From The Principal

From the Principal

Bonjour à tous, and Wanju

Thank you everyone for a smooth start to the term.  I apologize for being absent at the start of the term. Certainly, the weather last week laid a very sunny disposition across the school.

The school review cycle picks up in Term 4.  Like last year we have set aside a whole school development day for the purpose of reviewing: student results, course delivery, assessment items, forward planning (in particular, around the delivery of Year 10 in 2026). Hatti has identified good feedback as having the largest effect on student progress.  It can affect us in the same way. Please make the most of this opportunity to gather good data, have robust conversations and be courageous in your actions to provide the best learning environment for all students.

Review is a great time to not just look back at what we still need to do but also to identify our successes, scale them to do more and celebrate the progress that we have made.  While sitting at the assembly last week I could not but think of the great successes. The new prefects spoke confidently. They reflect the fantastic student leadership program. Emily Johnson and Tanika Schoeman singing in front of their peers marks a milestone for our performing arts program that add value to the reputation of our music department.  The Mathematics and Sport accolades of our students speak volumes of the high expectation and outstanding teaching practice that our teachers demonstrate.

While the state is still talking about senior school reimaging, we are doing it. Flexibility to allow the mix and match of ATAR, Cert courses, ECU Uniprep, WPL has been taken up by our students. 

I ran into Jarrod Myer in Morawa during the school holidays while driving around the mid-west looking at wildflowers.  He was ecstatic to hear that we will now be offering Aviation as a timetabled course.  He is flying crop dusting planes. The introduction of Aviation, our Medical and Engineering pathway mentors are new and exciting ways of reimaging senior school to give students greater educational currency.

So you see as you are reviewing this term in preparation for 2025 I hope that you have a great term and have a chance to look back at our accomplishments so far as a break from our continuous forward focus on improvement.

En Avant

Mike Sinagra

Nuts and Bolts

Class visits started last week, albeit in a different format.  I have quarantined time after lunch 1 each day to get around to classes. I’m hoping that this will give me greater opportunity to visit classes.

The PIVOT teaching sprints continue this term.  You will no doubt be reviewing your success with those. It is a good time to lean on the school support structures like the ILT to help improve the fidelity of these strategies and embed them in your learning area.

Slowly the walls of the newly painted lower halls will become adorned with house culture, history boards, school branding and other memorabilia. When you arrive back after the summer break it will also contain carpet, weatherproof doors, hard and soft furnishings.

Our first school drama performance in a while will be presented Week 4.  Please support this where you can. The Performing Arts are really starting to mature again.