paris, ate fancy food and went to a Foo Fighters concert! I experienced failure – the 100km Race to the Stones left me physically broken at 70km and we were unsuccessful in our attempt to climb Mount Elbrus.

There are still a few of the forty to complete, but my experiences have exposed me to new opportunities and taught me a lot about myself.

My ultimate goal was to raise £4040.40 for four charities… I am not quite there yet so I have that as a final challenge in the New Year before my 41st!

In 2015 I was simultaneously enjoying the challenges of the first year at Lincoln University Technical College. When I was a Deputy Head Teacher I really didn’t appreciate the complexity of school leadership.

As a start up business, the year has been a series of firsts and we have enjoyed many superb experiences alongside our inevitable challenges. I work with inspiring and talented colleagues and we are fortunate to educate students who have passion, commitment and determination.

There have been too many experiences to recount here but I will never forget opening the Lincoln UTC in our permanent home on Lindum Road in November. That was quite simply the proudest day of my career.

2015 has proven to be exciting and rewarding and I know the year ahead will be equally packed with new experiences and challenges. Christmas is a time to hit the pause button, devote our time to be with those we love and take a well earned rest. Just a quick rest thought, I’m hitting the Atlas Mountains on the 27th to climb three peaks… seeing in 2016 in the best possible way!

Happy Christmas, I hope you enjoy the festivities and get off to a flying start in 2016!

Dr. Rona Mackenzie is Principal of Lincoln University Technical College (UTC). She has a strong background in education, having worked in six local authorities during her career, and is passionate about providing an education that meet the needs of young people and their community industries. She is a keen sportswoman and mountaineer, recently trekking to Everest Base Camp, and has an interest in photography.

Dr. Rona Mackenzie is Principal of Lincoln University Technical College (UTC). She has a strong background in education, having worked in six local authorities during her career, and is passionate about providing an education that meet the needs of young people and their community industries. She is a keen sportswoman and mountaineer, recently trekking to Everest Base Camp, and has an interest in photography.

By Rona Mackenzie Rona Mackenzie

This week I had the pleasure of speaking at the Lincolnshire Women’s Enterprise Day at Belton Woods Hotel. The conference was superbly organised by Fiona White, Community Lincs CEO and Jenny Reynolds, Project Manager, and they arranged a wide range of interesting and impressive workshops, stands, activities and speakers to inspire the attendees.

The audience was a wonderful mix of age, experience and knowledge but each attendee shared the same high levels of passion for their work. I met some very impressive women whom I look forward to welcoming in to the UTC to inspire our students.

During our day we were encouraged to use Twitter to raise awareness of the event. I have been an active user of Twitter for about five years now and it has been an invaluable, free form of professional development and networking.

I have found: impressive professionals, from whom I develop my knowledge and understanding; critical voices, who lead me to challenge my thinking and reflect on my opinions and decisions; some inspiring teachers, who sit at the heart of every school, and whose passion for teaching and exquisite skills leave me wishing I was a school student again.

When I go to meetings and conferences with Twitter colleagues I always find myself sat wondering who looks like their profile picture… some are very easy to spot and it is great to meet them in the flesh and learn more about their work. Some, with cartoon caricatures or silly snaps, are much harder to identify.

I once sat in a conference, tweeting away to a Twitter ‘pal’, only for me to suddenly twig that he was sat next to me!

Much amusement followed as I posted cryptic tweets, leading him to suddenly realise, much to his surprise, that I was his neighbor in the lecture! Whilst the character limitation is sometimes a little frustrating, I continue to find that the support I receive from other school leaders via social media is second to none.

Today I bumped into some new acquaintances and enjoyed hearing their stories and experiences. I’m looking forward to hooking up with them on Twitter to learn more about their work.

Last Friday evening, as I was heading to bed, my use of Twitter brought a whole different series of tweets to my timeline. As the news of the Paris tragedy unfolded before our eyes, I witnessed friends panicking about the whereabouts of their loved ones, school trips worrying about the safety of students and us all watching in shock as the terrible events unfolded.

Social media has the capacity to bring us closer in so many ways.

On a positive note, people were being warned to stay away from the affected locations as the tragic news spread, potentially saving further bloodshed.

On the other hand, I witnessed crass, thoughtless comments and sweeping generalisations made by media outlets, which helped no one. It was a tragic event and one that we will never forget, nor understand.

As a school leader I am well aware of my responsibility to educate our young people in the events of the world. On Twitter that evening a fellow leader in a London school spoke candidly on twitter about the impact this is having on Muslim people.

He wrote: “Let ME be that person you know, that is a Muslim, that isn’t a terrorist and believes in love, tolerance and acceptance. Say you know me”.

My response: “I know you”.

I am aware that, in our predominantly white British college, my students may not fully understand other cultures and religions.

Our staff spent time this week discussing the tragedy with students, helping them to put into context how this has happened and to appreciate that this is led by a group of people and not by a religion.

I have registered with an online community called #FaithBoxED who will be linking the UTC to a multi-cultural school elsewhere in the world. My intention is for us to bring our worlds together.

Our students need to know the world outside their world, to understand other religions and faiths, so that they are knowledgeable, caring and supportive young people who live with a shared understanding and a desire to make the world a better place for the generations that follow them: as did our parents and grandparents who we commemorated just last week as part of Poppy Day. May their legacy live on in our children as they join together to rise above this abhorrence through understanding, tolerance and compassion.

Dr. Rona Mackenzie is Principal of Lincoln University Technical College (UTC). She has a strong background in education, having worked in six local authorities during her career, and is passionate about providing an education that meet the needs of young people and their community industries. She is a keen sportswoman and mountaineer, recently trekking to Everest Base Camp, and has an interest in photography.