Dear Maffra Secondary College Families, Students and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2025 school year and I would like to wish all our families, students and staff a very successful 2025. I would like to welcome all our new families to our school community and give a very special welcome to our Year 7 students and all of the new students at other year levels who either joined us during Headstart at the end of last year or joined us this year for the first time. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break with family and friends and based on how the students have settled in over the last 2 weeks, I am very much looking forward to a positive and productive year ahead.

This year is the final year of our 4-year Strategic Plan. Our overall focus is on embedding the work we have done during the previous 3 years as we head into our school review in August. We look forward to all students taking a positive attitude into 2025, staying focused on their learning as we continue to increase our expectations in the classroom for all students. Following our 10 expected behaviours will also remain a focus, which in turn will ensure a safe learning environment where all students can experience success, and we will continue to have a strong emphasis on embedding a culture of respect and equality across the whole school community.

This year we have been invited to partner with the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) to learn about a deliberate and structured approach to implementing evidence-based practices in our school. We believe this will fit very nicely with the work we’ve been doing and our focus for this work will be on explicit teaching. We will be one of the first secondary schools across Australia to partner with AERO in this evidence-based approach after they worked with primary schools across Australia last year with very successful results.

I am very excited to be looking forward to the year ahead and hope that all students continue to make the most of the opportunities and challenges that are presented to them and that we continue to have respectful interactions with all members of our community throughout the year.

Introducing the College Leadership Team

Our Leadership team in 2025 includes the following staff:

· Principal – Jennifer Roep

· Assistant Principal – Marie Clark (oversees Student Learning and Engagement and Years 10-12)

· Assistant Principal – Cheryl Evans (oversees Student Wellbeing and Engagement and Year 7-9) until the end of term 1 and the Elise Westphalen will take on the role of Assistant Principal from Term 2 onwards

· Senior School Leader Years 10-12 – Kim Dormer

· Year 9 Acting Leading (Term 1) – Katie Johnston

· Acting Year 7 and 8 Leader – Fiona Ray

· 7-9 Literacy and Numeracy Improvement Learning Specialist – Sarah Schellen

· Cognitive Engagement Learning Specialist – Lashay Tricker

· Student Engagement and Community Partnerships Learning Specialist – Kristen Raine

· Acting Inclusive Practice Leader – Rebecca Jackson

· Wellbeing Leader – Emily Herbstreit

· Business Manager – Leonie Allen

Please don’t hesitate to contact any of these staff if you have questions related to their role.

Introducing the Year Level Coordinators

· Carol Caffrey Yr 12

· Heidi Bassler Yr 11

· Mariah Stone Yr 10

· Kimberley Gardiner (Term 1) Yr 9

· Brittany Tancred Yr 8

· Felicity Scully Yr 7

Introducing the Domain Leaders

· Maths – Leesa Danks

· English – Ashlyn Weston

· Humanities – Judd Newton

· Science – Kristen Raine

· Health/PE – Brittany Tancred

· The Arts – Bianca Mowbray

· Technology – Lynette Hipwell

· Languages – Ainsley Butcher

Uniform and Jewellery

Our uniform is a very important part of the building pride and connectedness in our school community and therefore I expect all students to wear their uniform correctly and with pride to, from and at school. I would like to congratulate all of students who have started off the year in a positive way in the wearing of the correct College uniform and I thank all parents for your support with this.

A reminder that hoodies and leggings are not to be worn under any circumstances and students will be provided with alternative uniform items instead.

The school uniform is decided and agreed upon by School Council. As the Principal, it is my responsibility to enforce the wearing of the school uniform, I do not decide what the uniform is. If there are any suggestions or requests for changes to the school uniform these need to be submitted in writing and addressed to the School Council Uniform Sub Committee which meets when required. The most recent change to the uniform was in 2020, when a request was made for a warmer uniform item. After seeking feedback from the wider school community, a soft shell, fleece lined, navy blue jacket was introduced to the uniform items and is now worn by many students, particularly in the cooler months of the year.

School Council Elections

School Council elections are approaching. Further information will be in the next newsletter and nomination forms available from Reception. Please give some thought to contributing to the College by participating in School Council – there are generally two Monday evening meetings per term, and it can be very rewarding. School Council decides, to a large extent, the policies and direction the College takes and is therefore a very important part of the College community.

Mobile Phones, smart watches and ipads

As we begin the year, I would like to remind all members of our community about the mobile phone policy at Maffra Secondary College. This policy can be found on our school website and I recommend all families revisiting this.

A mobile phone is a telephone with access to a cellular (telecommunication) system, with or without a physical connection to a network. For the purpose of this policy, “mobile phone” refers to mobile phones and any device that may connect to or have a similar functionality to a mobile phone such as smart watches and iPads/iPods. In accordance with the Department’s Mobile Phones Policy issued by the Minister for Education, personal mobile phones must not be used at Maffra Secondary College during school hours, including lunchtime and recess, unless an exception has been granted.

Mobile phones and other personal mobile devices owned by students at Maffra Secondary College are considered valuable items and are brought to school at the owner’s (student’s or parent/carer’s) risk. Students are encouraged not to bring a mobile phone/mobile device to school unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Please note that Maffra Secondary College does not have accident insurance for accidental property damage or theft. Students and their parents/carers are encouraged to obtain appropriate insurance for valuable items. Refer to the Department’s Personal Goods policy.

Where students bring a mobile phone or mobile device to school, Maffra Secondary will provide secure storage. Secure storage is storage that cannot be readily accessed by those without permission to do so. At Maffra Secondary College, students are required to store their mobile phones in their lockers with a secure combination lock. Students are expected not to disclose their combination to anyone. If, for any reason, a student believes that their combination may be known by another person, it is strongly recommended that they reset their combination to a new one as soon as possible

At Maffra Secondary College, if a personal mobile phone or mobile device is seen, heard or used during the school day, the following process will be applied:

· The student will be instructed to hand over the item(s) to the staff member

· The staff member will place the device in a specifically designed envelope for mobile devices and relevant information will be completed on the envelope

· The student will initial the envelope and be provided with a ‘tear off strip’ from the envelope with the envelope number printed on it

· The staff member will take the envelope to the front office where it will be stored securely

First offence:

· At the end of the school day, the student will come to the front office and meet with a member of the Principal team before collecting their mobile device

· A member of the principal team will speak with the student and go over the school and DE expectations about mobile phones/devices, then return the phone/device to the student with a warning

Second and subsequent offences:

· The student will need to organise for their parent/carer to contact the school and organise a meeting with a member of the principal team to discuss the mobile phone policy and identify support for the student to ensure they do not use their mobile phone or device during the school day

· The device will be returned to the parent/carer at the end of the meeting

Refusal to hand over the device:

· Staff member will contact a member of the principal team

· Principal team will meet with student and contact home if required

· Consequences will be implemented in line with the school’s existing student engagement policy and/or the DET Ministerial Order 1125 - grounds for suspension

Further information and details can be found on our website. Please note, this policy does not apply to:

· Out-of-school-hours events

· Travelling to and from school

· Students undertaking workplace learning activities, e.g. work experience

· Students who are undertaking VET

To assist your child/ren to abide by this policy, we strongly recommend that parents/carers contact the front office if you need to get a message to your child/ren during school hours. We understand that circumstances change at times and please rest assured that all students will be able to contact a family member during the school day, if required. We ask them to see their Year Level Coordinator/Leader or a member of the Wellbeing or Principal team and we will arrange an appropriate location for them, away from other students, to make contact when necessary.

Attendance - SCHOOL IS BETTER WHEN YOUR TEENAGER IS HERE

Why it’s important

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

Students develop good habits by going to school every day – habits that are necessary to succeed after school, whether in the workplace or in further study. Missing school can have a big impact on students academically and socially. It can affect their test results, including VCE & VCE-VM, and, just as importantly, it can affect their relationships with other students, and lead to social isolation.

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes. Each missed day is associated with falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks, and lead to fewer subject choices and may impact on achievement in years 11 and 12 and post-school pathways.

Getting in early

It’s never too late to improve attendance. Even in the middle years, when school can seem the most challenging for students and when attendance rates can be at their lowest, going to school more often can make a big difference. Every day counts. We are there to help – if you’re having attendance issues with your child, please speak to our school about ways to address those issues. The best contact is your child’s Year Level Coordinator.

IN VICTORIA SCHOOL IS COMPULSORY FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 6 – 17 YEARS

Student Absences

The main reasons for absence are:

Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference. If they are well enough, they should be accessing Compass and where possible, staying up to date with their learning while away.

Family holidays - It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term. If you are planning to go on holiday during term time, make sure that you talk to your child’s Year Level Coordinator in advance, and work with them to develop an absence learning plan.

“Day off” – Think twice before letting your teenager have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.

Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission or skip out of school during the day. There can be many reasons for truancy; the best way to address this is for us to work together.

While all absences can effect academic performance, DE’s statistics show that unexcused absences are a much stronger indicator of lower reading and maths achievement.

School refusal - School refusing children experience significant emotional distress not only when going to school but also at the thought of going to school; they may be absent from school for weeks or even months at a time. School

refusal differs from truancy as children generally stay home with the knowledge of the parents and despite their best efforts to encourage their child to go to school. If you believe your child is beginning to show signs of school refusal, please contact our wellbeing team early so we can put supports in place for your child before it progresses too far.

IF YOUR CHILDS ATTENDANCE IS LESS THAN 90% THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO BEING AWAY FROM SCHOOL FOR 1 DAY A FORTNIGHT. IF IT IS LESS THAN 80% THIS EQUALS MISSING AN AVERAGE OF 1 DAY PER WEEK.

If for any reason your teenager must miss school, there are things you can do with your school to ensure they don’t fall behind:

* Inform the school via the Administration Assistant for your child’s year level

* Find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.

* Develop an absence learning plan with your child’s coordinator and ensure they complete the plan.

Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your child’s year level coordinator as early as possible.

Openly communicating with us about all absences is a good way to prevent attendance issues being escalated to a School Attendance Officer. A School Attendance Officer is a Department of Education Regional Director who has authority to follow up attendance issues. Chronic or ongoing attendance issues that are escalated can lead to an Infringement Notice being issued to parent/s.

If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let the year level coordinator, wellbeing coordinator, or another relevant staff member know so we can work together to get your child to school every day.

TOP ATTENDANCE TIPS FOR PARENTS

* Schools want to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting your child’s school and asking for advice and support

* Remember that every day counts

* There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness

* Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day

* Open and prompt communication with our school about all absences is a good idea

* Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term

* Seek help from our school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing.

We want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing.

Changes to the Doctors in Secondary Schools (DiSS) Program access at Maffra Secondary College

Maffra Medical Group has provided the students of Maffra Secondary College with access to a GP and Practice Nurse at our school since 2018. Unfortunately, Maffra Medical Group is no longer available to provide this service however, a new General Practice will be recruited. The Maffra Secondary College community would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Stuart Anderson, Dr Margaret Young, Dr Elki Stathakopoulos and Practice Nurse Leanne Stables for their health care of our students through the Doctors in Secondary Schools Program.

Whilst recruitment takes place for a new General Practice to deliver the program at the school DiSS clinic, students are encouraged to see their family GP for their health care needs OR seek access to a Doctor through the Doctors in Secondary Schools Statewide Telehealth Program, which, in the interim, will be put in place at Maffra Secondary College throughout the remainder of the term. Doctors from Atticus Health Clinic will provide the telehealth service.

The telehealth service will be available on a Wednesday between 9am and 1.30pm during the school term. The telehealth consultations will take place in the DiSS clinic. This will be managed by our school Nurse – Tash Duffell and our Wellbeing Leader - Emily Herbstreit. If students require a telehealth appointment, they should speak directly to a member of the Wellbeing team so that they can be supported to access this service.

Students can also call 1300 268 431 to book an appointment with Atticus Health.

Students should be advised that while their appointment with Atticus Health will always remain confidential, our School Nurse – Tash Duffell or the Wellbeing Leader - Emily Herbstreit will receive a daily booking summary that includes student appointment information (student name and appointment time).

If you have any questions in relation to the Telehealth service operating throughout this term, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Wellbeing Team at your earliest convenience.

Jennifer Roep

Principal

Student Leadership-Snowy River Campus