PRINCIPAL

Welcome!!

Welcome to our new and returning families to the College and my very best wishes for a positive and productive year.  Our returning families are old hands but our new families will understandably take some time to come to grips with our systems and processes. We are only a small school in terms of student numbers but very complicated and we understand there is a lot to get your head around. Please contact us if you need help because no question or concern is unimportant to us.

Open communication is vitally important and I would ask that all families, students and staff keep themselves informed by accessing the Weekly Wrap Newsletter, the daily lunch notices (HAC Chat) and the Term Planner. The College Handbook also provides an important source of information to explain how we operate.

We have several new staff joining us this year. They all come with a range of different skills and experiences that will add value to the College and we are pleased to welcome them. I will leave it to their line managers to introduce them to you.

New and old students have all returned looking keen and enthusiastic and resplendent in their uniforms. We have spent some time talking to all student groups about College operations and expectations, and timetables. As our new students work their way through their program they will receive the necessary inductions to ensure they are safe and can operate effectively.

Mobile Phones

Thankyou to those parents who have been very positive and supportive about our ban on mobile phones during the school day. Whilst it may not suit our students, it will be a positive move. The following information was emailed to families last week if you missed it:

• The full detail (of the Mobile Phone Policy) is in our College Handbook but in summary, students are no longer able to carry mobile phones with them during school hours (Mon-Thurs 8.00am to 4.00pm,  Fri 8.00am-2.25pm). This also applies to smart watches.
• Residential students will need to leave their phones in their rooms. From a security perspective, rooms can be locked and there is a lock box in each room as well.
• Day students have the option of leaving their mobile phones at home, leaving them in their car (which they do not access during the day) or placing them in a dedicated mobile phone locker at the rear of the administration building. If the locker option is chosen, students will need to bring their own lock to the College.

I understand that different smart watches have different functionality; some can send and receive messages, while some can only receive notifications. We will allow students to wear smart watches that can only receive notifications. If this is the case, students can come to me so that I can confirm that their smart watch can only receive notifications and they will be able to wear them. Smart watches that send messages cannot be worn.

ChatGP 

You may be aware of a new artificial intelligence application called ChatGP which is being used to create content. The Department of Education has blocked access to this application on all public-school networks to ensure that work submitted by students is genuinely their own. There will presumably be other applications that are accessible from external and home networks. Parents and carers are asked to be aware and to discourage use of such technologies when students are working from home.