NGSC Newsletter

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

Paul Dawson, Bradley Headlam &  Julie Andrews

Assistant Principals

NAPLAN

Well done to the Year 7 and Year 9 students for completing the four NAPLAN tests this week. This year NAPLAN was mostly conducted in the GYM with some classes needing to sit in nearby classrooms due to the numbers in each Year level. Students were well prepared with their test materials including a personal calculator. 

Catch up sessions were conducted on Friday. 

Thank you to the Curriculum Leadership Team who administered the tests, the many teacher supervisors and the wonderful support of the administration staff, especially Tonia Tigani, who checked and double checked the test booklets, student attendance, catch up day arrangements and the final preparation of the materials for return. 

We anticipate that the 2022 NAPLAN will be online tests for NGSC students. 

END OF SEMESTER EXAMS, GAT for UNIT 3/4 SUBJECTS

In weeks 8 and 9 of this term, the end of semester exams will be conducted. TImetables will be published soon. 

Included in the exam period is the Unit 3/4 GAT. This is a compulsory General Achievement Test for all students studying a Unit 3/4 VCE study. 

Students can prepare for the exams by allocating study time at home which is separate to the regular homework tasks. Study can include reading over class notes, reading the relevant texts or chapters from the semester’s work, practising (many times) essays and maths questions, creating mind maps and other useful diagrams and annotations to support learning and memorising the work for the classes. 

If you are unsure of the study techniques for specific subjects please seek assistance from your class teachers. 

Also, remember that the library is open until 4:30 pm each day and can be a quiet space for productive homework and study time before going home. 

An EAL homework club is also available on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons after school. 

At this time of the year, it should be clear to all that the items on the NGSC booklists are essential materials for each subject’s requirements. There should be no reason as to why students do not have the required novels, texts, calculators and enough writing books and stationery for their learning programs. If it is an issue please contact a member of the Wellbeing Team for support.

Year 9 Morrisby Interviews (3 May - 4 June)

Students in Year 9 will take part in the Morrisby survey. Which unpacks all the skills, interests and advises on a particular pathway that suits the individual. The data is used to map the pathway, choose subjects and inform Curriculum Teams to plan for the needs of students.

Careers and Pathways

Recently, whilst in a meeting with Mr Adamou, there was an excited knock at the door and a  larger-than-life student burst into the office. It was Daly Krajina. He had achieved his goal of becoming an electrical apprentice. He was beaming! The Sub Schools and Pathways Team have provided great support over the course of his school career and to Daly’s credit he has engaged with all school and family support. It is a timely reminder of the work the team does to help students recognise and achieve their pathway goals.

The careers program amps up from here with formalised instruction, surveys, advice and speakers starting in a couple of weeks.

In FOCUS: Always prepared for assessment.

An occasional report from parents is the statement “there isn’t any homework” or the student “we never get any homework”. This certainly is not the case, particularly as it is a reportable component every 4 weeks. In addition to this, homework can comprise any of the following:

  • Revision of terms
  • Practice of skills
  • Pre reading
  • Reading notes
  • Reading the chapter
  • Emailing questions for teacher
  • Compiling questions for clarity

There is always a test or assessment on the way, therefore students should be doing these things on a regular basis. No excuses!

 

Other advice:

How much homework? 

Year level x 10 mins per subject per week is a good guide. So Year 7 students should be doing 70 mins per subject per week.

By doing this consistently there is no need to re learn content prior to a test and therefore a student can revise effectively.

Winter uniform items

If you are ever unsure of the range of uniform items that are part of the NGSC Uniform you can request a Uniform price list (Bellarine Uniforms) from the school Administration Office or visit the Bellarine Uniform Shop in Moorabool Street, Geelong. 

From 2020, the NGSC PE uniform includes the new long sleeve polo shirt. This is an ideal solution for students who find the short sleeve top too cold in winter. With the long sleeve polo top students can easily wear a long sleeve t-shirt underneath for extra warmth, as long as it is not visible.

Long grey school pants are an option for all students, there are male and female styled trousers available. NGSC school skirts are to be worn at knee length (slightly above or below the knee) as this is also useful in keeping warm.

A reminder that approved school shoes do NOT include Doc Martens, boots or branded blask runners.

Please ensure that all items of uniform are labelled with the student's name. It is the time of the year when jackets, blazers and jumpers are lost due to students removing them and then leaving them behind and not remembering where they might be. 

Uniform support is available through the NGSC Wellbeing Team.