Principal Report 2

I often talk to our community about the importance of ensuring that we fully prepare our students so that they are ‘opportunity ready’. Whilst we may not know what tomorrow has in store for any of our students, what we can do is equip them with the qualities that they will need to overcome the obstacles that lie ahead. Part of that is the development of our students’ resilience which is something that cannot be taught - we can only provide a series of contexts that have the right level of challenge to help strengthen this within our students. They need to learn to fall and to persevere.

Post-pandemic, the data that we have in school indicates that resilience is low amongst many of our students. Whilst some students thrived, others experienced significant set-backs in their learning over sustained periods. As any parent of any child who struggled through remote learning will testify, a lot of confidence was lost which led to elements of self-doubt creeping in, potentially altering how young people perceive themselves, their future and their sense of purpose. Research from the University of Melbourne also supports this by stating that ‘a sense of connectedness or belonging to school is a significant protective factor for young people and contributes to building their resilience’.

Without the stability of school, students’ capacity to overcome challenges has been impacted.

Research also indicates that students can bounce back, as long as schools provide opportunities to involve community and respond to the wellbeing needs of its students. In order to better gauge what concerns our students currently have, which could be affecting their engagement and sense of connectedness, we conducted the Resilient Youth Survey towards the end of Term 1. This survey has been used by over 1500 schools and it provides a data-set that explores how connected, respected and protected students feel. Their work is informed by the idea that ‘by building resilience in young people, we are empowering them to be able to learn from their mistakes and to understand that failing is okay - it's an integral part of the learning journey’. 

This shift in mindset, post-pandemic, is critical. At every level in school, we will be examining this data and identifying ways that will enable us to move forward and alter the current context that our students are operating within. You will appreciate from my regular updates, our students consistently rise to the challenges that are presented to them by making positive contributions to our school, whether by representing us in the wider community or raising awareness through events. What this feedback indicates though, is that there is still work to be done to repair the damage of the last two years. Whilst we intend to dig deeper by running forums with our students to better understand what the stories are that lie behind the data, we are already putting things in place to address immediate concerns. 

We are about to appoint a member of staff to coordinate our Flexible Learning Intervention Pathway (FLIP) to provide an alternative pathway for those students who need time-out of the classroom in order to recalibrate with our school culture after experiencing difficulties readjusting to full time education in Term 1 of 2022. When we talk about safety within our school, we also mean the safety to learn without interruptions. The opportunities that we want our students to seize are varied, unique to each student and aspirational. We need settled learning environments from Years 7-12 to build resilience and achieve growth. This program will provide online learning, mentorship and time to work on the behaviours that underpin our school values of respect, determination and excellence.

We are also about to embark on improvements right across the school to ensure that the environment is supportive of our students’ wellbeing needs. Whilst, as yet, we have not experienced the significant funding that other high schools across Ballarat have been afforded, we will work within our means to make things better. I have been overwhelmed by the responses from students who want be involved in the design and upgrade of our toilets. Our students deserve the best conditions right across the board and they need their voice to be heard within any changes that we make. Whilst we may not have significant financial resources at our disposal, we do have a community that is willing to work together. I am committed to improving facilities for students and we will aim to improve toilet facilities so that they are safe, clean and inclusive. 

The School Council will be setting up a sub-committee focusing on ‘Community and Communication’. The committee’s aim is to strengthen the communication between families and school, as well as strengthening the support that the community gives to our students. I would dearly love families to be able to communicate what support that they need and what changes they would like to make. One area that I would like to explore is improving the landscaping and physical environment of our school. If you are a parent or carer who feels that you would be willing to be involved in this project, in any way, please contact me at   stephen.fields@education.vic.gov.au   to discuss further.

Let’s address the concerns our students face together, so that they grow resilient enough to overcome anything that comes their way.