Our+Boys+Ed+Journey

Background
Our Journey began in 2006, after we received notification that we had received a Round 1, //Success for Boys// grant. The grant had been applied for by the Teacher Librarian, in consultation with the Principal of our school, initially due to an interest in finding ways to increase the reading interest and results for the boys in the school. There had been a marked difference in participation of the boys vs the girls in reading activities such as borrowing books and participation in reading activities such as the Premier's Reading Challenge and other school based activities. Reading seemed to be seen by the boys as 'not cool' and thus was not a popular activity for them. Additionally, data from playground statisticsindicated that many playground incidents involved boys in our school and staff had indicated that there was a need to address this issue. Further to these issues the staff identified that there was a Lack of consistent understandings & practices within school community in boy's education. In regards to PD, the Staff had engaged in Professional Development including Restorative Justice and Learning Styles and were eager to address specifically, boy’s education and There was a significant focus in planning for ICT integration within the 2006 programs of Holy Family Primary and an awareness of the impact that ICT (when embedded in the curriculum), could have on student engagement (particularly boys).

Term 1, 2006
An information session for the staff was presented on the first day of the year.

After this time, an initial plan was formulated and presented to the staff in a staff meeting To keep staff interest up, readings and 'updates' were given out intermittedly throughout the term. (Copies of these are located in 'resources' & 'readings' section of this wiki))

A consultant, Dr Peter West was contacted early in Term 1 and readings and articles particularly related to his work were distributed to staff. The whole teaching staff was kept informed throughout the initial stages (throughout the preparation for and completion of, the Core Module). Dr West visited the school on March 31 in preparation for a later Staff Development day organised to cover the Core Module

Further correspondence via phone & email with Dr West helped to finalise the Staff Development day

Term 2, 2006
A full staff development day, on May 6 was used to complete the Core Module. Dr West helped to present the information and all staff were involved. Evaluation comments from the day were collated in response to these two main questions: What were some of the key learnings you gathered from today? and What do you consider would be future directions for Boys Education at HFS?

After the SDD, the PBS team (Positive Behaviour Support) took on some of the Boys Ed issues/learnings and teachers were encouraged to try different strategies in their classrooms

Term 3, 2006
During this term, volunteers were called for, from the teaching staff, to form a group that would focus on the 'Boys and Literacy' module. These volunteers were required to complete the module, meeting on Tuesdays, and were then expected to be responsible for presenting the information to the rest of the staff in 2007. Eight staff members (from a teaching staff of about 19 volunteered). (Information about this work is provided in the 'Boys and Literacy' info in this wiki).- The group would complete readings and discuss in the meetings.

Term 4, 2006
A wiki and Blog were established with handouts for the group explaining how to use them, and passwords. In meetings the group were shown how to add and use these technologies. A couple of the group members had a go, but for the rest of 2006, the Teacher Librarian was the main contributer. It is hoped that in 2007, the group will be able to add to their pages etc.

A 'Boys Education' conference, at the Australian Technology Park NSW, on November 16th and 17th. Five of the eight volunteers were able to attend, using money from the grant to fund their attendance. The conference proved to be an incredibly worthwhile experience as it not only informed these staff members, but enthused and motivated them to continue with their work in Boys Ed. As many of the presentations gave practical ideas and examples, our small group discussed the ability of our school to try some of the ideas.

It was decided to leave the Boys Ed work then till 2007 as reports & end of year organisations took precidence.