PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
Congratulations to the School Council Members for 2020
PARENT REPRESENTATIVES
Alan Bullas
Lana Kaper
Anat Vernik
Gerd Diegelmann
Andrew Brough
Carly Griffen
Tim Stephens
Vlad Finn
DET REPRESENTATIVES
Peter Quinn
Georgia Schmidt
Simon Hughes
Emma Mullane
CO-OPTED MEMBERS
Geoff Woolnough
Alan Naylor
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Genevieve O’Brien (Year 12)
An election for one more student will be finalized by the next newsletter.
I look forward to working with School Council and thank all of you for your willingness to serve this community in this capacity.
EDUCATION SUB-COMMITTEE – ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY
At the next Education Sub Committee of School Council on Tuesday 10 March we will be presenting the College's 2019 Annual Report. All members of the school community are invited to attend. We will commence at 7pm and meet at the General Office.
COMMUNITY EVENING
On Wednesday evening we held a community event with our three largest feeder schools, McKinnon PS, Valkstone PS and Ormond PS.
This was an evening with esteemed Psychologist, Michael Carr-Gregg as our guest speaker.
He is such a learned specialist and gave us all some key strategies for parenting.
Dealing with teenagers is such a problematic challenging time and there is no perfect way forward. Opportunities to hear from Psychologists like Michael Carr-Gregg are truly invaluable.
We all strive to have happy healthy kids.
Some of his key things to look for –
Do they have friends;
Can they do things on their own;
Do they understand and enjoy school;
Do they have something that they feel passionate about.
Michael mentioned the following key challenges –
Technology and cyber safety
Sleep deprivation
Communication
Alcohol use
Building resilience
All kids need meaning, purpose and belonging. That strong sense of connectedness is something we can all work towards.
I thank my Principal colleagues, Marilyn Koolstra, Simone Eirth and Kerri McLeod and our Wellbeing Coordinator Patty Etcell for her incredible guidance and support.
YEAR 12 FORMAL
Our Year 12 Formal was held last night at Merrimu. As always, much effort was undertaken to ensure this event was a tremendous success.
Students looked glamorous and I was very grateful for the efforts of the Senior Student Managers, especially Mrs James for their organization of this important event. I also thank our student leaders for their assistance and the many staff who were in attendance and made this event possible.
Our Year 11 Formal will be held on Thursday 19 March at Merrimu.
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
On Wednesday 19 February we had wind, rain and eventually sunshine but, none the less, the swimming carnival was a great success.
The theme this year was ‘school colours’, a great theme which provided students the opportunity to represent their house with lots of colour and a wonderful sporting spirit.
Once again the tradition of ‘Mankinnon’ vs the Year 12s was a highlight, and the talent was most impressive.
This year the staff won the Mankinnon title.
A true spectacle! Well done to all.
We really saw our school value of resilience be developed on this day of extreme weather.
Congratulations to Ms Pemberton for her organization of a very successful Carnival. I would also like to thank the House Captains for engendering a great spirit of competition, the staff and students who enthusiastically participated and some of the parents for their attendance.
Thank you also to the Year 11 Antipodeans who organized a very successful sausage sizzle to raise money for their upcoming trip to Cambodia in June.
Congratulations to Chisholm House who won the trophy on the day.
PARENT EVENINGS
Thanks to all the parents who have attended the Information Evenings held so far this year. Again, a great opportunity to share stories, meet others in the same situation and reflect on our students’ journey. The support of our parent community is always very much appreciated and the Heads of Sub-school, Student Managers and teachers enjoy the strong partnerships that are built.
ATTENDANCE
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.
School participation helps people to develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for further learning and participation in their community. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and high incomes across their lives.
Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future.
There is no safe number of days for missing school. Every Day Counts.
Each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes.
I thank parents for their support regarding this matter.
CYCLING AND PEDESTRIANS
With the 2020 school year underway, some students riding to and from school may be tempted to ride on footpaths. However, doing so can place pedestrians at significant risk of harm. The Road Safety Rules state that cyclists over 12 years are NOT permitted to ride on the footpath unless:
they are accompanying a child under 12 years e.g. a parent supervising their child): or
they have a physical or intellectual disability making it undesirable, or impracticable to ride on the road (and they have a certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner).
Please be vigilant at all times. Please use the school crossing and the roundabout which are there for your safety whilst crossing the road.
ANNUAL REPORT
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY
TUESDAY 10 MARCH, 2020
7:00PM – 7:30PM
A BLOCK CONFERENCE ROOM
(FRONT OF SCHOOL)