Gratitude, Humility, Collaboration ISSUE 6 30 APRIL 2021 Assistant Principals Andrew Corr, Tegan Knuckey, Julien Escurat School Captains Kartik Iyer, Udeni Undugodage Principal’s Perspective Welcome Back for Term 2 I hope students, staff, their families and friends have had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday after our very busy and successful term one. I welcome all new students and their families to Balwyn High School. Term 2 with our Pillar of Learning – Learning to Think, Know and Understand - is always a very important time that sees many of our students involved in examinations and major assessment tasks that will take place over coming weeks. Many of these onsite events simply did not take place last year due to Remote Learning and COVID restrictions so we are very much planning for the return to more normal arrangements. Deborah Harman Principal Over 650 VCE students will undertake the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday 9 June and all students will be undertaking a series of School Assessed Coursework (SACs) and ongoing CONTENTS Assessment Learning tasks over the course of the ten weeks of term. All students will benefit from a range of Wellbeing programs that have been planned by our Student Services Team. Year 10 Assistant Principals’ Report students will be finalising their arrangements for their week of Work Experience and there are Senior School Report a large number of Music, Sporting and other co-curricular events that will involve many of our students across all year levels. Middle School Report We have already been thrilled to witness two superb nights of Autumn Concerts this week and International Program it was marvellous to have our music students and conductors able to perform live for the very Student Services large and appreciative audiences. Equally we are getting really excited about our ‘Discovering Balwyn’ open night next week as we showcase our marvellous students, programs, opportunities Music and facilities. While our 2020 Virtual Tour, which replaced an Open Night, was praised by many Sport community members, it does not compare when the campus comes alive with presentations and rich discussions. Thank you in advance to Hamish Anderson, Tegan Knuckey and the many staff Mathematics/Science and students who will contribute this year. Visual Arts It will indeed be a very busy time but I am confident that students will be again fully supported by Humanities their teachers and parents to successfully complete all tasks and continue to enjoy the myriad of opportunities that are available outside of the classroom. News BHS 2021 Strategic Review – ‘Gratitude, Humility, Collaboration’ As part of the Department of Education’s accountability framework, government schools are Calendar of Events expected to conduct an independent review process every four years during the final stages Wednesday 5 May of their current Strategic Plan period. I am confident that this year’s school theme of ‘Gratitude, Discover Balwyn Open Humility, Collaboration’, along with those from 2018-2020 will be consistently referenced and Evening reflected throughout the review process. The review will be led by Carol Every, Associate Director, Valad Solutions, and she will be joined on the panel by Erika Bienert (former Principal of Balwyn North PS) and Paige Williams (Honorary Fellow, University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science, and returning after her role in the 2017 Review) who will act as challenge partners, Grant Roberts (School Council President), Judy Petch (BHS Critical Friend and our Leadership Retreat facilitator for the past 13 years ), and Eva McMaster (North East Victoria Region Senior Education and Improvement Leader). Over the next eight weeks we are required to undertake and complete a far-ranging and rigorous Self-Evaluation process ahead of the four day Review which takes place in late July and early August. We have begun interrogating a range of data sources, academic outcomes covering NAPLAN and VCE results, and recent Staff, Student and Parent Opinion Surveys. Further feedback will be sought from the full range of stakeholders through Focus Group discussions or online survey tools. 1 THE LION© IS A PUBLICATION OF BALWYN HIGH SCHOOL, BUCHANAN AVENUE, NORTH BALWYN, VIC 3104, TELEPHONE +61 9819 7911 [email protected], www.balwynhs.vic.edu.au Assistant Principals Andrew Corr, Tegan Knuckey, Julien Escurat School Captains Kartik Iyer, Udeni Undugodage Principal’s Perspective We should be extremely proud of our achievements over the past four years and I am looking forward to our work being recognised and acknowledged by the Panel. In particular: • our outstanding academic results – VCE, NAPLAN and various extension and enrichment subject competitions: • the quality of our co-curricular programs and the opportunities provided for students; • the success of our acclaimed music and sport programs: • the financial management of the school to provide outstanding facilities that have, and will continue to, support quality teaching and learning – G.Newitt Music Centre extension, the refurbishment of the Raelene Curwood Wellbeing Centre and its Wellness studio, and the rebuilding of B Wing (Deborah Harman Centre for Learning) and C Wing; • the magnificent collaborative work of our teaching staff to continually evaluate and improve instructional practice: • the building of leadership capacity for both students and staff: • our renowned Wellbeing programs and support: • our contributions to the wider government school system as a leading school. It promises to be a fantastic process for us to set the priorities and direction of Balwyn High School for the next four years. Deborah Harman Principal Strategic Review Panel 2017 2 THE LION© IS A PUBLICATION OF BALWYN HIGH SCHOOL, BUCHANAN AVENUE, NORTH BALWYN, VIC 3104, TELEPHONE +61 9819 7911 [email protected], www.balwynhs.vic.edu.au ISSUE 6 30 APRIL 2021 Assistant Principals’ Report 2021 International Student Program Balwyn High School has long been proud of our International Student Program. Overseen by our International Program Director Grace Yin the students are excellent members of our community who contribute significantly to the academic program as well as the broader school experience. The Program has also contributed significantly to school resources including supporting recent developments such as the Robert Handreck Sports Field and the Deborah Harman Centre for Learning – fantastic facilities that improve the school experience for all of our students. At the commencement of 2021, although many schools were unable to continue with their International Student Program, we were determined to continue to support those students who have committed to Balwyn High School and who have contributed so much to our community. Andrew Corr Throughout 2021 we have continued to run two remote learning classes, at Year 10 and Year 11, Assistant Principal for 23 International Students. All of the students have engaged wonderfully with this program and remain committed to attending Balwyn High School when the border restrictions are such that this is possible. Our thanks to the staff who have been committed to the Program and helping these students remain connected members of our school community. Tegan Knuckey Assistant Principal Grace Yin Sharon Mu Siobhan Mahony International Program Director Assistant International Director of International Relations Program Director Shalini Bodhankar Kristina Gourzelas Penelope Williams Paul Mirabella Year 10 English as an Year 10 Humanities Year 10 Health Julien Escurat Unit 3/4 Further Mathematics Acting Assistant Principal Additional Language Paul Gear Rosemary Ward Eleni Kane Biao Lu Year 10 Tutorial Year 10 Mathematics Year 11 English as an Year 10 Science Unit 1/2 Specialist Mathematics Additional language Unit 1/2 Mathematical Methods 3 THE LION© IS A PUBLICATION OF BALWYN HIGH SCHOOL, Return to page 1 BUCHANAN AVENUE, NORTH BALWYN, VIC 3104, TELEPHONE +61 9819 7911 [email protected], www.balwynhs.vic.edu.au ISSUE 6 30 APRIL 2021 Assistant Principals’ Report cont. Middle School Reporting Points - Progress along the Learner Profile Last term, as part of our 'reporting to parents' processes, Reporting Point 1.1 was released. Over weeks 3 - 5 of this term, Reporting Point 1.2 will be released. The structure of these reporting points are identical and there will be many cases where students receive the same judgements on their learning profile from one reporting point to the next. This is not an indication that no progress in their learning behaviour has been made; rather it is an opportunity for a conversation between students and parents/carers regarding what changes have been made and what further changes could be focused on. Each of the statements in the learning profile are observable behaviours that students can work towards engaging in, with teacher assistance, on a consistent basis. These behaviours are important because they will support students to be successful, independent learners once they leave school. Parents/Carers should also note the change in the terms used in the Learning Profile judgements, as indicated below. 1. Enter each class prepared and willing to contribute actively to the learning Beginning (prev. ‘Developing’) Embedding (prev. ‘Consolidating’) Excelling (prev. ‘Extending’) The student is sometimes on The student arrives on time for The student arrives to class time for class. They class usually with the necessary punctually with all sometimes bring the materials