Heard on the Hill Term 3, Week 3
Bonjour à tous.
What if I said; “Work is about human fulfilment and purpose. We were made to work as it expresses our humanness. But there is a distinction between work and drudgery”? First, you would probably be thinking “what is this guy on!” However, I have attached a reading brought to my attention by a staff member that I read across the weekend. This was one of the arguments made in the article. The article is about wellbeing at work. Please CLICK HERE if you are interested in reading it.
Certainly, there are some pearls for me to help make our workplace a better place to thrive than just survive – and I’ll be trying to do that.
Ensuring our vision is front and centre is always at the front of my mind. Staying student-focussed is the key to success as a school. If we think about “En Avant” (Going Forward). Each student goes forward on their own path. We operationalise our vision in this manner. Providing pathways and the opportunity for students to choose a pathway where the learning is more relevant to them. Be it ATAR, ECU UniPrep, the new Research Project unit in senior school, portfolio entry, VET course, the Shedworks Program, certificates and training. All these pathways are equally valuable. Even leaving school at the end of Year 11 or during the year is a success if the student is transitioning to the next phase of their life. Our work is being able to create these opportunities across all year groups while balancing the diametrically opposing forces of student need and the curriculum compliance of SCSA. Our improvement agenda is tied very closely to this premise.
En Avant
Mike Sinagra
Principal
STAFF SHOUT OUTS!
Welcome back to Kelly who has been on leave. Kelly will be back for just over a week before heading into a knee operation next week. We all wish her well. While Kelly is here this week she will be working out of the interview room, ext 78911.
Congratulations to Peter Barratt. Pete and Ashley are the proud parents of Otto Ritson Barratt. Born 2.45pm on 30/7/2021 at 51cm and 3380gs.
Well done to Mr Healey and Mr Keillor for organising two teams to attend the RoboCup Junior WA State Event over the weekend. The Secondary Rescue Line team took out top spot and our Open Rescue Line team placed third.
QUESTIONING AND FEEDBACK
Think, Pair, Share
This technique has two defining factors. It increases the safety level for students to engage and raises the accountability for students to engage in thinking.
Establish talk partners
As the title suggests, this just sets the parameters of who the student will be sharing ideas with.
Set the question and time frame
Set a question for the students. It may be simple recall, a list or something more complex. Along with the question set the timeframe. It may be just seconds for simple recall to minutes for something more complex.
Build in thinking time
Before students get to discuss, this feature gives the students time to formulate what they will say to their partner. Presto! The whole class thinking, not just one individual answering the question.
Circulate or Scan
The power of this technique is seeing who is engaged and how much. It can help pick up misconceptions or interesting ideas. It is most relevant to complex questions.
Share the response
Signal the end to the discussion and start collecting responses. Now students are prepared with answers and can engage. They may even express, doubt or disputes between what each was thinking.
NUTS AND BOLTS
SCSA
The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) is producing Kindergarten to Year 10 curriculum, planning and moderation support materials across all eight learning areas of the Western Australian Curriculum. The resources are being released throughout Semester 2, 2021 on the SCSA website.
Curriculum Support Teachers are developing a range of professional learning opportunities to support teachers to implement the Kindergarten to Year 10 curriculum in the context of their own classrooms.
To see the available professional learning opportunities, click on the phase of schooling below:
Ministers visit
Preparations are progressing for the Ministers visit on the 24 August. The timing of the event will add an extra complication as it is scheduled to occur during the lunch break. We will look at the timing of breaks during the day. The leadership team will be discussing this at our next meeting.
IPS review
The IPS desktop submission is entering its final stages. Thank you very much to all the people who have been involved with the reference groups. Your input has been very valuable. After the Executive Team finalise it on Friday it will go back to the Leadership Team for final edits. The review visit will occur Wednesday 25 August and will involve many of the staff at different times during the day.
General Staff Meeting attendance
General staff meetings and learning area meetings are part of the five hours meeting time per term. It is best that these are scheduled in advance for staff to make arrangements around. When scheduling other appointments please make sure that you are aware of the meeting times.
To view last week's Leadership Minutes, please click the link below.
BSHS EMAIL POLICY
Email is an important and convenient means of communication that assists our school to provide more effective communication to each other and our school community. We are committed to ensuring communication is respectful, measured, sensitive and constructive and used within DOE ICT Guidelines.
With this in mind, a Bunbury SHS Email Policy has been developed to clarify general etiquette and guidelines when using our @education.wa.edu.au email.
The aim of these guidelines is to:
- clearly articulate the School’s commitment to positive use of the email system for communication between staff and our community.
- establish clear expectations for staff, students and parents in the use of email.
Please find attached the BSHS Email Policy which can also be found on M:\Policy Documents\School Policies\Email Policy.pdf
CONSENT 2 GO - Teacher App
Some improvements have been added.
Instructions on how to download see below.
ACADEMY REPORTING - ACTION TYPE
Please only use 'Request Student Services Assistance' for social or emotional concerns or issues in the yard.
For classroom concerns, if you require assistance, please select 'Request HOLA Assistance.'
HOLAs can refer cases to Student Services as required.
In addition, if you require assistance, please ensure you add them as a recipient so the appropriate staff member is notified.
This will assist with effective processing of incidences.
STAFF COMMENDATIONS
Congratulations to Nicki Sharpe and Cathy Watson for awarding the most positive entries in Academy this fortnight.
The Learning Area with the most positive entries is Maths! Congratulations.
Please keep up the good work.
Four positives for every one negative.
Welcome to all our new staff members who have joined us this term. If you see them around the school, please make them feel welcome and say hello!
Wendy McMullen - English Teacher
I have really enjoyed my first week at Bunbury Senior High School; the staff and students have been so welcoming! Previously, I taught English at Eaton Community College and most recently, at Dalyellup College, I taught Drama, Art, Media and English.
Outside of work, my life revolves around my dog, Kobi, and whichever foster dog we have at the time. If I’m not with my dog, you can probably find me hidden in my sewing room or curled up reading a book!
Lindsay Rae - Mathematics Teacher
After completing my undergraduate degree at UWA I am now completing my Masters of Teaching at ECU. After having my first teaching practicum at BSHS last year I knew that it would be a school I would love to teach at. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to working with everyone. In my spare time, I like to work out at the gym and train my horses.
Belinda Rivera-Diaz - HASS Teacher
I come from Bridgetown High School, working as HASS, Digital Technology, as well as Music. I've bought a house in Bunbury so I'm here for good! On the weekends I play soccer with Dynamos. My hobbies also include playing the drums, listening to music, making kids cry, and cooking new meals.
Crystal Peel - Mathematics Teacher
Crystal Peel, I’ve just completed my mathematics teaching degree through Murdoch University, I studied externally while raising my 3 young children (now 8, 9, and 10). Prior to this term with Bunbury Senior High School, I completed my FPE at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar. Outside of work I play Ultimate Frisbee, a fast-paced, mixed gendered, self refereed sport!
KINGIA ARTICLES
A reminder to please submit your articles for the Kingia Magazine as soon as possible! All articles are due by Friday 3 Sept.
Submit all content via the link below.
DOWNLOADING THE SCHOOLZINE APP
We understand that now more than ever, it’s essential for our school to have effective and efficient communication channels available to our school community and staff - accessible anywhere, anytime. Our communication platform "Schoolzine" offers that and more!
We encourage you to download the SZapp so that you have access to the latest news and events as well as important links in one convenient app.
Please follow the instructions on how to install the app in the link below.
BUNBURY SHS FACEBOOK
Something interesting happening in or around your classroom? Having an incursion or excursion this term? Please let me know! We love to share updates from the school with our community and would like representation from each area of our wonderful school; no matter how big or small.
Please submit stories for our Facebook page via the wufoo link below and include as much information as you can, plus a few images to accompany the article. If you are having trouble with the wufoo form, you can email the information to me directly.(ellie.mackay@education.wa.edu.au)
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and check out what our students and staff get up to.
What’s OnTerm 3, Week 3
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Coming Soon |
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Principal's Calendar
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