I am delighted to include this week a second piece of writing by Amanda Reid, one of our Year 12 Prefects. Amanda has written persuasively of the dangers and benefits of on-line social networking. This follows from the thoughtful and incisive article by Rosie Nguyen (Deputy Head Girl) last week. Both articles deserve a careful read and are good starting points for discussions with your children. I encourage you to take time to do this.
Parent Survey 2013
Attached to the email that announced this week’s BISbuzz was a one page summary of the findings of the parent survey we conducted earlier in the year. Thank you to all parents who completed this survey. It is reassuring that parents are delighted with very many areas of school life. Parents identified priorities for improvement, those areas they would like to see us pay attention to making even better than they are now. This will be looked at most carefully and will be addressed in the next campus improvement plan.
The PTG AGM – reflections on a successful year
This week we held the Annual General Meeting of the BIS PTG and announced that our PTG Executive Committee were re-elected for a second term of office. Congratulations and many thanks for a successful year to:
Clare Nevin: Chair
Anne Brink: Vice ChairRegina Tay: Treasurer
Eunice Tan: Secretary
For me, the PTG year reflects the ebb and flow of the community, the ups and downs that are inevitable in a large and diverse group of families. A quote from a British author resonated with the parents at the PTG AGM on Thursday. This is from Charles Dickens, the opening lines from his novel, A Tale of Two Cities:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."
It's been an interesting year; no-one can deny that! Schools are microcosms of the community generally and there are few other organisations that connect so many people so closely and share the ups and downs of life.
If we consider a bank, for example, an organisation that many of us will have in common, we find nowhere near the same degree of connection. When we put our money in the care of a bank it we don't see ourselves as connected to a community of account holders in the same way we are connected as parents at BIS. We don't have the sort of relationship with the bank tellers or the bank manager that parents have with teachers. Putting children in the care of a school is, of course, different, but different to an enormous degree.
Schools, and BIS in particular, are communities. We have a PTG to support and promote that sense of community, to make it a reality. A PTG Executive Committee can be a point of central focus for the community as it celebrates its “springs of hope” and works through the “winters of despair” that every community will experience over time.
The constant and reliable presence of our AP2 PTG Executive Committee together with Jay Nielsen on community service has been a reassuring point of stability, maintaining the heartbeat of events that I spoke of last year.
I spoke of heartbeats because I believe that what the PTG members create goes beyond events. The heart is a term used to refer to the centre of things and also to refer to the source of all care. Naturally, those terms apply to parents and they apply to mothers in particular. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of parents, all mothers, bringing their particular skills and qualities to their role on the PTG Executive.
Clare Nevin outlined at the meeting the many and various events that have taken place throughout this year, forming a heartbeat for the children, enhancing their experience and education. “Keep Calm and Carry On” has been a phrase that has been used a lot this year but it puts a slightly anxious stress on events that have run smoothly and have actually been marvellous successes. Some are worth highlighting. International Day was the best ever, for example. The quiz has continued despite the unfortunate absence of our regular quizmaster Claire Easter at the event itself.
Teachers were treated to a surprise breakfast on Teachers Day. We are in the final stages of the PTG-run mascot competition The FOBISSEA Music Festival was enhanced by the support of the PTG. Year 13 students on their final full day today are supported by charity donations on their behalf, made by the PTG. The familiar favourites, the dodgeball competition and the discos would not be the same without the PTG support. The lost property displays have been a useful additional PTG service to the school, helping reunite lost items with their owners and disposing of long unclaimed items.
December is the usual month for the Christmas BISzaar. This year the event was cancelled due to factors beyond our control with barely 24 hours left to inform vendors and the school community. The PTG exec put their understandable annoyance, disappointment and upset to one side and swung into action, enlisting help and ensuring that the vendors were all informed and that they were clear about refunds. This happened quickly and with military precision to avoid the spread of misinformation and telephones jamming our lines with enquiries.
The PTG exec. members did this personally, ensuring individual contact was made with each and every person involved in the BISzaar. It was an impressive feat and I'd like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the exec. for this. We expect certain strengths and talents to be displayed when things go well but we often find out more about people when things go wrong. When things went wrong and we had our own “epoch of incredulity”, Clare, Eunice, Anne, Regina and Jay, acted selflessly, efficiently, with determination and resourcefulness. They showed their wisdom, experience and downright common sense. In short, they were an impressive team, in the real sense of the word.
It's that wisdom, experience and downright common sense that reassures me that all is well with the PTG. I am enormously grateful for the work that the Executive Committee have done this year and equally grateful that they chose to stand for election again. I couldn't wish for a better PTG Executive Committee. It means a lot to the school and it means a lot to me.
Richard Dyer
Head Teacher
Secondary
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