Heard on the Hill Term 1, Week 3

From the Principal                  

Kaya, Wanju

Despite newsworthy things going on internationally in the world, Israel poised to begin a ground invasion in the last safe haven in Gaza, a president and contender who clearly have shown that their competency to do the job is in question, a war still raging in Ukraine and a sporting event that attracts viewership in the millions, the West Australian has printed articles about education over the last few days. The “important issue” of which ham should be served in a school canteen and the focus on how disconnect laws will impact education are clearly emotive pieces to grab the attention of readers. There was an actual important issue in today’s issue - the literacy rate of Australian students.

I took two lessons out of reading this.

Lesson 1) The issue of literacy is fundamental to our success. The article describes that inconsistency and argument over the “right” program and delivery is the root cause. Assuming this is correct, it reinforces our change management framework of basing all our actions on quality, evidenced based, successes. Whether in Literacy or any other action that we undertake. We must understand what success looks like and evaluate our actions. Further action for me will be to discuss this issue in our Principal network with Primary School Principals.

Lesson 2) As educators we must teach our students, in words and by our actions, not to be distracted by “the noise”.  Stay focused on the important issues, evaluate information sources, use critical thinking to analyse situations, form opinions, act and evaluate as new information comes to hand. The cynic in me is questioning the out of proportion focus on education matters over the last week.

I met with the Stephen Michael Foundation people today. We reviewed the program ready to run it again in 2024. In our discussion, we spoke of the importance of our work as teachers. We (teachers) have the power to shape a community, a generation and change the course of a country. The reward of seeing young people grow into responsible, functioning contributing members of society is very gratifying – even if that gratification is delayed while our lessons are being digested. 

Have a great week

En Avant

Mike Sinagra

Nuts and Bolts

Well done to the whole school on the Big Days In. Tina and her team did a mighty job. The new Prefect Ministries, one being School Culture, also played an important role in supporting the program. From this week you will really want to set your classroom routines up. Please refer to the positive learning behaviour posters in your classroom when doing this. I cannot stress enough how important consistency is in the application of your classroom management.  Please talk with your PC, colleagues and Student Services should you need help with solving a classroom issue.

From this week Tina will be in the Deputy Principal role covering for Kelly Anderson. Please refer to the Roles and Responsibilities document to see what her portfolio covers.

I would like to support the Union directives by cancelling our general staff meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday this week. The agenda items will be held over in the hope that we will get a meeting later this term.

There is a vacant staff position on the school board. The Board has 6 meetings per year. The functions of the board are covered by legislation and include both approval and advisory roles. Some of the matters the Board may make decisions on include:

• fees and charges
• book lists
• sponsorship
• dress codes.

If you are interested, please nominate by email to michael.sinagra2@education.wa.edu.au by 19 February. If there is more than one nomination, board profile may be considered before an election held.

SCHOOL EVENTS/INCURSIONS

As we gear up for upcoming various parent nights, information sessions and incursions, it is imperative that the events form is completed and submitted to Ellie Horsfall in admin.

Completing the events form will not only secure your chosen venue but will also enable the necessary arrangements for setup and pack-down instructions where applicable. Additionally, sharing this information with the rest of the staff ensures that everyone is well-informed about the upcoming event or incursion.

You can access a copy of the Events Management Planning Sheet on the School Template folder on the shared drive for your convenience.

Country Week Coach EOI

Congratulations to Cam Allan who will be the Country Week Coordinator for 2024. Cam was highly successful as the Country Week Manager in 2018 and 2019, with the school winning overall champion school both years.

He is calling for Expressions of Interest for coaching roles for 2024. See link below to express your interest:

https://forms.office.com/r/T3niFjGHgg

Please chat with your Line Manager regarding your EOI, to ensure they are aware of your interest.

Parents working in the school

We are lucky to have several teachers and other staff within our school who also have their own children attending Bunbury SHS. In these instances, it is important to maintain the usual processes for communication between parents and teachers.

Teachers wishing to discuss student performance with a parent colleague should do so in the same manner they would for a parent outside of the school. Phone/email communication should be directed to their personal contact details in Compass, and if needed meetings can be arranged.

This is also important for the parents within the school to use the school processes for communication with teachers. Rather than chatting with them as you pass them in the corridor or in staff rooms, please use the standard processes to contact teachers regarding your child’s progress.

We often don’t want to burden our colleagues with the formalities of procedural communication, but it is important for all involved that we clearly separate the two roles. At the Parent-Teacher Evenings, I will attempt to create time for teachers who have children at the school to also use this time to meet with their child’s teachers and gain insight on their progress, should they wish.

Staff House Allocations

See attached staff allocations for our 2024 House Program.

There will be upcoming events, and assemblies so please support your House at each of these.

The House Coordinators for 2024 are:

Clifton – M Velani

Forrest – R Stewart

Mitchell – J Duncan

Wollaston – L Williams

If you have any questions regarding the House System, please chat with Rory or James who are overseeing the programs this year.

Go CLIFTON!

Adam McGill

Photo Day Schedule

Sheryllee Verstappen

Happy to be starting the year off in Bunbury Senior High School! I grew up in Adelaide and taught there for the last 22 years until I got restless and decided to take a gap year and come to WA. I worked in Esperance last year and am enjoying WA so much I applied for a job here.

My husband and two dogs love the beach and exploring. I fly small planes in my spare time and am currently enjoying the nearby convenience of the local commercial flying school. Basically, I love learning! Thanks to all the lovely staff here for making me feel welcome!

Jenna Wright

My name is Jenna Wright and I have started at BSHS this year.  Before relocating down south, I taught in Geraldton at Nagle Catholic College and more recently at Duncraig SHS for the past 5 years in Perth. My passion is teaching Psychology and I am an active member on the STAWA Psychology Teacher Committee.  

Thanks for everyone for welcoming me to the school!

Media and Marketing

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.

FACEBOOK POST https://bunburyshs.wufoo.com/forms/z11e20yz19m4foz/