Heard on the Hill Term 2, Week 6

Last week I spoke about looking after yourself and then I promptly fell ill. Please continue to look after yourself as we get deeper into winter (not that you would know that winter is coming).

This week I will be heading off to Japan.  While I am there, I will give a demonstration at an International Aikido gathering. I will also be visiting family and friends that I haven’t seen since COVID cast a shadow over the world. Andrew Healey will be acting Principal, Sarah James will be acting Deputy Principal and Nicki Sharpe will be acting PC HASS in my absence. Please support these people while I am away.

At the leadership table this week we have been talking a lot about the Educational Research of Vic Z’Bar. His work on; "identifying the characteristics of successful schools" is our blueprint. I remind you that if we all work together there is no escaping sustaining our successful culture. There are some non-negotiables that we expect every Bunbury Senior High School teacher to do.

Stage 1: Pre-conditions

Strong shared leadership – Provide a clear, common vision. Direct resources and expertise to support quality teaching.

High levels of expectation – Having and promoting high expectations for all students.

Orderly learning environment – High level of teacher consistency using positive means and school structures to ensure all students are well known.

Focus on what matters the most – have a clear sense of where to focus our energy.

These pre-conditions are manifested through our structures and actions.  If you do not use/have heard of the things listed below, (not a complete list) please see members of our Instructional team, Student Services team and your PC.

Lemov’s Five,  Future Leaders Frame Work, Shared Instructional Frame Work, CMS and ISE classroom management strategies and the good standing program.

Stage 2: Building Teacher Capacity

The level of established pre-conditions allows us to further develop our teacher capacity. An established instructional model is proven to be a factor in the success of a school as is working in teams. In our school it is in Learning Area teams, but our Instructional Leadership team and the Coffee Club are other structures that you should use to improve classroom practice. When good data analysis is put together with planned differentiation, effective student feedback and Peer Observation we have all the ingredients to sustain our success.