McKinnonNEWS

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

WELCOME

Welcome to the 2014 school year.  We especially welcome those families who are new to our school community.  We hope all families had a terrific summer break.

COMPASS

Please keep your username and password secure and confidential.  As parents have the ability to approve absences online, your login details should not be shared with your child.  In addition to using Compass, parents are also welcome to provide notes and/or call the College to inform us of absences. 

Any parents who are new to McKinnon this year and have not received their login details should contact the General Office.  For parents who accessed Compass in 2013, the same username and password are required in 2014.

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS

School photographs will be taken throughout the day on Friday 14 February.  This will cause some disruption to the College’s regular program.  Please ensure your child attends in correct school uniform.  Photo order envelopes have been distributed to all students, to be returned to the photographers by each student when they have their photo taken.

ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL ON TIME - 8.30AM

Students who arrive late to period 1 (which begins at 8.50am), will receive an automatic after school detention and miss the first period (not allowed entry to class), unless a note with an acceptable excuse is provided by a parent.  An acceptable excuse is a doctor’s appointment, illness, etc. 

We have this system because we believe that:

i.   Research shows the best learning occurs early in the day;

ii. Students must be organised and prepared for all classes;

iii. Our professional teachers should not have their lessons interrupted by late students;

iv.    Period 1 sets the ‘tone’ for each day. 

Therefore we ask all parents to support our expectations by ensuring students arrive at school by 8.30am with time to organise before our 8.50am start every day.

UNIFORM

Please ensure your child comes to school in correct uniform that is in good condition at all times.  Uniform should be clean and any tears, holes etc repaired.  Boys must wear a plain black belt with both shorts and long trousers with shirts tucked in. Senior students only may replace our school logo bag with a plain navy or black bag. Only polished black lace up shoes are acceptable for both boys and girls.  Facial piercings such as nose studs and eyebrow piercings are not acceptable and students will be asked to remove such piercings on-the-spot.  We want students to wear the uniform with pride and it is an important part of our school culture. 

Please make use of our uniform shop located on campus.  The opening times are included in this newsletter and on the McKinnon website. Parents in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact the manager of the student wellbeing team, Ms Patty Etcell for assistance with the provision of uniforms.

HOMEWORK

At this point in the year it is important that parents check that your child is getting into the correct habits with their homework.  The school diary has recommended homework hours stated for each year level.  These suggested times should not just be used to finish set tasks from class but also to review topics covered in class and complete wider reading. 

Students are encouraged to write all deadlines in their diary and parents are encouraged to check diary entries, so that students can meet all deadlines punctually. 

With all students in Years 9 to 12 having exams in June and/or November, effective revision skills are essential.  If no homework has been set on a night, students should revise work already completed so that revision is not left to the last minute.

SCHOOL LOCKERS

Every student from Year 7 to 12 are required to have a school-provided combination lock for their locker.  Students must keep their combination code confidential.  If locks are lost/damaged, replacement locks can be purchased from the Bursar at the cost of $15.00 each.

BURSAR’S OFFICE

Please note that the Bursar’s Office closes at 4:00pm each weekday.

EXCURSIONS

Parental consent is required for students to participate in any excursion or camp, and consent is usually required around at least one week prior to the excursion taking place.  Compass displays any events for which consent is required, with an alert under the ‘My News’ heading on the Compass homepage.  The due date for parental consent appears on the printed consent forms and online.

CHROMEBOOKS

Chromebooks have been distributed to students in years 7 and 10 in the first days of the school year, and we are very excited about this new tool to support student learning.  The following expectations have been explained to students: 

 

  • Chromebooks are provided for educational purposes; students’ use of these Chromebooks (and all ICT resources such as gmail, Google docs, etc) must be appropriate at all times, regarding the language that is used, the online content students access, etc;
  • Students should assume that nothing is private when using their Chromebook at school; internet access is filtered and monitored, and inappropriate content is automatically reported to the Principal team;
  • Students are expected to bring their Chromebook to every class, every day, just as they would bring books, pencils, calculators, etc (unless explicitly advised otherwise in advance by their teacher);
  • Students should ensure their Chromebook is fully charged overnight; the battery will support around 7-8 hours use, if fully charged;
  • Students must never sign in to the school’s network using another person's Chromebook, and they should not permit others to use their Chromebook at school;
  • The Chromebook should be stored securely - in students’ lockers when not in use and in their bag when travelling to and from school.
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