Behavioural Expectations

Last week, Peter Cuskelly and I met with the Year 7 and Year 8 students to restate our position on the behavioural standards expected at the College. This week, I also visited every  Year 5 and Year 6 classroom for a similar reason. At these meetings, we clarified what is and what is not considered appropriate behaviour and reminded students of their obligation to report behaviours that do not fit with our values.

We are in the business of growing great people in a calm and respectful learning environment, and as such, we must hold students accountable for their behavioural choices. At times, this involves working more closely with some students who need their choices to be realigned to meet our standards.

Students sometimes tell me that they fear reporting negative behaviours as in their minds it will make the matter worse. Despite this not being reflected in reality, some students do fear that this may occur and it can be a paralysing feeling. Unfortunately, not reporting negative behaviours only serves to condone the behaviour itself and the students exhibiting these behaviours are sadly encouraged to continue. What is important to focus on is the whole student body is an incredibly powerful force. If the collective group of students acted appropriately to call out their peers and their behavioural choices, it would go a long way to stamping out the low-level niggling behaviours that can fester over time. Students working together with staff can continue to make our College a safe and respectful learning environment for all.

Reporting

If your child has experienced any negative behaviours at the College, it is vital that these matters be reported to staff so that appropriate responses can be undertaken to resolve situations in a timely manner. Below are the appropriate steps in reporting behaviours:

The best practice is for your child to report incidents to the nearest staff member so that the matter can be quickly and efficiently resolved. Alternative methods can include reporting to Luke Holmes (College Counsellor), Jodie Biggar (Middle Leader Middle Years) or myself.

Middle Years Plaza

Construction is now well underway on the Middle Years Plaza upgrade. It has been great to hear the students buzzing about the works and watching the machinery during their breaks. Some classes have even been using the action outside as inspiration for classroom work in determining the area of spaces or talking about technology in real world applications.

Book Week

It was great to see so many students participating in the Book Week celebrations, especially in Year 5 and Year 6. It was lovely to see the creativity and excitement around some of the costumes and the overall promotion of reading among students.

The BookFace competition closes today, so don’t forget to get your entries in if you or your child wants to participate. Winners will be announced at the Middle Years Assembly. Below are some of the entries for this year.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years