From the Acting Principal

Principal's Report

With the semester break fast approaching, we look forward to some time to reflect on the year to date.  I trust that all students and families have a safe and happy two weeks.  Please be mindful of the new semester subjects for students in Years 7-10 which will commence in Week 1 Term 3.

Year 9-11 exams have come and gone and we are very pleased with the commitment shown by our students and the new exam timetabling process trialled this year.  A big thank you to Ms Wheare for her work on this program.

Semester reports will be available over the holidays and I encourage all parents and guardians to spend 15-20 minutes with their child reviewing and reflecting on the report.  This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate successes and to look for areas of improvement. Of particular importance is the effort, participation and completion of set work. There is no magic formula for success other than sustained effort, and every one of us is capable of improving our effort and efficient use of time. Academic achievement is built around a student's commitment to their studies.

To our Year 12 students, it’s been a very busy term, especially in recent weeks with the GAT and many Unit 3 assessments having been completed. I strongly recommend that our VCE students take the time during the two-week break to summarise notes to help consolidate understanding. If possible, review Edrolo videos to help clarify concepts and commence some trial exams via past exam papers or Checkpoints resources. Essentially, there is only one full term of high school remaining.

A special thank you to our staff who have worked tremendously hard during the first semester this year to ensure Rosehill students are given every opportunity to succeed and make this school a great Educational College for our families and the community.  I would like to acknowledge Mr Crofts who is leaving us at the end of this term and heading back overseas to continue his teaching career. He has been a great asset to the College and we have been lucky to have him as part of our teaching team. Best wishes from all at Rosehill Mr Crofts!  Mr Craig Ellis has been appointed as his replacement.

Finally I want to highlight the benefits of reading, especially in a secondary school. I was fortunate to attend a seminar by Author and reading expert Anne Bayetto, from Flinders University. The skills required to read for understanding in a secondary school can be significantly different to a primary setting.  In part because students have to deal with so many varied ‘specialist subject areas’.   She cannot stress enough the importance of having students read for at least 20 minutes EVERY day and to consider both fiction and non- fiction text. The benefits are immense, not just during their time at school but throughout their lifetime.

Here is the breakdown of reading time and words student's will read/hear during the year.

One minute of reading per day – 8000 words per year.

Five minutes per day – 280,000 words per year.

Twenty minutes per day – 1,800,000 words per year.

It’s never too late to start.  Please take the time to chat and discuss the reading material with your child. If reading more than 500 words an electronic version/device is not recommended, hard copies have been shown to provide greater retention and recall.

Regards,

Arthur Soumalias

Acting Principal