Eagle Newsletter

Principal 

Child Safe Standards

 

The new Child Safe standards came into effect from the 1st of July, 2022 with the new Ministerial Order 1359 taking effect. Our school community has a responsibility to make themselves familiar with the policy and the changes that have taken effect. There are now 11 Child safe Standards that are outlined in the new policy. The policy outlines practical applications of how these standards will be displayed and carried out within our college. Our staff have been informed and will need to be familiar with the standards required for the behaviours required, and for activities run in line with the new ministerial order.

 

As a result of the new ministerial order there are now 3 new policies that have been developed and passed by school council. These include the following 

 

 

The policies require a standard of behavior that we would expect from every staff member within our college, however this policy extends beyond our own actions, and requires us to ensure the safety of all students while within our care across all environments that we work in, including excursions, camps and while using external providers. It also demands that we establish an environment that provides students with the confidence and knowledge to report incidents where they feel unsafe or have experienced any level of harassment or abuse. 

 

These policies refer to other policies that can be found on our website including the Duty of Care Policy - https://www.lalorsc.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/DutyofCare.Policy.2022-2025.pdf 

 

All parents and carers of the wider school community should have a conversation with their child about Child safety and who to speak to if they feel their safety is being jeopardized in any way. 

 

If there are any questions about the information contained in the policies or above that you would like to discuss further, please contact me at any time.

 

School Reports

 

The semester one reports were completed in the last week of term 2 and made available to all parents. All parents should now have viewed their child’s report and we hope discussed the information contained in it to gauge the academic progress of your child. Having checked the log in details of all parents it is disappointing to know that some parents are yet to access their child’s report. Any parent who is yet to view their child’s report should log onto Compass and view it through this portal. If you are having trouble completing this, please contact the general office so this can be arranged.

 

For those students who underperformed in semester one, the start of a new semester provides them with a fresh start and the opportunity to improve the content of their next report. Student managers at each year level also look at those students who have under achieved and not met the academic requirements of Lalor Secondary College.  Parents of these students will receive a letter outlining the schools concerns, as well as providing advice on how families can support these students to improve their results. Student Managers will be meeting with a number of students and parents over the coming weeks to discuss some strategies on how this can be achieved. I ask all parents who have been contacted to please make an appointment with the relevant Student Manager so this meeting can take place.

 

Covid-19 Update

As you would be aware, following advice from the Acting Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government recently announced changes to the pandemic orders.

There will no longer be a mandated vaccination requirement for staff working in mainstream schools. This change will come in from 11.59pm Friday 24 June, so in effect from the start of Term 3 2022.

With almost 100% of school staff now vaccinated across Victoria, this will cause little change to our school.

As part of the changes, from 11.59pm Friday 24 June 2022, parents and carers who have COVID-19 can transport their non-COVID-19 children via private vehicle to their primary or secondary school when an alternative person is not available to assist. This will include school holiday programs held on school grounds.

This means that parents and carers will be able to leave COVID self-isolation to take their non-COVID-19 child to school or school holiday programs via a private vehicle.

The parent or carer must travel directly to and from the school only. They must remain in the vehicle at all times, unless it is reasonably necessary to leave the vehicle to walk the child to and from the entrance of the school safely. They must wear a face mask at all times.

Family members are asked to continue reporting positive COVID-19 cases to both the Department of Health and our own testing portal.

You must also let the school know if your child is a close contact. Students who are close contacts and want to attend should still take 5 RATs over 7 days and wear a face mask whilst indoors if they are aged 8 years or over.

The Victorian Department of Health strongly recommends that face masks are worn in indoor settings.

As a result, we are asking all students and all staff to wear masks when in class (except where removing a mask is necessary for clear communication) from now to the end of winter.

Students won’t be required or expected to wear masks when outdoors, and this expectation won’t stop student participation in the full range of school activities, including music, sport and performances.

We are asking for your support in explaining to your child or children the importance of this simple step that will help keep our schools as safe as possible. 

We also ask that you make sure your child (or children) takes a mask to school (and wears it if they are travelling on public transport) or collects a mask when they arrive at school. 

We all appreciate how important it is for students to be back at school. This action will help make sure as many students and staff as possible are protected from COVID and other winter illness.

 

Students should continue to stay home if they are unwell, even if they test negative on a RAT.

Thank you for your support as we continue to make these adjustments.

 

Information Evenings - 2019

 

This term sees information evenings running for Years VCE / Vocational Major, Year 10 and Year 9. I encourage all parents to attend these evenings, so they are informed about the changes that occur as your child transitions from one year to the next. The evenings take around one hour to complete and there is plenty of time to ask questions and gather information from staff about the transition process. The information evenings will be held on at the following dates and times.

 

VCE Information Evening

Tuesday 26th July

Year 10 Information Evening

Thursday 28th July

Year 9 Information Evening

Tuesday 2nd  August

 

On Friday the 22nd of July I has the privilege of attending the 19th Local Parliamnetary Convention run by Lalor Secondary College at Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre. I was able to attend and open this event that saw a diverse range of schools come together to discuss the question -  ‘Freedom of Speech vs Hate Speech’. The schools in attendance included: St Monicas College, Camberwell Grammar School, Sirius College, Dromana Secondary College and Lalor Secondary College. Our guests included:

 

  • ANDREW GILES, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR SCULLIN - MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP, MIGRANT SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS OF AUSTRALIA
  • Bronwyn Halfpenny MP - State Member for Thomastown - Parliamentary Secretary for Workplace Safety
  • Dr Andrea Carson – Associate Professor for the Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy at La Trobe University.

Our guests provided excellent information to be debated and set up the day so that all students and staff involved were engaged and involved from start to finish. Congratulations to the Humanities team on their efforts to again run a wonderful event. 

 

 

Student Free Day

 

For Semester 2, 2022, the Department of Education and Training has provided schools with the option to hold each teacher’s allocated professional practice day on the same day for all staff. This is to enable the most effective and efficient use of this day.

 

As a result, we have scheduled our professional practice day for Friday the 26th of August. Students will therefore not be required to attend school on this day. 

 

If anybody has any questions or would like to discuss the information contained above, please contact the general office on 9463 7300.

 

Best regards,

 

Corey Jewell

College Principal