One thing I have observed about high performing teams is that they make time for REFLECTION.  Even when operating in fast-forward, they realise the value of pausing, reflecting on their experiences and together identifying key insights and changes to take forward. Reflection is part of the team’s ways of working and enables them to grow and learn all the time!

So, I am sharing this useful technique which is easy to include in regular team conversations and/or reviews or family meetings. It facilitates awareness and accountability for how your team and/or business is doing.

Reflect: 

• What are our biggest achievements? What helped us do well?
• What goals or opportunities did we miss? What got in our way?
• What were our key challenges? How did we manage these?

Learn:

• What can we learn from these experiences?
• What insights do we have about our responses, behaviours?
• What does this tell us about our perceptions, assumptions, capabilities?

Change:

• How can we think about things differently in the future?
• What do we want to do more of or less of, stop, start or keep?
• What are the specific actions we will take individually and/or as a team?

Key Reflection Skills: Robust reflection requires active listening, insightful questioning, suspending judgement and/or blame, sharing ideas and being genuinely interested and respectful of others’ viewpoints.

My reflection drawn from Week Two.

Sunday 25 April - Anzac Commemoration for me in Warwick with my eldest daughter

Tuesday 27 April - A community Expo supporting reciprocal benefit for providers to connect with families and vica versa.

Wednesday 28 April - Three of my team including myself presenting Positive Behaviour Learning (Graeme Clancy) and Parent and Community Engagement (Bree Nairn and Colleen Hope) to the Regional Beginning Mentor Day for staff from Special Education Programs and Special Schools.

Thursday 29 April - Senior School Students and their families, our Departmental Physio Therapists and our Knowledgeable Other Brittany Parthington linking with HOTA Art Galley to attend pre launch.

Week Two and Three - Case Management release for Teachers to support their students

Annual Performance Review Teacher and Teacher Aide Check Ins for Term 2

Clearly our work is anchored in relationships and networking beyond our school fenceline to ensure success for our learners and each others.

I would be interested in hearing from families and staff if the Reflection Tool for home and school supported quality conversation about your day, weekend or week.

Colleen Hope

Principal

The flyer for Mother's Day is in your young person's communciation book.  Might you please assist us with catering for the event by returning your flyer as soon as possible.  We hope to see all of the special ladies in our lives at the Trade Training Centre for a little bit of you time.

The P&C are holding their Mothers Day Stall on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 May.

Mugeeraba Special School Entertainment Book Purchase Link

We’re holding the School Fun Run as a major fundraising event this year. The event will be held on 4^th June in alignment with our Burleigh Fun Walk. We are really hoping to raise $10,000 to go towards our playground upgrade. For reaching $10,000 last year, we secured ‘The Big Show’ from School Fun Run for our event this year which includes three inflatable items and Chase the Cheetah.

To start fundraising, sign up for a Student Profile Page at schoolfunrun.com.au. You will be able to access online fundraising and can win a $20,000 Ultimate Family Package! If you have not already done so, please return relevant pages of the permission forms to you class teacher to assist with transport planning for the event.

Students who raise $10 or more will receive a reward, and the more money you raise the better the reward, and the more you help the school!

We’re looking for all students to participate in the Burleigh Fun Walk and we’re organising a great day for our community, so we’d love everyone to come down to support our students. If you have any questions about the Burleigh Fun Walk Event, please contact your classroom teacher or any questions about fundraising, please contact the School Fun Run Office on 1800 FUN RUN.

Week 10 – We try for our personal best.

During week 10 of Term 1, our students learnt about trying for their personal best in a number of ways.  Through explicit and incidental teaching when students are learning in groups, teacher's focussed on the skill of always trying for our personal best, connected reading, writing and communicating.  Teachers used student centred goals from their ICP or the bump it wall to encourage students to attempt new skills and try for their personal best work in all Key Learning Areas.

Week 1 – We keep our hands and feet to ourselves, we keep our hands and feet off the seats. 

During week 1 of Term 2, our students learnt about keeping their hands and feet to themselves and remembering to keep their hands and feet off seats in a number of ways.  Through explicit and incidental teaching when students were learning in groups, or at assembly, timely reminders to use words or the student’s individual Alternative and Augmentative Communication device rather than touching others to gain attention.  Reminders for students to access sensory or calming strategies when anxious. Teachers reminded their students to keeping their feet off the seats during assembly and also reminders that the feet of chairs belong on the floor.

Week 2 – We care for our environment.

During week 2 of Term 2, our students learn to care for the environment in a number of ways.  They kept their classroom, resources and desk area's neat and tidy. Teachers were on the lookout whilst in the wider school community to explicitly model keeping the school free of rubbish.  Students in Junior Secondary and Seniors engaged in work skill development recycling programs focussed on caring for the environment by recycling the school's consumables with the safe personal protective equipment such as gloves and high visibility vests when walking around the school with recylcling bins. 

Volunteers and non teaching staff within our school inclusive of our P&C members are required to hold a valid Blue Card in order to forfill their role within our school. The attached flyer explains the Blue card renewal procedures. If you would like to join our P&C our administration team will assist you in acquiring a volunteer Blue Card.

We encourage you to keep up to date through the NDIS websites.

https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/

https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/independent-assessments/independent-assessment-process

Now in its third year, the Careers Sampler brings children and young people who are blind or have low vision and their families together to hear from a range of people about pursuing and achieving career and employment goals.

The 2021 Careers Sampler will feature a keynote speech from Dr Theresa Ruig, Vision Australia volunteer partnerships director. Dr Ruig’s speech will cover her lived experience as someone who is blind, how volunteering can support the development of career skills, what the workplace of the future will look like for people who are blind or have low vision, and more.

The event will also again feature a panel of people who are blind or have low vision who will share their employment journeys, including the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

Dr Ruig’s keynote speech and the panel discussion will be broadcast via videoconferencing from Sydney to locations across Australia.

Careers Sampler attendees will then get the chance to meet with mentors who are blind or have low vision in an informal, conversational environment about their career experiences.

Careers Sampler brings children and young people who are blind or have low vision, their families and their support team in schools together to hear from a range of people about pursuing and achieving career and employment goals. The event is free, however is on a Saturday to accommodate student and family attendance.

https://www.visionaustralia.org/community/news/2021-04-01/save-date-vision-australia-careers-sampler-back

Please find the link for registrations for Vision Australia’s Career Sampler now open.

https://www.visionaustralia.org/careers-sampler-2021

Stop the Spread of COVID-19

Maintaining the required hygiene and physical distancing measures in place in our school. These are our most effective ways to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Any person who is sick (staff, student or parent) should stay home and if they have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include: 

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Loss of taste or smell
• Tiredness and muscle aches
• Vomiting and/or diarrhoea
• Shortness of breath

If students or staff present at school as unwell we will follow up and request an imediate early departure until a medical clearance is provided and confirmation that the person is well.

We need to ensure we stay home if recurring flu like symptoms present to decrease the spread of influenza.

Further information about COVID-19 testing is available via the link below:

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/testing-and-feverclinics

If you have any questions, please call your doctor or call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) in these continuing concerning times.

• Student attendance 8.30 am till 2.45 pm.
• Phone the office and request the classroom. Please always be mindful of students' learning and teachers teaching times.
• If you are late to start the school day please attend the School Office and staff will assist with contacting your class.
• Utilise the students' Communication Diary and Seesaw.
• Request face to face meetings through your class teacher before, after school or in their noncontact time.

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