message from the principal

Student Voice

Three of our Year 8 students, Sienna Seychell, Esther Rankin-McDonald and Max Cardamone, recently addressed two hundred Principals at the Hume-Moreland Principal Forum.  Sienna, Esther and Max spoke on their experiences of the Year 7 Innovation Project and the Year 8 Curious Minds Project, specifically the aspect of these projects which involves student voice, agency and leadership.

“As students become invested in their own learning, they gain a better understanding of what good learning is and the purpose of it.  This enables them to evaluate their own work, and to more purposefully discuss progress and achievement with teachers, each of which has a significant effect size on achievement” (Hattie, 2009)

Sienna, Esther and Max answered questions such as

• What has the project taught you about leading your own learning?
• What has it taught you about working with others - students, teachers and family members?
• How has this empowered you to take control of your learning?
• What opportunities have you had to share your learning?

I received many positive comments about the presentation by Sienna, Esther and Max and  many positive comments about the curriculum design of these two projects.

School Review: Parent Forum

Thank you to the parents who participated in our Parent Forum last month.  Your feedback on what the school is doing well and what you believe the school can do better will be most valuable as part of our School Review.   As mentioned previously, our School Review next term will be chaired by Barry Sonaghan, an independent reviewer.  Other members of the core review team will be myself,  Adam Ramage (School Council President), Tony Privitelli (the Senior Education Improvement Leader  for our school) and two Challenge Partners who are principals of other schools.  I am delighted that Jo Money (Principal of Glenroy Central Primary School) and Nathan Chisholm (Principal of Prahran High School, opening in 2019) have agreed to be Challenge Partners for our review.  There was also a Student Forum held this term - you can read more about this in this issue. Feedback from the student perspective will be added to the teacher and parent perspectives already sought.   The next step in our review is to prepare a self-evaluation report for the review panel.  I will keep you updated on our progress towards writing the next four-year Strategic Plan.

Performing Arts

Heading towards the end of term we have enjoyed a showcase of Brunswick Secondary College talent.  This event featured student performances from Music, Dance and Drama.  It was a celebration of our classroom programs as well as our instrumental and co-curricular programs and it was wonderful to hold the event in our new theatre with full use of sound and light equipment.  Congratulations to all involved.   The BSC Concert Band participated in 2018  Royal South Street Eisteddfod in Ballarat (2018 State Band Championships) and the annual Chatterbox event (BSC's own public speaking competition) drew an attentive audience  and students spoke on a wide variety of subjects.  The opportunities for students to be involved in the wider school program continue to be numerous.

Information evenings

Thank you to parents who have attended our information nights over recent weeks which have focused on 2019 and the subject selection process.  Your attendance at these sessions is much appreciated and we hope you have gained valuable information which enable you to support your child with their subject choices.  

By the end of this term we will be well placed to make decisions on the electives which will run in 2019.