Shining Lights Week 7, Term 4, 23/11/2023
Our community
The last half of Term 4 is always a time of consolidating student learning with assessment tasks, tying up loose ends and wrapping things up, both figuratively and literally. However, wandering around the school in the past couple of weeks, the thing that has struck me the most is how welcoming we are at Lumen Christi during this time of year.
A little over a week ago the Lumen Christi Social Justice Advocates had the fortune of hosting a group of refugee families in the school for the day. The staff and students were amazed at some of the stories that these wonderful visitors had, but overall the most common thread of conversation was about how happy they were despite all the adversity they had faced in the past.
Some bright smiling young faces have been gracing the grounds during Kinder orientation. A couple of nervous faces as well, but they were mainly from the adult visitors ready to embark their kids on this exciting next chapter.
Students in Year 8 have been busily planning ‘Orientation Packs’ for the incoming Yr 7’s orientation day. Each Yr 8 had to plan and provide a small bag full of items which represent life at Lumen Christi. There are plenty of crosses symbolising Christ, some painted rocks, and stationary to represent learning etc. A lot of time and thought has been placed into how they can welcome the newcomers appropriately.
The St Vincent de Paul Christmas hamper is well underway and PC baskets are filling up with goodies ready for the local Vinnies representatives to distribute. Please support this hamper drive as best as you can. The look of thanks and appreciation on the faces of the St Vincent de Paul volunteers on the day we hand over the hampers is one of the most sincere moments of gratitude I have experienced as a teacher and it is great knowing that we as a school can contribute to the wider community at the most basic of levels.
So yes, Term 4 is a time of endpoints but it is also a time of new beginnings and a reminder of how vibrant and welcoming our community is.
Student Reception/Processing Plant/Jail
These are all names that have been used in reference to our new Classroom Behaviour Management approach, which began at the start of this term. We’ve been monitoring referrals (on average 35 students referred and 21 referral teachers each week) and have collected qualitative evidence through an anonymous student sample survey (89 students from Years 5, 7.3, 8.3, 9.3,10.3 and Year 12) and an anonymous staff survey. I’d like to respond to some of the points that were raised in these surveys, often by both students and staff. If you wish to find out more about our new approach, please contact me on Antoinette.Woods@cg.catholic.edu.au
The term “processing” is dehumanising. The “processing teacher” is the person to whom the students are referred, who collects them from the classroom and takes them to the Student Reception desk. The interactions are intended to be low key and business-like to ensure the focus is on getting the student back into the classroom as quickly as possible. The systematic approach is designed to help students self-regulate. More pastoral conversations occur outside of this process - with the counsellor, Heads of House, Heads of Faculty, Learning Support and classroom teachers.
The Student Reception desk is disturbing students in the Senior Study. We’ve known all along that the desk was not in an ideal location but needed to put it somewhere initially. There are plans to move it to outside the Uniform Shop, once we get the phone connection sorted.
Many students need additional support and classroom teachers need to differentiate their teaching. Instructions need to be fair and reasonable, allowing for the individual needs of each student. Many students struggle to stay focused and engaged in their learning in noisy, disruptive environments. Students benefit from explicit instruction, both in their academic learning and for behavioural expectations. By maintaining high expectations that classrooms are places of learning, teachers can focus more on how to differentiate the learning than on responding to persistent, low-level distractions. This new system can also promote more timely conversations between teachers and parents about strategies to support those needing additional support.
The same students keep getting referred. Teachers still use their traditional classroom management strategies such as seating plans or moving students. However, some students have been referred multiple times by multiple teachers and parents have been asked to come in to discuss how we can work together to support the learning of their child in a way that allows their peers to also learn. Some students have been given a monitoring card where they can focus on a couple of key areas such as being organised or staying in their seat. If these strategies do not lead to improved behaviour, then some students have been given a short, strategic suspension. This system is about nurturing respectful learning environments, not just compliance for compliance sake. Every student belongs in the classroom and they’re at school to learn.
Has this new approach made any difference? A range of comments from the surveys:
- Absolutely nothing has changed. (Student Survey)
- People aren't really changing, They are adapting to the system and working around it. Boundary pushing will always happen, but all this does is shift the problem. (Student Survey)
- Quieter, more respectful and a better learning environment (Student Survey)
- Some people becoming more aware of what they are doing (Student Survey)
- Pastoral staff have been able to focus on more significant Pastoral matters ensuring the safety and wellbeing of students at our school. (Staff Survey)
- Calmer classroom and the corridor is calmer during class change - less students at lockers between class (Staff Survey)
- Students are beginning to recognise and describe the expectations for responsible behaviour. This is helping them change their behaviour and teachers reinforce their expectations for a productive learning environment. (Staff Survey)
