Principal's Report

Mr Warren Dawson

Coming to Bayswater Secondary College is a fantastic opportunity for me to work with all of the students, parents, staff and the local community. I have been really encouraged by my initial conversations with students and staff throughout my first week and I’m confident that there are a large number of positives within our learning community. I’d also like to take the time to thank Mr Bruce Churchward for his effort throughout Term 3, as Acting Principal. His measured and calm approach was certainly appreciated by staff, students and the community of Bayswater.

As Principal I will work with staff and students to further develop the teaching and learning program at Bayswater and there are a number of areas of focus for the next twelve months and beyond. Firstly, there will be a whole school focus on improving literacy (reading and writing) for all students. This important area of focus will also be supported by staff participating in detailed literacy training in an effort to improve student learning in all subject areas.

Additionally there will also be a focus on improved use of technology to improve student learning. As part of this focus, we are currently planning on introducing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Program to Bayswater in 2016. Students will be able to bring their own devices (such as tablets, iPads, laptops etc) to school to be connected to the school network. A small, once only, connection fee will allow students to connect to the Bayswater SC network so that students will have improved access to the internet and other services to assist with their learning. Workshops will be run for both staff and students throughout next year to help improve understanding of the latest digital technologies. We will also look to run information learning sessions for any interested parents. At Year 7 for 2016, we would strongly advise parents that iPad learning will be a focus, given its relatively cheap cost and versatility as a device. The College will make every effort to support student learning through upgrades to our existing Network to ensure consistent connection and learning opportunities.

Another area of focus will be improving our connections within the local and wider community. Despite our small size, we will be making further improvements in our teaching and learning program by using the surrounding community to ensure that students receive the highest quality level of education available to them. We will also be looking to expand on our Student Leadership programs and formal student leadership positions will be available to interested students.

Finally, I attended the first “Education State” briefings last week and the outline for the next 3-4 years is certainly very exciting. There are improvements in overall funding for all schools which will be used to improve teaching and learning programs. All schools will also be moving to the Victorian Curriculum by 2017, with new areas of study and new learning programs being offered within schools. It is my intention that Bayswater will be heavily focused on building a high quality education program which is engaging but challenging in nature. I am definitely confident that our students here at Bayswater are capable of achieving terrific results so we will be working extremely hard to develop the learning programs that will help them achieve success in the on-coming years.

I would also welcome parent feedback and involvement in our school. If you would like to raise any concerns or are interested in helping us make better connections within the community please feel free to contact the College to make an appointment. I should also mention that we are wishing our Senior students the very best over the next few weeks as they move towards their final exams. Have a fantastic Term 4!

Regards,

Warren Dawson

Principal

Bayswater Secondary College