Heard on the Hill Term 3, Week 7
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From The Principal
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Data Literacy (Andrew Healey, Deputy Principal)
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NAIDOC Week - time to reflect (Kelly Anderson, Deputy Principal)
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Aspirant Session - Leading in your Career from Graduate to Principal (Kelly Anderson, Deputy Principal)
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Support Staff Update (Kylie Ward)
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High Quality Teaching Team Cool IT Resource (Cathy Watson)
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Kingia 2024 Yearbook (Christine Hunter & Bobby Arvidson)
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Publications (Tegan Whitehurst)
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What's On

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju
Term 3 is a head down hard-working term. The leadership team have been a little the same, completing Semester 1 “Fireside Reviews”. Data analysis is the cornerstone of being effective. Our job is too busy to waste time and effort on teaching strategies that have little or no effect on student learning. Data can direct us. In our time poor environment, we need to do more of what is most effective and less of what isn’t.
We have a general staff meeting this week. Mostly it will be devoted to PIVOT. The development and implementation of differentiation strategies for students with Autism (and all students). I will also provide an update of the progress we are making toward the Year 10 timetable for 2026. Your contributions so far towards the creation of this exciting innovation are guiding the final picture.
This week we will be launching, through our social media channels, our new Medical and Engineering pathways for senior school students. We have added some exciting additions to our already fantastic course delivery to make these a standout in the region. One component is the strength of our Alumni to be able to provide support and mentorship. Keep your eye out for the details. If you have a lead on other Alumni who may be able to act as mentors or university scholarship winners, please don’t hesitate to forward contact details to me.
The 2025 senior school grid is all but finalised. We are just waiting on TAFE and BRTTC enrolments to be completed. Bunbury SHS does ATAR courses like no one else in the region. Therefore, the grid for 2025 reflects this. It is a sign of how senior school is moving to be more flexible with a greater focus on educational currency. This space looks to become even more flexible as universities and other school offerings begin to enter the space.
You may have seen that Drama is beginning to get some momentum at Bunbury SHS. A great accolade conferred at the Bunbury Eisteddfod, and the after-school drama club that is growing. The P&C established the club and financially support this group. They will be presenting a Variety Night in Term 4 week 4. It would be great if you are able to support in any way, backstage, or Wednesday afternoons with rehearsals or even in an ad hoc way. Please contact Genevieve Schoeman genevive@global.co.za. The theatre will be the recipient of some of our STEM funding to upgrade the theatre for the growing demand in that area of creative technologies.
Have a great week. Boorda
En Avant
I have shared earlier some elements of the data that can be used for making informed judgements on student progress or planning lessons to support students within a class.
Accessing different types of data strengthens understanding of students’ learning and wellbeing and school improvement. Data available from state, school, or classroom sources provides different insights that can be used to inform practice. For example, state data can be used to raise questions and then classroom data is used to inform actions. (https://education.qld.gov.au/initiativesstrategies/Documents/data-literacy-framework.pdf)
If we look within the AITSL standards: 5.1 Assess student learning is focused on teachers using data to make informed decisions. There is a range of methods to gather data on student learning and one of them for senior school is semester 1 and exam analysis.
In the dreaded M:\Admin\Data Analysis and Planning (or Storage_Admin folder for Apple users) is a folder that contains a range of data for teachers to access. Have a look if you are unaware of this folder.
Teachers can access senior school ATAR data from Semester 1 and previous years. A series of filters exist to determine what patterns exists within a course/class or even between years. On top of this, which will become the norm next year, is the expectation of using a maximising feedback approach to examinations. Structuring an excel sheet collating student responses to individual questions provides teachers with a snapshot pattern of what is happening.
Thank you to everyone for your support of NAIDOC celebrations last week. The CIC always seeks to improve each year on what we are doing. We would really appreciate it if you would take the time to complete a short survey to give us some feedback.
On Thursday 5th September, I will be running an aspirant session about leadership. It will cover things like career development at each level of an education career; the personal attributes of effective leaders, what armoured leadership looks like versus daring leadership, and recommended reading and viewing for your leadership development. If you attended my sessions last year, this will be a repeat of material from those sessions. This session will start at 3.15 and finish around 4pm. We will meet in Rm10. I hope to run three more sessions in Term 4:
Session 2 - Unpacking the AITSL Middle Leaders' Standards (these are new)
Session 3 - How to win the job you want
Session 4 - Workshopping your application letter and CV
Please let me know if you plan on coming to Session 1. I look forward to seeing you there!
ADMIN
Sharon Hooper is currently on leave for the remainder of the term. Eva Hooper is also on leave but will return in Week 10. In the interim, Aurelia Evans will be greeting you at reception.
Faults
Please continue to report any faults through the usual process, and our admin team will address them promptly.
EA Team
I want to highlight the exceptional effort and resilience demonstrated by our EA team over the past few weeks (and always). Despite the challenges posed by staff on leave and the limited availability of relief EAs, our team have managed to maintain a high standard of care and support for our students and classroom teachers. The team’s ability to collaborate and support each other during this period has been truly remarkable.
Hi Folks
If you are a fan of Kahoot, Blooket or other game type quizzes for revision please see Dave Waddell in Room 27 to have a look at how he uses Gimkit. I have attached a link to it and a review that has screenshots.
What is it?
Basically it is a game where students earn "money" by answering questions. They can then invest their "money" to play games. The more correct answers, the more "money" they earn. The more "money" they earn, the more energy they get. The more energy they get, the more game time they get. There are different game styles and boosters. It's awesome!
Much like Kahoot, there is a subscription cost; however; there is a free trial for you to have a round with.
Happy teaching!
Please submit all photos/articles by Monday, September 9.
STORAGE ADMIN (M:) – Kingia 2024 – STAFF SUBMISSIONS 2024
Please try and keep articles to 400 words
Photos in JPG or PNG
Promoting Bunbury SHS
Please continue to email and submit posts for our Facebook and Instagram pages!
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.
What’s OnTerm 3, Week 7
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