Marsden State School is a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) school. In 2020, we were honoured to be made a PBL Demonstrator School.
Positive Behaviour for Learning focuses on the explicit teaching of the behaviours you wish to see in students to promote readiness for learning. Marsden State School follows four school rules:
- Be Safe
- Be Respectful,
- Be Responsible
- Be a Learner
Our staff dedicate a lot of time to reinforcing our PBL expectations. Our leadership team promotes the behaviour focus of the week each morning at our before school parade. Teachers then explicitly teach the focus behaviour throughout the week. Behaviour focuses are determined either by data or by school events that are happening around us. For example: during Harmony Week we may dedicate a whole school behaviour focus to promoting respectful behaviour such as “Using words to please, not to tease".
Students are rewarded for their positive behaviour through our Dojo point system. Points are awarded for identified positive behaviours and calculated on the student's online account. Once a student has accumulated points they are able to buy a prize from the Dojo shop. Prizes range in points value and can be tangible objects like wrist bands or may include having lunch with their teacher or additional free time in class.
At Marsden State School we teach our students to use the High 5 Strategies to problem solve social issues. The five strategies are:
- Ignore
- Talk friendly
- Walk Away
- Talk Firmly
- Report
Building resilience and the ability to solve problems without conflict is important for children to learn. Using the High 5 Strategies helps students develop these skills by providing them with strategies to use to solve problems or walk away from potential issues while avoiding conflict.