Heard on the Hill Term 1, Week 7
From the Principal
Bonjour à tous, and Wanju
This week’s news starts with a wrap up of a very busy weekend. Friday night’s spectacular light show has left some staff working to keep their community safe from fire. On Saturday nearly 100 Year 6 students came to the library to test for the Education Department’s GAT program. Later that evening, at the opposite end of schooling, our Year 12 students attended the 2022 School Ball. It was a fabulous evening and all those involved in getting it to happen should be congratulated. The COVID restriction and growing Omicron outbreak certainly tested the team. On Sunday there was another GAT test for Year 8 – 10 students, this was to top up the current program. Another 40 students enrolled for this test.
WA Health has announced that we will be heading toward the peak of the current COVID outbreak this week. There has been some fallout already this week with a number of Year 12 students identified as close contacts and a staff member classified as a household close contact. I anticipate that an event such as the School Ball is also likely to produce both positive cases and close contacts, but we will wait and see how that develops across the week. I will continue to give two communications a week to keep you updated with the latest directions.
I would like to remind you that soon the Year 10 students will be making their selections for 2023. This year we are focussing on providing the information to the students to make informed decisions on their future schooling needs.
There is no better place to study ATAR in Bunbury than Bunbury SHS.
- Top ATAR ranked school in the South West at number 38 in the state
- third best in all of country WA.
- Top course awards to ATAR Health, ATAR Physical Education Studies and ATAR Applied Information Technology.
- Over 50% of the Year 12 cohort gained direct entry to a University.
If you are a VET student, Bunbury SHS provides great opportunities
- you are able to access CertII’s, CertIII’s and CertIV’s.
- All students who choose a certificate course from the BRTTC receive a $1000 subsidy towards the cost of the course.
Our range of pathways provides a path for everyone
- The ECU UniPrep course in particular has received great parental feedback.
- With the addition of the new Research Project course in Year 11 the pathways for students continues to develop great career currency.
Our magnificent location and historic buildings
- A 10 year building program continually updates our buildings to provide students with the best, up-to-date learning environment
- Study at Bunbury SHS is vibrant and exciting with the city centre and the beach integrated into our course work.
En Avant
COVID NEWS
Please make sure this week that you pay extra special attention to the students wearing their masks and practising good hygiene and also practice it yourself. If you find yourself in a position that you believe you may be a close contact, please contact myself (0405 182 671) and Vicki via text message as soon as possible. I have included some pertinent information from the Education Department below.
1. What leave is available for staff who need to isolate and/or are confirmed as COVID-19 positive?
Refer to Manage staff leave and absence due to COVID-19 on Ikon for the latest information.
2. How will a school know if an asymptomatic close contact student has tested negative?
Parents must report if their child is positive and keep them home until symptom free and well. If a child returns a negative RAT, then they may attend school. There will not be a requirement to prove to a school that the child has tested negative.
3. When do I need to provide work for students who are not at school?
Schools need to provide work for students who need to stay at home due to isolation or quarantine requirements (E or Y attendance code) or are close contacts who choose to stay home (R attendance code). Schools are not required to provide work to students who are being kept at home by a parent when there is no COVID-19 positive case or close contact (U attendance code)
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Private Dialogue
The final low-key strategy we will explore is Private Dialogue. Most students don’t like it when the teacher points out their poor behaviour in front of their peers. Sometimes this can set up a power struggle where the student talks back to save face, and the situation escalates.
One strategy you can use to manage the situation in a calmer way, is to ask to speak to the student privately. This usually means going outside, but it can mean just speaking quietly far enough away from the main group.
Private dialogue is usually employed when the rest of your low-key strategies have worked for most of the class, and you just have one or two students who still aren’t complying.
The process would look like this:
- Ask the student to speak with you privately
- Stay calm and outline the behaviour you have observed
- Explain the impact this behaviour has on the learning of the other students
- Explain the behaviour you would like to see
- Ask them if there is anything you can do to support them to get back on track
- You may decide the student needs to separate from their allies – you may tell them they need to sit in a different seat, designated by you, when they return to the group
- Explain the consequence of continued misbehaviour – ie withdrawal from the class
- Invite the student to return to the group
Keep this strategy in mind if you find yourself about to go to battle with a student in front of their peers – see if you have more success when using private dialogue to reason with the student.
Remember to ask your experienced teaching colleagues to observe your lessons and give you feedback. Teaching is a skill that takes practice, practice and more practice!
Harmony Week and Intercultural Understanding
In the Western Australian Curriculum, intercultural understanding is one of the general capabilities schools are tasked with developing in students.
Students develop intercultural understanding as they learn to value their own cultures, languages and beliefs, and those of others. They come to understand how personal, group and national identities are shaped, and the variable and changing nature of culture.
The capability involves students in learning about and engaging with diverse cultures in ways that recognise commonalities and differences, create connections with others and cultivate mutual respect.
In developing and acting with intercultural understanding, students:
- investigate culture and cultural identity
- explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices
- develop respect for cultural diversity
- communicate across cultures
- consider and develop multiple perspectives
- empathise with others
- reflect on intercultural experiences
- challenge stereotypes and prejudices
- mediate cultural difference
HARMONY WEEK 15 – 21 March is an opportunity to foster students’ intercultural understanding. You have been emailed a range of resources to share with students, including this video below.
Thank you to our Media and Marketing Officer, Ellie Mackay, for her terrific work at creating this video and the map that shows the many cultural backgrounds of our students.
Concept Attainment
Last week I jogged everyone’s memory on the instructional theory of concept attainment. A great approach to use when introducing certain themes or ‘concepts’ in a manner other than the stock standard method; define, example, practice and test. Concept attainment is not to be used every time when we introduce topics as it is a method that requires effort to set up and manage. Whenever a new approach is used students (and us) do not like change. Some of the challenges we face may be:
- Students have to understand that their hypothesis may not be correct the first time it is stated.
- Students must attend to details to fully grasp a concept and some may not be accustomed to working so intricately.
- Some students do not like to take risks, so they may not participate in the group work.
- Students may “shut down” if the concept is too difficult for them to conceive.
- Students may not be socially able to work with others collaboratively.
That said, challenging students to think differently should always be explored at times.
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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 1, Week 7
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Mike's Calendar
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