Principal's Message

Well - hello and welcome back!

It has been truly exciting to see more faces and real humans starting to move back onto the College site. Today (Friday) we have had KLA Teams meetings to make sure that we are 'ready to go' on Monday morning. Some faces on site, some via Webex and some sitting in the meeting but in different rooms at the College. We are definitely having to create a level of comfort with being truly flexible.

Speaking of Monday … I need to remind all of some of the basics for 'doing school'.

Phones: There is no doubt that students have become really used to having their phone in their pocket or at hand almost every second of the day during remote learning. Please chat with your student about NOT having them in class at school. The DET policy on mobile phones has not changed. Phones need to go in lockers at the start of the day and then taken out again at the end of the day (yes, all those text messages will still be there!). At the start of this year our students were really good with this, but found it to be really difficult after returning from remote learning 1.0. This led to some concerns. Hence, the short message is - NO phones in class or in the yard from 8.50am to 3.13pm.
Uniform: Yes, we have a uniform and it needs to be worn! In general, students have been very good with wearing the uniform. Given they have not had to for months now, it will be a change. Hey, live on the edge - how about we try to find your school uniform well before Monday morning! Thank you, we appreciate the help. If students need any piece of uniform, just make that known at the Hubs and they will assist.
Masks: This one is really simple… Yes, masks must be worn. Neck socks, bandannas or clear face shields are not 'OK'. All staff, students and visitors to the College must wear a proper mask. This is exactly the same as Term 2. While students eat and drink they can drop the mask - the same rules as when in a public setting.
Timetables: The Term 4 timetable has been in operation for a full week of remote learning. Session times starting Monday 12th October will revert to 'normal'. Session 1 will start promptly at 8.50 and 'away we go'.
The Yard: Returning from remote learning 1.0 we learnt that the capacity to re-enter a busy school environment was a challenge for some students. Many of us have been so isolated for such a long time. Arriving on Monday and finding almost 1500 people in the one space will be very different. Last time we returned, the first three days were really unsettled. We experienced a couple of nasty incidents and certainly do not want that to happen again! The trouble did not arise in classrooms, where students seemed to settle well. Issues arose in the the yard, as students found their 'social feet', meeting with friends and peers they hadn’t seen for a considerable time.
Social media has much to answer for. It can offer a free space for nasty behaviour with seemingly no accountability. I would really appreciate everyone's support by having a conversation with your students about behaviours, returning to a busy school environment, things that may be bothering them etc. I know that some primary schools have experienced some 'social difficulties', as students returned this week. Hence we are trying to be as well prepared as possible. There will be additional staff in the yard at both breaks during the first week.
Classroom Music and Instrumental Music: There has been much spoken about this over the past weeks. I have written a letter to the Community, which you can find on our Facebook page dated 5th October. I also spoke on the ABC Gippsland Breakfast radio with Johnathon Kendall on Tuesday 6th October (you can google this if you want to listen). Yesterday I spoke with two parents at length regarding the changes being made. So - if you would like to speak to me directly around this matter, I am quite happy to do that. Just call the Office and make an appointment.

I hope I have covered off the key points to get us all ready for Monday 12th October. I know that some staff have been counting down the number of sessions left, particularly for Senior students - exams are not too far away!

Enjoy your weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone back on site again.

P.S. Thank you so much to the mystery person who gave me a lovely gift this afternoon. It truly lifted my day.

Thank you