Heard on the Hill Term 1, Week 9

From the Principal

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju

I had an exciting Sunday. We welcomed 20 Japanese exchange students to Bunbury. Due to COVID it has been three years since we have welcomed exchange students to our school.  The tour leader is staying with me for a couple of days. Her English is excellent. Please chat with her if you see her around the school. She and Phil Ghasseb will be chaperoning the students. The couple of students I have spoken to also can understand a little, but they are not so confident to speak.

It is always terrific to see the school, and indeed our culture, through the eyes of outsiders. Their observations can give a perspective that we may not have considered. 

We will have the former Premier and Australian Ambassador to Japan the Honourable Richard Court AC and the Bunbury Mayor Jaysen Miguel to welcome them at a morning tea this morning. I hope that you enjoy the week with our visitors.

This week we will hold the Athletics Carnival. While athletics is not every student’s cup of tea, these whole school carnivals and events are where our school culture is forged. There is a saying

“Culture eats Strategy for breakfast”

Our school culture is based on our values. Please live these and emphasise them with the students. If we can teach the students only one thing it is our values, our culture – We are Bunbury!

• Wellbeing – We believe in a balanced life. Be mindful to make good choices for our mind, body and soul
• Learning – we extend ourselves through active curiosity and self-reflection. There is no opt out, no excuses, without apology we stretch ourselves.
• Collaboration – we work together, share ideas and support each other in all facets.
• Courage – we have fun taking risks. Give new things a go.  Challenge ourselves to explore our full potential
• Diversity – we embrace, accept and celebrate all the people around us.

Have a fantastic week.

En Avant

Nuts and Bolts

Over the weekend the cafeteria was broken into. Thankfully, very little stock was stolen or damaged. Cafeterias in schools are often a target for thieves and vandals. Conversations that I have had with other principals lead me to believe there is an increasing trend of this kind of behaviour in the community. We must be vigilant to protect our students and property from anti-social behaviour.

BABY NEWS

Congratulations go out to Greg Hiscox and his lovely wife Grace on the arrival of Isabella Victoria Grace born on the 26th of March at 4:55am. She was 7lb 11oz. Mum and baby are both well and healthy.

This means Greg is on parental leave until the end of term. Please remember that we only have Riley Bourne Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

SECRET FRIEND WEEK 10

If you are interested in participating in Secret Friend during week 10, please take the time to read the following guidelines then complete a short survey.

Participants signing up will be assigned a staff member as your Secret Friend for the week and the rules are simple!

GIVE AND RECEIVE: You must acknowledge your Secret Friend each day in a small but thoughtful way. Items should be inexpensive and can be new, handmade, recycled or you may have other creative ideas. We will provide you with some basic information on your Secret Friend then the rest is up to you!
These guidelines have been set so that everyone can participate equally, both on the giving and receiving end.

Taking part in Secret Friend is a lot of fun and a great way for us all to get to know each other a little better, so please don't stress if you get someone you feel you don't know that well. The little bit of information provided will help you plan some fun gifts.

Secret Friend week will commence on Monday, 3 April and conclude on Thursday, 6 April with a Sundowner after work in the staff room, where your Secret Friend will be revealed!

Join in the fun...the more the merrier and will be a great way to end the school term!

Please complete the short survey on the following link below to provide some basic info that we can share with your Secret Friend.

This survey will close Wednesday, 29 March and you will be notified who your secret friend is on Friday, 31 March.

ANNUAL LEAVE AND LONG SERVICE LEAVE

Staff wishing to book annual or long service leave must discuss with their Line Manager before submitting online in HRMIS. This assists in planning the appropriate backfill during your absence.

Staff Survey 2023

Please complete the staff survey, if you haven't yet done so. This survey is conducted annually. All staff can respond. We use this data to inform our planning for school improvement. The survey will remain open until the end of the school term.

Parent Interview Afternoon in Week 10 (Tuesday 4 April)

Please see the attached information. Please note that a catered lunch will be provided in the Staff Room at 12.30pm. Interviews start promptly at 1.30pm in your designated area. Any queries should first be addressed to your line manager.

Positive Learning Environment - Inclusivity

There has been an unfortunate increase in homophobic and transphobic language and bullying from some students towards other members of our school community. Our most vulnerable students have been targeted and harassed recently. Please support our school value of diversity by closely monitoring and reporting any such behaviours. Please challenge throw-away homophobic comments in class, such as "Blank is so gay!" If you aren't sure how to go about this, you could respond with:

"We don't use homophobic language in our school. Please keep your language appropriate. When you say things are gay, as a negative, you are saying that being gay is a negative thing. This is hurtful for people in our school community."

If someone is deliberately using the wrong pronouns for a student, please correct them. You could say:

"When you deliberately ignore someone's pronouns, you are causing them hurt and harm. Please use the correct pronouns in future."

The following students have recently been harassed by other students. Some students have received suspensions for ongoing harassment of students. Please note the names of those who have been harassed and those doing the harassing and monitor and report any incidents as a behaviour concern.

Harassed by others:

Kobi Taylor
Izzy Davidson
Phoenix Ridgwell
Andy Divall

Harassing others:

Andrea Novello
Brodie Douglas
Baxter Kennedy

Thanks!

Positive Learning Environment - Clubs

We have a range of clubs at Bunbury Senior High School and they continue to grow. If you would like to support any of the clubs in our school, talk to the coordinator of the club. I am sure they will welcome some extra support! Thank you to those people who are currently running clubs. These groups play an important part in building a sense of belonging for our students.

The following is a list of clubs in our school. If you are interested in either supporting an existing club or starting one of your own, that’s terrific!  You can approach the responsible teacher and get involved, or let Kelly Anderson know what club you are running and be added to the list. 

Note:  If your club runs at lunchtime, you will be excused from one of your yard duties as recognition of the time you are giving up for our students.

Lead House Coordinator

The new role of Lead House Coordinator will be taken up by Mark Longbottom.

Social Media Content

Welcome back to all staff and I hope you have had a great start to the year.

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.

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 the SZapp.