BAYVIEW Newsletter a ISSUE 9 Monday 3 October 2016 www.bayview.vic.edu.au
Message from the Principal No matter what you're going through, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you'll find the positive side of things. Demi Lovato
TABLE OF CONTENTS Principal’s Message Industry Tours for our Year 10’s Capsules reveal young students ambitions! Literature Day photos Watersheds project creates environmental solutions Students experience homelessness for one night Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program Fundraiser supports student café space Horizons program creating opportunities for alternative pathways Header Photo: Fancy dress celebrations ended a week of literacy education for the students at Bayview College. While the month of September is designated to recognise the importance of improving literacy rates in children globally, for Bayview College students the spotlight has turned towards the growing literacy gap between Indigenous children and their non-Indigenous peers. The growing gap has provided an impetus for the school to collectively raise much needed funds to support the Indigenous literacy programs around the country. “We aim to raise funds to improve the literacy levels, lives and opportunities of Indigenous Australians living in remote and isolated regions.” said Mrs Debra Crespan, Head of Learning. “The funds are used to buy books and literacy resources for children in these remote communities.”
As we commence Term Four the class of 2016 is on the final stretch of their secondary education. Performance and LOTE: Oral examinations commence this week, with written exams a couple of weeks away. This is not a surprise to the students, they have had these dates since the beginning of the year. In fact they have known that they would be undertaking this process of formal assessment since Year 7. Yet despite the predictability of these events they still approach with a varying degree of stress and fear of the unknown. What if I can’t answer a question in the exam? What if my study technique has not worked? What if…….? However, all asking the “what if?” questions does is potentially raise our anxiety. Now is the time to put into place all the skills and knowledge that we have been working to develop throughout the journey of secondary education. Stressful situations are a part of life that everybody goes through. When managed well stress can be good for students as it can make them alert and focused on getting a task done. However, when stress is not managed correctly it can make students feel nervous, anxious, worried and fatigued causing them to struggle with everyday tasks. It is important that we teach our young people strategies so they can maintain wellbeing throughout these busy times on the horizon. Stress is our body’s way of rising to a challenge, and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, stamina, and heightened alertness. But if we’re always stressed out, it could be a sign that our body isn’t dealing well with the situation and that we might have gotten into a habit of negative thinking that we need to break. Talking to our young people, listening to them, reassuring them and assisting them at this time is vital. And although they won’t like me saying it, being actively involved in family chores, meals and celebrations, whilst balancing study needs is one of the best ways work through this time. Lord, thank you that you are with me right now Your love surpasses all fear I give you the anxiety I feel I surrender all my worries to you Clear my mind Calm my heart Still my Spirit
Relax my being That I may always glorify you In everything I write, speak and do
Dr Michelle Kearney