There are exciting announcements to be made
But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' 1 Samuel 16:7
It has been announced this week that Mr Richard Smith has accepted the role of Assistant Principal - Head of Primary. Mr Smith is currently working in the primary leadership group at St Stephen’s College on the Gold Coast where he has been instrumental in improving student wellbeing, family connections and has refashioned the curriculum with a personalised learning focus. We are currently planning to welcome Mr Smith on his official start at the commencement of Term 3.
Athletics Carnivals
I had the opportunity this week to spend time with the students at both the junior primary and secondary events. The participation this year was truly amazing. I was proud, not only of the student performances but also the house spirit shown throughout the two events. Tomorrow is the upper primary school event and we are monitoring the weather to see if the event can continue. There has been no decision regarding Bishop Druitt College hosting the NCIS Athletics Carnival, as is the normal process. We will know more in the coming week regarding this decision. I am however pleased to announce that Mr Martin (Marty) Kelleher has been appointed by NCIS as their new administrator. Mr Kelleher will continue to be based at BDC and will support Mrs Beth Hilton when she returns from leave on 1 July. I wish to thank all staff and the Year 9 students who supported the carnivals. The results will be announced in the coming weeks.
Perspectives Survey
I wish to thank parents who completed the Perspectives Survey during April. The results have been collated and presented to our College Council at our last meeting in May. I was very pleased with the results and it is a testament to our whole community. I wish to thank all parents who took the time to complete this survey.
There were five Domains surveyed:
- School Environment (vision, values, faith formation, safety, physical environment)
- Teaching and Learning (teacher planning and knowing students, teaching and learning practices, inclusive learning and professional learning)
- Student Wellbeing (social and emotional learning, respectful relationships, inclusivity and equity)
- Leadership (growing leaders, leading teaching and learning, leadership practices, engaging with the community)
- Community (communication, reporting)
The report was constructed on a 6 point scale from strongly disagreeing to strongly agreeing. The results were very promising in almost all areas with the vast majority of the surveyed parameters being positively skewed. (i.e. the majority of the responses are on the positive side of the ledger suggesting respondents hold more positive sentiments).
There are a number of key areas to be proud of throughout the data. They are in survey order only. These areas rated above 5 in all areas.
- Religion and Faith
- Physical Environment
- Design Learning
- Quality Pedagogical Practices
- Inclusive Learning
- Respectful Relationships
- Inclusivity and Equality
- Reputation
There are a few areas identified in the data where attention could be given. Gathering this data is the principal reason for conducting an externally managed survey and these dimensions will form part of our 2021 school improvement plan. From a student learning perspective student goal setting, progress tracking and communication needs more attention. The College Leadership Team is currently investigating ways to improve these areas. It should, however, be noted that this focus area was also in the satisfactory range.
All other data is in the 4 to 5 range.
Patterns from parental comments:
- Improvement in communication (timeliness/response rate, proofreading, and style - particularly on social media and TASS parent communication)
- Sharing school values and mission in the newsletter
- Updating the parent lounge and school calendar more regularly
- More opportunities for parent-teacher contact (online, email and face to face)
- Extra learning support would be welcome for low and high achievers
- Sharing assessment feedback with students and parents
- More personal comments in semester reports
- More vocational education options
- More clarity and consistency in behaviour management and uniform standards
These points will be added to the 2021 School Improvement Plan if they are unable to be addressed in this calendar year. We expect to complete this comprehensive survey every two years.
Enrolment for 2021 and 2022
Enrolment places are still available for both the BDC Coffs Harbour Campus and the proposed BDC Northern Beaches Campus at Woolgoolga for Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2.
If you know of parents interested in finding out more information regarding the BDC Northern Beaches Kindy to Year 4 Campus please direct them to 42 Beach Street, Woolgoolga (open weekdays from 9am to 12 noon) or to contact the school to make an appointment with the Enrolments Officer, the Acting Head of Primary or the Principal.
Nick Johnstone
Principal