Principal's Message
“Inspiring and empowering members of our school community to achieve their full potential in an inclusive and supportive environment.” |
School Improvements
2022 Sub-School structure
After careful analysis and consultation with stakeholders, which has included surveys, workshops and presentations, the school will change its structure for 2022. The structure will consist of a Year 7-9 Middle School and Year 10-12 Senior School.
Students and staff will work in learning neighbourhoods and learning communities and build community, responsibility, respect and ownership.
This learning hub focus will mean some significant restructuring of spaces in Term 4. Paul Donaldson & Silvana La Leggia are leading this project and will create a timeline outlining the actions that will take place. The aim is to minimise the distractions to student learning and ensure that when we return in 2022 the learning hubs are created to allow for the following.
Our aim is to create spaces that:
- stimulate the senses,
- encourage imagination
- support positive social interaction
- develop personal and social capabilities.
With G block (Science building) out of commission in 2022 we will have to be particularly innovative with how we utilise existing spaces. However, once G block is transformed (opened for learning in 2023) into the STEAM and Senior Learning Hub, our senior students and staff will take ownership of this 21st century flexible learning space. I cannot wait to show you the plans!
2022 THRIVE program
To support our Year 7 & 8 students to achieve their full potential we are creating a unique program called THRIVE.
The definition of THRIVE is to:
- Grow vigorously – flourish
- To gain in wealth or possession – prosper
- To progress towards, or realise a goal, despite or because of circumstances
The THRIVE acronym is the beginning letter of a disposition that students need to develop for ongoing success in their teen and adult life.
Teenagers who THRIVE are:
Happy
Happiness is a state of mind or mood; therefore, nobody is happy all the time. However, teenagers are generally happier when satisfied with their lives and create positive relationships with peers, teachers and of course parents/carers.
Resilient
Successful people are resilient and have grit. The word grit can be defined as ‘passion and perseverance for long-term meaningful goals.’ When failure occurs (and it often does), people who are resilient have the ability to bounce back (they see failure as a learning experience) and continue to stick it out until the important goal is reached.
Inquisitive
The teenage years are a time of search and discovery. Teenagers are particularly curious about their surroundings, opportunities in the world and their place within it. Through the THRIVE program we will support students to develop positive curiosity so they can better navigate their way through life. Curiosity did not always kill the cat!
Valiant
To be valiant (brave/courageous) there must be fear. When people are valiant they push through fear, self-doubt, anxiety, and do the things that feel hard, risky or frightening. Fear and mistakes occur regularly; to develop, students need to embrace them, not avoid them. We want our students to be valiant, not perfect.
Empowered
There is an old saying that still rings true today, “Give a person a fish and you will feed them for a day. Teach them how to fish and you feed them for life.” If teens are empowered they will develop self-confidence, enrich their participation in the classroom, school and the greater community. Students will leave Fairhills High school highly empowered with the ability to catch as many fish as they want!
2022 Year 7 & 8 THRIVE core activities will include:
- Decision making
- Emotional intelligence
- Goal setting
- Growth mindset
- Mindfulness
- Metacognition – thinking about thinking
- Organisational skills
- Positive relationships
- Problem solving
- Study skills
I am excited to be a part of this program and will be a teaching member of the THRIVE community. Really happy to get back into teaching!
Lockdown quotes
I want to share three of my favourite lockdown quotes. It has been a tough term so I hope you get a laugh or some inspiration from reading them.
Quote 1
Quote 2
Quote 3
Future remote learning practices
An effective school never rests on its laurels and should be consistently evaluating practices to gauge impact on student outcomes. In the second last week of Term 3 the students were asked to complete a remote learning survey. The feedback provided will help us shape our Term 4 remote learning practices. Fingers crossed we won’t need them too much!
Please see some of the key data below that the students supplied.
| Survey questions | Positive |
| My teachers provide direct instruction for 10-15 minutes every lesson. | 80% |
| My teachers provide me with learning intentions & success criteria for every lesson. | 87% |
| My teachers provide me with a weekly plan for my learning | 81% |
| I feel the learning activities are about right (not too difficult or easy). | 52% |
| My teachers use Webex breakout rooms to support student discussions. | 56% |
| My teachers are available online during classes if I need support. | 91% |
The best option for future remote learning is:
|
29.5% 40% 30.5%
|
Key points from the data
- The vast majority of students believe that the teachers are adhering to the remote learning expectations e.g. providing direct instruction. This is excellent data.
- Although not currently required teachers are providing a weekly plan to students. Well done teachers!
- A large minority of students believe teachers are not providing enough opportunities for student discussion. Webex breakout rooms is a good avenue for this to occur. However, there are also other methods that the school will examine.
Enjoy your holidays and I hope that our community is able to come back onsite in early Term 4.
Regards
Ian Van Schie
Principal