School Management and Communication

Staff Professional Learning - QUALITY TEACHING

On Field Study Day Canterbury Girls High School staff and Ashfield Boys undertook a day of collaborative professional learning in the Quality Teaching program. As a result our school now has the vast majority of its staff trained and actively participating in Quality Teaching Rounds and Quality Teaching Buddies, whereby explicit systems are embedded that facilitate professional dialogue, collaboration, classroom observation, the modelling of effective practice and the provision of specific and timely feedback between teachers. This peer collaboration addresses innovation and future focused learning, supporting teachers to participate in professional learning  programs aligned to the School Plan. Overall Quality Teaching leads to ongoing, school wide improvement in teaching  practice and student results.

Staffing Update

We welcome Mr Nash Davis, Senior Psychologist to the School Counsellor role during Term 1. He will join Ms Larissa Elliott who continues with us from 2018. We anticipate temporary appointment of a counsellor from Term 2 to cover the position of Mr Maeda who remains on leave in 2019.

Ms Holden goes on leave for the last two weeks of Term 1 and senior executive Ms Ronayne, Ms Andrews and Ms Venkatesan will be relieving during that time.

School resources updates

• A new small Pavilion is currently being installed in the playground . This is being funded by a grant received from Sophie Costsis, State Member for Canterbury. Thank you Sophie.
• In the July holidays a large COLA will be constructed in the area off the Multi Purpose centre, providing much needed additional shade as, well as another space for large student gatherings.
• In the April holidays 9 classroom spaces will have new flooring installed.
• In the April holidays  9 learning spaces will have upgraded Information technology equipment installed.

Updated Student Wellbeing Roadmap

Parent Teacher Night Years 7, 11 & 12 - 

Tuesday 9th April 2019

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Parent-Teacher interviews will be held shortly for Years 7, 11 and 12 on Tuesday 9th April 2019, from 3.30 to 6.30 pm. Bookings will open Thursday 21st March 2019.

Canterbury Girls High School uses an online booking system. Interviews are strictly 5 minutes and spaces are limited. The smooth running of our parent-teacher interviews relies on all parents keeping to the timetable. Please consider other parents and end on time. If you need more time with a particular teacher, arrange a separate meeting by telephoning the school on 9718 1805.

To make your appointments please go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code 8ssys

When you click FINISH your selected bookings will be emailed to you immediately. If you not receive your email, please check your junk-mail, or enter the event code again and check your email address spelling. Update your details if email address is incorrect.

DO NOT DELETE the email you receive. Keep it somewhere safe. You may need to refer back to it at a later date and bring a copy of your appointments on the night.  Please remember to add your appointments to your calendar.

Bookings must be finalised by Monday 8th April 3pm. If you forget to make appointments, an interview with teachers cannot be guaranteed and those who have made interviews must be given preference. It is advisable to book online to ensure you get the appointment of your choice.

If you need to view, cancel, change or print your bookings:

• Click on the link in the confirmation email you received after you made your bookings
• OR return to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code and the email address you used when making your bookings.

Robyn Andrews

Deputy Principal

Tell Them From Me Student Survey

All students 7-12 have brought home the following note,

also emailed to all parents, and on the school website. The link below will open a

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE)fact sheet

In Term 1 2019, our school is taking part in the Tell Them From Me student survey. The survey will provide us with valuable feedback on what our students think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve. The survey is completed on-line and is run by an independent research company, The Learning Bar, which specialises in school-based surveys.

Staff in schools will not be able to identify individual students from their responses. To ensure confidentiality, participating students will receive a unique username and password. Where fewer than five students respond to a question, the results will be suppressed. The survey typically takes 30 minutes or less to complete and will be administered by the school during normal school hours. Once the surveys are completed by students, reports are prepared and in most cases are available to schools within three business days.

As well as schools getting student feedback, the Department of Education, through the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE), has access to data from across NSW and is running a research project to look at state-wide patterns of student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices. The research is looking at how these things impact on student outcomes, including academic performance. Individual students will not be identified in any CESE publications, and all information will be handled in accordance with the relevant privacy legislation. Students’ personal information will not be disclosed by the department to any other person or body other than as required by law.

This research will help schools in New South Wales to better understand how to improve student wellbeing and engagement. It will also help teachers and principals discuss what works to improve student outcomes.

Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary. Your child will not take part if either you or your child do not wish. If, during the survey, your child is uncomfortable, he/she can choose to stop the survey at any time. The majority of questions in the survey can be skipped.

If you do not want your child to take part in the survey, please complete the attached form and return it to the school office by March 11.

More information about the survey and the research is available in English on the CESE website: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents

Frequently Asked Questions - Students

Typically, questions from students relate to the following:

1. What is the purpose of this survey?

This survey helps teachers and principals know students’ feelings towards

school, any problems that may be occurring at the school, and ideas for

making the school better. This is your chance to tell your teachers and

school staff what you think.

2. Do I have to do this survey?

This survey is voluntary. Students are asked to participate to help make

their school better. If you really do not want to participate, you do not have

to. Also, if you start answering questions and you want to stop

participating, you can choose to stop at any time. Finally, you can choose to

skip or not answer any questions that you do not feel comfortable

answering.

3. Is this a test?

No, this is not a test. There are no right or wrong answers. Nothing you say

on this survey will ever be connected with you, your grades, or your

performance in school. Your teachers, and school staff will never see your

answers. Be honest, and be yourself, and that will help to make your school

a better place!

4. Will anyone see my answers?

This survey is completely private and confidential. Your teachers, school

staff, friends, and parents will never know your answers. The answers for

the entire year group or school are always combined and displayed

together. If less than five students in a year or school answer a certain

question, then the results for that question are not displayed.

5. Why are the questions so personal?

The survey asks some questions that may seem very personal or private,

such as parents’ education. We ask these questions because they are

important and are linked to student outcomes. It is important to remember

that the survey is confidential, and no one at school will ever know your

answers. If you are uncomfortable with responding, you can skip the

question and move onto the next, or stop at any time. We are interested in

the combined answers at the school level, and how students at your school

respond. Answers to these questions help to give us information about

your school community, and the types of backgrounds and families in your

area. This helps us to understand which schools have the same types of

students with similar backgrounds.

6. Why do you want to know if I’m Aboriginal, Torres

Strait Islander or an Immigrant?

The Tell Them From Me survey is a great chance for students’ to have their

voices heard. Sometimes it is important to hear the concerns and thoughts

of certain groups of students, such as students who are Aboriginal or who

are Immigrants. We ask students if they belong to certain groups such as

being Aboriginal or an Immigrant. Answering yes to these questions will

help your school know what the concerns, feelings and thoughts are for

students like you. However, we are also careful about protecting your

identity. If you indicate that you are an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or

an Immigrant it will not be possible for your teachers, principals or other

school to identify your responses, your answers will always remain

confidential.

7. Why do you include questions that are unrelated

to school?

Some of the questions may seem unrelated to school, but actually all

questions included in the Tell Them From Me survey can help tell us about

students, their health, and their school outcomes. Even things that do not

seem related to school at all can give us important information on how to

help students to be successful at school. If you really want to know why any

question is being asked, and you cannot find out from the person who

coordinates this survey at your school, or from your principal, you are

invited to ask us through your school, and we’ll do our best to explain.

8. Where do my answers go when I complete the

survey?

Your answers to the survey questions are sent over a secure data line to

The Learning Bar database server. Your answers are combined with the

answers of other students in the same year and school. Information from

this database is used to make reports for your school to look at, showing

the combined answers of all the students in your school. These reports are

used to show teachers and school staff how they can make your school

better for students.

9. What if I don’t understand a question?

We try to make the questions easy to understand, so if you have trouble

understanding a question, please tell your teacher or school staff member

who is coordinating the survey. If you need help to answer a question, raise

your hand and ask for assistance.

10. Why is there no back-button?

There is no back-button on the Tell Them From Me survey. This means that

once you finish one page of the survey, you cannot go back to make

changes to your earlier answers. This helps to protect your answers, so

other students who use the same computer after you cannot use the backbutton

to see your answers. Also, this helps you to complete the survey ontime.

This does mean that if you make a mistake you cannot go back and

fix it. It’s important to be careful when you are doing the survey.

Year 11 Preliminary Year Assessment Information

Families of Year 11 students who have commenced the Preliminary RoSA were invited to an information session on March 5.  The Scope and Sequence for Year 11 courses is on the Year 11 Curriculum page of the school website. Links to the powerpoint presentation and information handouts are also on the website. Families were also shown the Moodle Personal Best course page for senior students where blank study timetables are available for download. Students are encouraged to use the assessment booklet, distributed at the information evening and also available in the follow up Year Meeting and on the Year 11 Curriculum page of the website, to complete a personal assessment calendar in the opening pages of the booklet.  Students should refer to the assessment task notifications they receive for each task and to the Student Calendar (link from school website front page) to keep track of assessment due dates. Families, please familiarise yourselves with Illness/Misadventure procedures for missed tasks and support your daughter to follow the correct process if they are ever in a position to be unable to attempt or submit a task.

Meningococcal Vaccinations

NSW School Vaccination Program - Meningococcal ACWY

The Ministry of Health will soon be issuing consent forms for Meningococcal ACWY vaccinations as part of the School Vaccination Program in 2019. The Ministry has asked the Department of Education to support the campaign by sending information to secondary schools, to increase the chances of adolescents engaging with the vaccination program.

Information from the Ministry of Health about Meningococcal ACWY is provided below. You may wish to include this information to parents and carers through your school’s usual communication channels, for example a newsletter or P&C meetings.

Meningococcal ACWY vaccines for students 15 years and over

A vaccine that protects against four strains of meningococcal disease will again be provided to secondary students in NSW via the NSW School Vaccination Program in 2019.

Schools will soon distribute a vaccination consent card to all students in year 10, allowing them to receive the meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine later in the year.

This vaccine is different to the meningococcal C (MenC) vaccine that children born between 2003 and 2018 were offered at the age of 12 months under the National Immunisation Program, as the MenACWY vaccine protects against an additional three strains of meningococcal disease).

The NSW School Vaccination Program has provided MenACWY vaccine to older adolescents - who are at increased risk of meningococcal disease – since 2017.

To ensure all older adolescents have the opportunity to protect themselves against meningococcal disease caused by strains A,C,W and Y, anyone between the ages of 15 and 19 years who missed the vaccine at school can access free vaccine from their GP.

This vaccine does not protect against all strains of meningococcal, so all people should be aware of the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease, even if they are vaccinated.

For more information on meningococcal disease and the NSW school vaccination program see the NSW Health website(https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/Pages/default.aspx).

Whooping Cough Alerts

There have been two confirmed cases of Whooping Cough (Pertussis) in Year 7 in the past month.

Keep coughing kids home and see your GP.

Whooping cough (also called pertussis) began increasing across NSW towards the end of 2018, especially in children between the ages of 5 and 14 years. NSW Health anticipates that this increase will continue into 2019.

School-aged children who are infected with whooping cough usually experience a troubling cough that can persist for months, but they rarely get severe illness. However they can spread the infection to younger siblings and other more vulnerable people, who are at higher risk of severe disease. Whooping cough can be a life threatening infection in babies.

What can you do to prevent whooping cough?

1. Make sure vaccinations are up to date for all family members
2. Be alert for symptoms of whooping cough
3. Keep coughing kids home, to prevent them spreading the infection to others, and see your GP to get them tested for whooping cough

For more information on Whooping Cough and vaccination visit the NSW Health Website(https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/whoopingcough/Pages/default.aspx)

LATE ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL - notification to families

Late arrivals to school are advised to families each day. Twice per term additional notifications are sent where 3 or more unjustified late arrivals have occurred over each half-term period.

Thank you for your support. Please be advised any explanations for lateness sent via Schoolstream App in the morning may not be processed until after a notification has been sent.

UNIFORM MONITORING

Daily monitoring of school uniform by classroom teachers is now possible via the updated roll marking and student record keeping system we have implemented in 2019.  We are currently trialing a system of checking and recording any out of uniform students once per day. We aim to send notifications to families monthly when 3 or more instances of out of uniform occur.

Thank you to all families for support of wearing school uniform. Please see the Student Information Booklet for uniform requirements.