Principal's Update

“All things are beautiful in their time” Bob Dylan

These words ring true across all of our experiences thus far at Beaumaris Secondary College. We are seeing and experiencing so many “firsts” across the college each and every day. The learning spaces are vibrant centres of learning where teachers are working closely with students to promote curiosity, reflection and make real world connections on a daily basis. There have been many adults and children through our school and they all agree that the buildings are beautiful which is something that you don’t often hear when describing a school.

National Reconciliation Week was May 27th to June 3rd. All Australians reflect on shared histories and on the contributions and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The theme for Reconciliation Week was “Don’t Keep History a Mystery”. Our students have been learning about Ancient Australia and the Aboriginal contribution to our culture as well as the innovations that they introduced. Please follow the link for more interesting information to explore and discuss with your children.

https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/

First Aid is available to students who are not feeling well throughout the day and parents are contacted if further care is needed beyond what can be provided at school. We want to reinforce that students should not be contacting parents directly if they are unwell instead they should make their way to First Aid and we will contact parents. Thank you for your support with this approach.

Parent Association

Our parent community is wanting to engage even more with the school and I have received a letter signed by over 6 parents to organize a Parents Association. The next step in the process is to promote a meeting for the interim committee and then develop a constitution that we must forward to the Minister of Education. The sole purpose of an interim committee is to seek the approval of the Minister to form a parents’ club. I look forward to providing our parents with more connections to the building of our school community. All parents are invited to attend the interim committee meeting to develop the constitution for a Parents’ Association on Thursday July 19th at 6pm in the Resource Centre.

Home Learning

Students will now use their Microsoft Outlook to record home learning tasks. Parents can get students to share their calendar which will provide a direct link to the home learning tasks that they are recording on their calendar. It is good to have a consistent tool that supports students in keeping track of the home learning they have been assigned. It no longer requires them to use their memory to keep up with the tasks they should be learning outside of school hours. Please support them by getting them to share their calendar on Outlook with you.

Extra-Curricular

We have started to build our extra-curricular programs over this term. It has started with Shaun Bowles sharing his expertise by starting the Culinary Workshops for parents and students. These are very popular and parents are enjoying the opportunity to share the experience with their children. There are still spots available for some of the upcoming workshops.

We are also beginning the work that will go into our first school production. The winner of the Short Story Competition is the basis for the plot. Ms AG has a script writing group that is meeting to develop the story further as she creates the music and song for the show. Auditions for the roles will begin soon. It is very exciting to see over 60 students express interest to be involved in some way.

INNOVATE this term will have students working in our newly fitted out Technology space. They are learning to recognize, work safely and use the tools. They have just completed the Trail Mix Design Project which allowed them to develop a unique product that they also needed to market to 12 year olds. This was interesting as some groups aimed to include more sugar in their product while others looked to include ingredients that appealed to the taste but had a sustained energy component.

Staffing Update

We have welcomed Chris Robinson into the BEST role left vacant at the start of the term. We also have Steve Seddon joining the team next term for BEST and Maths. We are currently in the selection process for a English/Generalist position that will take up some Communicate and Relate sessions next term. This will allow our teams to continue to develop rich and rigorous curriculum moving into Year 8.

Parent Contributions at Work

Many of our families have made parent contributions which provide our school community with valuable equipment and resources. Thank you again to all the families that have paid their essential items and voluntary contributions. Below is a list of the funds collected and the items purchased thus far:

First Aid collected $4400 and we purchased 2 defribrillators and a wheelchair
Building Fund collected $5000 and School Council has agreed to put the funds towards a bike shed
Library Fund collected $7000 and a range of books for the collection chosen by students and staff have been purchased
State Schools Relief collected $2900 and this will be sent to the organisation to assist families in financial stress

We will be providing regular updates in future newsletters.

Community Open Day

We have rescheduled our Community Open Day for Saturday June 23rd. This will coincide with the Melbourne Cricket Club AFLW team home game at 2pm. We will be opening the school up to the community. We are looking for parent and student volunteers to assist between 10am and 12.00pm. If you are available please contact the school office on 8569-9200 to register your availability. We look forward to showcasing this wonderful school with the community and hope that you can be part of it.

Language Perfect World Championships 2018

The ‘Languages competition’ started on the 21st of May and students had 10 days to earn as many points as possible. This is always an exciting period as they compete on a world stage against thousands of students from around the globe. It also helps them improve their language skills as they spend time revising and challenging themselves as they learn new topics.

Congratulations to all the students who participated. We have 24 Award recipients in 2018.

Our congratulations to:

INNOVATE Experts

We would like to ask parents interested in sharing their expertise with students during our INNOVATE program to fill out the form below.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=N7Ns2Ycaz0S2mzzsM0pMH6Uosk7jrEpFtONEOX8up1NUOEMwUzdSQ1RQQUhOVUlLTjZSM0czUEpTWi4u

Please note that parents will need a Working with Children’s Volunteer Check. Please use the following link to find out more:

http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/home/applications/apply+for+a+check/

The Innovate program will foster and establish connections that provide students the opportunity to understand the global community and how their decisions and actions have an impact locally and further afield. They will develop a sense of place in the world and understand the issues within a global context.

Innovate is a project-based program where all learning can be incorporated into student driven projects. Students work at their own pace and level so there is built in flexibility. Students work in small groups although at times individually, depending on the focus of the project. The Innovation Lab is the hub of ideation and creation. They will use the Innovation Studio/Lab to develop and create their project. Students will also have the opportunity to share their work in a showcase or expo at our INNOVATE nights which are held each semester, students will present to both parents and the local community.