Principal's Message
City Guy Reflections
I live in Melbourne and travel back to my home on weekends. I feel a bit sad because, under normal circumstances, I would spend time in the community that I serve. With family, friends and a place to look after, this is not possible.
I am impressed by Bairnsdale in general, but it is the people that are most precious. Your children have hopes, dreams and aspirations which fill me with wonder and joy. Further, I have never met such a dedicated group of teachers who are committed to supporting students to realise their dreams.
I organised a meeting with most of the Primary School principals from the surrounding area on Friday to discuss their perceptions of our school and what we could do better. They were honest and forthcoming, which was helpful. One of the common themes was our need to keep talking the school up and promoting positive news stories out into the environment. Word of mouth is such a strong driver of people's perceptions. It is what you say that spreads in the community.
I challenged the group by saying that every Bairnsdale child is our child, regardless of which school they attend. The group agreed.
I hope everyone in the Bairnsdale community can work together to make us as strong as a school can be to support its future citizens.
School Athletics Day
Wow! I have never seen anything like it. Staff and students alike dressed up and cheered each other on as they competed in the track and field events. The day was very chilly, but that did not dampen the spirits of the crew. A sea of colour on the field made it a fun time to celebrate the wonderful personalities of our students and staff. I didn't pack my colours so felt very left out (as you can see in the photo below).
Using Kind Words
We are having a focus on making sure the words we use every day are kind and are thoughtful to those who might hear them. In these days of multi-media, it is easy to think that swearing is normal. Movies have a lot of foul language and it can seem that everybody is saying everything and there are no rules of kindness left in the world.
I'd like to think that we could use kind words that do not have a harsh sound. It is not up to me to tell parents and students what to say inside their homes - that is none of my business. What I do know is that the world is a happier place when the words we use in public are considerate of others and not offensive. As a school, we are working on our reputation. I think we can enhance our reputation by being mindful of the words we decide to use when others can hear them.
Can I ask that this is supported around the College, please?
Parent Opinion Survey
WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!
Bairnsdale Secondary College is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our college. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst a sample of randomly selected parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. Our college will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
Approximately 30 per cent of parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Friday 1st August to Sunday 11th August 2019.
The survey will be conducted online, only takes 10-15 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.
The survey results will be reported back to the college at the end of September and communicated out to parents through the annual reporting.
Please contact the college on 5150 4800 if you would like more information.