Chev Need to Knows 

Dear Chevalier families, 

Welcome back to a new term brimming with excitement and opportunity! As the leaves fall and the cooler weather embraces the Southern Highlands, I extend my "Welcome to Term 2” to each of you as we embark on another enriching journey together at Chevalier College. Term 2 heralds a time for opportunity, growth and continued partnership between home and school, as we strive to nurture the potential of every student within the spirit of a MSC community. 

Chev in the Media 

Towards the end of last term, ABC journalist Tim Fernandez visited the College to learn more about our Future Facing initiatives. Tim’s role is to produce stories which are ‘solutions focused’, in this case the use of time in schools. The story was shared during the holidays via: 

• ABC radio - AM program 
• A TV package on ABC News Breakfast 
• A podcast with Sabra Lane (within the link below) 
• A Digital article (below)

Part of the article read, “A private high school that came under fire for adopting a four-day school week says the feedback to its new timetable, which allows senior students to learn from home on Mondays, has been mostly positive.” Please click here to access the items listed above - to go straight to the podcast, please scroll down in the article and click on the turquoise 'Bright Side' link on the right.

Flipped Mondays 

Throughout Term 1, there were four Flipped Mondays. In closely monitoring the early implementation of Flipped Learning there were many feedback processes implemented; these included:  

• 2 x student surveys and 2 x teacher surveys. 
• A feedback option for parents via actionresearch@chevalier.nsw.edu.au, shared in our weekly ‘Need to Knows’. 
• Teacher feedback from a staff meeting held on Monday 25 March. 
• Correspondence with teachers shared on Wednesday 3 April. 
• 8 x teacher faculty morning teas in Weeks 9-11 with the Principal and Assistant Principal. 
• A meeting of Leaders of Learning, Assistant Principal and Principal on Thursday 11 April. 

In response to the above, we have made the following changes for students:  

• Work is available from 6pm the preceding Friday.   
• For students in Years 7-9: 
  - A set of instructions and accompanying checklist will help guide students to manage their time. 
  - A Flipped Learning workbook will be provided with ‘tear out’ pages which can be pasted into the relevant subject book. Therefore, students will no longer need to bring workbooks for all 8 subjects to school on Mondays. 
  - Soft music will play in larger spaces like McGrath Hall, as takes place in SILC, our Senior Independent Learning Centre. 
  - For ‘flipped learning doubles’ (when students do flipped learning for two lessons in a row), a 3-5 minute ‘stand, stretch and chat’ break before the end of lessons 1, 3 and 5. 
  - Year 10 students will be set flipped learning for Lessons 1 to 4. After lunch they will have the opportunity to self-direct their learning by having time to complete assessment tasks and assignments. 
  - Year 12 students - parents and students have been emailed to clarify the end of the ‘conditional’ approval for students who have not attained the Self-Regulation Micro credential. 

If you are interested to know the detail of how we are structuring the type and timing of Flipped Learning activities, please read on: 

• Years 7, 8 and 9 students are expected to complete 15 minutes for each subject, which could include one or two flipped learning activities. When combined for all 8 subjects, this equals 120 minutes (2 hours). Students have been allocated 150 minutes (2 and a half hours) to complete the activities.  
• Year 10 students are expected to complete 20 minutes for each subject, which could include one or two flipped learning activities. When combined for all 8 subjects this equals 160 minutes (just over 2 and a half hours). Students have been allocated 200 minutes (3 hours and 10 minutes) to complete the activities. Additional time will be set for students who have chosen early commencement of Design and Technology – see below for 2-unit subject guidelines for students in Years 11 and 12.  
• If parents see that their Year 7-10 child is taking longer than the allocated times to complete the activity and is therefore having to complete work at home, it is important that we know this, therefore please write a note in your child’s diary explaining this situation for them to show the relevant teacher. This important information and feedback can then assist teachers who are continually striving to set the type and timing of work which is fair and reasonable for most students in any class – a task for teachers which is challenging at the best of times.  
• For each 2-unit subject, Year 11 and 12 students should complete flipped learning activities of 25 minutes per subject, as well as another 25 minutes of consolidation per subject, making a total of 50 minutes per subject. 

All subjects are equal here. So, students have been encouraged to spend equal time on subjects as outlined above. Furthermore, the expectation is for all students to complete all Flipped Learning, just like homework and classwork. 

Action Research Activities  

As we know, Dr Phil Cummins from 'a School for tomorrow' has been overseeing Action Research of our Future Facing initiatives. As part of that for this term, the following will occur: 

• Between 6 and 20 May (inclusive) members of the Action Research Team will observe students engaged with flipped learning and speak with individual teachers and students about their experience. 
• For the four Flipped Mondays from 6 May to 3 June 2024 inclusive, students and teachers will be surveyed about Flipped Mondays. 
• In early June, a survey will be sent to parents. 
• From 17 to 26 June, the Action Research Team will meet to review data and analysis of surveys and observations. The themes and messages emerging will form the focus of questions to be asked in separate focus groups made up of staff, students and parents to be conducted by Dr Phil Cummins in the first week of Term 3. 

As well as the above, and also through other survey and feedback opportunities, there is a commitment to consider other Future Facing priorities such as SIM and Wellbeing classes, early commencement of HSC with VET subjects in Year 9 and Design and Technology in Year 10, and attendance data. It is anticipated this process will enable a draft report to be presented to the school by mid-August.

In conclusion, I trust Term 2 has started well for you and your child/ren. I extend my best wishes to all students who commence Winter Sport tomorrow, especially students representing the College at the highest level, our Firsts Teams. I also acknowledge and encourage the 70+ students who continue to rehearse for High School Musical and encourage you to 'claim the dates’ in your calendar now for this wonderful production, running from opening night on Wednesday 19 June to Saturday 22 June. 

Greg Miller 

Principal 

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher interviews on Wednesday 8 May are for Years 7 and 12 only. Interviews for Years 8-11 will take place in Term 3 Week 2.  

The Parent Teacher interviews are on Zoom.  

Since we first trialled Zoom interviews, we have received an overwhelmingly favourable response from parents to this format, rather than our previous format where teachers, parents and students sat at tables in a hall.  Reasons for this strong preference included noise levels, privacy concerns, interruptions, the challenges of impromptu meetings without a booking, and, importantly, the logistics of parents getting to Chev if they do not work nearby, or have young children or complex family arrangements at home.

Please remember that the lines of communication are always open, and you can contact your child's teachers at any time by emailing office@chevalier.nsw.edu.au. Your email will then be forwarded to the relevant teacher, who will contact you directly.

ThinkUKnow Presentation - NSW Police

Our Youth Engagement Officer Senior Constable Rachel Kennedywill be visiting the school over the next two weeks to present to our students on issues arising and impacting young people in the community, specifically as social media has been identified as an issue impacting both primary and secondary students. 

ThinkUKnow is an evidence-based education program delivered nationally by the Australian Federal Police, and endorsed by the NSW Police Force. The key focus of ThinkUKnow presentations is to openly communicate with young people about what they do online, the challenges they may face and how they can be overcome, including where to go to for advice and support. 

The presentations are approximately 60 minutes in length and will occur on the following dates:

Monday 6 May  

• Year 9 and 10 - Period 3 and part of 4
• Year 7 and 8 - Period 5 and part of 6

Wednesday 15 May 

• Year 11 and 12 - Period 2 (during their scheduled Wellbeing lesson)

Year 10 students who work from home on a Monday are welcome to come for the whole day and attend the presentation.

Natalie LaGarde and Kelly Clunn

Assistant Principals - Wellbeing

Student Attendance - SMS communication to end

From Friday 17 May, we will no longer be sending SMS communications for absences and attendance.  Please use the Parent Orbit App or Parent Lounge for the followin:

• Absences and Attendance
  • If your child is marked absent from school and this absence is unexplained, you will receive a notification in the App and the Lounge.
  • Please use the App or Lounge to explain the absence - t.

Year 7 Vaccinations

The 2024 vaccination program for Year 7 students will take place on Tuesday 14 May. All Year 7 students will be offered Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (dTpa) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV).  All vaccines are administered individually by registered nurses from NSW Health and students are supervised by a staff member.  If your child is nervous about receiving vaccines, please contact Dana, our First Aid Officer, for assistance.

Parents can provide consent online for their child's routine school vaccinations. Vaccinations will only be provided at school if consent has been received. Visit the NSW Heath website and follow the prompts to complete the School Vaccination Consent form.

If your child has already received the vaccines through your healthcare practitioner, please do not register your child for school vaccinations. Only children registered through the NSW Health website will receive their vaccinations at school.

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit NSW Health or call the Liverpool Public Health Unit on 9794 0855.

If you have a child currently in Year 5, please submit your application for enrolment in Year 7 2026 as soon as possible.  The closing date for applications is 1 June 2024 and enrolment interviews will take place in July.

With a healthy interest in this year group, we strongly encourage you to apply well before this date as we don't want our current families to miss out.

If you know any friends who are also hoping to enrol their children, please encourage them to submit their application now to avoid disappointment.

Here is a link to the online application form.

ISA Round 1 is on this Saturday. Team fixtures and bus information can be found in Parent Lounge and on the Parent Orbit app under School Links >> Extra Curricular.

All buses will be leaving from the bus zone on Charlotte Street. All students leaving from the College should be dropped off in the JFC car park.  

CAPALoT Ensemble Rehearsal Schedule

Our CAPALoT Ensemble Rehearsal Schedule is now available in the Parent Lounge and on the Parent Orbit app! 

Check it out under School Links >> Extra Curricular. 

Coach Phillips

Extra Curriculum Administrator

Mother’s Day High Tea - Tickets Close Monday

We warmly welcome mothers and mother figures to our Mother’s Day High Tea, to be held on Friday 10 May from 9.30am-11.00am.

Tickets are $25 each, which includes a professionally catered high tea. Beautiful lucky door prizes will be on offer and our CAPALoT students will be performing for our guests.

Please follow the link below to purchase tickets by Monday 6 May.

Mother’s Day High Tea Tickets

We look forward to a wonderful morning of celebration and connection.

Sports Winterfest - Save the Date!

Exciting news: Sports Winterfest is back for 2024, and so are the fireworks!

Save the date in your diary – Saturday 27 July.

It again promises to be a full day of sport, fun and hospitality.

Additional information and a booking link will follow once further details are confirmed.

• 4 May - ISA Round 1
• 6 May - Year 12 Agriculture HSC Study Day
• 6 May - Year 11 Studies of Religion II Excursion
• 6 May - Year 9 iSTEM Excursion
• 6 May to 17 May - Year 11 Work Placements
• 8 May - Parent Teacher Interviews
• 10 May - Mother's Day Morning Tea
• 11 May - ISA Round 2
• 13 May - Year 12 Engineering Studies Excursion
• 13 May - Year 11 Agriculture Case Study 
• 13 May - Year 11 Ancient History Excursion
• 13 May - Year 9 White Card Incursion
• 14 May - Year 7 Vaccinations
• 18 May - ISA Round 3
• 20 May - Year 10 Wilderness Excursion
• 20 May - Year 12 Chemistry Excursion
• 20 May to 23 May - Year 12 Wilderness Excursion
• 25 May - ISA Round 4
• 26 May - National Sorry Day

Chev Need to Knows Archive

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