Heard on the Hill Term 3, Week 1

From the Principal

Kaya, Wanju,

Welcome back, I hope that your holiday was filled with rest and relaxation. I am very grateful for my break which included a big lap across the Simpson Desert to Uluru up to Kakadu, Litchfield and Darwin and back through El Questro, 80 mile beach and down the Great Northern Highway. Thank you to all those that covered the LSL of the Executive team members.

Welcome, also, to our new staff members. I hope that this week is not too overwhelming for you. There is a lot to take in starting a new job. I really enjoyed watching everyone’s engagement in the School Development Day agenda and can’t thank the presenters enough for their time and energy in preparing such relevant and useful presentations.

I would like to give special acknowledgement to the Instructional Leadership Team, particularly, Catherine Simmonds, Asharie Bradshaw, Nikki Sharpe, Cathy Watson, and Xan Ashbury who presented on the SDD; and also, to Tina Nottle for the huge amount of work that she put into the preparation for the new SEL program professional learning and her presentation on student behaviour and management expectations. 

At the start of second Semester, it is prudent to pull out our big picture documents to ensure that we are maintaining our focus of progress in conquering our challenges and mastering our expectations for 2023. I cannot recommend highly enough that you keep a hold of the, Our Focus 2023 and A3 School Business Plan summary foremost in your thoughts and actions. I know that they are in mine.

A lot of information was given during the SDD so there is little left to say but to wish you well for the beginning of the Semester and to remind you to look after your health and wellbeing. 

En Avant

Mike Sinagra

AI for you and in the classroom

I hope that many of you are playing around with different AI bots. There is the promise of some great timesaving opportunities for teachers when used effectively. Then there is a whole lot of learning about how we could possibly introduce the use of it into the classroom for students.

Professional Learning is starting to appear for the use of AI. Recently at a Principal network meeting a number of great examples were presented to our group. 

I hope to source a presentation for you for the next General Staff Meeting.

Nuts and Bolts

The Minister has recently spoken out against violence in school and announced support for schools. His announcement shows that people are getting a clearer understanding of the issues in schools.

Welcome back to Term 3.

There were some major and minor works over the vacation, most notably the Amphitheatre artificial turf installation.

This was a project initiated by our Building & Grounds Committee. Maintaining the grassed surface posed a high-risk work hazard for our gardeners. In the past, our gardener has fallen down the steps whilst whipper snipping and sustained significant injury as a result.

The committee considered several solutions

• Concrete: Determined to be too hot in the warmer months and too cold in cooler months. Would take away the aesthetics of the Amphitheatre
• Decking: Determined as suitable, Quote: Approx. $100k. There would also be maintenance involved to maintain wood as it deteriorates. This cost is out of reach of the school budget.
• Artificial turf: Supply and installation $26,851. The life span warranty on this product is 15-25 years. Water usage will also reduce.

We are aware this surface will heat up in the afternoons in the warmer months and signage will be placed as a warning.

There were some classrooms refreshed with paint, blinds and carpets over the vacation. The Building & Grounds Committee are working on a schedule for “classroom refresh” and I will advise which ones will be done over the next school holidays. It is planned that at least 5 classrooms are refreshed each year. Please be patient, we will get to yours.

We have extended the concrete pad at the bus stop to give students more room when waiting for buses. Our gardeners will also be planning some suitable plants to enhance this area as well.

STUDENT SERVICES PHOTOCOPIER

Please be advised that we have moved one photocopier from Student Services down to the English storage room.

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.

Social Media Content

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.