Berry Street Education Model
Our school has an ongoing goal towards improving the wellbeing of all students, which is why we’ve decided to renew our commitment to the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM). Since 2019, Boronia Heights PS has been embedding the principles of BSEM into our daily routines and teaching practices with great success. The School Improvement Team felt it was important to upskill all staff once again, especially given that we have many teachers and ES who weren’t at the school back in 2019. There are five domains as part of BSEM: Body, Stamina, Engagement and Character, which are all anchored by Relationship. On our curriculum day last Friday, all staff met in the gym to learn about the first domain of the BSEM which focuses on the Body.
Staff learned about the impacts of stress and trauma on child development and how we can help kids manage themselves during difficult times. Stress is not necessarily a bad thing all the time, but there is an optimum level that helps our performance. If there’s too little stress, we become bored or lose attention; too much stress can make us feel overwhelmed and unable to concentrate on learning. There are things we can all do to manage our stress levels, such as breathing exercises, art activities, movement activities and even the use of humour to regulate ourselves.
The ways you will see us working with the kids to help them self-regulate is to have Consistent and Predictable Routines. These routines happen in every classroom every day. Here are the ways we help support student engagement, build wellbeing and create positive classroom communities:
- Classrooms are open at 8:45am to allow kids and parents to see the teacher before lessons begin at 9am. Not only is this a positive way to connect school and home, it also maximises the precious learning time available to us.
- Teachers and students start each day with a circle routine which involves six steps:
- Greeting: students sit or stand in a circle and give each other a handshake or fist bump while saying “good morning” to each other.
- Values: daily reminder to CARE (Community, Achievement, Respect and Engagement).
- Expectations: the teacher shares an expectation for positive behaviour for the day.
- Announcements: a chance to share class news such as birthdays and celebrations.
- Positive Primer: usually a quick game, movement activity or song.
- What Went Well: a chance for the kids to share three things that went well during morning circle.
- Lesson structures include times for short (less than 4 minutes) brain breaks which could involve stretching, rhythmic activities, poetry or memorisation tasks.
- Ready to Learn Scales are visible in each classroom that encourage kids to identify their preparedness to engage in the lesson. These are not opportunities for students to opt-out of learning, but they do help the teacher take notice of who to check in with.
- Teachers also develop routines for entering classrooms, moving between activities and lessons, reflecting on learning outcomes and preparing for break times.
These routines are fundamental to the way we teach kids at BHPS. As we continue to integrate the Berry Street Education Model into our school community, we are committed to ongoing professional development for our staff which will involve another curriculum day this year and two next year. I will update you regularly with the work we’re doing to empower kids to thrive academically, socially and emotionally.
NAPLAN: Use of iPads
NAPLAN testing for Year 3 and 5 students will be happening between March 13 and 25. More information will be given to parents and carers in Years 3 and 5 as we get closer to the testing window. With NAPLAN testing being fully online now (with the exception of Year 3 writing) I would like to emphasise the importance of maintaining your child’s iPad so that it’s in the best condition to access the tests. Please ensure that your child charges the device each day, brings it to school and has a fully functioning keyboard. Teachers will be preparing the kids by conducting practice tests which involve them accessing the NAPLAN Locked-down browser application. This will happen regularly between now and March 13. Ensuring the iPads are in good condition will help us enormously.
Coming Soon: Tag On program for Years 5 and 6 students
I’m excited to announce an innovative program that Knox Council and the school are partnering to deliver called “Tag On”. The purpose of Tag On is to encourage students to use active transport, such as walking or riding to school, and therefore promote healthy lifestyle through physical activity. What it involves is the students receiving a physical “tag” in the colour of their house (red, green, blue and yellow). Each day, the kids can tap their tag on a digital kiosk attached to the wall near their classrooms, then indicate how they arrived at school today. Points are awarded according to their method of transport, with more points given for walking and riding. The school can track these points and reward houses for their active participation each term. Emails can then be sent to parents to let them know their child has arrived safely. This initiative will begin Term 2, with parents given the opportunity to opt out if you wish. A video explaining how the system works can be seen at this website: https://www.tagon.net.au/video/
A letter explaining this program will be sent to all families of students in Years 5 and 6 in the coming weeks.
Enjoy your weekend!
Mat Anderton
Principal