Balfron Matters
Monday 12 September 2022
Weekly communication for staff
Dear colleagues,
It is with sadness and respect that we acknowledge the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. Our flag has now been removed to bring us in line with protocol. As part of Operation Unicorn, Secondary Head Teachers in Stirling have been instructed to read The Proclamation to young people. This will happen at the beginning of period 1 after the S5/6 assembly. A small complication is that listening to The Proclamation is optional, so a tannoy will explain that during Form Time and invite those interested to come to the Theatre. You may be aware that The proclamation has been read in churches and in town halls on Sunday. Stirling’s Accession Proclamation of King Charles III was made by Provost Douglas Dodds on Sunday 11 September at 1pm on King Street.
To ensure that the social areas are safe and orderly, I would really appreciate your help to supervise at breaks and lunch. If you could give time please put your initials in the time and a place on the availability rota. It is great where we have multiple people in places - for company and back up.
Massive thanks to the Project Leads who delivered a fantastic session for S4 and S5 parents on the Science of Learning last week. Informal feedback was highly positive and there was a lovely, positive buzz in the sessions. It was great to reconnect with parents in person.
I have had some positive feedback on the Parent Padlet. Please do take a look. The link is at the top of the notice boards on the right. If you have items for inclusion on this notice board, please send them to Susan Wilson or to me directly.
At the meeting on Monday, Principal Teachers will be reviewing and discussing the proposed vision and principles set out in Phase 1 of the Hayward Report, formally known as The Future of Qualifications and Assessment in Scotland. I have saved copies of the key documents in the staff Google drive, link here, and would encourage you all to keep abreast of developments, contribute to the discussion and influence the decisions.
Finally, Friday is National Teaching Assistants day. Let's take this opportunity to thank our wonderful SLAs for all the excellent support they provide in our classrooms and behind the scenes. They make an enormous and important difference to our most vulnerable young people and help us all with our common goal - teaching, guiding and supporting Balfron's learners.
As always, thanks for your hard work and professionalism.
Have a great week.
Elaine
This week at Balfron High:
Mon: S5/6 Assembly
The Proclamation
Leadership Team Meeting
Tues: S3 Assembly
Wed: S2 Assembly
Thurs: S1 Assembly
S4 Columba 1400 session (P5/6
Fri: S4 Assembly
National Teaching Assistants Day
Dealing with Bullying Behaviour: Promoting Positive Relationships
In preparation for our Thematic Inspection on September 20th, please see the two key documents that support and inform our practice. A draft programme outline for 20 September is also below. This week we will inform you as to who should attend focus groups. If anyone has a strong desire to contribute, please let Claire or I know asap.
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Free online CLPL Also 20 September 3.45 - 5pm
Last week at Balfron
When people outside your walls know what you are doing it gives value to those inside.
Here's some pictures from last week. These include parents enjoying retrieval activities, Reading School activities taking off, drama fairy tale freeze frames, learning about DNA in N5 biology and balances from the gymnastics club.
Thanks to everyone for sharing or tweeting. I've popped these on the parent notice board too.
CLPL Corner
Retrieval Practice weekly input
Retrieval Practice in Action
Great to see Nikki's class brain dumping on the desks in English.
What makes brain dumps such an effective retrieval method?
As long as no notes are used:
Memories are strengthened since learners are forced to pull information from their long term back into their working memories (the thinking space in your brain)
Teacher can interact with leaners since thinking is so easy to see - hot feedback can be issued in the moment when it's most effective.
Learners can identify their gaps and have a better awareness of what it is they don't know
Peer feedback is accessible and lends itself very well in the moment
It's a motivational activity - they love to write on the desk now and again!
Leadership Thoughts & Perspectives
Regardless of your views on monarchy, there is much to reflect upon & learn about leadership modelled by the Queen. The article on the right is a worthwhile short read. In summary the 4 leadership lessons highlighted are:
Wise leaders exercise restraint
Influence and example are more enduring than power
Hard work and humility earn respect
Bonds of affection deepen over time
Professional Learning Opportunities
Scottish Learning Festival Live in BHS
Wednesday 21 & Thursday 22 September
We are excited to announce our first learning festival, streaming live into BHS!
Sessions that align with our school priorities have been selected and will run live in the Upper and Lower Conference Rooms. Have a look at what's on offer.
We want to help you attend these CLPL sessions but cover is very limited! Please try to arrange cover and release with one other to allow us to collectively attend the session/s we would like. Speak to Michelle and Amanda if your only option is official cover and we will try our best. Together, we can maximise our resources to help each other participate. Attending a session for only part of the time is fine too.
Sign up for sessions is OPEN - use the google form below right
School Priorities 2022-23
making it happen - have your say - what do you need?
Wellbeing – staff, pupils, community
Recovery - re-establishing positive school culture of challenge
Learning, Teaching and Assessment - the science of learning, digital approaches, assessment
PEF & Equity
Before our plan is finalised, if there are suggestions and needs as to how we could do this well, please take a minute to share them in this Form You can input into as many of the priority areas as you would like.
Health & Wellbeing - Counselling for staff
Did you know counselling is available through Stirling Council?
Employee Counselling is available through our Occupational Health provider, People Asset Management (PAM)
There are a few ways employees can request Counselling.
Stuart Shaw on shaws@stirling.gov.uk
Contact hr@stirling.gov.uk
Call Ann at PAM on 0800 882 4102
If you want some more information about counselling, what to expect or looking for self-help resources then please pop in and see Karin Figliolini or drop her an email.
Useful Links
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