From the Deputy Principal, Secondary

From the Deputy Principal, Secondary

2019 Year 11 and Year 12 Orientation Week

From Monday 26 – Thursday 29 November 2018, all Year 10 and 11 students will need to be at Blackfriars for their 2019 Orientation Week.

Year 10s will focus on preparing for their Research Project and the Year 11s will participate in introductory Year 12 lessons to provide them with an appetite for what lies ahead. Two of the days will be dedicated to study skills, drug education, mental health and 21st Century job skills. UniSA and Adelaide University will also be facilitating workshops at Blackfriars during this time.

A final agenda for the week will be sent to students and families at the end of this term.

Year 12s and Stress

Year 12 can be both challenging and exciting. During their final year of school, there are lots of strategies students can use to keep things in perspective and to manage any stresses that come along. This is a great time to revisit them with your son. Please see the link provided from Beyond Blue for further information. http://resources.beyondblue.org.au/prism/file?token=BL/1331

21st Century Learning and Student/Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations

When I hold my one-year old daughter I wonder what she will do with her life and how the world will look when she is an adult. I know that I desperately want her to be confident and happy in who she is. She will need skills to survive this changing world. She will need: faith, integrity, persistence, emotional resilience, ethical thinking, creativity, inquisitiveness, a multicultural and global world view, social and emotional intelligence, collaboration, and a passion for trying new things and doing new things. Her skills in coding, science, maths, communication and problem solving will be imperative as Artificial Intelligence and automation drastically alter her adult world.

Your son is also entering this evolving world and the exciting frontier of effective 21st Century Learning. We strive to equip our boys with the life skills that enable them to thrive in the dynamic 21st Century.  A critical ingredient to a thriving and happy boy is his family life and mental wellbeing. The importance of the partnership we have with our families cannot be overstated. Our Student/Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations are an opportunity for face to face dialogue about how we can partner together to give your son the best chance he has to become happy in who he is called to be.

Please note the following regarding the upcoming Student/Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations:

• Wednesday 5 September 2018, 2:00pm – 8:00pm
• Please note students will be dismissed at 1:00pm
• The Edval Interview portal closes at 10:00pm on Monday 3 September

Your son has been given a letter with your login details and procedures for booking your time slots to bring home with him a number of weeks ago.  If you did not receive your login letter, please speak with your son. We ask you to take the opportunity to book, as the partnership we develop with families is a critical ingredient to your son’s success. 

The conversations are not built on a deficit model but begin from a strengths-based approach. The aim of the evening is to keep your son central to the discussion, to ensure that his needs, developmental stage, strengths and perspective are considered and listened to.

A strengths-based approach is one founded on the following beliefs:

• All people have strengths and capacities.
• People change and grow through their strengths and capacities.
• People are the experts on their own situation.
• The problem is the problem: the person is not the problem.
• Problems can blind people from noticing and appreciating their strengths and the capacity to find their own solutions.
• People have good intentions.
• People are doing the best they can.

A strengths-based approach does not mean issues or concerns are not raised – rather it includes strengths in the conversation and ensures that the negative aspects are not the sole focus of the conversation.  Often solutions to problems can be found when strengths are identified.  It can also be a way to enable the conversation to keep moving forward and not become stuck in negativity and helplessness.

Honour Roll

Attached below is the Term 2 Honour Roll. This acknowledges our students' outstanding academic performance throughout the term . These results are a credit to the students and we commend them for their achievements and hard work. 

Mr David Ruggiero

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL, SECONDARY (ACTING)