Five period bell times from Headstart

The new five period bell times comes into place at the commencement of Headstart on Monday 21 November.

Note new period 1 start time - 8:45am. Buildings open at 8.30am.

	Start	Finish
Period 1	8:45 (Warning bell 8:40)	9:45
Period 2	9:50	10:50
Recess	10:50	11:15
Period 3	11:15 (Warning bell 11:10)	12:15
Period 4	12:20	1:20
Lunch	1:20	2:15
Period 5	2:15 (Warning bell 2:10)	3:15

Book a new Uniform fittings

Bob Stewart Mentone Store is offering appointments for the fitting of new uniform items. Go to our page on their website to booking and for the uniform lists.

Go to www.bobstewart.com.au/school/mentone-girls-secondary-college

See the PFA page in this newsletter for second-hand uniform arrangements.

Student scholarships

The Department of Education and Training administers a number of scholarships that are available to eligible students who are currently enrolled in Grade 4 to Year 12 in 2022.

Applicants for these scholarships will be evaluated on their:

participation in school activities
community involvement
academic record for the current year.

Scholarships are either one-off payments or cover the duration of the student’s course or annual study. Many of these scholarships have specific eligibility criteria so please refer to individual applications for more information. Applications are open and close on Wednesday 1 February 2023. For more information and a list of available scholarships, see the 2022 Student scholarships for Grade 4 – Year 12 fact sheet.

For information on how to apply, refer to Student scholarships.

Thunderstorm Asthma

Be prepared this pollen season

Grass pollen season, which runs from October to December each year, brings an increase in asthma and hay fever symptoms. It also increases the risk of thunderstorm asthma. For people with asthma or hay fever, especially those who experience wheezing or coughing with their hay fever, thunderstorm asthma can be sudden, serious and even life threatening.

Mentone Girls’ Secondary College will implement a range of measures to keep our school community safe when the risk of thunderstorm asthma increases.

Many of our staff are trained in asthma first aid, and we will monitor the VicEmergency app to receive thunderstorm warnings, and, where appropriate, keep students indoors when weather forecasts identify greater level of risk.

How you can prepare

During pollen season, there are some things you can do to prepare and protect yourself and your family:

If your child has ever had asthma: talk to your doctor about what you can do to help protect your child from the risk of thunderstorm asthma, including updating your asthma action plan. Taking an asthma preventer properly and regularly is key to preventing asthma, including thunderstorm asthma.
If your child has hay fever: see your pharmacist or doctor for a hay fever treatment plan and check if you should have an asthma reliever puffer. These are available from a pharmacy without a prescription.
If your child has hay fever and experiences wheezing and coughing: it is important to make sure they don’t also have asthma. Speak to your doctor about an asthma action plan.
Where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms from October to December, especially during the wind gusts that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows. If you have your air conditioning on, turn it to ‘recirculate’.

Protect yourself this pollen season – managing asthma and allergies matters.

Remain vigilant for COVID-19

It is important for students to manage any hay fever or asthma symptoms, as these conditions can produce symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, and loss or change to sense of smell or taste, which are similar to COVID-19 symptoms.

If your child experiences these symptoms in different or worse ways to their usual hay fever or asthma symptoms, medical advice should be sought.

Find out more

For more information, visit your general practitioner (GP) or visit the Better Health Channel.

Carol Duggan and Detta Gordon

Assistant Principals

Out and about

Languages and Science

Year 8 city excursion