The Chronicle Issue 4

Dear Parents Guardians, Friends and Students

As each year starts the staff across the College are excited to welcome our student cohort back and eager to work with new students to engage them in our curriculum and assist them to come to an understanding of the College’s expectations. Each young person comes with their own unique story. It always takes time to build a relationship that allows staff to have challenging conversations that encourage our young people to strive to achieve excellence in their school work and for some, this is around behaviour as well. Every one of us has some area that we should be able to improve.

The staff have been working tirelessly to achieve this, they truly believe that we are Stronger Together and in working collaboratively with our parents and guardians we can achieve amazing things. Some of the students take longer than others to embed the core values of Respect, Excellence, Honesty and Tolerance. Our staff are outstanding in their capacity to walk alongside these students showing them the Edmund Rice College way. We have developed several policies, procedures and documents over the years that guide our work in the College.

I would like to talk about a couple of these here. They have been developed to assist the students to take individual responsibility for their behaviours because we all know that if each one of the students did the best that they could at all times then our classes and the College would flourish.

Each year we ask the students to sign a ‘Student Undertaking’. It covers that Rights and Responsibilities and rules around the use of ICT in the College. I have included the opening section here for your information. Young people are very good at stating what their rights are but can at times ignore the responsibility that comes with that right.

STUDENT UNDERTAKING

The gospel outlines attitudes of life in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) and asks Christians to seek these. The rights and responsibilities associated with all members of the Edmund Rice College community spring from these.

Students are responsible for their own development and will demonstrate this by:

• Willing participation in the organised activities of the College
• Voluntary involvement in groups and teams
• Working co-operatively with staff in the College

Students attending the College are expected to wear the correct uniform, as prescribed.

Edmund Rice College’s Behaviour Support model assists students to learn self-control, self –discipline and make responsible choices in their interactions with all members of the College Community. In assisting students in our College Community to achieve personal growth, staff will assist students to respond appropriately and work with those who require individual intervention in order to move towards achieving changes in their behaviour.

Below are the Rationale and Key Principals from our Behaviour Support Model.

Rationale

• Edmund Rice College’s Behaviour Support model entails guiding students towards self-control, self –discipline and responsible choice in their interactions with all members of the College Community.
• In assisting students in our College Community to achieve such personal growth, it is recognised that a clear Behaviour Support model assists staff in responding appropriately to students who require individual intervention in order to move towards achieving changes in their behaviour.

Key Principles

• Responses to student behaviour should always be fair, reasonable and in the spirit of both the Gospel Values and the teachings of Blessed Edmund Rice so that the dignity and self–esteem of our students is maintained at all times.
• Students often need assistance to identify, practice and internalise appropriate ways of behaving in both a classroom and community context.
• While all teachers accept primary responsibility for behaviour support in their classrooms; additionally all staff in the College Community accept responsibility for guiding student behaviour. It is a team effort
• That students should experience both a safe physical and emotional classroom environment in which learning can take place
• That all teachers constantly review their teaching practices with the view to implement strategies to minimise potential behaviour problems by ensuring the delivery of engaging curriculums that effectively include all students in the classroom.

Stronger Together is the essence of everything we do. We do all of our work through a unique lens and this is reinforced for me each time we work with a student who is struggling to meet College expectations. I often question myself and others by asking ‘What would Jesus do?’. He is our guide and the one we turn to, particularly in times of need. We don’t always get everything right, but I want you to know that your students are always paramount in our thinking and their best interests are always our first consideration.

If you have any concerns about your son or daughter, please do not hesitate to ring the College and speak to someone.

1.  In the first instance, your child’s classroom teachers or house parents are the first port of call.
2.  If you still have concerns, then the next step is our House Coordinators or Boarding Team Leader.
3.  If you are still not happy, with boarding matters it would be our Head of Boarding.
4.  Next it would be our Deputy Principal
5.  And finally the Principal.

These steps are important because often the classroom teacher or house parent can listen to you and deal with anything straight away. They are also the people who spend the most time with your son/daughter and have a unique insight into them and their interactions with others. No concern or question is too small or insignificant. It is always easier if we can catch things early.

God Bless,

Marie Barton
Principal

National Reconciliation Week 2022

27 May to 3 June

Find out more about National Reconciliation Week #NRW2022 #BeBraveMakeChange or click on the link below:

Home

The National Reconcilation Week 2022 theme, “Be Brave. Make Change.” is a challenge to all Australians – individuals, families, communities and government – to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians.

Last year Reconciliation Australia encouraged all Australians to take action, not just in National Reconciliation Week but every week of the year.

We saw unprecedented response to our suggested actions for everyday and for braver action.

This year we are asking eveyrone to make change beginning with brave actions in their daily lives – where they live, work, play and socialise.

National Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June – is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Student Life

In recent weeks students in years 7 and 9 completed their NAPLAN testing. Teaching staff supported students through this process to ensure that all students completed the required tests by the completion of the testing window. Results will be received later in the year and will be forward to parents and guardians once received. Additionally, in the previous week, students in year 12 also completed their Externally Set Tasks (EST) as set by SCSA. Student scripts have been collated, scanned, and uploaded for moderation purposes.

On May 5, students and staff celebrated Edmund Rice Day with a school liturgy, shared morning tea and competed in the Interhouse Cross Country event. It was a wonderful day of celebration for all involved.

On May 27, year 10-12 students participated in the opening celebrations of Northam TAFEs Reconciliation week. Students were welcomed to country with a smoking ceremony with traditional dancers and musicians complementing the smoking ceremony. Students were also treated to lunch and various other cultural activities and workshops, sharing stories and knowledge with others.

Teacher Life

As I walk through classes and speak with the teaching staff, I am always amazed at just how much teachers do.  Teaching is a rewarding profession, and as a teacher and a parent, I never want to forget what teachers do every day that goes above and beyond their job responsibilities. Because teachers do a lot. In fact, I noticed that in talking with many people that more understanding is needed, regarding all that goes into teaching, so I thought I would share some of what I have observed, teaching staff doing at Edmund Rice College.

1. We plan… a lot. Teachers plan all year round. With changing technology and pedagogy around in education and curriculum there are always changes to be made. We plan and create lessons, activities, and assessments… then we modify them…then tweak them… and then change again to differentiate in the classroom.
2. We Care. Teachers care like crazy. We want every student to be successful and will try anything to have them succeed and feel valued and respected in our school community. Often this leads to many discussions on ‘what to do’ and hours spent outside of the classroom working with students to overcome insecurities and difficulties. We sincerely want all the students in our classes to succeed and do well.
3. We are Lifelong Learners. Teachers are always learning whether it is formally or informally, so that we continue to grow professionally. Schools are changing and teachers are changing with them. We value a good lesson over an easy one and learning is in our DNA, and we want our students to embrace lifelong learning.
4. We Take Our Profession Seriously. We are in constant discussion with our colleagues on how we can improve education, student engagement and achievement. We spend hours organising and making our classes inviting spaces for students to learn in. Many teachers at Edmund Rice College write and read blogs, participate in online learning and webinars all so that we can stay abreast of new educational pedagogy and ideas.
5. We do Much More than Teach. Sure, we teach every day, but we do more than just teach. We listen, comfort, and set high expectations for our students. We challenge them to be better and hold them accountable for their actions. We listen to our students fears and their dreams and we celebrate their success and use failure as an opportunity for growth and development.

Thank you to all the teachers and teaching support staff, residential staff, kitchen and maintenance and administration staff and the leadership team. We are all teachers, and we all want the absolute best for your children. We are all stronger together and together we will continue to provide the best care and education for your children as we can.

Tracey Crisp
Deputy Principal

On Thursday 5 May we came together as a family and celebrated Eddie Rice day a little bit differently this year, with the COVID pandemic putting a hold on some of our usual celebrations.

We celebrated the day by having a shared morning tea together and then we moved into the Chapel for a Liturgy and celebration of Blessed Edmund Rice’s life and accomplishments and to be thankful for him, as without him none of us would be here at the College.

After lunch we moved to our annual Cross Country event, to finish the day with a great race by every student. The first few students across the line won the privilege to represent the College at the ACC later in the term. Mckye Blake in Year 11 had the fastest overall time of any student. We even saw myself and Sister Tash tackle the 4km track with the students.

All in all it was a great day full of celebration and fun that will only be built upon when COVID is a distant memory and we can bring back the fete style activity part of Eddie Rice Day.

Scott Smith
Pastoral Care Coordinator