1 July 2009

Bullying at Kingsford Smith?

| johnboy
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When the ACT Government began rolling out plans for “Super Schools” many were apalled at the idea of cramming overly disparate age groups into the same facility.

The Liberals’ Steve Dozspot is claiming that out at the newish West Belconnen Kingsford Smith School all is not well:

    “Systemic bullying and a lack of a ratified school specific bullying policy are the main concerns of families. However the biggest issues parents have been concerned about is that they are not being listened to by the school and ultimately the Minister,” Mr Doszpot said.

    “Parents have raised some serious concerns with me, about the lack of a clear separation between younger students and the more senior high school students. This issue was raised during the planning phase and an issue which parents were assured would be addressed as a priority before the school opened.

    “Currently, the school has Year 7 students sharing a playground with students as young as Year 1. Parents were worried this exacerbated the potential for the bullying of younger students.

    “Parents are also concerned that the language and behaviour adopted by the older students will have an effect on the younger ones.

Apparently the bullying policy is up to be ratified by the board on 28 July.

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There is no “left-wing” bite. You just make a ridiculous and unsubstantiated claim so I’m happy to point out to you how ridiculous it is.

And I don’t know why you try to pose that rhetorical question in defense of police. Government schools have more incentive to improve and compete *because* there are private schools.

So if you want to equate government run institutions with incompetence, substandard performance, or inefficiency, fine. Just keep in mind what you are saying.

By the way, what sort of Police are there that aren’t government…..as opposed to schools?

Finally I get the left-wing bite I was after. Thanks Cletus, you never disappoint

vg said :

Government school

Those 2 words adequately outline all of the above

You’re a joke. But hey, government police, I didn’t expect better.

nyssa76 said :

vg, that is no way a realist perspective. It is the perspective of a person who doesn’t see the big picture and who, by their own admittion ignorantly states “Government schoools. Those two words adequately outline all of the above.”

housebound, there are some fantntasic Government schools in the ACT. Each has its own merits. It just takes a little further digging as opposed to the ‘they’re all bad’ attitude.

Think more laterally Nyssa. Was my emphasis on the ‘schools’ in the phrase or the ‘government’ part?

I need to stop typing so fast when trying to get my opinion out….typos r us.

vg, that is no way a realist perspective. It is the perspective of a person who doesn’t see the big picture and who, by their own admittion ignorantly states “Government schoools. Those two words adequately outline all of the above.”

housebound, there are some fantntasic Government schools in the ACT. Each has its own merits. It just takes a little further digging as opposed to the ‘they’re all bad’ attitude.

I went to a whole swag of public schools, in Canberra and elsewhere, and all except one were great schools.

I actually think private schools have their issues too. Single sex private schools can be quite detrimental to the social development of some kids too – mainly those who don’t have siblings/cousins/neighbours/friends of the opposite sex.

Deadmandrinking2:53 pm 16 Aug 09

My mum often takes kids from Queanbeyan High and St Eddies to and from school on the bus. According to her, the St Eddies guys are the worst. There’s something about a school that has only boys, turns them all into arseholes, probably similar to prison.

I had some great teachers though my public schooling and if I have kids, I’ll send them to public schools too, regardless of what I can afford. I wouldn’t want a culture of ‘my mummy and daddy paid for my education, so I’m better than everyone else.’ ingrained in them.

There must be one good government high school left. They can’t all be bad, can they?

Not snobbish, just a realist

A bit snobbish there aren’t we vg?

I suppose it is easier pass judgment than it is to not label all Government schools. \

The issue is, you have a new school with 50% first years. You don’t need to be a rocket sciencetist to see that that has assisted in the bullying problem.

It happens at every school, however the more experienced the staff the quicker you are to pick up the ‘signs’ and deal with the situation.

But then again, what do I know? I’m only a teacher.

KSSparent said :

As a parent of a year 7 student who will soon be leaving KSS I agree that there are problems with bullies. My situation however is a little different in that he is one of the bullies. I have contacted the school and asked for punishment to be handed out only to be told no. I then have a situation where there is a punishment for behaviour at home, but no support from the school and the other children involved get away with it.

The Yr 7 students have the opinion that they run the school and with no children in higher clases to tell them that their behaviour is immature, and with senior staff allowing their behaviour they are not improving.

I had applied for my children to attend catholic school for high school, but due to limited spaceds and the fact that we are Anglican they were not accepted. Anglican schools are too expensive for me so I ran out of options.

Needless to say, the start of next term will see me no longer a KSS parent.

I admire your honesty.

VG…. I went to Big G back in the day. Nothing wrong with public schooling – my folks couldn’t afford private education and as a result I am now not scared of men of the cloth or bullies.

Government school

Those 2 words adequately outline all of the above

As a Student at K.S.S I feel the media has gone a bit overboard with say that “there are gangs roaming around the school” and that “the year 7’s are picking on the year 3’s”

The Bullying at K.S.S is not as bad as people make out that it is

There is a handful of students that get bullied out of the whole school

Missalli, who told you that you cant help out because you have young children?

I went along to the so called meeting about bullying at the Belconnen Library the other week.

In my opinion it was a political farce. Mr Powell and his counterpart had thier lines to say, which were repetative and with no conclusive answer. A lot of words were said without anything actually being said. I went away very unhappy.

Another parent who attended, the parent of a bully was given the same political run around.

A student at the school suggested some sort of anger management courses for the bullies and was told that they would be suspended. Thats what these kids want. A week off school bludging their days away. Bring back lunch time detention. Oh hang on, a lot of the teachers aren’t much older than the kids, and even the older ones cant control them. Where was the teacher of the class last week who were hanging out the doors of one of the windows throwing things?

The P&C is desperate for volunteers, especailly in the canteen and fundraising. As for no little kids, the canteen is looking for a child gate for between the kitchen and the office areas, where children will be able to play without being underfoot. I know of one preschool mum who has been volunteering with her little one playing in the office. When school goes back, pop in, meet the team and have a cuppa.

One of the biddies from the Belconnen Community Council said that the bullying is a community problem, but as there is no community at KSS, how can that be right? The suggestion of securtiy guards at the school was a laugh, who was going to pay for them? The P&C, with what? Fundraising efforts to date haven’t had much success. Now that the fundraising convenor has quit, I dont know who is going to take over.

Time to get a principal that the kids and the parents respect and who is on board full time.

As a parent of a year 7 student who will soon be leaving KSS I agree that there are problems with bullies. My situation however is a little different in that he is one of the bullies. I have contacted the school and asked for punishment to be handed out only to be told no. I then have a situation where there is a punishment for behaviour at home, but no support from the school and the other children involved get away with it.

The Yr 7 students have the opinion that they run the school and with no children in higher clases to tell them that their behaviour is immature, and with senior staff allowing their behaviour they are not improving.

I had applied for my children to attend catholic school for high school, but due to limited spaceds and the fact that we are Anglican they were not accepted. Anglican schools are too expensive for me so I ran out of options.

Needless to say, the start of next term will see me no longer a KSS parent.

2604 – now that most of the ‘experienced’ teachers are retiring, and don’t have mobility as they retire before they have to move, you will see a better ‘smattering’ of experienced teachers in more difficult schools.

I agree with you 100% and it is a shame that DET would put first years in a new school like that. Then again, they also put first years at Dairy Flat and wondered why they went through 3 teachers in 2 weeks….

I hope that everyone who advocates giving the public school system a monopoly over education in the ACT has thought a bit after reading this thread.

The situation of a principal/executive who isn’t interested in enforcing discipline is widespread. “Kids will be kids” seems to be the attitude, which is to the detriment of kids who are picked on and to the advantage of bullies.

Teachers are generally well-intentioned but are unable to do anything without a strong executive backing them up. Also, the most experienced teachers gravitate towards schools with fewer discipline problems, meaning that schools with the worst behaved kids are staffed by the least-experienced teachers.

Finally, DET is usually unsympathetic and out-of-touch with the real issues. Unfortunately this doesn’t stop DET staffers getting appointed to executive roles in schools ahead of (arguably) more deserving teachers already on staff.

Not saying that private education is immune from any of these issues but at least the existence of both public and private systems gives parents an alternative when they’re not satisfied with one choice.

I don’t have nearly enough of that, housebound. My approach in the past has been to move the child and even try homeschooling. I didn’t find any of these to be ideal. I now know there were other parents who felt the same way, or who could have worked with me and supported me to make the school a happier place for everyone.

I think the key is in having a unified parent voice, in forging strong parent-staff relationships, and in working with supportive people in the department.

There are actually a huge number of quality people working in the department who are interested in making a difference in the lives of children and young adults, and who really are working for the best education system in Australia.

However, if you can’t get assistance from those avenues I would absolutely be taking ‘industrial action’ parent-style. Because every kid has the right to a safe environment. All the time. Always. At home. At school. Out in the community.

Tolerating bullying is like tolerating domestic abuse.

nyssa76 said :

I’d love to work there

the bigger ‘pool’ thing sounds good for teacher, more chance for advancement.

You’re dreaming.

I’d love to work there as I am experienced in working in difficult schools and Middle Schooling. Putting that many first years in one school without enough experienced classroom teachers will cause problems and you don’t have enough staff who have experience in writing policies to be implemented in schools.

Granny – please do share your wisdom. KS parents aren’t the only ones who have likely ever had problems.

I know from personal experience that it is frustrating and quite devastating when a school will not listen, will not act, or are ineffectual.

As a parent, I have had this experience with both private and public schools.

If the school is willing to work with the parents, much can be accomplished. If the school is obstructive little can be done.

I do have some ideas if people want to actually try and change the situation.

Kingsford smith can take up to 1,100 students at the moments they have between 750- 800 kids pre-school – year 7 and really for the feeder area it covers 1,100 students is not a “SUPERSCHOOL” when they finally open it as Pre-school – year 10 it’s less than 100 kids per year. Gold creek have over 1’100 and don’t have pre-school. If they can’t control the near 800 students they have got with ages only up to 13-14 god help them with 300 more up to the age of 16-17.

I am not personally a fan of huge schools or ‘Superschools’, but with the right policies, staff and leadership, they can provide an effective and safe learning environment, providing there is a ‘school-within-a-school’ approach, where the primary and secondary kids have separate playground and classroom areas. Size doesn’t have to be an issue if managed well. My nephew attends a newish government K – year 12 ‘superschool’ in Queensland, and it is considered one of the highest performing schools in the State. There is a long list of kids from out-of-area trying to get enrolled there. The school is also quite strict (for a government school), with an enforced uniform code, strict behaviour code etc… Bullying is not tolerated in any form, with bullies being dealt with quickly and quite severely.

I also note that both of the Grammar schools in Canberra have about 1500 kids each (Kingford-Smith currently has 1,100) but they run the primary and secondary campuses separately and there is a further segregation between the junior primary and senior primary school students.

thanks Granny will do.

nyssa76 said :

I’d love to work there

the bigger ‘pool’ thing sounds good for teacher, more chance for advancement.

maybe that is why the department is so keen on economy sized super schools. not to benefit the kids and their education, but to benefit the teachers and their careers.

The school isn’t the problem. The hasty ‘put it together’ which totally disregarded community wishes as well as the ‘one size fits all’ BS is the reason there are problems.

I’d love to work there as I don’t sit on my hands. I’m not saying the staff who work there do either. However, it’s like the school was built, promises were made by Barr and then when it became ‘too hard’ he drops the ball.

As for the bullying policy, it has nothing on the dept’s Student Management Policy which was written in 1992 and meant to be updated every 2 years (yet another policy) and by 2005 was still not updated.

nyssa76 said :

I only hope this isn’t repeated when the new Kambah School opens.

the only way it won’t happen again to other areas of canberra is if enough of us make it clear we are not happy with the Kingsford-Smith school and will not be sending our kids to any other of their economy sized super schools.

Interesting to note that when you search google for ‘kingsford-smith school’, articles like this in riot-act come 3rd and 4th in the results.

Not really enticing for parents weighing up the best option for the education of their kids.

Without addressing our concerns or making things better for the kids, I expect that Andrew Barr and the education department to fund a letter box drop around the area to promote the school, going on-and-on about it’s ‘brand new, state of the art’ facilities.

If they could address the issues and refute the schools bad points, they would. But they have nothing of value to say-no real facts, no plans to counter the downsides of this new model, just more bull-siht spin.

God forbid they ever admit their unwanted experiment might not be all they promised.

Apologies for the double post.

Look, 50% of staff are new teachers. Some will be in the school for a year but if permanent, they will have the option to apply to stay at the school.

The fact the dept felt the need to put some many first years in a new school shows their lack of concern for students and staff alike.

The consultation was a load of bollocks and run by people who either 1) haven’t taught since the 90s or 2) have never taught at all.

I only hope this isn’t repeated when the new Kambah School opens.

Aceyducey said :

If it wasn’t for a couple of good teachers at the school it would have seen a mass exodus of children already.

I have heard that none of the teachers have any real security in their positions at the school. mostly on year to year basis.

keeping kids in a school because of a couple of good teachers that maybe won’t be there next year is not really sensible (in my opinion).

as a parent, I really would feel better if the education minister actually had kids who are enrolled in public schools (let alone the cost saving kingsford-smith super-school).

with some more publicity from the other parties, this issue really should cost labor atleast one seat in ginninderra. all but the most apathetic/bogan parents I know in the area are seriously pissed-offed.

Ironically at the time that news story was being posted a parent was being called in by the school as the school had lost one of their children after a bullying incident and could not find them anywhere…

In the end it turned out that the child had gone home by themselves because they “could not stand the bullying any more”.

The school is developing a bad reputation in the Canberra community for bullying, incredibly bad consultation with parents and a principal who is well past his prime (with all due respect to his near-death experience at the start of the year).

Barr can say what he likes about the number of bullying reports, but he’s not in the classroom or playground being victimised. Maybe the school is not reporting these incidents to the Department to preserve jobs.

These incidents have resulted in a number of children being moved between classrooms, one year 7 class being halved in size (as half the children could not be controlled in the classroom by the teacher) and constant playground issues as well.

Labour has lost the votes of at least eight families I know over his Department’s blind eye and wishful thinking that a half-dead principal and a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears teachers with inadequate training and support for bullying situations can run a new ‘superschool’ and educate Canberra’s next generation. If it wasn’t for a couple of good teachers at the school it would have seen a mass exodus of children already.

rottweiler said :

Year building had to be moved as years 3 and 4 had more students than class rooms in their year bluiding so have been moved into lower level of high school building with years 6 &7 and years 2&5 share a building.

so what happens as these students move through the grades?

the fact they could not even keep there promise to have segregated playgrounds says to me the assurances about the separation of primary & senior classes into separate buildings is another empty promise.

the school will most likely end up as we feared. kids as young as 5 mixing with kids upto 15-16.

which brilliant education bureaucrat came up with this new model?

what was wrong with the old one?

housebound said :

True to form, the minister lives in denial, resorting to his usual line of something like ‘only a few are affected’:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/02/2615004.htm

i noticed that he does not even mention the fact they have gone back on their word about separate playgrounds.

the worst thing was when this was introduced it Andrew Barr said it was about increasing parents choices. what if I don’t want my kids part of some grand experiment and would like to choose a more traditional school? I’ve checked with the dept’, it’s almost lump it or leave it. basically it is take your chances and find out days before term starts if there is room in an out of area school. not good enough.

this issue and this issue alone has cost labor my family’s votes.

Text any time.

: )

Granny would love to take you up on that offer some other time as my dears have come home sick today (common cold I hope)

Missalli I’m not sure but I beleive you can’t have the little ones in the canteen for safety and food hygeine reasons but don’t quote on that and yes I do agree some of the people involed do seem to want to pick and choose who can and can’t for me it’s very dissapointing and wasn’t aware it was that bad. But please if you or other parents can come to the next P&C meeting their are other area’s like funraising etc that really need help. If you do happen to come I’m the little one with the big mouth!!!! LOL

Rottweiler-As much as I agree with your frustrations regarding the bullying, I really have to disagree with you regarding the lack of parental support. I have been told that I CANNOT help out around the school during the day as I have young children who would have to come with me. I have offered to do Canteen duty and been told no. I know of other parents who have also been told that they cannot help out. Seriously, the majority of parents who help out at schools are the ones who are stay at home parents-which generally means they have young children. It comes across very strongly that those who are involved in the P&C and canteen etc want to pick and choose who can help. Maybe not the case, but thats how it seems.

From the parents of I have spoken too, it seems as though noone wants to get “involved” in any association with the school due to the constant bagging of the school and those associated with it. Very sad.

Fingers crossed the community can come together and show the kids how its done.

Im not sure of the grades targeted, but in the last few weeks, my childrens junior grades have introduced ‘circle time’. They talk about emotions, bullying, feelings and a range of other core subjects in a safe class environment. My kids have given really positive feedback to this.

I still would really like to push for segregated play areas though, and also a representitive from the school that will talk to concerned parents on a level that leaves people with an assurance that they have been heard. Mr Powell is a very nice man, just not very good at talking to the community without it sounding calculated.

Rottweiler, I couldn’t agree more. I would like to help. I will be in the area tomorrow around lunchtime. If you would like to meet at Kippax for a coffee and chat, text me: 0414 880 784.

Housebound: not wishing to sound rude but if talking about kingsford smith school located in holt ……. then YES

My 2 children go there and I’m fed up with it my girls come home every other day crying about some darling doing something to her ranging from kids just being kids name calling to more serious stuff like have her head slamed into a brick wall by kids alot more senior than her. but I can’t relocate as my children are in a special needs class and there no openings at the 2 others schools on the northside so I’m sorta stuck there and I just paid a small fortune for uniforms, The only up side their teacher is great and my kids are improving 10 folds. I do believe with time things will improve but right now something more needs to be done about all the problems not just bullying.

Granny: I missed last meeting at school due to family commintments but as far as I’m aware NO we only have a small handful of parents on the committe and most have taken on 2/3 or more roles on and we haven’t had sucess in getting someone to put there hand up myself included but only because I rely on buses and babysitters we are trying to encourage more parents but very few seem interested.

Rottweiler, does Kingsford Smith have a delegate attending P&C council meetings?

I would bet $100 that I could walk into that school and find a group of fantastic senior students with great leadership potential that could be given responsibilities for culture and community building and make a very real difference.

No policy is going to change anything. It’s culture. And the culture has to be, “We don’t do that here,” from everybody – students, staff, parents and the wider community.

But the students are the key. It is their culture. They are creating it. If you empower some strong leaders with positive values you will see change.

True to form, the minister lives in denial, resorting to his usual line of something like ‘only a few are affected’:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/02/2615004.htm

Rottweiler – are you sure you are talking about the same school?

Yes this school is having teething problems huge teething problems here’s a few things I know about this new super school the students from the two main schools closed only make up approx 1/3 of the students if that, Most of the kids don’t know each other and aren’t really encouraged to mingle, most of the teachers have a laid back appoarch and I’ve heard are going easy on the kids as “it’s all new to them to”,the principal has only just returned from a major health promblem and isn’t as yet back on full duty, No phones in the buildings so staff can talk to front office or each other EG: to warn about problem childern on their way up , sick kids etc etc, most staff stay in their building as it’s to far in such short breaks(recess and lunch)to go the main bluiding where staffroom and offices are, almost all teachers and staff don’t know any other kids other than who’s in their class and also can’t tell the difference between the juniors and middle school as the uniforms are Almost the same. Year building had to be moved as years 3 and 4 had more students than class rooms in their year bluiding so have been moved into lower level of high school building with years 6 &7 and years 2&5 share a building.The P&C is struggling with limited numbers with nearly 800 kids enroled only the same handful are on the P&C and or can help with events, which other parents complain about as they have to wait for uniforms (at begining of year) or sausage at the BBQ.

Since we parents attended meetings last year telling us junior, middle and senior would have separate lunch times, play areas buildings and the list goes on nothing was put into place as they only have students up to year 7 so it’s not a priority but they have tried to put more staff on the playground at breaks and the plastic oval can only be used by X years at X times which is causing fights with the older kids.

Woody Mann-Caruso2:01 pm 02 Jul 09

“Gimme yer f.ckin’ lunch money, ya little c.nt!”
“But…haven’t you seen our Bullying Policy? Here’s a copy of revision 1.01.44.2009.”
“Oh, I do beg your pardon. Please, go about your business.”

The shaming bit refers to the department, not the school. It’s pretty obvious that the failure is the department’s and that this is a desprate measure by parents to shame the department into action.

After all, the kids are mostly primary school age and the two main schools they came from, while a bit rough around the edges, did not have a bad reputation.

I don’t see how shaming a whole school can possibly build a thriving and healthy school community. We should be pushing for postive initiatives such as what I proposed above and bigger schools should definitely have an active buddy program – the more different the younger child the more they should be paired up with a popular student from the more senior grades.

Sometimes naming and shaming is the only way to get an incompetent bureaucracy to take action. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

I actually believe that they should trial a system similar to the indigenous ones, where the students themselves consider complaints and consequences and the perpetrators are asked to explain themselves to their peers – much more confronting for a student than some adult they don’t need approval from or give a damn about.

I attended the old Ginninderra High School. It’s always been a rough area. There’s always been bullying. I know from meeting up with other former students that it was a tough school. We were scared and we were traumatised. People think, “Oh, kids can survive being traumatised. They’re flexible. They can live in fear for four years and it won’t affect their sense of self or their confidence.” Well, maybe some can, but many can’t; just as some soldiers go off to war and come back emotionally crippled in life while others can move forward despite the trauma.

If your child is being bullied, get them some professional help and get angry.

The parents must work together. You will need a strong P&C, the kind where you have BBQs together and stuff because you all like to hang out.

Your P&C should send a delegate to the ACT Council of P&C Associations, which is kind of like your parent ‘trade union’. Sometimes it can help to know you’re not alone and to make others aware of the problems you are facing and get the support of a peak body.

One of the really, really important things to remember is not to bag out the school itself. Why? Because the kids don’t like it. The teachers don’t like it. Other parents don’t like it.

Ginninderra High School made me miserable to the core and left scars that will probably never fully heal, but it was also the scene of some of the best times in my life. It is the institution I most identify with personally. It was my school. Don’t knock it. And that’s the way the kids feel. It’s their school. They hate it. They love it. They need your help. They don’t need or want any more brick bats to dodge.

PickedANickname11:21 am 02 Jul 09

I was thinking today on the way into work about what is done about the parents of the children who are bullies? I mean I would be horrified if my child did any sort of bulling but I would want to know and put consequences/actions (therapy) in place.

I realise that the parents of most bullies might clarify the issue of why their child is cruel to other kids. However, I wonder if there should be more publicity/action on holding the parents accountable. Like therapy for bully and folks before that child can have access to the playground.

The school was never going to be anything but a cost cutting sausage factory.

yup, totally agree.

MrMagoo said :

Hacks maybe, but a lot of the Dept staff are teachers who couldn’t cut the mustard out in teh classroom. So they opt for the cushy life of the office and no responsiblity for the kids of the future.

those can, do. those that can’t join the department.

this whole towards 2020 (and my interactions with the stooges in the dept) shattered my faith in the act public education system.

nice job Katy and Andrew! now I can’t buy myself a new car so I can afford private school fees.

farq said :

GardeningGirl said :

Why isn’t the department learning from the success stories and working towards making it available to more families, instead of trotting out the same lame excuses and marketing blurb.

you answered your own question. talk to them and you realize they are nothing but a bunch of bureaucratic hacks.

Hacks maybe, but a lot of the Dept staff are teachers who couldn’t cut the mustard out in teh classroom. So they opt for the cushy life of the office and no responsiblity for the kids of the future.

GardeningGirl said :

Why isn’t the department learning from the success stories and working towards making it available to more families, instead of trotting out the same lame excuses and marketing blurb.

you answered your own question. talk to them and you realize they are nothing but a bunch of bureaucratic hacks.

missalli said :

As for the segregated playgrounds, according to a representitive of the Dept. of Ed and Mr Powell, this was to go ahead but due to lack of teacher supervision on the playground(?) this was not possible. Go figure. “We do not have enough teachers to supervise segregated play areas, but we have enough to supervise 750 kids running willy nilly”….hmmmm

exactly! they said this school was going to be all about the staff to student ratio, but experience with the act dept or education tells you that it’s nothing but spin.

this economy sized super-school has a pretty poor future. send your kids elsewhere (private sounds better and better every day).

GardeningGirl11:10 pm 01 Jul 09

We experienced a school with all kids together and a school with separate playgrounds for juniors and seniors. It isn’t the answer to bullying but segregating the kids was definitely a part of what made the second school function well.

Teething problems, new teachers? Come on, school isn’t a brand new invention! There are schools, or there were prior to the closures, that attracted significant numbers of out of area students. There are teachers who are perfectly capable of walking into a new classroom and gaining the kids respect, and admiration, from day one. Why isn’t the department learning from the success stories and working towards making it available to more families, instead of trotting out the same lame excuses and marketing blurb.

The language they think the year 7 kids are teaching the little ones, the little ones know already know or have learnt those words on their first day of school.

I think it is terrible that year 1 share the grounds with year 7 students, I went to school in Sydney, the only thing that worried year 7 was the rumour that starting high school was having your head shoved down the toilet the first day by the older students, never happened to me and I didn’t hear of anyone else having it done.

I agree that bullying is a commonplace thing(very sad),although as a parent of KSS students, I believe that the current “draft policy” is enabling students with behavioural issues. At a community meeting I attended, Mr Powell had almost nothing to say about any parental concerns and his most common response was “it’s teething problem’s”. Whilst I agree with that statement somewhat, I feel that the current policies and steps put in place to reduce the bullying are in fact giving the students some sort of power over mostly new teachers, who have not had to deal with bullies before. I myself am just trying to teach my children about self confidence and respect, so that if they suffer from more than the average schoolyard taunts, they can hopefully brush it off.

As for the segregated playgrounds, according to a representitive of the Dept. of Ed and Mr Powell, this was to go ahead but due to lack of teacher supervision on the playground(?) this was not possible. Go figure. “We do not have enough teachers to supervise segregated play areas, but we have enough to supervise 750 kids running willy nilly”….hmmmm

as a parent at this school my daughters in year 3 have or are beening bullied by older boys and girls boys are worst, to the point she had her head stoved into a brick wall on one occassion. Punishment if they catch the kids in the act is one recess or lunch in other locked court yard and I was only informed of this when my daughter came home crying which is also every other day. The school response is they need to catch the kids on the play ground or really there’s nothing they can do about it. I’ve told my daughters who also have a learning disablity and are in a special class to kick the shit out of these kids if it happens again as the teachers don’t seem to care.
One of my daughters got sent home for the day for defending herself go figure.

Genie said :

Bullying is more common with students of the same age group.

Quite right. There’s no significant difference between kindergarten and year 6 students sharing a playground and year 1 and year 7 students sharing a playground. Nor is there much of a difference between these situations and year 7 students sharing a playground with year 12 students, as happens in every other state (except Tasmania). It’s overly simplistic to think that bullying is a result of mixing age groups. Especially since most societies since the dawn of human history have mixed people of ALL ages in the same ‘playgrounds’.

Bullying is not caused by the mixing of age groups, but by the mixing of bullies with victims of bullying, and I don’t think anyone’s come up with a solution for that problem. There are a few strategies that reduce it, and the school should have put these in place earlier. I still think separating ages groups is useful, even in schools with smaller age ranges, but it’s hardly going to prevent bullies from bullying. That’s a problem the teaching profession will be trying to figure out a solution for for many more decades.

Morgan said :

chrispy said :

Year 7 students sharing a playground with students as young as Year 1.

Um.. that was normal when I was in school. Has everything changed now?

Well Year Seven is high school and year one is primary school, so its unusual.

When I was in Primary School, In kindergarten we had the same playground as the yr 6 students… Same age bracket.

Bullying is more common with students of the same age group.

also, the new black bars surrounding the school look horrible. very institutional, the place just needs a roll of barbwire on the to complete the prison look.

All schools in NSW mostly have these bars. It’s to stop someone’s little precious ones from trashing their place of learning.

the mixing of primary and secondary is the reason my kids don’t /& won’t go there.

also, the new black bars surrounding the school look horrible. very institutional, the place just needs a roll of barbwire on the to complete the prison look.

Most primary schools have separate play areas for the very young kids (up to grade 2) to prevent them from being overrun by the bigger kids. I think this is a very good thing, having observed some of the revolting, aggressive grade 6 boys at our school. I feel sorry for the kids at the superschool, if this is, indeed, true.

chrispy said :

Year 7 students sharing a playground with students as young as Year 1.

Um.. that was normal when I was in school. Has everything changed now?

Well Year Seven is high school and year one is primary school, so its unusual.

In absence of a school specific anti-bullying policy one would think the Dept’s policy would suffice. Correct me if I am wrong but didn’t the despot bring this up about 6 weeks ago. didn’t it get enough traction for him that he thought he’d raise it again?

28th of July? So the little ones get to be bullied for another month before anything might get looked at being changed? Poor little tackers, I feel for them.

Year 7 students sharing a playground with students as young as Year 1.

Um.. that was normal when I was in school. Has everything changed now?

grunge_hippy12:49 pm 01 Jul 09

exactly. another beat up by politicians and media. there are bullies at every school, and kingsford smith is no different. they have had a difficult time with the principal suffering and aneurysm just before school started, apart from the difficulty of starting a new school with kids from lots of different other schools.

GardeningGirl12:48 pm 01 Jul 09

The school opened without an anti-bullying policy?
All years share a playground?
How beeping ridiculous, and even worse that parents were misled when they rightly raised the issue.

This is not news to anyone in the school-gossip chain. The news is that it has taken so long to escape into the public domain.

That said, it’s not all bad. It’s just not as good as it should be.

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