Vision
"To foster a supportive, engaging, and inclusive learning environment where Year 7 students successfully transition from primary to secondary school, developing resilience, confidence, and a love of learning. Through innovative teaching practices and a focus on relationship-building, our program will nurture each student’s academic, social, and emotional growth, preparing them for success in the years to come."
Purpose
The purpose of the Ballina Coast High School Middle School Program is to provide a nurturing, structured, and flexible learning environment that supports Year 7 students as they navigate the complex transition from primary to secondary school. The program is designed to address the challenges students face during this critical period, including adapting to new teachers, more complex social dynamics, diverse academic subjects, and the demands of a larger, more fluid school environment.
By prioritising relationship-building, emotional support, and innovative teaching practices, the program will help students develop a strong sense of belonging, build resilience, and become active, engaged learners. The program is committed to creating a classroom culture where students feel safe, valued, and supported in their personal and academic growth.
Rationale
Transitioning from primary to secondary school is often a time of significant change for students. The middle years of schooling are a formative time, and for many students, the shift can lead to feelings of anxiety, disengagement, and a lack of connection to the school community. This transition is marked by new academic challenges, more teachers and classrooms to navigate, and increasingly complex social dynamics. For students who experience trauma or significant life challenges, these changes can be particularly overwhelming.
At Ballina Coast High School, we recognise the importance of providing targeted support to ensure that students not only manage this transition but thrive during it. The Middle School Program has been designed with this in mind, utilising strategies such as team teaching, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and Berry Street trauma-informed teaching practices to create a consistent, supportive, and predictable environment for students.
Our approach is grounded in the school’s core values of empathy, self-regulation, collaboration, kindness, and communication. These values will be embedded in all aspects of the program, from classroom routines to interactions between students and staff. By focusing on connection before content, the program will emphasise the importance of building positive relationships with students, which will serve as a foundation for academic learning and personal growth.
The inclusion of team teaching and explicit teaching allows for a more personalised approach to learning, ensuring that students receive the support they need while building critical skills in collaboration and self-regulation. Project-based learning and inquiry-based learning will foster creativity, critical thinking, and independent learning, while also helping students make connections between their studies and the real world.
Ultimately, the rationale for the program is to create an educational experience that supports the holistic development of each student, helping them to build the academic, social, and emotional skills they need to succeed throughout their school years and beyond.
Key Features
1. Relationship-Building: The program prioritises connection before content, with a focus on building positive relationships between students and teachers, as well as among students. This will help foster a sense of belonging, trust, and safety.
2. Trauma-Informed Teaching: The program will integrate Berry Street Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning practices to ensure that all students, particularly those who have experienced trauma or adversity, are supported in their emotional and academic needs.
3. Consistent and Predictable Routines: Consistent routines across classrooms will provide a sense of security and predictability for students, reducing anxiety and helping them feel confident in their daily school experience.
4. Innovative Pedagogy: The program will incorporate team teaching, explicit teaching, project-based learning, and inquiry-based learning to cater to diverse learning styles, engage students in authentic tasks, and encourage independent thinking.
5. School Values: The program will be aligned with Ballina Coast High School’s values of empathy, self-regulation, collaboration, kindness, and communication, ensuring that students’ emotional and social development is supported alongside their academic growth.
6. Supportive Environment: The program will be designed to address the diverse needs of students, including those who may struggle with aspects of the transition due to social or emotional challenges, learning difficulties, or other barriers to success.
7. Holistic Development: By integrating academic and social-emotional learning, the program aims to nurture the whole student, helping them develop the skills they need to be successful learners, responsible citizens, and resilient young adults.
Expected Outcomes
- Increased Engagement: Students will feel more engaged in their learning, as the program provides them with relevant, hands-on, and challenging tasks while ensuring that their emotional needs are met.
- Improved Social and Emotional Skills: Through consistent relationship-building and trauma-informed teaching, students will develop stronger emotional regulation, empathy, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Successful Transition to High School: Students will feel a greater sense of belonging, confidence, and readiness as they move through their first year of secondary school, reducing feelings of anxiety or disengagement.
- Enhanced Academic Performance: By integrating a variety of teaching methods and creating a more personalized learning environment, students will have the opportunity to excel academically, developing critical thinking, collaboration, and independent learning skills.
The Ballina Coast High School Middle School Program is an essential step in ensuring that students not only succeed in their first year of high school but are also equipped with the social, emotional, and academic skills they need for the years ahead.
Middle School Team Norms
· Seek first to understand, then be understood
· Be purposeful
· Name the elephants in the room
· Be Curious
· Keep breathing
Middle School Structure
Maths, Science and English, HSIE timetabled on at the same time.
· Two groups an N and O group and an L and M Group.
· 6 periods of each subject, 12 periods each group is timetabled.
Lead Teachers
Role
· Provide advice and guidance to the team on teaching and learning in line with the Middle School Program.
· Lead collaborative culture
· Lead and facilitate Professional Learning.
· Manage resources to support the Middle School Program.
· Lead team meetings (time, agenda, sharing of minutes).
The Lead Teachers for 2025 are:
Renae Wood: Group L and M
Damian McClymont: Group N and O
Consistent and Predictable Rules and Routines (CPRR)
Are to be explicitly taught to each class at the beginning of the year and must be visible in each classroom. As needed, remind students of the expectations and why they are helpful, show them how to comply, provide feedback.
Values and Behaviour Expectations
Empathy
Be respectful
Kindness
Follow staff instructions
Collaboration
Be safe
Self regulation
Be ready to learn
Communication
Be on time, all the time
Make your best effort on learning
Look after our school
Phone and earpods in YONDR
Banned items stay outside school