Principal's Report

WELCOME

The following is an excerpt from my speech on the first day of school.

I spent the holidays learning how to drive our tractor. It is a Mahindra with a 45 horse power engine and can get up a cracking speed.

So why am I learning to drive a tractor?

Well why not? I don’t really need a reason because I like learning - besides which, I need it to move lots of things on my little farmlet, so using a tractor comes in handy. I could cart 10 wheel barrow loads of mulch or just one bucket worth in the tractor.

But I have to say that I have not quite learnt to drive the tractor “yet”.

I say “yet” quite deliberately. Because I know that I will learn, but I have not quite got the hang of things “yet”.

There are lots of tricks to using the different tools you attach to a tractor and at the moment I am learning how to go forwards and backwards and to master the ‘scoopy-uppy’ thing.

Each time I go out and practise driving in the paddock on the tractor, I know that my brain is making new synaptic connections between the cells in my brain and that will help make things easier every time I come back to try again. I had to start off very slowly because I did not have many tractor driving connections in my brain.

I also asked a friend to show me, to teach me some basics and after that I had to practise and practise. And practise some more.

It required some effort to keep getting the tractor out of the shed and to use it regularly, because quite frankly I had other things I would have preferred to do – fun things, like visiting friends and going to the beach - not just practising driving the tractor.

I kept forgetting the process for starting and I continually stalled the unforgiving machinery. This was very disheartening. And it was particularly hard when my brother came up and laughed at me for going so slow.

But I persisted and now I am out of the turtle speed (yes, there is a turtle speed). I am pleased to say I am now on the hare speed.

So what does this have to do with your starting back at school?

Well, this year when you are studying in your classes, you too will have to show persistence – sustained effort - if you are to maximise your learning.

You may find yourself preferring to do fun things, not something that makes your brain hurt. How many of you have put off the hard thing for the easier option?

You may find that others can learn things more quickly than you and when you compare yourself to them (as I did to my brother) you will want to give up. Well who loses then? You do!

So I encourage you to say to yourselves, ‘I can’t do it “yet”’ or ‘I don’t quite understand it “yet”,’ instead of “I can’t do it” or “I will never understand” or “I’m just not good at that!”

In 2016, I would like to encourage you all to put “yet” into your vocabulary and use it often. Foster your “can do” attitude as much as you can.

Then your teachers will know that you are persisting, you are willing to put in the effort to keep at it and learn something new or to improve on something that you can already do.

Develop an “I’m not quite there “yet” and that’s ok” attitude because one day you will be able to drop the “yet”

Have a wonderful year and keep looking forward.

Art in the Garden Day – Saturday 13 February 2016 (11 am – 2:30 pm)

Put this date in your diaries! This will be our second garden community day. The focus this time will primarily on developing the garden as an Arts space, although there will be some gardening taking place too. There will a range of arts activities for people of all ages to participate in. The Sweethearts and school bands will be playing and, as long as the rain holds off, we should have another magnificent day. It will be a family day for all.

Costa Georgiadis from Gardening Australia will come to the school to see how our award winning garden has grown – he should be at school between 1-2 pm.

We are looking for any of the following things if you have them at home:

• Old pots (the bigger the better)
• Wheel burrows (even if they have holes, we can plant into them)
• PVC pipe and Aggie Pipe (for wicking beds)
• Rocks
• Sleepers
• Wood cladding, old fence palings (not treated pine)
• Roofing tin
• Hoses
• Buckets
• Recycled or unused nails, screws
• Black plastic
• Weed mat
• Access to soil, compost. Potting mix
• Extra seedlings you don’t need
• Herbs
• Paint brushes (of all shapes and sizes)

Changes to staff

• Murray Mills will be on Long Service Leave for term 1
• Kirsty Forsyth is returning from maternity leave at 0.6 to teach English and Humanities
• Claire Stokes is returning from maternity leave at 0.6 to teach Biology and Science
• Helen Bews is returning from Long Service leave in Term 4 2015
• Kellie Walker is joining our school as a literacy and numeracy coach. Her primary focus for 2016 will be in the area of literacy
• Alanna Johnson would will be working with us 2 days per week doing speech pathology
• Latisha Nuygen has joined the staff to replace Jenny Gibson who is on leave.
• Trudy Deller has taken on the Lipson House Leadership until Jenny Gibson returns to school

School Leadership 2016

Executive Staff

Principal - Ms Michelle Crofts

Assistant Principal (Student Wellbeing) - Fiona Taylor

Assistant Principal (Teaching & Learning) - Mr Damien Toussaint

Business Manager - Ms Marianne Scott

Teaching and Learning Leaders

Ms Joy Carr - 

Professional Development

Mr Simon Collier -  Curriculum and New Pedagogies for Deep learning

Ms Robyn Myers - 

Community Connections and Student Enrolment

Well Being Leaders

Mr Jeremy Dyson - 

Freeman House Leader

Ms Julie McNamara - 

Beachley House Leader

Ms Anne Halliburton - 

Gilmore House Leader

Ms Jenny Gibson - 

Lipson House Leader

Ms Trudy Deller - 

Wellbeing Leader / Acting Lipson House Leader

School Strategic Plan

Last year we completed a formal review of our school and have set new goals for the next four years.

These goals are:

• To continue to improve student learning outcomes.
• To continue improve our students’ connection to school, motivation to learn and engagement in their learning.
• To continue to improve the wellbeing of the members of our school community.
• To actively foster citizenship in our students so that they may be people who want and can make a difference in the world.
• To improve the effective allocation of resources across the school to support the best possible outcomes for students.
• To foster a culture of collaboration.
• To improve relationships with parents/carers and the community, to encourage greater engagement with our students and their learning.

A summary of the strategic direction is available on our website in the tab titled About MFGSC.

Annual General Meeting

There will be a MFG Annual General Meeting on Monday 7 March 2016 at 5:30 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room (near the garden). Everyone is welcome to this open meeting of the School Council.

Home Group Teachers

At MFG our pastoral program runs through our House System. We have four houses: Gilmore (blue), Freeman (green), Lipson (red) and Beachley (gold). Your daughter is in a Home Group in her House and four mornings a week she attends the Home Group session. We believe this is an important part of the day as the students are welcomed to school and important notices are passed on at this time. Please check with your daughter as to who her Home Group teachers is. (They are listed below.) If you have any concerns about your daughter’s general progress at school or her wellbeing please contact the Home Group teacher.

House Captains and Whole School House Leaders

At MFG our House Leaders have been selected through a formal process as an integral part of the Home Group program and their role involves fostering belonging to the House, Home Group and school by creating, organising and implementing activities within their House and in our school. Their aims are to increase House spirit, enhance participation in school activities and encourage a sense of belonging within the school.

House Captains will be supported in each Home Group by the selection of a Home Group Representative

School Bell Times in 2015

The school times have altered slightly for 2015. This should help some students at the end of the day who sometimes find it challenging to get to the early bus. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the times are as follows.

Please note that on Tuesday mornings there will be a staff meeting and therefore no Home Group, but the lesson times will remain the same.

Year 11 & 12 Students and Tuesdays 2016

Our Tuesday program for Year 11 and 12 VCE and VCAL students as follows:

• Tuesday (even weeks) – Periods 1 – 6 run as regular classes
• Tuesday (odd weeks) – this is a study day. Sometimes the girls will be required to be at school to: complete work, do SACs, sit exams, attend Careers Information sessions, meet with teachers, attend Sports Days etc. If there are no scheduled events for the girls they can choose to study at the library at school or at home. All girls will be required to keep this day free for school purposes – this is not a day off.

First day for Year 7 students

Our Year 7 students enjoyed their first day of school on Thursday 31 January. After two periods with their Home Group teachers, they arrived at Landy Field to represent their school Houses for the very first time. It was a mostly sunny day despite the threat of rain.  All of the events were run by our House Captains which gave the Year 7 students a chance to interact with them.

The day was characterized by a spirit of participation, fun and friendliness and all of our students were encouraged to give each event a go. For many, it was the first time they had thrown a javelin and the first time they had spoken with other students outside of their Home Group. It was also a wonderful opportunity for our Home Group teachers and other staff to observe their students and chat with them in a more informal setting.