From the Principal
Country Week
Next week over a third of BHS’ students will be heading off to Country Week in Perth. The teams for Country Week will have a special send-off assembly at the end of Week 9. It has been pleasing to see the effort and teamwork on display as students have been preparing for this competition.
I want to thank the staff and parent volunteers who have supported students as coaches or who have assisted with the planning and logistics of such a big excursion. I also want to acknowledge that staff give up a great deal of personal time to make this event possible.
We believe that Country Week provides a unique experience for our students, and that the learning that comes from it cannot be easily replicated in other ways. That is why we keep doing it, even though it is challenging to take so many students on excursion, because of the benefits for students. The government has also recognised the value of this event by contributing funding to support the costs incurred. This has provided a welcome reduction this year in the cost passed on to families.
I wish all the teams well. I don’t care about the results (don’t tell the HPE teachers!). I care about how the students conduct themselves with each other and in public. I care about them demonstrating our values beyond the school boundary. And I know they will, because they do it again and again, so I trust them to keep being the great young people that they are.
Positive Behaviour Support
We have continued to focus on a different school value each fortnight, with dedicated lessons and activities to teach students what the positive behaviours look like. In Week 5, the PBS Staff Team put together an amazing Acknowledgement Canteen, which provided students with a range of prizes that they could “purchase” with the PBS points they had accrued. There was a lot of excitement in the Library as the students explored the range of prizes available to them. The students could purchase items with 5 points and up to 100 points. The hope is that this will be a regular event, and that it will increase the value of our PBS points. Term 3 will end with our usual free lunch and fun activities to celebrate the majority of our students who consistently demonstrate positive behaviour.
Speaking Out Survey
All students participated in a survey run by the Commissioner for Children and Young People on August 28th. This survey gathers data about wellbeing, and we will receive information about how students at BHS are faring, which will help us plan any needed responses and interventions.
Pre-service Teacher
We have had a pre-service teacher from Edith Cowan University in for a 3-week practical placement which started in Week 7. Ms Blackford has been working with Ms Reidy-Crofts in Health and Physical Education. Ms Blackford has said that she is really enjoying her time at BHS and has learned a lot from her first practical experience in a school. We enjoyed having her join us for the three weeks and look forward to hosting other pre-service teachers in future.
Year 6 Orientation Day 5 September
The Year 6 students from our various feeder primary schools attended a day at BHS on the 5th September. They were very well behaved, and they had a great time. Our student leaders were very helpful and showed them around all day. The weather wasn’t great, but it didn’t dampen any spirits.
Year 9 Career Taster Program
In Week 8 we had two days of career taster events. The first day was on site and involved a range of hands-on workshops provided by South Regional TAFE. The second day was an excursion to the Bunbury STEM Regional Festival, which included workshops, guest speakers and a careers expo. This was organised by Ms Phillips and was a terrific experience for students, exposing them to a range of careers. Each of these types of “taster” events help to inform students’ future pathway planning.
Kelly Anderson
