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From the Principal, Carol Thorsby
Last term ended very well with our students doing us proud at the District High School’s Country Week. Staff reported that the students really enjoyed the experience and they played well, with success and conducted themselves as we would expect. Special congratulations to our boys Basketball team who were awarded the overall Sportsmanship Award for the event. Well done to all students and also to the wonderful staff for dedicating many hours before the event to train the teams, for helping to organise various fundraising events and for also giving up a week of time with their families to take the students away.
I would also like to commend Mrs Sinagra, our Manager of Corporate Services. Mrs Sinagra is a very experienced MCS and her professionalism and talents have been recognised by the region as she has been asked to coordinate and lead the MCS Network for the area. Her role will be to support and help upskill MCS’s from other schools and I congratulate her for not only being recognised, but also for being asked to step into the role. She is just another example of the accomplished and dedicated staff we have at BHS.
Schools are all about students and at BHS we believe it is important to consider student opinion and for them to have a “voice” that – when we can – we listen to and act upon. The wearing of “hoodies” has been a contentious issue at the school for many years. “Hoodies” have not formed a part of our school uniform largely because of the use of the hood to cover faces and be somewhat untidy. The flip side to this is that due to our cold climate, many students need the extra protection and warmth that the hood provides whilst walking to or traveling to and from school. I am also aware that it is quite difficult to purchase cheaply, any fleecy jumper that does not have a hood – the joys of dictates of fashion. To this end, school staff, the School Council and the P & C have agreed that we will trial relaxing our uniform policy on “hoodies” and allow students to wear a “hooded jumper” in school colours only, under the normal school polo shirt and with the hood tucked in whilst at school. Wearing the hood out or on the head is not permitted whilst at school. This has been clearly communicated to students and they have been given the responsibility of abiding to these new conditions. If they are able to do so, then the Uniform Policy will be changed to reflect their wishes. We welcome wider parent feedback on this issue, so please feel free to give me a call on 9761 0101 if you would like to chat about the issue.
Our school’s Positive Behaviour values are Respect, Resilience, Kindness and Responsibility. Staff are using these words very frequently with students and during our Form classes each week, students are actually being explicitly taught and given examples (and non-examples) of the types of behaviours that reflect the values. It is an expectation of all students that they behave – at all times – in a manner that reflects these values and to not do so does result in a consequence. I would encourage parents to have a discussion with their student about what they know about these values and how their behaviour at school should reflect them.
A reminder to all parents and students that in 2019, the Minister of Education mandated a policy of “Off and Away All Day” for student mobile phones at school. As Department of Education employees, all of our staff have a duty to uphold this policy and apply sanctions to students who refuse to comply. Parents and students are provided with a copy of the policy and asked to acknowledge it by signing it, upon enrolment at Bridgetown High School. Please support staff by reinforcing the message of “Off and Away All Day” and also by not texting or phoning your student during the school day. Students are aware that if they need to call home, they should do this from the Front Office and if the matter is private, then we are more than happy to make a space available. Again and as always, please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss this matter further.
Looking forward to a busy and productive term,
Warm Regards
Mrs Thorsby
What is the Copernicus Club you might ask? Well, our Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) teacher Mr Dareff has been so impressed with the enthusiasm for this subject that he has formed an Academic Extension Society. Selected students from Years 8-10 have been invited to join this club.
By the end of last term, some excellent results came through from the Australian History Competition. 13 of our students won a National Merit Commendation. This was very significant - our students not only beat the national mean in each year level in this competition, but they did so by an increasing margin with each successive year level. This takes the number of HaSS National Merit Commendations won by Copernicus Club students to 18. Well done to all student club members for their dedication and commitment shown to their HaSS studies.
Term 4, Copernicus students are analysing maps of old Australian Gold Rush towns from the 1800's, identifying patterns from them and devising explanations for these patterns - which they are using to generate and construct a new Gold Rush period town out of Lego. The town is named Lancelot, as Lancelot Cook was the first recorded school Principal in West Australian history. It is estimated the students will use around 10,000 Lego pieces to complete it.
Watch this space for updates on the progress of the town of Lancelot!
Did you know..........the name Copernicus Club recognises the Polish Astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, born 19th February, 1473, who proposed that the Sun is the centre of the solar system and that the planets circle the sun.
So far, 10 students and 2 staff attended training yesterday where the students were really engaged and completed the course successfully. Their participation and enthusiasm really impressed trainer Erica Duffett from the Bridgetown SJA Subcentre.
This formal qualification is valid for 3 years and will make an important addition to students resumes and portfolios.
During Term 4, students continue to be taught the types of behaviours that reflect our school values, starting with Resilience-Demonstrate Self Control.
Please be advised that a Fees & Charges statement will be sent home next week.
Some families may be eligible for assistance in meeting the cost of fees and uniforms. Please see details below.