Heard on the Hill Term 4, Week 10

From the Principal

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju

Aaahhhhh! Can you see that? There it is. Like the top of the hill appearing over the crest; it’s the holidays! Well done everyone. I know that the COVID thing is wearing thin, but I really believe that the residual effects of COVID, the war in Ukraine, weather events and inflation, have all taken their toll - on us and our families. You don’t need to be Einstein to work out that we have been working hard. We are fortunate to have such a professional hard-working group of people working at Bunbury SHS. However, global factors have played their part on how the students are behaving and how we are reacting to it.

The last week of school will be less structured than usual. There are year assemblies, reward and incentive excursions, dropping numbers may facilitate combined classes as well as class activities that are less formal than usual. Please maintain a level of structure that will support your colleagues through the last couple of days. 

Like I said to the students this morning, when we come back after some rest and recouperation we will refocus our efforts, review our standards and make a commitment to each other to work toward common goals. It is only through working together that we enjoy the order learning environment that allows us to develop our high-impact teaching. I’m sure that the introduction of COMPASS next year will help us achieve some of this.

I would like to thank you and hope that you accept my heartfelt greetings for the holidays. You've all put in a lot of effort. I hope you can spend some time with those who are most valuable to you. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Instructional Leadership Team Coordinator

Congratulations to Cathy Watson for a successful application and being the ILT Coordinator for 2023. I look forward to working with Cathy and her team for a stimulating student engagement for 2023.

Senior School Assessment Policy

For 2023 there will be amendments to our assessment policy impacting senior school. This is in response to SCSA conducting an audit of our practices and the need to refine our processes linked to the policy and the consistency of application.

Other than that, thank you one and all for a wonderful year and enjoy a well-earnt break.

Staff Wellbeing over the Holiday Break

THE END IS NEAR! WELL DONE on getting through what has been a busy and challenging 2022 school year. As the year comes to an end, I would like to remind you all to ensure that you are supporting your health and wellbeing over your well-deserved break.

Here are some ideas of how you may be able to unwind and recharge over the holiday break:

Detach from work

• Keep your work laptop out of sight
• Avoid mixing work and personal emails
• If you do need to work over the holidays, let others know when you are available to be contacted but ensure you are also informing others of when you are not available

Overcome work fatigue

• Set a challenge or goal in an area you enjoy that is not related to work, this helps you detach form work and discover new skills that may bring you a feeling of achievement
• Set aside time just for yourself, this may be tricky for those of you with families and people you care for, but if you can set aside even just 10 minutes in a day to do something nice for yourself, it can go a long way to helping you recover and recuperate

Holiday-themed self-care activities

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that if you would like extra support with taking care of yourself, there is free confidential counselling available for you (and your family) from the DoE Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - People Sense (call 9388 9000 or toll free on 1300 307 912).

Have a relaxing and wonderful Christmas and New Years with your loved ones! See you all in 2023!

Social Media Content

Please ensure you keep submitting content for the school's social media pages (Facebook and Instagram).

We love seeing students in action, whether in a classroom setting, in an incursion or off-site for an excursion or camp.

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.

Submit your Facebook post using the link below.

Schoolzine

Keep up to date with all the latest news for staff and parents via the schoolzine app. You can access Heard on the Hill, the school's website, Facebook page, calendar, Connect, and more via the homepage of the app.

This easy-to-use app also sends you notifications when newsletters have been published.

See below for how to download it.