Heard on the Hill Term 4, Week 2

From the Principal                  

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju

I hope the first week back was not a shock to the system.

The Chinese say

“May you live in interesting times”.

However, the phrase is always said ironically and is sometimes even used as a curse to wish uncertainty upon the listener.

Either way, the referendum result, the world situation in Israel and Palestine, and Russia and Ukraine are certainly providing uncertainty that we may find ourselves with the need to confront.  I’m sure that we will see students who will feel the result of these world events. 

The result of the weekend’s referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice will affect different people in different ways. It is important at this time for all of our staff to be respectful of differences of views, and empathetic to the impact the result may have for work colleagues and for members of the community with whom they work.

The school remains committed to Aboriginal students succeeding as Aboriginal people. Using our Aboriginal Advisory Council, we will continue to focus on creating culturally responsive classrooms that build on the strength of Aboriginal students.

The other world events may lead to distressing online content finding its way onto students' screens and devices. During this time, it is important for us to keep students free from harm. The eSafety Commissioner provides some important guidelines and resources to help ensure that online spaces stay safe for everyone.

I urge you to be really considered this week as we navigate the management of our student body. I will provide more support for staff, and students as we gauge the impact on students.

The Director General emailed you all late Friday describing procedures for Fixed Term contracts. Principals also received correspondence further to other workforce management strategies – many we already apply – but also others that we will implement to manage the teacher shortage.

The executive team are working hard to communicate our efforts to the DoE Corporate executive team. We hope going forward that we will be able to access some of the other incentives available to other schools in our area.

Thank you all for the professionalism and commitment that you show consistently. It makes working here a joy and the envy of all in the district. Have a great week.

En Avant

Mike Sinagra

Nuts and Bolts

Our Code of Conduct provides a set of standards to guide us in our conduct as employees. It builds on our shared values and workplace behaviours. These values and behaviours are at the core of everything we do and every decision we make.  Recently the Code of Conduct has been updated.

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/our-code-of-conduct-and-standards/

Year 6 Transition for 2024

Over the last few years, we have developed a successful transition program to support students as they transition from their primary schools into Bunbury SHS. There has already been a lot of work going on behind the scenes with handover conferences. Term 4 will see the Step-Up program running with targeted students who require further support during the transition. The parent information evening will be in Week 7, followed by the Orientation Day in Week 9.

Feel free to speak with Nic Andrew if you have any questions about the transition program.

PL Opportunity

The below PL may be of interest to some staff. Click the link to learn more about the program.

Wellbeing Committee

The school wellbeing committee is planning to meet this week. If you would like to be involved with this group, please speak to Lauren in Student Services so she can let you know the details.

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.

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.