Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Friends of McGuire College,

Welcome to our 2019 year of living and learning at McGuire College!

Thank you to all of the families who supported our First Day Conferences – it was great to see so many families embracing the opportunity to meet with Home Room teachers, Year Level Leaders and members of our Wellbeing Team to support our young people's transition to the new school year.

We have welcomed more than 147 Year Seven Students who have settled beautifully into their new school community.

As a caring learning community we look forward to supporting your family this year. McGuire College works to an agreed set of school rules and behavioural rewards, centred on our ‘REAL” values which are:

•             Respect

•             Environment

•             Accountability

•             Learning

In 2019 our College mantra is – Work hard! Be kind! – all staff and all students will strive to live out our mantra through all of their words and actions each day.

Wellbeing- Your concern is our concern!

Your child’s happiness is extremely important to us at McGuire College. Bullying is never acceptable. As we can only deal with problems we are made aware of, please always let us know when there is a concern. We are always eager to listen to students, parents and families and we encourage you to talk to us first if there is a concern or problem.

Friendly Reminders

•             Please name all student’s clothing

•             Students are asked to have the required named equipment for  class

•             Students are required to wear a broad brimmed school uniform hat in Terms One and Four

•             A written note should be handed to the Year Level Leader if your child is out of uniform stating when they shall be back in uniform

•             Water bottles with water only are encouraged to be used in class throughout the day, especially during extreme hot weather. Leaving to get a drink during class time is discouraged

Signing In and Attendance

Students are required to be at school by 8:55am.  Any student who arrives after this time will be marked late/absent and will be required to make up the lost learning time eg. If 5 minutes late students will be required to stay in for 5 minutes at recess/lunch.  At McGuire we value school attendance. Students must achieve an attendance rate of 85% or above to be able to participate in inter school winter/summer sports and the end of year activities program. Poor attendance can affect your child’s learning so please contact the office if your child is away. We will celebrate successes in student attendance.

Ready to Learn

At McGuire College we endeavour to support your child with skills that future employers will be looking for.  We encourage organisation and accountability by asking students to come prepared, on time and ready to learn for each lesson.

Each student is required to have the following equipment for class:

•     A pencil case with pens, grey leads pencils, textas, glue sticks,                  erasers, scissors, etc

•      Book/folder to write in

•       2019 student planner - Students must have their planner signed in order to leave the class for any reason during class time. We offer students the best opportunity at learning by encouraging them to use recess or lunchtime to go to the bathroom and by bringing a drink bottle to class. At the beginning of the year, your child is provided with a planner, if this is misplaced a new one will need to be purchased at the general office.

•       The sharing of equipment is discouraged.

Lunch Orders

Lunch orders can be ordered from the canteen before school and during recess.

Mobile Phones

At McGuire College, we value mobile phones as a communication device and when used appropriately, they offer students and parents ease of communication and a sense of personal safety.

Students are expected to use mobile devices in a safe, responsible and ethical manner reflective of our REAL Values and in accordance with the College’s mobile phone policy Guidelines:

•             During class times all mobile phones must be on silent, as a phone ring or beep during a class is highly disruptive

•             Students are asked to leave their mobile phones in their locker, pocket or pencil case during class time. Mobile phones sitting on tables are discouraged as they are often a distraction

•             Teachers may permit the use of mobile phones in class for educational purposes but generally a laptop or other electronic device is a suitable alternative Any student using their device incorrectly shall be asked to place it in the classroom tub to be collected at the end of the session

•             Students who continually use their mobile phones/electronic devices inappropriately including, but not restricted to, bullying or harassing others through SMS, voice or picture will receive immediate consequences which shall increase in severity depending on nature of the offence. (Please refer to the McGuire College PED Policy)

We encourage the home and school partnership to be a strong one. XUNO is a portal for parents to check regularly on your child’s learning journey.  Let’s work together to support your child through their time at school!

Kind regards

Claire Kelly

Principal