Principals Update

To close out our first week back at school I wanted to provide an update on a few key things at GSC.  From this point forward we will move into a regular cadence of publishing the College newsletter with the first full edition due late next week and every three weeks thereafter.

Re-introduction of mentor

From the outset of the school year, we have re-introduced mentor into the timetable structure.

Mentor is an important part of the school day, providing dedicated time for information about school events to be shared, attendance and uniform to be checked, and be the place where mini lessons focused on positive engagement and college values are run. This is central to the continued implementation of the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) framework that we at GSC have adopted with the aim of supporting social competence and academic achievement in our students whilst imbedding practices that; support a reduction in problem behaviour, use of data to support decision-making and a focus on preventative activities.

Mentor will form part of the school day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Students will follow slightly different bell times on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The start and end times of the school day are unchanged.

The specific bell times are listed on your student's timetable in Xuno as well as outlined in the College Handbook on our website.

Canteen

Our new canteen operators, Helen and Mick from FarmTruck (a local business), are all set up and ready to serve food/snacks/drinks to students through the College canteen from Monday 5th February.  The canteen is open Monday to Friday.

While over-the-counter sales by cash and eftpos are available, the canteen is also set-up with the flexischools app so orders can be placed in advance.  I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you all that mobile phones cannot be used under any circumstances to make payment. 

Please see the details in the flyer below and take particular note of cut-off times for orders.

I've no doubt students and staff alike are going to be really pleased with what our new canteen has to offer.

Capital Works

Junior School Centre

I'm thrilled to advise that the refurbishment works that took place over the summer break are complete and the Junior School Centre (commonly known as B-Block) will be operational from Monday 5 February for staff and student use.  The refresh of this space is not just a fresh coat of paint and flooring but includes new internal walls that take account of feedback from users about the optimal layout of classrooms to ensure functionality for the highest teaching and learning outcomes to be achieved.

I've no doubt students will be excited to find some of their classes timetabled into the B-block spaces from next week. 

New Portables and the Main carpark (including visitor car parking)

The works to deliver and place new portable classrooms that saw the closure of the main carpark and use of the bus loop to vehicles other than the buses are now complete.  It was impressive to watch the trucks and crane manoeuvre the pieces into position providing six new teaching spaces.  Works will continue to connect the rooms to essential services such as power and landscape around the buildings with accessible decking, but I'm pleased to advise that the main carpark is again operational so if you're needing to visit College reception you can again utilise the visitor spaces accessible from the Melton Road entry.

I hope you've all had a positive start to the school year and enjoy a restful weekend in readiness for a full week back at school.

Kind Regards,

Sarah Rose

College Principal