DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

As a whole school staff we undertook our final Professional Development day with the ReLATE Program. The ReLATE program combines educational research, social science, behavioural theory and neuroscience to provide schools with a blueprint for enhanced teaching. ReLATE is informed by current trauma theory, and recognises the impact that Adverse Childhood Experiences have on the developing body and brain of a child. It gives education professionals the knowledge and skills that enable them to be aware of the impacts of adverse experiences on learning and wellbeing. Within ReLATE, wellbeing is understood as an essential precondition for quality teaching and learning. Safe, predictable and supportive learning environments are created and maintained in classrooms where students and staff are not just known, but understood.

It stands to reason that a student's sense of safety in the school setting is linked to achieving learning outcomes. Schools must have in place structures and procedures that ensure and promote student safety, not only in the sense of being safe but also in the sense of feeling safe. At St Mary MacKillop College we work hard to ensure that we have policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety of the young people and staff in our school. In fact, this is one of the reasons that parents regularly receive Operoo notifications and that we ask students to sign-in and sign-out of the school site. It is the reason that we require students to wear protective coats and glasses in the Science Labs and fasten their seatbelts when on the school bus on the way to Ken Harrison Reserve. There are also other dimensions to student safety and our College Community Expectations are one way that, as a school community, we can all be part of making our learning environment safe, positive and a place of growth and wonder. 

Students can be part of maintaining a learning community that not only is safe but also feels safe by considering and trying to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. While yelling out during class might not worry the student who is doing the yelling, it can certainly have an impact on other students in the room. Making what you think is a joke to the person standing next to you could actually make them feel really uncomfortable. Mimicking someone’s voice or behaviour might be an attempt at humour but can also cause embarrassment. Our school values call us to respect the dignity of each person. Our College Community Expectations outline that here at St Mary MacKillop College, we all use appropriate language, we respect ourselves, others and our learning environment and we are responsible for our own behaviour. Meeting these expectations every day goes a long way to ensuring a safe learning environment for all and helps each and every member of our community feel welcome and respected.