Dear Parents and Friends,

On Thursday the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, James Merlino, visited McGuire College to announce the transition plan for the merger of the four secondary schools (Shepparton High School, McGuire College, Wanganui Park Secondary College and Mooroopna Secondary College) in 2020.

Minister Merlino outlined the staged transition plan that will be implemented from next year (2020), which can be summarised as:-

All Year 7 students will start at McGuire campus, studying a program specifically designed to enhance literary and numeracy skills and extend their critical thinking.
In 2020 Shepparton High School students move to Wanganui Park Campus, except for Year 9s
They, and Year 9s from the other 3 secondary schools, will go to a dedicated Year 9 program at Mooroopna
Mooroopna’s Year 8 and 10 students remain at Mooroopna campus, while Mooroopna’s senior students will move to either Wanganui Park campus or McGuire campus depending on their subject choices
Other students remain at their current school site.

This transition plan will provide the foundation to bring year level groups together onto the same campus, over a two year period (2020 and 2021).

Formal school naming process

As part of the formal naming process the new secondary school has been given an interim name: Greater Shepparton College.

We are now asking the community to formally name our new school.

Submissions for the new school name must be emailed by Tuesday 16 April 2019 to Shepparton.Education.Plan@edumail.vic.gov.au

As many of you are aware there was an altercation involving students at the College last Monday. I want to emphasise there is no place for incidents like this at our school. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and does not represent our school's values. Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken, and we will work closely with all those affected. Support is available to students affected by the incident. If any student is concerned or would like to discuss the incident please ask them to contact their Year Level Leader who will ensure they are supported by our wellbeing team.

In addition to the above, it has come to light that the incident was recorded and has made its way to social media. This school has informed students about the school’s expectations regarding the responsible use of technology, along with the consequences of recording and distributing inappropriate material. This includes posting images of children without their consent. I ask that you speak to your child about the incident and the appropriate use of technology in these circumstances. If your child has posted a recording of the incident on social media, we encourage that the post be removed.

My door is always open, and if you have any concerns please feel free to contact me on during business hours to discuss them directly.

Curriculum Day

There will be a student free day next Thursday 4th April to facilitate all staff Professional Development. Students are not required to attend on this day.

Kind Regards

Claire Kelly

Principal

Farewell Sandy Gunn

McGuire College sadly acknowledges the passing of our colleague and friend Sandy Gunn this week.

Sandy was a respected and valued staff member of the McGuire College team and brought strong community links, vision and passion to all four secondary school communities in Greater Shepparton. She will be sadly missed.

Sandy’s role as chief executive of Better Together Alliance for the past three years, involved building strong networks across the four secondary schools and the wider community, ensuring each of school communities was well positioned to take advantage of future educational possibilities. Early this year Sandy was appointed as the program facilitator of the Fairley Leadership Program. In 2018 Sandy, completed the Fairley Leadership Program as part of her BTA role.

McGuire College staff, students and parents extend our sincere condolences to Sandy’s partner Gavin and to the extended Gunn family at this sad time.

Sandy’s memorial will be held on Wednesday 10th April, commencing at 2.30pm at the Shepparton Golf Club. Sandy is being privately cremated at a service in Melbourne on Tuesday of this week.

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” Thucydides.

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