Assistant Principals' Reports
Tutor Learning Initiative
The Tutor Learning Initiative will continue to support students in their learning throughout 2022 at Emerald Secondary College.
Once again, the 2021 school year was a challenging time for every school community. Many Victorian students spent many weeks learning remotely and Victorian schools and their communities made an exceptional effort to provide continuity of teaching and learning to our students during this time.
We know that the remote learning experience was different for every student. While some students thrived, some students may not have engaged as fully with remote learning. For most of our students, regular high-quality teaching in 2022 will be enough to help them progress to the expected level of learning. However, some students will benefit from additional intensive learning support in 2022.
By engaging additional teachers as tutors to support students with intensive learning, classroom teachers will have greater capacity to ensure that all other students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing needs are met, so that all students receive the support they need in 2022.
Further information about the Tutor Learning Initiative, and how it will be implemented for students who need individual learning support in our school, will be issued before students begin tutoring in 2022.
While all students will be supported in their learning throughout the College in 2022, we are currently in the process of identifying students for the Tutor Learning Initiative. The program will support students with the greatest need as indicated by available data, determined by lower than expected learning growth during 2021. Families will be notified in the coming weeks, if your child has been identified as being selected for additional support through the Tutor Learning Initiative.
We are excited to welcome our Tutors to the College in Term 1 as we embark on the Tutor Learning Initiative for 2022:
Rhys Holder
Amy Donders
Hannah Joy
Anthony Gale
Devindar Thethi
Janine McMahon - Assistant Principal
School Photos
Photo day was held on Monday 7th February. Most students were present and able to have their photo taken on this day. Our catch up day is Tuesday 15th February. All individual photos and sibling photos that were not taken will be completed at this time.
Laptop Safety
Emerald Secondary College is a Bring Your Own Device school. This allows parents and students more freedom in which laptop they use with our only stipulation that it meets the minimum published requirements. Laptop safety is not something that we can enforce; however, it is something that should be considered. In a busy school setting students can become distracted and knock into each other, they may also simply drop their laptop. As such, we recommend students use a protective cover on their laptop. There are insurance options that you can investigate if you wish to. Can I please request that you speak with your child about the importance of looking out for other students when they move between classes and avoid contact with each other as much as possible.
Cyber Safety
Young people these days are more reliant on technology than ever. This is not a ground breaking statement. Please work with your young people to ensure that they do not become ‘addicted’ to their technology, especially at night. Young people need between 8 to 11 hours sleep a night depending on their age. Please help them build their resilience by turning off devices at night time and discussing social network platforms and their appropriate use to ensure that they are able to ‘switch off’ themselves. Cyber bullying is a type of bullying carried out through the various forms of technology. Comments or images can be shared quickly with a large number of people which can be dangerous or hurtful. The following website has important information and a number of strategies that can be used by parents and kids. Hopefully this will be helpful should an issue arise.
Stress vs Anxiety
The challenges of attending school for a young person has changed over time. We are seeing an increase in the number of students who are reporting anxiety related concerns. Some of these are accurate and some may be a little misunderstood. Schools are a stressful environment for young people and I am sure that there are parents and guardians who are well aware of the impact their stressed out child/ren are having on the home front. Schools have deadlines, tests, CATs, SACs, exams, assignments, uniform and attendance requirements, rules, boundaries and a host of other expectations. These can be very stressful for our young people. I think it is important that we, as a college community, understand the difference in stress and anxiety. The below website has some information regarding stress and anxiety. A reminder that our staff, especially the wellbeing staff, are here to help our stressed out young people and those suffering from anxiety. I hope you find this resource valuable.
https://www.psycom.net/stress-vs-anxiety-difference
Traffic Management
There are changes to the parent pick up area. The previously allocated Year 12 car park has been changed to angled parent parking. The new sign for this has not arrived yet unfortunately. Parents are requested to park in this area if the drive through section is full. Other areas to consider picking your young people up from include Lawson’s Road or Chandler Reserve which is only a short walk away. It is important that we use all available options to avoid congestion on the main road. Alternatively, you may wish to encourage your young person to either walk or ride their bike to school if appropriate. The newly constructed bike enclosure is in the process of having a roof installed. The worst time for this seems to be from 3.00pm until approximately 3.20pm. If you are able to arrive slightly after this time it may help to ease the congestion.
Buildings Grounds and OHS
A lot has happened again towards the end of the year and to begin 2022.
- Creation of a MYLNS and Tutoring program hub
- Removal of library resources in preparation for the refurbishment of the library
- A large amount of gardening work to tidy up overgrown areas
- Painting of the parent drop off and pickup area of the carpark
- Testing and maintenance of the shelter in place including the sprinkler system, roller shutters and generator
- Carpet installation in G block – all classrooms had the carpet replaced and the corridors and stairs also had carpet installed to reduce the chance of a slip and reduce the noise in the area.
Jonathon Rogers - Assistant Principal