Welcome to Week Three.  Students in Prep and Year One were excited this week as their new Promethean 85” ActivPanel V9 Premiums arrived in their classrooms.  Teachers have been busy designing interactive engaging curriculum for our students.  Students will be able to interact with the digital world in a collaborative context with this addition.  We will hold parent sessions later in the term so any parent can understand these technologies.  The hall has also had a revamp this week with new multimedia.

Student Code of Conduct

Each week I will focus on an aspect of Calliope’s Student Code of Conduct.  This week the focus is School Disciplinary Absences

A School Disciplinary Absence (SDA) is an enforced period of absence from attending a Queensland state school, applied by the Principal as a consequence to address poor student behaviour.  There are four types of SDA:

• Short suspension (1 to 10 school days)
• Long suspension (11 to 20 school days)
• Charge-related suspension
• Exclusion (period of not more than one year or permanently).

 At Calliope State School, the use of any SDA is considered a very serious decision.  It is typically only used by the Principal when other options have been exhausted or the student’s behaviour is so dangerous that continued attendance at the school is considered a risk to the safety or wellbeing of the school community.

 Parents and students may appeal a long suspension, charge-related suspension or exclusion decision.  A review will be conducted by the Director-General or their delegate, and a decision made within 40 schools days to confirm, amend/vary or set aside the original SDA decision by the Principal. 

 The appeal process is a thorough review of all documentation associated with the SDA decision and provides an opportunity for both the school and the family to present their case in the matter.  Time is afforded for collection, dissemination and response to the materials by both the school and the family.  It is important that the purpose of the appeal is understood so that expectations are clear, and appropriate supports are in place to ensure students can continue to access their education while completing their SDA.

 Re-entry following suspension

Students who are suspended from Calliope State School may be invited to attend a re-entry meeting on the day of their scheduled return to school.  The main purpose of this meeting is to welcome the student, with their parent/s, back to the school.  It is not a time to review the student’s behaviour or the decision to suspend, the student has already received a consequence through their disciplinary absence from school.  The aim of the re-entry meeting is for school staff to set the student up for future success and strengthen home-school communication.

 It is not mandatory for the student or their parents to attend a re-entry meeting.  It may be offered as a support for the student to assist in their successful re-engagement in school following suspension. 

 Arrangements

The invitation to attend the re-entry meeting will be communicated via telephone and in writing, usually via the suspension paperwork.  Re-entry meetings are short, taking less than 10 minutes, and kept small with only the Principal or their delegate attending with the student and their parent/s.

 A record of the meeting is saved in OneSchool, under the Contact tab, including any notes or discussions occurring during the meeting.

 Structure

The structure of the re-meeting should follow a set agenda, shared in advance with the student and their family.  If additional items are raised for discussion, a separate arrangement should be made to meet with the parent/s at a later date and time.  This meeting should be narrowly focussed on making the student and their family feel welcome back into the school community.

 Possible agenda:

• Welcome back to school
• Check in on student wellbeing
• Discuss any recent changes to school routine or staffing
• Offer information about supports available (e.g. guidance officer)
• Set a date for follow-up
• Thank student and parent/s for attending
• Walk with student to classroom

 Reasonable adjustments

In planning the re-entry meeting, school staff will consider reasonable adjustments needed to support the attendance and engagement of the student. This includes selecting an appropriate and accessible meeting space, organising translation or interpretation services or supports (e.g. AUSLAN), provision of written and/or pictorial information and other relevant accommodations. The inclusion of support staff, such as guidance officers or Community Education Counsellors, may also offer important advice to ensure a successful outcome to the re-entry meeting.

Promethean board

This week we were lucky to have Promethean boards installed in our Prep and Year 1 classrooms and Library. 

A Promethean board is connected to your computer and projects what is shown on your computer screen, and allows you to use specialized pens or highlighters to write on the screen and interact with the images shown. The board itself is easy to use, and students enjoy the interactive activities it can provide.

Prep 1/D had some fun this week, using and learning how to navigate the Promethean board.