Courage to lead

Leadership - do you have the courage to call out discrimination?

I call on our community to have the courage to call out discrimination of all forms. It takes strength to stand up, be counted and to call out racism, sexism, disability harassment, victimisation and vilification of cultural identity, race, sexuality or sexual/gender identity. As the leader of our school community I am standing up and being clear that any inappropriate behaviour targeting individual students or groups because of their attributes, will not be tolerated at our school. 

Over the last couple of years (post COVID) I have seen an increase in the number of incidents in which students in our school are racially vilified. This year I have had to stop a group of young people in our school yard for using the 'N' word towards another student and I have heard of an uncomfortable rise in the use of the Nazi salute as a 'joke'. We will not tolerate this behaviour at Sandringham College. 

Unfortunately, the rise in such behaviour can be mapped to the rise in the celebrity of people such as Kanye West (racism) and the now jailed Andrew Tate (misogyny). Young people are drawn to the extreme ideas of these individuals. Whilst it is natural for the teenage brain to be drawn towards risk and the extremely unsavoury, what is often seen as 'the vibe' or 'cool' is not a joke, is not funny and must not be perpetuated at Sandringham College. The number of times I hear "I was just joking"  in particular, is frustrating. I constantly have to explain that what they have said or done is indeed - not funny.

I also recognise that as we move forward, what was close to the bone for many Baby Boomers and Generation X members of society, is now the distant past. The holocaust, the American Civil Rights Movement, the Aboriginal (and Torres Strait Island) land rights and right to vote, the Women's Rights movement and marriage equality are all becoming lost to the current generation. Whilst we might forget some of the specifics of these events (dates and locations), we must never forget what they stand for and the risks we face if we don't stand up for what is right... “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” 

We currently teach topics and texts aimed at informing students about key issues and focused on providing a breadth of voices - Feminist, Jewish, Indigenous, LGBTQI+ and African American. In response to our current concerns, we will be running some specific programs at Sandringham College to address racism and toxic masculinity. We will also be following DET guidelines but will be clear that any student stating, writing or drawing ideas that are racist, sexist, homophobic or that vilify another individual or group due to disability will be automatically suspended and be asked to undertake an education program prior to returning to school.

We cannot do this alone. I ask parents to support us in this. 

1. Please speak to your child about what they experience at school
2. Talk to them about right and wrong behaviours 
3. Encourage them to be an up-stander and not a by-stander
4. Be aware of their social media and online use and talk through ideas that they are being exposed to 
5. Expose them to ideas from history and the world regarding human rights
6. Report to the College any concerns

Please read our Diversity and Inclusion policy,  our Community Code of Conduct, our Holocaust Education Policy and our Aboriginal Learning, Wellbeing and Safety plan on the College Website https://sandringhamsc.vic.edu.au/publications-policies/

SCHOOL REVIEW

Schools undertake a school review every 4 years to inform the directions of the school’s 4 year School Strategic Plan (SSP) (a legislative requirement for all schools).

The first component of the review is the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) where schools review their data and other evidence to form a collective view of current practice and areas for improvement.

This is followed by a review conducted by a panel, utilising the expertise of challenge partners and convened by an independent school reviewer.

Concurrent with this panel process, the school reviewer undertakes an assessment of the school’s compliance with the Minimum Standards for Curriculum and Student Learning. Note that school reviewers no longer assess compliance with the other minimum standards, as these are now assessed through the Minimum Standards Compliance Assessment undertaken by the department’s Operational Policy, School Engagement and Compliance Division (OPSEC). Refer to Minimum Standards and School Registration for more information.

Sandringham College completed our most recent school review on Friday 24th February. Our reviewer spoke to groups of students, staff and parents across our school gathering their feedback. The following recommendations will be used to establish 

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED KEY DIRECTIONS FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN 

Recommendations: 

Teacher practice  

1. Implement and develop the Department of Education professional learning communities model – develop streamlined documentation, explore options for each faculty area, provide training for PLC leaders
2. Strengthen middle level leadership development – increase professional learning opportunities for new and emerging leaders 
3. Continue to strengthen confidence and accuracy of teacher judgements - consistency of data literacy practices, cross marking/moderation, formative assessment
4. Strengthen opportunities for peer observations to improve teacher practice 
5. Numeracy improvement -continue to work on implementing a fluency and problem solving and thinking classrooms approach.
6. Strengthen connections between Year 9 and 10 curriculum and teaching and learning
7. Strengthen redemption processes 

Understanding of, and opportunities for student agency and voice 

1. Strengthen and continue to embed the College's instructional model
2. Deepen understanding of learner agency to engage students  
3. Deepen structures and strategies for students to understand and set challenging learning goals 
4. Strengthen use of feedback strategies to reflect on learning and articulate ‘next steps’ in learning - by students to teachers/teachers to students. 
5. Strengthen consistency and planning for differentiation across domains – different entry points - Challenge in learning for all students (support/extension). 
6. Strengthen student leadership model – Additional opportunities for students to be active decision makers. 

Continue support for wellbeing and mental health programs 

1. Support for students’ mental health and wellbeing post COVID 
2. Expand careers education – begin in Years 7-8. 
3. Use expertise of Alumni and others to support careers pathways understanding
4. Continue to build collaboration/connection between campuses 

Teen Mental Health First Aid

A huge thank you to the joint efforts of Brighton North and Hampton Rotary Clubs who have joined together to fund an important Mental Health Program for our Year 10 students - Teen Mental Health First Aid. The College has funded the training of key staff in our school and Rotary has funding the training of our Year 10s. Please see some information below regarding this important program.

Our BIG GOAL

Behind the Recycle Regatta is a very important cause - improving the lives of our young people through training them to talk with their peers about mental health, so it becomes a normal part of conversation and a comfortable and supportive conversation. The training program, the TEEN Mental Health First Aid program, is based on research that tells us that young people prefer to speak with their peers about mental health. To do that, we need to prepare them to be ready to have these conversations. Our BIG GOAL is to ensure that every student in the bayside area experiences the TEEN Mental Health First Aid program once during their secondary years at school, and the funds raised through sponsorship of teams and individuals will help us to do that.