Dear parents and carers,

As we near the halfway mark of term 4, we have already seen so much celebration of learning and events, both within Bursaria Learning Place and school wide. As a Learning Place, we have been exploring the inquiry topic - Cultures and Celebrations. We have and will continue to focus on current local and worldwide celebrations, their origins and their meaning, and will, as much as possible, link this learning to the investigations and explorations that are made within all core subjects.

Some of the investigative celebrations that we have explored are acknowledged below...

World Teachers Day

On Friday October the 27th, we celebrated World Teachers Day and the fantastic work our teaching staff do to support the learning of the students at our school. I believe I speak on behalf of all the students, families and staff when I say a big THANK YOU to all teachers for the work you in providing every opportunity, for every student, every day!

The Educators of Bursaria Learning Place

Excursions

At the end of term 3, students from both Banksia and Bursaria Learning Places participated in an excursion to the Melbourne Arts Centre to view the ‘Carnival of the Animals’ performance. The students were a fantastic representation for the school, displaying the school values of Being Kind to themselves, each other and the environment, whilst out in the community.

Incursions

During week 4 of this term, the school hosted 'Polyglots Paper Planet' in the stadium. Within this incursion, students were provided the opportunity to engage in everything paper! (See the Rest of the School page for further information about the event). Many thanks must go to our Visual Art staff, Janelle and Kesh, for organising the event.

Halloween

On Monday October 30th and Tuesday October 31st, the students of Bursaria Learning Place facilitated multiple school wide Halloween specific events. In addition to organising and inviting all students to be a part of a two day dress up for the event, they also organised a ‘Trick or Treat’ event which was hosted in Bursaria and facilitated by the students, as well as a whole school Halloween parade. Acknowledge must go to Karen B for supporting and overseeing the event.

Donations

As a new growing school, and within Bursaria Learning Place, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our teaching practice, and the programs and opportunities we provide our students. We endeavour to provide learning opportunities that will not only prepare and benefit them during their time whilst they're at school, but also in preparation for their life after school.

It is with much appreciation that I acknowledge and thank the recent donations from many of our families. The items and resources that have been provided to both Bursaria Learning Place and our school, will evidently assist in allowing us to create and implement various purposeful, future programs!

If you still wish to donate items you believe may be relevant to programs such as independent living - cooking and housekeeping, horticulture, and personal and social skills, please contact your child's teacher or myself to organise a day and time to have them sent in.

Breakfast Club

To assist in preparing our students for each day of learning whilst at school, we have begun the implementation and roll out of our Learning Place Breakfast Club. Working in conjunction with food donated by Foodbank, we are providing all students with the opportunity to each day opt in and participate in the morning program. The thinking behind the habitual offering of breakfast, and as acknowledged by Foodbank, is that:

‘students who participate in the School Breakfast Clubs Program are better able to concentrate, have improved social skills and are more punctual to school. The program encourages a whole-of-school approach to healthy eating and builds an inclusive, supportive school community.’

So far, we have seen positive outcomes to the program, with some days having up to 50% of our student cohort participate in the program.

Projects with Purpose

At the beginning of term 3, the staff of Bursaria Learning Place embarked on the journey of creating, implementing, and regularly refining an applied learning program that we have named - Projects with Purpose. The program aims to provide students with opportunities to choose, participate and engage in purposeful projects. The underlying focus of the program is for as many of the sub-programs as possible to interlink with one another, with the projects being created, being sold to the community, with the profits made going back into support the programs growth, making it a self-sustainable program.

Buddy Program

Working in collaboration with the early years/prep students in Peppermint Learning Place, our older students in Bursaria Learning Place have been provided weekly opportunities since the end of term 3, to attend learning sessions with their junior peers. The idea behind the program is to form relationships across the school, whereby mentoring friendships are formed, and an inclusive community is promoted.

SWPBS

Throughout the semester, a large focus of learning for the students in Bursaria Learning Place has been around being 'respectful' to others, and what that looks like in various settings. We have discussed the notion of public and private, the concept of familiar and unfamiliar people, and what being a 'good sport' looks like. We will continue to unpack this area of learning, so as to continually develop our student's resilience and personal and social capabilities.

Summer is coming…

As we move into the warmer months, it is requested that all students come to school prepared and with the appropriate protective gear. It is recommended that students arrive at school each day with a wide brim sun hat, clothing that has good coverage, and a refillable drink bottle with fresh water.

Upcoming Curriculum Day!

Just a reminder to all our families that on Monday, November 6th, the school will be holding our fourth and final curriculum day for the year. This will mean that students will have a 4-day weekend, as Tuesday is the Melbourne Cup Public Holiday. (For more information about future dates, please see the Important Dates & Information page).

Wishing the EHSS community a happy long weekend ahead!

Kind regards,

Tim Witcombe

Leading Teacher - Bursaria Learning Place

Bursaria 4A

Middle Secondary Years