Victorian College for the Deaf 597 St Kilda Road Melbourne 3004 Phone: Fax:

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1 Our School Values LEARNING RESILIENCE RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY PRIDE Department of Education and Training Victorian College for the Deaf 597 St Kilda Road Melbourne 3004 Phone: Fax: DATE 2 June 2017 CALENDAR EVENTS Friday June 2 Middle Years 4 Mornings in Melbourne Friday 2 June Middle years 5 NGV am Monday June 5 Middle Years 3 CBD excursion Mon 5, Thurs 8, Fri 9 June Student leadership Program Texas University Students Tuesday 6 June Primary Years 3 Horse Riding pm Wednesday 7 June Primary Years 1 Prahran Library am Wednesday 7 June Middle Years 4 Shopping Prahran Monday 12 June Queen s Birthday Holiday Tuesday 13 June Primary Football Clinic am Tuesday 6 June Primary Years 3 Horse Riding pm Dear Parents, Last newsletter I wrote about social media and mobile devices and the potential for our students use them in a way that can place them at risk. Following on from that topic is, for me, the disturbing increasing occurrence of harassment and this leading to bullying that has emerged amongst a small group of students a the school. This is not unique to our school. It is common in schools and with young people in today s society. In fact it has been prevalent in society for decades but I think now we know the damage it can cause people and have less tolerance for harassment and bullying than in the past. Adults need to be there for our young people to support them and provide them with strategies for dealing with others who put them down. A lot of the time you will find bullies have personal issues and this leads them to this behaviour. If we think about it logically a person who is happy and comfortable with themselves and has good social skills has no reason to put others down. Our young people deserve our support, being listened to and advice on how to deal with these complex situations. It is not always easy as young people navigate their way through childhood and adolescence grappling with trying to fit in and developing social skills. There are several strategies we have put in place to support students. 1. Students need to take ownership and responsibility for their behaviour we all make mistakes but to own those mistakes and to rectify them is a powerful learning experience. Many parents try to save their children blaming anything other than accepting their child s behaviour. This can have devastating effects on the student as they learn not to take responsibility knowing their parents will save them. Parents can t save them when they are 18 years old. 2. Students need to learn empathy and understand how others feel. Restorative chats and reflection sheets are some ways to promote empathy. 3. Being respectful of others knowing what that means and how it feels when people respect you. Respect is a school value and in our School Wide Positive Behaviours program we teach respect, what it looks like in practice and how to demonstrate it. Parents, teachers and other significant adults in the students lives should reflect on the important position we have in developing their lives and providing them with the skills they will need to manoeuvre the teenage years into adulthood. Angelique den Brinker

2 Welcome to our Deaf World Workshop 2 On May 23 rd, the VCAL senior students provided two workshops on Welcome to our Deaf world where over 120 participants experienced what is it generally like for deaf people. The students set up various tables representing different service providers. The workshops were part of the North West Regional PD for teachers and support staff in mainstream schools with enrolled deaf or hard of hearing students. Many commented that the workshop was the highlight of their PD! Comments from the VCAL students :- Rhys: The workshop was set up to show participants what it was like to be deaf. I was so nervous but by end of the workshop, I felt great and actually enjoyed making a difference. Bilal: It was a good opportunity for the hearing participants to learn what it is like to be in our shoes. Audrey: I felt nervous and worried that the participants would not understand me but this experience taught me that we can teach the hearing people to understand what it is like to be us. Clar: It was a good experience for us and for the hearing participants. Jack: It was challenging for the participants but they learnt how to use a variety of communication strategies to overcome the barriers and at the end, they were all laughing or smiling. Jesiah: It was interesting to see the participants change from their usual comfortable world to a place where they felt nervous and uncertain on what to do. I enjoyed making them feel better about communicating with deaf people.

3 Education Week Activities 3 Here at the Victorian College for the Deaf, students and staff were involved in lots of activities, in celebration of Education Week. It was a great opportunity for all primary and secondary classes to come together and showcase the work they are doing, and be involved in multi-age groups. The day aimed to profile and celebrate everything from leadership, sport, dance, mentoring, meditation, reading, and art, to breakfast clubs, stress management and resilience; and more. Di and I had students getting their hands dirty, making Oobleck. Oobleck is a classic science experiment that's perfect for entertaining both students and adults. Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid; it has properties of both liquids and solids. You can slowly dip your hand into it like a liquid, but if you squeeze the Oobleck or punch it, it will feel solid. The name Oobleck comes from the Dr. Seuss book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Maria Giordano ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

4 Primary Education Week Activities 4 Education week saw students taking part in a Ball Run activity which involved the school vales resilience and learning. Students were given the challenge to see how long they can have the ball in motion for until it hits the bottom of the board. This challenge found students planning, evaluating and modifying their runs to beat their times. There were some impressive runs created, with the best time being 25 seconds for a peg board 1.8 X 1.2meters. Nathan De Goldi. Primary 2 teacher. Fruit Smoothies Students designed their own smoothie for education week. They learn about the importance of having fruit in our drinks! They then made their recipes, with some great results!

5 Education Week Activities.con 5 Room 9 was the Mindfulness room. Hasmin and Lisa set up some activities that helped with mindfulness, being centred and having some chill-out activities where students could play with kinetic sand, colour in mandalas or watch visual mandalas on the interactive whiteboard. Here are some pictures of our activities.

6 Mothers Day with the Primaries 6 The primary area was involved in a week long swimming program at MSAC. The students worked on their floating, freestyle, diving and safety in the water. On the last day we managed to enjoy some time in the wave pool and see the great improvements with their swimming. Primary Swimming Program The primary area was involved in a week long swimming program at MSAC. The students worked on their floating, freestyle, diving and safety in the water. On the last day we managed to enjoy some time in the wave pool and see the great improvements with their swimming.