Heard on the Hill Term 2, Week 1
From the Principal
Hello everyone. Welcome to Term 2. I apologise in advance for the lengthy bit to follow, but I need to communicate a lot of information to you all. I want to particularly welcome new staff to the school.-
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- Mitchell Durward - Mathematics
- Jane Gibson - English
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New, but also former staff member Luke Duffield has taken on the role of Career Practitioner for this year. It is a reduced role with a 0.4FTE, 0.2 of which will be dedicated to Luke completing the required Graduate Certificate. Luke will commence in this role when he returns from an overseas trip in Week 3. Luke's focus will be on sharing career education opportunities with relevant staff and students as they arise.
Bunbury SHS builds student success by ensuring there is a positive learning environment that creates a sense of wellbeing, by providing engaging and relevant learning and by facilitating flexibility for each individual's pathway. Our results speak for themselves. They show the dedication of our staff, both teaching and allied professionals, who give their time and energy to support our students. This term we have some important events that contribute to the culture we have at Bunbury SHS. Pausing for these moments may take some time away from the classroom teaching of students, but it doesn't take away from their learning.
- ANZAC Commemorative Assembly (Week 2) - Students learn that to reflect is an important part of looking forward and thinking about how we want the future to be.
- Whole School House Assembly (Week 5) - They make connections and develop a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves.
- Reconciliation Week (Week 7) - They learn that true reconciliation comes from a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of First Nations people.
- Country Week Assembly (Week 10) and Country Week (Week 11) - They learn how to work together in teams and strive towards a common goal.
There are so many other opportunities happening for students this term - the ECU Portfolio Prep workshops continue, Interschool Athletics, the Talented Young Writers Program, Follow the Dream excursions, workplace learning, debating, the band tour of local primary schools, in fact too many to list here, but you get the idea. I hadn't even started on all the student clubs that we have on offer. I want to thank you all for the work that goes into creating these opportunities for students. We should always keep the students at the heart of our decision-making. The school's business plan priorities of positive learning environment, high quality teaching and successful pathways for students and the Our Focus 2024 document keep us focused on what's important to our school. Please revisit these documents regularly. I have shared the latest staff collated feedback information that I also presented at the School Development Day. We are making excellent progress so far.
If you are interested in getting more involved in certain aspects of the school's operations, there are plenty of committees you can join. Your contributions are welcomed and help to provide a wider perspective for school improvement initiatives.
- HIGH QUALITY TEACHING TEAM - Cathy Watson
- STAFF WELLBEING COMMITTEE - Nicola Sharpe
- WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE - Renee Chapple
- FINANCE COMMITTEE - Kylie Ward
- CULTURAL INCLUSIVITY COMMITTEE - Kelly Anderson
- TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE - Craig Bourne
In the past couple of years, I have been part of the Future Leaders program at Bunbury SHS. This is our support program for aspiring leaders. Last year I was able to complete two really useful professional learning programs, ELEV8 Leadership Mastery, and the Aspirant Principal Preparation Program. The result of this work is that I have been seconded to fill in for the Principal at Eaton Community College for Term 2 (starting Week 3). Whilst I will miss Bunbury SHS, this is an opportunity for me to challenge myself and grow. I encourage anyone who has aspirations to take action and put yourself forward. I will be filling in for Mike until he returns on the 29 April. If you would like to ask me about my leadership journey, or about anything else, my door is open until then.
Kelly Anderson
Principal (relieving)
Nuts and Bolts
Leadership Staffing Changes
Renee has taken on the role of Program Coordinator of English while Mark Woodland steps into my role as Deputy Principal. As one of our Future Leaders, Renee had expressed interest in the role, but I don't think she expected it to arise so soon! Congratulations, Renee.
Mark has also been seconded from the start of Week 4 to take on a Deputy role at Australind SHS. This offer came very late in Term 1. Congratulations to Mark on this opportunity. This means that Renee will be in the PC role for the whole term.
Year 10 Course Counselling
A big ticket item this term will be the commencement of course counselling for Year 10 students. Please emphasise the fantastic results our school has in senior school in your conversations with students. Encourage them to seek as much information as possible about their future pathway interests. If you believe a particular student needs extra support, please alert Tim Fry, who is overseeing this process.
Union Action
I am acutely aware of the current negotiations the teaching staff are undertaking for their new agreement. I hope that this can be resolved favourably and soon. I want to acknowledge the work that Renee Chapple has taken on as the current Union Representative. I will continue to meet with Renee in Mike's absence. I am aware of the impending strike action scheduled for Tuesday 23 April - please note that this is not confirmed, just the next step planned by the SSTUWA executive. The school will prepare for this as best it can, to accommodate any students who arrive on site on the day.
Exchange Student
We will be welcoming a student from France on exchange. Her name is Nina Trichereau. She will be with us until the end of Term 2. She is 15 years old and will be placed into a Year 10 timetable. She is staying with Kate Cleasby's family. Please welcome her and liaise with Peta King, Head of Year 10 with any queries or concerns.
COMPASS
This term we are onboarding parents and students to Compass.
Parents will be able to submit attendance notes, view daily notices, their child’s timetable, the school calendar, and view uniform/late notices for their children.
Parents will not be able to see any of the other Chronicle entries in Compass.
Parents can also communicate via email to their teachers using Compass.
There is no expectation to have resources or assessment information in class sections on Compass. We will still use Connect for this.
When submitting Daily Notices to Sharon, let her know if you don’t want the information visible to parents. Unless instructed otherwise, she will allow parents to view the notices as they come through.
Please also continue to read the notices Period 1. You can also tell students to view the notices from their Compass app.
Duty & Class Withdrawal Rosters
Updated rosters will be sent out, please remove old versions from classrooms and offices.
Included in the email is the Responsibilities description for each duty area. Please check this so that all teachers have the same expectations for students.
High-Quality Teaching Sessions
Thanks again to those who ran the High-Quality Teaching concurrent sessions on the SDD. We really appreciate your willingness to share best practice throughout the school.
If you would like to be involved in the High-Quality Teaching team, please speak with Cathy Watson.
Promoting Bunbury SHS
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.
What’s OnTerm 2, Week 1
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Kelly's Calendar |
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