Junior School

Cybersafe Learning

We are privileged to share partnerships that provide expertise to support our students, families, and staff. We aspire to be a community that supports the growth of individuals as we embrace our shared values and activate the attributes of learning, which oftentimes engages with technology.

URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million children, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. The Junior School partnership with URSTRONG has provided access to a wealth of possibilities in support of the development of our students, staff, and families. During Term 2 2021, we loved connecting with Dana Kerford from URSTRONG. Dana met with teachers and families via online workshops. We first connected with Dana and URSTRONG in 2019. Since then, all grades across the Junior School have worked with intent to import the language and skills as our students learn to make and maintain healthy friendships. Connecting with URSTRONG provides families with access to the wealth of resources available to support a shared and common foundation in partnership with school. The ubiquitous access to internet enabled devices see our children develop expertise that is in many ways intuitive. Through years of intentional planning, reflection, and implementation of digitally delivered learning tools, our Junior School teaching practice provides a safe and secure framework for student learning. Cultivating the positive culture for learning is directed by the Barker College Digital Learning team, supporting both students and staff in the practical implementation of skills to promote the evolution of practice for learning. ySafe is a trusted eSafety provider working with schools and educators. Uniquely offering insights from clinical child and adolescent psychologists, ex-police officers and teachers. ySafe's award-winning team of cyber safety experts have provided online safety education to over 350,000 students across Australia. Yasmin London from ySafe visited the Junior School during 2020 to speak to all children from Kindergarten to Year 6. As we looked to 2021, we had planned to provide a parent CyberSafe Learning Seminar on site. Entering lockdown across NSW, required this opportunity to be moved to an online seminar with the support of the Barker Institute. Yasmin shared alongside Jon Chivers from Family Zone and Paul Harmon (Digital Learning Leader Pre-K-12), to share Junior School practice, highlight the role of parents in caring partnership with their children’s online lives and outline the support that Family Zone provides the Barker College community as a digital infrastructure to manage safe and secure life online. We are blessed to benefit from these connections with expertise that provides an important asset in caring for our students in all dimensions of their school experience.

Martin Conway Junior School Director of Students

Learning Outside the Mint Gates

The sudden shift from classroom-based to online learning at the commencement of Term 3 was certainly not the start we were expecting.

The change in learning structure requiring swift adaptation by teachers and students. As a school our aim has been to maintain strong connections with the School community by remaining connected, happy, and safe.

Daily Routines

Each morning commences with a Teams class meeting for each student. All staff across the Junior School are involved and interacting with students. We see it as imperative to ensure the continuity of learning and to support the ongoing maintenance and reinforcement of essential literacy and numeracy skills. Our regular Programme of Inquiry has been modified to support the online learning platform and we continue to embed the IB learner profile attributes inclusive of international-mindedness. When learning in any context, what does it mean to be knowledgeable, principled, reflective, open-minded, balanced and caring through times of global challenge? How can we be a thinker, a communicator, a risk-taker and an inquirer when not in school? PreKindergarten to Year 2 students are using the Seesaw online learning platform that encourages creativity and feedback supporting students and nurturing their excitement to learn. Year 3 to Year 6 are using Canvas Online. Canvas allows students and teachers to work on class pages and share teaching and learning opportunities. We continue to deliver all key aspects of our teaching and learning program including Christian Studies, Specialist lessons, Chapel and Assembly. It is through these programs that we are able to provide ongoing support for the development of approaches to learning (skills) as our students learn outside of their regular learning environment.

Lisa Bonazza Director of Primary Curriculum (PYP Coordinator)

Celebrating Country and Culture

Our cool, foggy, frosty mornings are a beautiful sight in Wollombi. By recess the sun is shining, reminding us of how lucky we are to learn in such spectacular surroundings. Ngarralingayil has a way of making you feel grateful and happy, inside and out.

We have been working together on new Acknowledgements. They are still a work in progress, but students are adding an individual touch by choosing words from their heart and they are very proud. Each morning, an eager student shares an Acknowledgement. It can be their own, our school one or even one we have learned in sign language. National Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week, Mabo Day and NAIDOC have brought deeper discussions about culture and what it means to us. Our primary students led our Sorry Day assembly and shared their own thoughts and research through posters and art. We listened with sadness to Archie Roach singing Took the children away. The theme for Reconciliation Week was ‘More than word’. We continually make it ‘more than a word’ through sharing our culture, each, and every day. Our knowledge deepens and becomes strong and we can then share this with family and friends in the hope of creating a ripple. Our Geography units have connected beautifully with the 2021 NAIDOC theme, ‘Heal Country’. We started K-2 ‘Exploring Places’ and 3-6 'The Earth’s Environment' with the picture book, ‘My Country’ by Ezekiel Kwaymullina. It explains the relationship and sense of belonging a young girl feels for her country. We have been talking about Country, what it means to us and how it connects everything around us. Country makes our spirit feel alive. We have talked about important places and recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ sacred places. This led to a great discussion and artwork on Uluru. Primary students have been learning about natural disasters with a focus on bushfires and how they affect our animals on Country. We have also discussed the famous Dorothea Mackellar poem, ‘My Country’. We had an amazing trip to the Hornsby campus, with a swimming lesson, a tour of the beautiful Chapel with Rev Brown, and attended the wonderful NAIDOC Assembly. What an amazing sight that was to look around and see the whole of Barker Hornsby Pre-K-12 on the hill, respectfully acknowledging culture. We have been learning how to keep our spirit strong and enjoy what the world around us has to offer. If you take the time to look around, the colours of Country that surround us, even in winter are amazing!

Mandy Shaw Lead Teacher - Ngarralingayil Barker

The Journey has Begun Strongly

Dhupuma Barker opened at the start of Term 2 and our students are going from strength to strength.

Perhaps the greatest indicator of this is the substantial increase in school attendance. Many of our students have gone from attending very few days a term at their previous schools, to joining us almost every day at Dhupuma. This is a great sign that the students are feeling comfortable and happy in their new school environment. Some djamarrkuli (children) are so keen they are waiting at the school gate every morning when I arrive at 7am. The students spent Term 2 settling into the routine we have established. On arrival, they get changed into their uniform, have some bacon and eggs if they haven’t eaten already, then head to the basketball court to shoot hoops before school starts. The morning session begins with our school prayer in Yolŋu Matha (language) and English. Students are then placed into small groups for literacy activities. Initially we focused on word recognition (sight words), and we now have literacy rotations. Some students are learning initial sounds, others are blending words together, some are reading books from our library. We use lots of games to learn sight words. Anyone who visits Dhupuma Barker will find it very difficult to beat the djamarrkuli at a game of ‘Go Fish’ – they seem to have different rules in East Arnhem! The most pleasing part of our morning sessions has been the effort the students put in to learning to read and write in English and Yolŋu Matha. After our literacy sessions we focus on numeracy. This is taught as a whole class and it’s wonderful to see the older students supporting and guiding the younger ones. The djamarrkuli really enjoy hands on activities, so where possible we make our own resources to engage the students. We always finish with a game where the students take great pleasure in beating Mr Tom! Yolŋu cultural education is the core of our daily life at Dhupuma Barker. The Yolŋu Assistant Teachers and Cultural Advisors teach the djamarrkuli the Yolŋu way. There is a big emphasis on making sure the djamarrkuli know and understand who they are and where they belong. It is most important that students learn their Moiety, skin name, totems, homeland and clan group. Raypirri (discipline) is a big focus in and out of the classroom. Raypirri begins before you are born and relates to words and actions – no teasing, helping each other, no fighting, working together, respect everything and everyone around you. Raypirri is discussed daily in the classroom. We also regularly leave the classroom for on-Country activities at the beach or in the bush, including storytelling, care for the environment, and students performing Buŋgul dances of significant animals.

We have been lucky to have many fantastic visitors to Dhupuma Barker in our first term. We’ve had nutritionists from Flinders University working with the students and discussing superfoods vs sometimes foods. Miss Bev from Apple has joined us several times to help the djamarrkuli make ebooks, and we have had lessons on crocodile safety and safe camping. We also welcomed Ben Roarty, former Melbourne Storm player, who spent time with all the children from Gunyaŋara. The djamarrkuli love sport and we try to get out once a day for a whole school game. Basketball, AFL and tag are the highlights and always bring a smile to the students’ faces. I am still trying to convince them to follow the Penrith Panthers or Sydney Swans! Dhupuma Barker is one of the highlights of my teaching career to date. I am extremely proud of the behaviour, focus and engagement of the djamarrkuli. My family and I have moved to Gunyaŋara, about 1km from the school. The whole community have made me, my wife Jacqui, and our three children feel very welcome. We love driving down Yunupingu Drive as the djamarrkuli scream “Mr Tom” and run over to the car to say hello. My youngest child now refers to me as “Mr Tom”. One of the Dhupuma students has spent time with my son, teaching him and playing the yidaki (didgeridoo) with him. Just another great moment we get to experience. We very much looked forward to Term 3 as we welcomed Lori Cross as the second classroom teacher. Lori Cross has been a part of the East Arnhem community for close to 30 years. I am excited to work with Lori and wish her and her family all the best as she begins her Barker journey. Together we look forward to watching our students continue to grow as students and Yolŋu people. Manymak!

Tom Spencer Teacher, Dhupuma Barker

Connection to Culture

Connection to culture has always been a core focus at Darkinjung Barker. Our connections within the community builds understanding and experience and provides an opportunity for the children to grow and thrive.

In June, Darkinjung Barker was asked to be a part of the Graduation service of the current students attending NAISDA (National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association). NAISDA Dance College is Australia’s premier Indigenous training college established in 1976, with a proud tradition of producing the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. On behalf of the NAISDA Board, Staff and Developing Artists, a huge thank you to our amazing Darkinjung Barker presenters. You were all outstanding. We were so impressed with how beautifully you represented yourselves, parents, teachers and Darkinjung Barker. We look forward to welcoming you all back to NAISDA soon.’ Kim Walker – CEO NAISDA As educators, we always look at ways to continue to grow and develop. Finding a need and then upskilling is of great importance. During Term 2, Miss Scheermeijer was able to attend a one-day course focusing on Aboriginal Art Therapy. She was able to expand her appreciation, approach and understanding protocols when exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Art. In working with Uncle Gavi from DLALC, Miss Scheermeijer has been able to guide the children and help them gain clearer understanding when discussing local artists and artworks. Michelle Nixon has joined the team as Administration Assistant for both Darkinjung and Ngarralingayil Barker. She comes into this role with not only a proven record in administration but also a significant connection to the local Aboriginal community. Michelle is a proud Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman who has lived on the Central Coast for a long time.

Jamie Shackleton Director of Aboriginal Campuses

The College of Teachers. Evolutionary programs to develop a coaching culture in the School.

Growth and Development

In the spirt of growth and development, the College of Teachers in 2021 has embarked upon a set of strategies focused on the continued consolidation of coaching and mentoring together with advancing the skills and competencies of existing coaches. From a coaching perspective the School has added to the existing solutions-based growth model, instructional mentoring and coaching. Instructional coaching is focused on improving the pedagogy of teaching with the strategic intent of improving the learning outcomes of the students. It is about having conversations about one’s teaching practice about what, how and why they teach the way they do. Each conversation is underpinned by trust, transparency, and collaboration. It is these coaching and mentoring co-construction conversations that are seen as catalysts, having the capacity to foster and change teachers’ mindsets about how they teach. Growth coaching continues with its focus on arriving at a solution to a range of issues or problems arrived at through conversations, where the solution is owned and arrived at by the coachee through a distillation process between the coach and the coachee. From strategic and longevity perspectives, the establishment of a coaching development program “Champion Coaches” is seen as a part of an evolutionary process to firmly embed a coaching culture into the School. Ten people were selected as coaches to attend a series of workshops drawn from the Junior and Senior School over a period of ten weeks. Under the leadership of Jacqui McLachlan, this program has taken the discussion about coaching to new levels of affirmation, understanding and thinking.

Len Nixon Commercial Studies Teacher, Teacher Coach