Heard on the Hill Term 4, Week 4
From the Principal
I have mentioned previously that this time of year is a great time to reflect. Last week's graduation was exactly for me. It is one of my favourite days of the year. A real celebration. The 2024 Year 12s' were characterised by their interconnectedness. One just needed to witness both the final assembly and graduation speeches by the captains to see the feeling that they had for each other.
World Teacher Day was also a great opportunity for me to be reminded of the talented and dedicated staff that we have at Bunbury Senior High School. This celebration, the day after so many staff from the gardeners to the Deputy Principals had given time to contribute to the Year 12 graduation, was a timely reminder.
None of this happens by accident. The selection of new staff is rigorous. The induction process is extensive. Staff collegiality is high. The professional learning for aspirants planned and structured with opportunities to develop leadership skills. The high expectations are evident. There is a clear vision with strong, shared leadership.
Like I say to students, there are many opportunities to excel here. All we need to do is use the performance management process and school structures to the full extent. Use Instructional Leadership Team members, line managers or other colleagues to really interrogate your practice, focus on that part you want to improve on and use the school resources to help your practice grow. Staff that do this process well, get the most benefit.
Talk to your line manager if you want to revitalise your PM process.
Have a great week.
En Avant
Mike Sinagra
The school Production is this week. If you would like to come along and help out, please email Genevieve Schoeman at genevive@global.co.za
Otherwise if you would like to see our students perform just come along. Thank you to all the staff who have already contributed.
New role - Student Leadership Coordinator
The Executive Team have decided to create a new role in 2025, which combines the responsibilities of the Prefect Coordinator and the House Coordinator into one Student Leadership Coordinator. This role will attract a 0.2FTE. It will be a two year tenure and will then be re-advertised. I am seeking expressions of interest, due to me by Friday 15th November. Please read the attached job description for the role. I am happy to chat with anyone who is interested in this role.
Aspirant Session - Unpacking the AITSL Standards for Middle Leaders
Adam McGill will be running the next aspirant session in Week 5 on Thursday 7 November from 3.15pm in Room 10. Adam will be taking aspirants through the new AITSL standards for middle leaders and unpacking these. If you intend to attend, can you please let Adam know by Monday 4 November? I have attached the standards for your information.
Instructional Strategies for Engagement
At Bunbury SHS we are working towards have all teachers trained in the CMS and ISE Programs.
I am looking for volunteers who would like to enrol in the Instructional Strategies for Engagement (ISE) PL for 2025.
This professional learning is designed to increase the capacity and confidence of classroom teachers to select, apply and evaluate appropriate instructional skills and strategies to engage students in learning. It is a follow on from the CMS Foundation Program. It includes 3 full day workshops with in-class observation and conference’s after each workshop.
If you would like to register for the program in 2025, please email me directly and indicate which semester would be your preference.
Workload Advisory Committee
Workload is often the main cause of staff stress or anxiety. Our school has a workload advisory committee, which was set up as part of our focus on Staff Wellbeing in our previous business plan, and which we continue to support through the new Staff Wellbeing Committee.
Staff Representatives for this year (continuing their 2 year tenure) are: Renee Chapple, Luke Marinoni and Adam McGill.
If you have workload issues, please discuss them first with your line manager, as many of these can be resolved quickly and easily.
If you have an issue that cannot be resolved, please submit it via either the survey link provided here, or on the document below (which can also be found in the School Templates folder on your desktop.
Building Update
A new aluminium/glass door has been installed to the opening out to the Home Ec car park to replace the gate. Staff will be able to unlock/lock this door using their Learning Area key.
What’s OnTerm 4, Week 4
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Monday |
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Tuesday |
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Wednesday |
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Thursday |
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Friday |
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Coming Soon |
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Mike's Calendar |
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Monday |
· 10.00am-10.30am Meeting · 12.30pm-2.30pm Meeting · 3.00pm-4.00pm Finance Meeting |
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Tuesday |
· 12.00pm-1.00pm Ed Exec Meeting · 1.00pm-2.00pm Meeting · 2.00pm-2.30pm Deputy Principal Meeting · 2.30pm-3.00pm Deputy Principal Meeting |
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Wednesday |
· 9.00am-9.45am Timetabling Meeting · 12.00pm-3.00pm Bun Sth Network Meeting |
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Thursday |
· 9.45am-10.45am Leadership Meeting · 10.50am-11.20am Top of the Hill · 11.30am-12.00pm Exec Meeting |
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Friday |
· 8.00am-11.00am Professional Learning |
Howdy folks!
You have probably noticed that Shared Instructional Framework magnets have magically appeared on the whiteboards in your classrooms. Thank you to staff that ordered multiple sets and are using them regularly, people who have welcomed their use or have been curious about how to use them. A big shout out to the Science Department that have decided to use the magnets as part of their next teaching sprint.
History of the SIF:
The SIF started in 2017/18 as a PLC journey in Instructional Design. The overarching 5-year goal was to improve instructional practice across the school. The initial team started as a group trained by Barrie Bennet in Instructional Strategies with a plan to roll these strategies out to the school. The SIF was research based, staff led, designed and adopted.
Please see the PowerPoint that shares the history of the SIF. Have a read of the notes section - it tells the story of how the ILT (Instructional Leadership team, now called the HQTT) led staff in development of the SIF.
Students are starting to ask what the magnets are for, which is exciting! I've been telling the students that they are there so: you know what you are supposed to be doing in class, a reminder about what you should be doing if you forget where you are up to and a tool to keep on track with your work in class time. This will help them to manage the workload and provide a visual timetable in the room. The students I spoke to thought that was actually a good idea because they know where they need to look in each room.
On a teaching note, it may save you the headache of having to answer, "so what are we supposed to do?" a million times a lesson. If you are anything like me and are brain fried already, it keeps me on track for what I have planned in the lesson or sequence of lessons. They do not have to be new all the time, I run weekly SIF magnets for each class. It also helps me put the accountability back on the students to complete our independent tasks for the week to avoid having homework.
If you would like to know more about the SIF and how you could us it in your classroom, please see Cathy Watson (Room 30) or any other member of the HQTT.
Promoting Bunbury SHS
Please continue to email and submit posts for our Facebook and Instagram pages!
We love seeing students in action, whether in a classroom setting, in an incursion or off-site for an excursion or camp.
If you are conducting any activities you think are suitable for our school's Facebook or Instagram pages, please submit your content through the link below.
Please contact me with prior warning if you would like me to attend a session, lesson, activity etc if you would like me to take photos/videos to accompany your story.
If you have taken photos on your phone/iPad and are unsure of how to transfer these to me, please send me an email or come and visit me and I can assist you.