From The Principal

The end of term 1 saw some staff leave Aberfoyle Park High School and therefore changes for term 2:

• Leigh Rayner has won a leadership position in another school for the remainder of the year.
• Heather Quinn has left the school.
• Steve Kammermann is on leave for term 2. Sarah Horne has taken on his leadership role for the term.
• Hayley Baker has left to go on maternity leave. We wish her a safe delivery of her second child.
• Rebecca Smitran has left to go on maternity leave. We wish her a safe delivery of her first child.
• Karryn Hutchinson has joined us as the Learning Support Coordinator for the support team for the remainder of the year.
• Harmony Fenoughty has returned from leave and has taken up the role of Year 12 Leader.
• Sofie Cocci has joined us as a science teacher for term 2.
• Jules Hannaford is starting on 15 May as the Coordinator Wellbeing for the next five years.
• Jessica Sterzl-Osborn has joined us as music teacher for term 2.
• Kim Wade has joined us to support the Senior School and International Education.
• Carol Grantham has joined us in Student Services for 10 months.
• Chloe Giles and Sophie Kent will be providing learning support for students.

We have a number of pre-service teachers undertaking their practicums. Sophie Agostino from Flinders University and Boyd Baker and Hunter McFarlane from The University of Adelaide.

Effective teaching and learning needs to occur in a joint agreement between students and teachers to be respectful of each other and requires students to make a commitment to their learning and make choices consistent with respectful behaviours.  It also requires being focussed on the learning opportunities and contribute to a climate of being cooperative and collaborative.

Term 2 features a number of milestones for our year 12 students. Towards the end of the term, our year 12 students and their partners will have the year 12 Formal, an important event as students and staff celebrate together.

Student Free Day

Our second Student Free Day for 2023 was on Monday 1 May. It saw all of our staff undertake the third day of the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM). The day focussed on Stamina and Engagement. Stamina involves sustained effort, perseverance and resilience. Engagement is related to students attending to their learning. We covered emotions and the impact they can have on learning and as educators how we can prime our students for learning. Focusing on success is important so that students who struggle to see themselves as being successful was also explored. We explored mindsets and self-talk.

With respect to stamina the focus was on setting realistic goals and starting small to build the capacity of students in their learning. 

Ultimately the aim is for students to get into flow where there is intense and focussed concentration so much that they lose track of time as they find the learning they are doing relevant, stimulating and purposeful. Throughout the day staff looked at some techniques they could use in working with students in response to individual and groups of students needs. Staff identified things they could do.

Following the Student Free Day our Wellbeing Team will be working with the BSEM consultant to continue to embed some of the strategies we explored. In addition, teachers will be selecting strategies they will be using in their classes.

Our next Student Free Day is on Monday 24 July at the start of term 3. Staff will be involved in the fourth and final day of the BSEM training.

Mobile Phones and Yondr Pouches

Consistent with the requirements that mobile phones are to be in pouches, students need to put their phones into their pouches as soon as they arrive on school grounds. The impact of the mobile phone ban continues to see less distraction in class and different student interactions at recess and lunchtime.

In analysing the achievement data, the following improvements have been noted:

• An improvement in grades for students undertaking year 10 2022 to SACE Stage 1 in 2023 of 6% getting grades of C- or higher and a 2% increase in A and B grades.
• An improvement in grades from students undertaking SACE Stage 1 2022 to SACE Stage 2 in 2023 of 2.5% in A and B grades.

Improvements in achievement from one year to the next have many contributing factors including motivation and maturity. The mobile phone ban would also have had some impact. This term the mobile phone policy will be reviewed to ensure that it is consistent with the Department for Education requirements.

Parent Teacher Interviews Term 1

Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who took the opportunity to discuss the progress of your child(ren) at the interview evening.

As we move into the end of semester 1, it is not too late for students to make plans to improve their achievements. This requires a commitment to:

• complete tasks as they become due and avoid procrastinating
• seeking help from their teachers and peers to be clear about what they are required to do
• attending the additional support provided through the Senior Learning Hub on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3.30pm to 4.30pm on the senior floor or tutoring for year 7 to 9 students on Tuesday from 2.30pm-4.00pm in the glass classroom.

Taking time off school to catch up with school work often leads to falling further behind. If students are having difficulties with assessment tasks they need to speak to their subject teacher in the first instance.