Teaching & Learning

Inclusion @ CHS

Since the implementation of the Diverse Learners Policy at the end of last year, there has been a lot happening to strengthen and consolidate inclusive practice at CHS. I thought I would share just a few snippets of some of that work. In Term 1, staff participated in a professional learning series called “Who am I teaching and how do I teach them?” This was based on the High Impact Engagement Strategies and included a specific session on developing whole-class strategies to support inclusion and belonging. This session also generated over 50 questions from staff related to inclusion, which are being answered over time through weekly emails. This term, staff are engaged in Professional Learning Communities focused on ‘catering for differentiation to support student choice and challenge’ and ‘accommodations to support engagement and success.’ Brent and Melanie also met with Jim Mullens, the CEO of Amaze, at the end of Term 1. They discussed future engagement with the Evidence and Impact team to inform inclusion initiatives at CHS.

Last term we completed an audit of Individual Education Plans to identify areas for improvement in preparation for our transition to Disability Inclusion in 2025. Student Support Teams have been working with students and families to create strengths-based Student Snapshots for students with diverse learning needs. We are also working on reviewing a range of school policies through an inclusion lens. This has highlighted an opportunity to provide clear communication for families around assessment and curriculum pathways for students who experience ongoing barriers to learning. Uniquity club is back up and running every Thursday at recess in AG.03 and the ICAN mentoring program, which is being overseen by the wellbeing team, started last week. We’re looking forward to some more professional learning in Term 3 and to collating a robust set of data around the inclusion needs of our students.

Brigitte Rogan

VCE VM

Community Projects

Over the past 3 weeks, our year 11 VCE VM students have been running their Community Projects. Their projects are designed to bring the community together in some way. We had a TV club, a dodgeball competition, a go bucket stand, and a mindfulness lunchtime. All of the projects were very popular with the students. Great work VCE VM team!

Chicken 19/4

The aim of the personal development community project was to make chicken and chips for the students and teachers of Coburg high school. The whole concept of the community projects was to hold an event that would somehow help the students and in our case we chose to feed them with practically a new item in the canteen. The challenges we were faced with was that the power strips used to power the air fryers shorted and completely shut down the heating process of the food. Noah and I used what we learnt at our Electrotechnology course to overcome this problem by fault-finding and working a way around it. Another problem we were faced with was that we underestimated how many people would want to buy the food and began cooking too late into the preparation process. Overall the experiment went well and attracted a lot of attention from staff to come join and admire the store we had created. Our first customer was even Brent. 

Mindfulness 22/4 

Recently in Vocational Major we have been doing PDS presentations. My group decided to do a mindfulness presentation with colouring in and calming music. We had a really good turn out and had lots of people getting involved. It was difficult to spread the word about the event. We originally only had about three people show up, so we had to do some problem solving so we went out to groups of people and got them to join in on the event. It was fun to try and communicate with all the teachers and learn things like getting a free room and organising to get materials that we need.   

Dodgeball 29/4 & 30/4

Recently in Vocational Major we have been doing projects like a dodgeball game  between the younger year levels verse and some year 11s. Doing this project has helped us learn how to problem solve and how to speak to groups of people that we didn’t know. We had a problem on the day that was the year sevens . Our target audience were at camp which meant that only a few people showed up so we had to go out to get some other people, they would then go tell others, which then led to us having too many people. In the end it was a big success and everyone loved it. They wanted to continue and do more games and even the next day we had people asking if we were running it again. 

TV Club 2/5 & 3/5 

Recently in VM we have been making clubs for a SAT in PDS. My group and I made a TV club where we watch two episodes of HTTYD: Race to the Edge while colouring and eating snacks. So far it has been really fun and everyone who participated seemed to be have a good time and enjoyed the activity. At the start there was some confusion of where the club would been, which ended up with people going to the wrong room and us wasting a bit of our limited time. In the end it all got cleared up and we were able to finish the episode just in time. This taught me that at the end of the day no matter how much you plan something it can still go wrong but that doesn't mean you should give up.

Year 12

Mentoring Matters Program 17/4

Wednesday, April 17th The mentorship programme began with five mentors for the VM class. Members of the mentorship programme Chris, Donna, Peter B, Peter J, and Kate visited the Year 12 VCE VM courses to share their experiences in their chosen pathways and careers. They spoke to the class for two hours about how they got into their careers and about their experiences conducting various activities to help the students and mentors get to know each other better. The entire class was engaged not just by the things they spoke about but also by the many pieces of advice they offered us to pursue careers in our chosen fields. The details they discussed with us will support our preparation for the rest of the semester and year to be ready for what is ahead. Having them as our mentors for the remainder of the semester makes us feel very lucky.

Accessing Hidden Job Market Guest Speaker 19/4

On the 26th of April, Friday afternoon, 3 Guest speakers who were teachers from Melbourne PolyTechnic Tafe came to talk to the VCE VM class about advice for their future work lives. The advice was mainly focused about interviews when applying for a job and about what the employers think of you when applying for a job. The Students engaged by asking questions to the guest speakers and by interacting with the activities they provided.

Teamwork and leadership- Basketball 19/4

During one of our Personal Development classes, the VCE VM class ran a basketball game. Before we went out to play, we discussed and looked at the key skills needed to be a good leader and also a good team. During the game, we showed teamwork and leadership skills in our communication, adaptability, knowledge of each other’s skills, and working together to score points on the board. After the game, we reflected and each of us listed one skill that was key in playing together and being successful. Overall, it was a pretty fun experience and a good way to see teamwork and leadership skills in an engaging, fun and new way. 

Lydia Burns & Olivia Stray

Spanish

Year 10 Students Shine During Reading Excursion to Newlands Primary.

In an exciting culmination to Term 1, our Year 10 Spanish students embarked on a memorable excursion to Newlands Primary School, where they had the opportunity to engage with and inspire young minds. This visit was not only a fun outing but also a practical application of the language skills they've been developing, specifically focusing on the various past tenses in Spanish.

As part of their KLT, our students have been working hard to create an original Spanish-language storybook complete with their own illustrations. The project was designed to challenge their understanding of language structure and encourage their creative expression. The end result was a wonderful collection of picture books that brought their new skills to life.

During the visit, our Year 10s read their stories to the Grade 1 students at Newlands. The interaction was held entirely in Spanish, providing our students with a real-world context to apply their language skills. It was a joy to see our students not only reading but also engaging in conversations with the Grade 1 pupils, answering questions and explaining the stories with great enthusiasm and confidence.

This experience was particularly significant as it demonstrated the value of Community and the power of sharing knowledge. Our students displayed remarkable maturity and dedication, embodying this school value.

We are incredibly proud of what they have achieved and grateful for the warm reception from Newlands Primary School. Experiences like this remind us of the importance of practical learning and the impact our students can have when they step out into the community.

We look forward to more opportunities where our students can showcase their skills, embrace new experiences, and contribute positively to the community. Well done to all involved in making this visit a success!

Aisling Ringrose