We continue to focus on our first school wide area of focus Respect – Be On Time and Ready to Learn and it’s great to hear students talking about and making an increased effort to be on time and ready to learn. It has also been wonderful to see the efforts of students to meet the school wide positive behaviour expectations (see link) with a record number of commendations being awarded this term to students who have gone to a great deal of effort to meet our expectations of Respect, Engagement and Resilience.
This week our teaching staff undertook professional learning on strategies to prevent problem behaviour. A key part of PB4L is an increased focus on creating an environment which increases positive behaviours while decreasing problem behaviours. Prevention, as they say, is always better than the cure. Preventative strategies that we are focusing on in our system include active supervision, pre-corrects (reminding students of expectations and how to specifically fulfil them prior to teaching/activities) and building relationships. It has been shown that positivity towards a teacher results in students displaying on average 56% less ‘oppositional defiant’ behaviour. (The Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youth) Our next staff professional learning on PB4L will be on the strategies for providing corrective feedback for when students do not meet our school’s expectations.
Our next school wide area of focus, Engagement – Submit Work on Time, will commence in week 9 of this term and run through to the end of week 2 of term 4. All students will be taught the how and why of submitting work on time during this period. A basic but important skill which will help them be successful while simultaneously reducing the stress of having overdue work.
If you are interested in learning more about Positive Behaviour 4 Learning we will be hosting an information night during term four on this important school initiative so please look out for the Operoo invite and we hope you will be able to join us.
PB4L Core Team,
Tania Anticev, Andrew Damon & Dean Williams
