A week in review- 

A reflection by Ains 

What does a jam-packed week look like? 

Well, at Box Hill North, it’s nothing short of fun, engaging and empowering for all! 

At Box Hill North, we have seen success in our core areas of learning, wellbeing and inclusion for all within our community. At Box Hill North, students are always at the front and centre of all we do! The importance of building and cultivating a staff and workforce whose job script entails developing, enriching and embracing each of our students for who they are, is indeed a privileged occupation. Our educators are outstanding at imparting and sharing best practice evidence to enable each of our students to be their personal best.

STUDENT TALENTS

Our students, the heart and soul of Box Hill North, continue to amaze us with their achievements and talents. 

Elliot from 5/6 competed at the Yarra Valley in cross country on Thursday, 13th June. In the mud and rain, up and down hills in the freezing cold, Elliot represented our school in a 3km run that ended with the finish line at the Yarra Valley racecourse.  Elliot completed the race in just over ten minutes and received 83rd place. Congratulations Elliot on spectacular effort!  

This afternoon and evening, we have a special treat for you-a double-feature concert and recital featuring our talented students from Rowena’s piano and keyboard classes, along with students from Simon’s Rocknpop playing the guitar and drums. We are eagerly looking forward to seeing our students shine on stage this evening.  

Tomorrow at Assembly at 3:00 p.m., we look forward to hearing and seeing musical performances by Seb and Leo (Simon) to ‘Smooth Criminal’ and Hugo and Riarn (Simon) with ‘Stay’. This is a testament to these students’ passion for music, talent, and the instrumental program. 

Thank you to Simon and Rowena, who have been instrumental in our students' musical journey. Thank you to both of you for their ongoing support and enrichment of our students through music. 

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching and learning are two interrelated processes that are essential for the development of individuals and society. At Box Hill North, teaching involves the transfer and acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours. Our teachers teach by providing our students with learning intentions, success criteria and content. Our students learn from teachers via the act of receiving knowledge, providing opportunities to have a go and take risks in a safe environment and focus on their success against their learning outcomes.  Teaching and learning at Box Hill North come hand in hand, and this will be evident to each of you when reading reports and attending Parent Teacher Interviews. 

Reflections on Semester One teaching and learning will be available via reading reports on Compass from 4:00 p.m. on Friday, June 21st. This will prepare families for well-informed parent-teacher interviews in Week 11. The staff look forward to discussing your child’s progress holistically through academics and how they are travelling from both a wellbeing and social perspective. 

Please note that Performing Arts is not within the reports this semester due to a change in staff. Please read the Performing Arts Report section within this newsletter to gather an insight into what has taken place since Kim’s arrival to Box Hill North halfway through this term. 

Wellbeing 

Wellbeing in schools is of such importance in this day and age. Why is that? It is vital to our collective and individual success at Box Hill North that our students, staff, and community members be comfortable, healthy, and happy each day. One’s wellbeing encompasses whether we have good mental health, life satisfaction, a sense of purpose, and effective stress management. For our students, we focus and work in collaboration with families to assist and zone in on how we feel about different aspects of life, including physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. Some skills that our educators’ model and develop with our students are maintaining a growth mindset and building a positive attitude.

Another area for all within Box Hill North that comes under the umbrella of wellbeing is psychological safety. Timothy R. Clark (the author of - The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation) employs that there are six ways that we can build psychological safety that enable us to utilise our skills and abilities collaboratively to achieve collective goals, they are: 

1. Fostering a Culture of Respect – ‘Treat every person within your care and service with respect and dignity.’
2. Encouraging Open Communication – ‘Providing a safe environment where people feel free to share ideas without fear or judgement.’ 
3. Provide Constructive Feedback – ‘To offer specific and actionable feedback aimed at helping students and colleagues grow.’
4. Model Vulnerability – ‘To lead by being vulnerable by sharing mistakes and challenges.’ 
5. Celebrate Learning from Mistakes – ‘To recognise and celebrate learning that comes from mistakes.’
6. Prioritise Inclusion – ‘To ensure that every member within a class and team feels valued and included and seek diverse perspectives through this.’

These six ways we build within our holistic community-fostering a culture of respect, encouraging open communication, providing constructive feedback, modelling vulnerability, celebrating learning from mistakes, and prioritising inclusion-are the pillars of our school's culture. They result in an environment that sets us all up to achieve our collective goals. The impact is authentic interactions, inclusive and ethical decision-making, collaborative teams, feeling heard and valued, proactive problem solvers, and being preventative and adaptive when in crisis. 

Inclusion 

At Box Hill North, inclusive education means that all students, including students with disability, are welcomed in our school and supported to reach their full potential. Within our school, we aim to create a culture that celebrates diversity and builds on each student's strengths. As an inclusive school, we nurture professional learning communities that empower teachers to create optimum learning outcomes for students through best-practice approaches and current, evidence-based strategies. Our inclusive teachers support all students in participating, learning, and succeeding in all aspects of education.

At Box Hill North, Inclusion means that all individuals feel that they belong and are connected. We believe that inclusion means that our learning environment adapts to each student and that Inclusive education means that all students are supported to reach their full potential. Our school is most effective in being inclusive as we have created a culture that celebrates diversity and builds on each student's strengths. Our educators support our students by making reasonable adjustments and teaching strategies tailored to meet our students' individual needs. Inclusion is embedded in all aspects of our school life at Box Hill North and is supported by our culture and everyday practices.

Staff News 

This week, on the staff front, we had a fun experience we all shared: an Aussie Wedding. This event was a unique opportunity for our students to learn about Australian culture and traditions, and for our staff to come together and celebrate a joyous occasion

Anna, our 5/6C teacher, is getting married this school holiday in America. However, there was no way we wouldn't celebrate in her excitement. Anna's class, their 5/6 peers and their Prep buddies all helped Anna celebrate. We wished Anna all the best with students from across the school observing an Aussie Wedding run by the 5/6s. The students used their voice and agency to create an event that involved design, dance, public speaking, sustainability and even their junior Master Chef skills. Please see some happy snaps showing Anna's joy and the students' unbelievable creativity and care for their teacher.  

Thank you all for celebrating our students and staff and for taking a closer look at the impact that our educators focus on through teaching and learning, wellbeing, and inclusion.  

Ains