Heard on the Hill Term 2, Week 9

Nuts and Bolts

Learning Area Meetings

Now that we are meeting again I’m really keen to visit learning area meetings.  If there is a particular aspect that you would like information on just let me know with the invite. I am very happy to do a question and answer session. Just send through a calendar invite.

Relay for Life Raffle

Wendy is raising money for Relay for Life and she has some raffle tickets in the staff room with a donation tin. Tickets are $2 with some great prizes to win.

To access the Leadership Minutes from last week, see below.

Professional Learning

The world of education is constantly changing and does require a level of upskilling and updating our knowledge as professional educators. If you have aspirations, engaging with relevant PL is even more important, to ensure that you are meeting the expectations of current best practice. PL can be reading, peer observation and feedback, attending conferences and workshops, doing online courses.

Remember to keep a record of the things you are doing. Keep a portfolio of certificates. Update your TRB professional learning record. Note down the positive outcomes for students and the school that you have brought about because of your best practice. These can be useful examples when applying for positions.

Recommended Professional Learning

Not all PL will be appropriate for you. You need to look carefully at what is being offered, and consider where you are in your career, what your performance goals are, and what your interests are. You might even notice that there is a gap in knowledge in your learning area team that needs filling, and then upskill in that area and share the knowledge with others.

DOE

There is a heap of free online professional learning available through the DoE. There are sessions about child protection, aboriginal cultural awareness, autism spectrum disorder etc.

Read the Ed-Email – this regular update from DoE can provide information about important systemic changes and also useful professional learning that is available.

Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation

There are heaps of resources offered by this organisation. One of the best workshops (and there is a book that goes with it) is Understanding Learning Difficulties. This is also offered online now, and if you would like to do this PL, let me know and it will be paid for by the school (limit of 10 staff per year). This really helps with understanding how to make small adjustments for a big impact with students who need it.

Understanding Poverty

This PL has been around for many years now. It helps when teachers have an understanding of generational poverty and the different set of values that those students are usually operating from. Most teachers are middle class. It is a vastly different perspective. When you do this PL, it helps you to understand some of your students better, which tends to lead to better relationships and better academic outcomes.

Trauma Awareness

This is very similar to the Understanding Poverty PL, as these students often have a trauma background due to their lack of resources. This PL is also really eye-opening and I think you would all be surprised and probably alarmed by the number of students who have experienced some form of trauma during their childhood and into the present. This really does impact their ability to learn and to manage their own emotions and behaviour. Meeting these issues with some compassion and understanding can be a powerful way to initiate change. Understanding the function of their behaviour can really help you to know the student and support the student. This is the core business in Student Services.

Classroom Management Strategies - this PL is offered free to staff every year (when Covid isn't disrupting it!)

1) Foundation - most of the content of this PL is now delivered as part of teaching qualifications, which is terrific, as it really is the basis for strong classroom management. If you are in control of what happens in your class (for the most part) then you will be able to teach and students will be able to learn.

2) Instructional Strategies for Engagement - this is the next level of this PL and it provides strategies to increase the effectiveness of your teaching. It gives you strategies and skills to ensure that your students are pushed to think more deeply, to share ideas, to work cooperatively and to celebrate each others' success.

Youth Mental Health First Aid

This PL is usually completed by staff working in Student Services. It is essential learning for that team. It can be a useful PL for any teacher to do, though, as it gives a thorough understanding of the range of mental health issues that students may be experiencing, and responses that staff can use if faced with a tricky situation.

I am happy to chat with any staff about any of the above information and provide advice about what PL might suit their needs.

Clubs

Our Dungeons and Dragons club needs a supervising teacher for Term 3 and beyond.

This club has been meeting in Room 5 each Monday from 3-4pm, under the excellent direction of Dylan Bell. Thanks, Dylan, for getting this club going. Dylan is leaving us and heading back to Queensland, which leaves a gap for someone to supervise this club.

The students have said that they can share the Dungeon Master role amongst those students who play, so it really just needs someone to take duty of care for the group. If you are interested in taking on this role, please send Kelly an email, or drop in for a chat.

Staff Wellbeing

With ESTs, NAPLAN, school reporting and the ongoing challenges the pandemic has thrown at us with staffing and illness this term, many of us may be feeling fatigued or stressed, thinking that the holidays can’t come quick enough!

While you're putting your energy into creating a positive environment for young people, it’s also important to focus on your wellbeing and that of your colleagues.

Reducing and managing your stress levels, maintaining positive social interactions and asking for help when needed are all helpful actions.

Some signs of stress you may be experiencing may include; headaches, sleep disturbance, digestion issues, anxiety, irritability and difficulty concentrating.

Learning to handle stress in healthy ways is very important. These include identifying early warning signs in your body that tell you when you are getting stressed and identifying triggers which raise our stress levels. Triggers might include late nights, deadlines, seeing particular people, hunger or over-tired children.

Some ideas to utilise as the term ends and during the school holidays to help you look after your mind and body, and reduce stress and its impact on your health include:

• Establishing routines: regular times for exercise, relaxation, meals and sleep
• Spend time with people who care: share your thoughts and feelings with others
• Look after your health: eating healthy and regular exercise, calming activities like listening to music or going for walks
• Notice your ‘self-talk’: instead of thinking ‘I can’t cope’ or, ‘It’s not fair’, try, ‘I am coping well given the circumstances’, or, ‘Calm Down’

For more information on wellbeing, visit the following websites, https://www.headsup.org.au/home or https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/

Hope you all have a restful and relaxing holiday break.

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Is 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)

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