Heard on the Hill Term 1, Week 8

From the Principal                  

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju

It is a lovely time of year. Warm sunny days and cool nights. Perfect for sleeping. Which I did lots of on the weekend trying to catch up. I hope that you took time to enjoy the many local activities across the weekend; Mandurah Crab Fest, The Irish festival, the long table lunch, along with the many events in the Donnybrook, Ballingup, Nannup region.

We are one week closer to the Easter holidays and have one week less to get things done before the holidays arrive. I will be away for the holidays and the first two weeks of Term 2 on LSL. Kelly Anderson will be filling in for me as Acting Principal.

There are Harmony Week activities all week. Please support the activities and get involved where you can. If you have a cultural heritage and like to share it, I encourage you to do so this week. It really is a time to encourage unity for peace and harmony.

The Parent Teacher afternoon/evening is coming up next week. Be well prepared to have meaningful conversations with parents about student learning. It is time to look at the Learning Area grade predictions for the school and compare them to the potential of the student. Reviewing and analysing the data means nothing if it doesn’t turn into action that produces a positive outcome for the students. This is why student feedback and involving parents as partners is so important. 

The Maggie Dent presentation was well attended by the community and many staff. I attended for about 30 minutes after the Board Meeting.  Maggie has a lot of practical things to say about not just raising boys but working with them too. It is clear in her mind that schools are not a male construct and therefore it can be a difficult place for them to be successful. There were many useful strategies and understanding that we can apply in working with some of our disengaged boys.

I made a presentation to the Bunbury Geographe Economic Alliance about the wonderful work in robotics in our school and the future spending on STEM. Our conversation moved to our philosophy of having our students work with business to solve real-world problems. They were very excited by this prospect and offered their facilities, infrastructure, and personnel to help facilitate such a paradigm for education.  Let’s see how that works out.

Have a great week.

En Avant

Mike Sinagra

Nuts and Bolts

Congratulations to the interschool swim team. We have finally beaten the Hoo Doo to take the overall champion school and we have set some records while doing. If you see any of the students in the team please give them a big pat on the back. While we are talking winners circles the Year 11 & 12 Have Sum Fun Maths team also did very well, placing first in the recent competition.

Cultural Inclusivity - Careers advice for First Nations students and families

Supporting First Nations kids towards career success: A yarn with educators
(myfuture Insights webinar – 12 March 2024)

A webinar was presented last week by Tracy Ryan for myfuture, an initiative of Education Services Australia.  She outlined ways in which educators could best support First Nations students in their career development.  The webinar was based on her report, How is First Nations success shaped? Tracy Ryan, Marradhali Aboriginal Corporation and Charles Sturt University.

KEY POINTS

• Adults working with young First Nations people and their communities need to understand unconscious biases and the lasting impacts of colonisation. Be open to and listen to the truth-telling offered by First Nations people.
• They should seek input from First Nations people, especially the Elders in their community, about matters that impact First Nations people.
• They should be aware of First Nations core values of responsibility, reciprocity, respect, equity, cultural continuity around a central focus of spirit and integrity. (See Fig.1 in the report). First Nations people value reciprocal relationships and help each other to ensure whole community wellbeing. They value the knowledge held by elders, and this is shared with groups who are willing to take responsibility to preserve this knowledge. They share resources as a community.
• System leaders should assist First Nations people to drive systemic change, by gaining education and opportunities that will enable them to become system leaders themselves. This is what is valued by First Nations people, that they can gain knowledge, share resources, and improve community wellbeing by making systemic changes.  System leaders should co-design systemic changes with First Nations people.
• Education should focus on the development of transferable skills and flexible career journeys. First Nations people change employment based on the shifting needs of self, family, and community.
• We should all empower First Nations people to develop their skills and knowledge, and to devise and implement their own solutions.
• We should all listen to First Nations people and their communities about what they need and want.

Cultural Inclusivity - Interpreter Services

Communication with parents is an essential part of our role as educators. Not all parents can communicate effectively in the same way that we do.  Some may use sign language, whilst others may speak English as a second language, and may not be proficient.

The parent or family member may present with an “I need an Interpreter” card. This is a tool for them to use with agencies, like schools, to ask for assistance.

Even if they don’t ask for assistance, interpreter services may be needed, to ensure clear communication between the parties involved.

So, do you need an interpreter? 

This is something you should consider each time you are meeting or calling a parent for the first time, particularly if you are aware that they may speak English as a second language.

1. Identify the home language of the parents or family members.
2. Establish the need for an interpreter. (See the attached decision-making guide)
   Please note: It is not appropriate to ask the student or older siblings or other family members to interpret for you.

You can book an interpreter:

• for a phone or face-to-face conversation
• to interpret a document for a parent.

Interpreter services are available through an independent contractor who has a common use arrangement with the Department of Education. (see link provided)

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/-/access-interpreting-services?section=xzce

The DOE pay for these services, not individual schools, and there is a process to follow regarding the invoicing, which is outlined on Ikon.

Guidelines for working with an interpreter:

During an interpreted conversation:

• Expect the interpreter to interpret everything.
• Introduce the interpreter to the parent and explain the roles of the people present.
• Sit facing the parent, if possible, without any barriers such as desks.
• Speak directly to the parent as though the interpreter was not there. Say “Do you have…?” instead of “Ask her if she has…?”.
• Speak slowly and pause after every one or two sentences.  Keep the sentences short.
• Watch the parent and interpreter for cues that communication may be going astray. Too many smiles and nods may mean the parent is agreeing, but not understanding.
• Be aware of cultural or political issues that may be of importance to the parent.

PARENT-TEACHER AFTERNOON

See attached operational information regarding the parent teacher afternoon, which is next Tuesday 26 March.

A reminder that it will be a condensed timetable for the day, with duty teachers from Lunch 1 and 2 sharing the duty times.

DOE MANDATORY PL

I will be sending out information directly to staff who aren’t currently compliant with the DoE mandatory Professional Learning courses. If you do receive an email, can you please complete these as a priority.

There are a range of mandatory PL courses developed by the DoE for induction and training purposes. For some courses, they need to be updated every 2 to 3 years.

When logging in to IKON, check the Professional Learning tab at the top of the page to access your Professional Learning course history.

You will be automatically enrolled in any mandatory PL. See below list along with links to the ikon page.

https://ikon.education.wa.edu.au/professional-learning/

HRMIS PROCESSING

This is a friendly reminder that our HR Management Information System (HRMIS) offers a convenient self-service portal to manage all your personal information relating to your employment with DOE. This platform allows you to:

• Submit leave and review your balances.
• Update bank account details, tax withholdings, and deductions.
• View payslips.
• Modify home and mailing address.

We strongly encourage you to use the HRMIS self-help feature for these needs. The system is designed to be user-friendly, with additional support available in the top right corner of the self-help page should you need it.

For those seeking information on awards, agreements, and other entitlements, you are encouraged to consult with your Union Representative. Alternatively, you can obtain this information from the Labour Relations section on IKON under the Find awards and agreements - Ikon - The Department of Education.

It's important to note that these tasks are not part of Claire Smith’s (relief coordinator) responsibilities.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Promoting Bunbury SHS

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/