Principal's report
Jennifer Roep
Principal
Mobile Phones - 2020
Many families may have heard on Wednesday that the Department of Education and Training (DET) will be bringing in a total ban on mobile phones from the first bell to the last bell in all Victorian Government Primary and Secondary schools as of the first day of school in 2020. This term we had actually begun the process of reviewing mobile phone usage at Maffra SC. It has been a long time since the policy has been reviewed and as further research is becoming available around the impacts of mobile phones and electronic devices on mental health and educational outcomes, it is very timely. The decision by the DET has supported the research we have gathered.
Throughout the rest of this year we will remain in contact with the Maffra SC community regarding how this policy will be implemented in 2020. As part of this new policy, students must switch off their phones and store them securely from the start of the school day until the final bell. When emergencies occur, parents and guardians can reach their child by calling the school.
We hope that you will begin these conversations with your child/children at home. It also reinforces the importance of all students having a lock on their locker and not sharing any other person’s locker to store their equipment. As a school we recommend that any communication to your child be done through the front office during the daytime if there is an urgent message that needs to be passed on to your child. Your support with this is greatly appreciated.
Uniform
In my first newsletter article I outlined our school uniform policy. I thank all of the families who have supported this and we have seen a significant improvement in the wearing of our College uniform.
As the mornings continue to get colder can I please remind all students and families that the wearing of the uniform is a requirement of entry to our College and is endorsed by the College Council. Students are able to layer up and they have the option to wear the school t-shirt, woollen jumper, polar fleece and PE jacket each day. If your child is still feeling the cold then they are able to wear singlets, spencers and/or long sleeved plain t-shirts under their approved school uniform. The Library is open at recess and lunchtime for students to access each day if they wish to get out of the cold and on wet weather days, rooms will be opened for students to stay out of the inclement weather.
As outlined in the Student Planner, all students in Years 7-12 are required to be in full and correct school uniform on a daily basis. No other items of clothing will be accepted, including hooded jumpers and jackets that do not have the College logo. Year 12 students are permitted to wear the approved Year 12 jumper as an alternative to the school jumper.
Please support the College by ensuring your child travels to and from school in their full school uniform. If you have any questions regarding this or the drought response package, please contact the school on 5147 1790.
Update on staffing
In May we welcomed Dessy Senjawati to our Maffra SC community. Dessy is our Indonesian Language Assistant who is here for a year. She has been working with Mrs Loueen Smith and Mrs Ainsley Butcher in their Indonesian classes.
On Friday 7th June, we farewelled Ms Karen Burgess (Booma) who has taken a year of leave from Maffra SC and has moved to Melbourne to take up a role as a full time Careers Advisor at Northcote High School. She has been a member of the Maffra SC community for 17 years and will be sadly missed. Mrs Marie Clark will be increasing her careers counselling time fraction to cover Booma at this time, which will ensure there is no change to the resources available to all students in careers.
Ms Heidi Bassler has joined us as a Humanities teacher. She has come to us from Lakes Entrance SC and has also had experience teaching in the UK education system. Heidi will be taking VCE History and Legal Studies, along with some junior humanities classes and Connect.
There are also a number of changes to our wellbeing team. Firstly, we have just welcomed our new Secondary School Nurse, Ms Rebecca Tyler-Brennan who started with us last week. She will be with us for 2 days per week.
We will be farewelling Mrs Emily Boyle, our Student Wellbeing Coordinator, at the end of this term as she takes maternity leave. We are currently in the process of filling her position and are confident we will have a new staff member appointed in time for the beginning of Term 3. In addition to a new Wellbeing Coordinator, we will also be welcoming the return of our Chaplain, Mr Gerard Abdoo who has been on leave this term.
Finally, at the beginning of Term 3 we are welcoming back Caroline Fletcher. Caroline has been in the Acting Principal position at Boisdale Consolidated Primary School. We look forward to having Caroline back to Maffra SC and the wealth of experience and knowledge she has gained after 6 months in the Principal position at a primary school
Upgrade to F Wing Toilets
Since the beginning of the term I have had a number of students express concern about the state of the F Wing toilets and asking for them to be improved. As a result of these requests, over this holiday break the F Wing student toilets will have a complete revamp. A significant amount of money will be spent to upgrade these amenities for the students and I look forward to all students respecting these facilities by using them appropriately and ensuring they remain free from vandalism and damage.
Senior Prom
The Senior Prom was held at the Maffra Football club on Friday 14th June. It was a wonderful night and all the students looked spectacular in their outfits, with many taking on the masquerade theme. Thanks to all the students and staff who helped decorate the football club room – it looked beautiful! There were some great photos taken on the night and it was good to see many students and staff on the dance floor having a great time.
GAT and Exam week
Exams are a means of assessing how well students have understood a common core of knowledge and skills. We recognise that training in preparing for and sitting an examination are valuable skills for students given examinations form a significant part of assessment in formal education and are the primary source of information used to assess a student’s eligibility to enter tertiary education. In Week 8, all students across Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 have sat exams and/or the GAT. The students are to be commended on their behaviour and the way they have approached the exams. It was wonderful to see high expectations being set around behaviour and the expectation for students remain to the end of the exam which ensures all students have time to reflect upon their responses and refine/improve them.
Reports and End of term arrangements
Reports are now available on the compass parent and student portal. We urge parents to take the time to have a look at your child’s report and talk to them about their progress throughout the first half of the year. If you have any questions about information in the report, please contact your child’s teacher to discuss this.
As per previous years, students will be dismissed at 2.30pm on the last day of term. A schedule for Friday was sent to all students and families via compass last week. All classes will be 50 mins in length with Period 5 slightly longer to include a yard clean up.
Please be aware students travelling on the Stratford 3 bus (Chris's run) will need to leave at 2:20pm to connect with the Sale buses on time at Stratford. These students should remind their teachers at the beginning of the lesson that they need to leave class slightly earlier. Staff have been provided with the list of students this involves.
Bell times for the last day of Term 2 - Friday 28th June
Period 1 9:00 – 9:50
Period 2 9:50 – 10:40
Recess 10:40 – 11:00
Period 3 11:00 – 11:50
Period 4 11:50 – 12:40
Lunch 12:40 – 1:25
Period 5 1:25 – 2:30 (including clean up)
Upcoming Subject and Careers Expo
We are currently planning for the Careers Expo to be held at Memorial Hall on Wednesday 24th July from 6pm – 8:30pm. Students from Year 8-12 are strongly encouraged to attend on the night with presentations occurring for our current Year 8 families at 6pm outlining the program offerings for 2020, Year 9 at 6:30pm and Year 10 at 7pm which will cover the VCE and VCAL programs the school will be offering students.
The subject expo will also provide students and parents with an opportunity to learn about different career opportunities available through local employers, as well as having access to a variety of Tertiary and Further Education providers and community groups. Thanks to Marie Clark and Tanya McIntosh for their work in organising this. There are also many teachers involved during the Careers Expo in supporting the activities, especially in setting up and running subject specific information sessions.
Following the subject and Careers Expo, students will be involved in course counselling sessions beginning the on Friday and their final subject selections for 2020 will be decided upon, in consultation with their parents/carers and Year Level Leaders/Assistants, during a scheduled appointment throughout Weeks 3 and 4 of Term 3.
Attitudes to School Survey
During this term our students across Year 7-12 completed the Attitudes to School Survey. The results from this survey will help to guide our progress towards the following targets set in our Strategic Plan:
- Cognitive Engagement – shift from 46% positive to 60%
- Stimulated Learning – shift from 32% - 50%
- Learning Confidence - shift from 50% - 65%
- Student Voice and Agency - shift from 32% - 48%
- Learning Characteristics - shift from 48% - 56%
This year it is expected that we will be able to access our results from late June to early July and we will use this to reflect and continue targeting the areas identified for further development, as well as celebrate the areas we are seeing growth in.
VCAL Students – Skate Park
The VCAL students have been working on a community project to improve the Maffra Skatepark. After an interview with The Gippsland Times and a front page article, Katie Johnston was contacted by Channel 9 News. This led to VCAL students Tara Clarkson and Arzel Dela Cruz, along with Katie Johnston, being interviewed by Channel Nine News. They discussed the skate park project that the 2019 VCAL students are planning and the benefits of hands on learning. Reece Bedggood, Curtis Cook, Emma Blake and Raiden O’Connor were also part of the group being filmed. The story was on television and can be seen at this link. https://m.facebook.com/1872102266395028/posts/2347413375530579?s=747582639&v=e&sfns=mo
Transition Day 1 – Grade 6 students
On Wednesday 12th June we had approximately 100 students from our feeder Primary schools attend the first transition day. They arrived at 10am and spent the day participating in Science activities, Ice breakers and the Year 10 Carnival. The Grade 6 students really enjoyed the Science activities and identified this as a highlight of the day and they were fortunate to have wonderful Year 7 helpers assigned to each group to assist with making the day enjoyable and getting a better understanding of secondary school.
The Carnival finished off the day and it was great to see the students in 10C2 assisting with the event. The home cooked food items prepared by the students were delicious and I have no doubt the Grade 6 students left on a sugar high at 2pm (which I apologised to their teachers for).
Thank you to all the staff and students who contributed to such a successful day. We were fortunate the rain held off and we look forward to seeing the students again at the next transition day on Wednesday 22nd August.
Ms. Jennifer Roep
Principal