PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Key Dates

28 June                    Last day Term 2

                                     (1:30 pm finish)

15 July                     Term 3 commences

23 July                      Year 10 Immunisations

24 July                      Whole School Assembly P3

29 July                      Parent/Teacher Conferences

                                      12:00 to 7:00 pm

30 July - 2 Aug      Year 10 Careers Week

7 - 9 August            Year 10 Camp

12 - 16 August       Year 9 Leadership Camp

19 - 21 August       Year 12 Snow Camp

19 - 21 August       Year 8 Camp 1

21 - 23 August        Year 8 Camp 2

27 August                Curriculum Day

                                     (Student Free Day)

30 August                Year 7 Zoo Excursion

2 - 6 Sept                  Year 9 Careers Interviews

9 - 13 Sept               School Production Week

16 - 18 Sept             Year 9 Camp

22 October              Year 12 Graduation

Mr Nicholas Adamou

Principal

End of Term 2

Today is the end of Term 2 of this academic year, I take this opportunity to celebrate with you and your families the achievements of our students and staff. None of this can occur without the hard work and effort of the staff (teaching and non-teaching) who work diligently, plan and organise the learning & teaching that takes place on a daily basis within our vibrant college community. As I scan through the past newsletters, I can’t help being extremely proud of the personal qualities and achievements of our students this semester. 

Our students have achieved great curriculum results, added value to their learning and participated in numerous extra-curricular activities. They had many opportunities to demonstrate our school values Respect, Excellence, Achievement & Diversity, within the school and the wider community during camps, fundraising activities, sporting events and visits to and from other schools.  

School and self-pride are central to everything we do here at NGSC. We bring together a collaborative community of practice, committed to providing students with the tools they need, not only to deal with life’s difficulties, but also to teach them the skills required to lead a flourishing life. Our staff and students are proud to be part of the school community and they are also very proud to be representing our community and its values to the wider community.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of the teaching and non-teaching staff for their outstanding work they and their teams continue to achieve in our school. 

At the 2019 Education State School Leadership Conference, Minister Merlino spoke about excellence, and how strong instructional leadership drives excellence for all students to reach their potential.  

To build a better school is hard work, and requires great leadership, with the foresight to turn ideas into actions. This enables a culture of excellence to flourish in the school, in every classroom and across the system as part of the Education State goal of excellence. All our students deserve to reach their best, and this includes ensuring our high ability and gifted students are stretched, engaged and challenged. As Principal of this outstanding school community, I can assure you that NGSC is a school of excellence and everything we do is about the improvement of our young people ensuring successful future pathways.

Wishing you all a restful break with your families and friends and if taking time away for the term vacation, you keep safe and enjoy your time off.

Term Three begins on Monday, 15 July.

Child Safe Standards: Creating a safe environment

North Geelong SC is a child safe school/organisation that aims to comply with Ministerial Order No. 870 - Child Safe Standards, which came into effect 1 August 2016.

The school is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people and this is the primary focus of our care and decision-making. We have a zero tolerance for child abuse. 

NGSC is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention is paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability. 

Every person involved in NGSC has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role he/she plays individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make. 

In addition, the school has a Wellbeing Centre with a number of full time staff members working with the students ensuring they are building resilience skills and having their wellbeing needs addressed. Together with the Doctors in Schools program the school wellbeing team works with a number of external agencies and organisations utilising their expertise to improving our students’ wellbeing, ensuring they feel safe and able to be productive in a caring learning and teaching environment.  

Child Safety Code of Conduct

NGSC is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our school community recognises the importance of, and a responsibility for, ensuring our school is a safe, supportive and enriching environment which respects and fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development.

This Code of Conduct aims to protect children and reduce any opportunities for child abuse or harm to occur. It also assists in understanding how to avoid or better manage risky behaviours and situations. It is intended to complement child protection legislation, Department policy, school policies and procedures and professional standards, codes or ethics as these apply to staff and other personnel.

The Principal and school leaders of NGSC support the implementation and monitoring of the Code of Conduct, and will plan, implement and monitor arrangements to provide inclusive, safe and orderly schools and other learning environments. The Principal and school leaders will also provide information and support to enable the Code of Conduct to operate effectively. 

All staff, contractors, volunteers and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work are required to comply with the Code of Conduct by observing expectations for appropriate behaviour below. The Code of Conduct applies in all school situations, including school camps and in the use of digital technology and social media.

Acceptable behaviours

As staff, volunteers, contractors, and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work individually, we are responsible for supporting and promoting the safety of children by:

• upholding the school’s statement of commitment to child safety at all 
• treating students and families in the school community with respect both within the school environment and outside the school environment as part of normal social and community activities.
• listening and responding to the views and concerns of students, particularly if they are telling you that they or another child has been abused or that they are worried about their safety/the safety of another child
• promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students 
• promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of students with culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds 
• promoting the safety, participation and empowerment of students with a disability
• reporting any allegations of child abuse or other child safety concerns to the school’s leadership 
• understanding and complying with all reporting or disclosure obligations (including mandatory reporting) as they relate to protecting children from harm or abuse.
• if child abuse is suspected, ensuring as quickly as possible that the student(s) are safe and protected from harm.

Unacceptable behaviours

As staff, volunteers, contractors, and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work we must not:

• ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse
• develop a relationship with any student that could be seen as favouritism or amount to ‘grooming’ behaviour (for example, offering gifts)
• exhibit behaviours or engage in activities with students which may be interpreted as abusive and not justified by the educational, therapeutic, or service delivery context 
• ignore behaviours by other adults towards students when they appear to be overly familiar or inappropriate
• discuss content of an intimate nature or use sexual innuendo with students, except where it occurs relevantly in the context of parental guidance, delivering the education curriculum or a therapeutic setting 
• treat a child unfavourably because of their disability, age, gender, race, culture, vulnerability, sexuality or ethnicity. 
• communicate directly with a student through personal or private contact channels (including by social media, email, instant messaging, texting etc) except where that communication is reasonable in all the circumstances, related to school work or extra-curricular activities or where there is a safety concern or other urgent matter
• photograph or video a child in a school environment except in accordance with school policy or where required for duty of care purposes  
• in the school environment or at other school events where students are present, consume alcohol contrary to school policy or take illicit drugs under any circumstances .

North Geelong Secondary College as a Learning Community - What Is a Professional Learning Community?

"Richard DuFour"

The idea of improving schools by developing professional learning communities is currently in vogue. People use this term to describe every imaginable combination of individuals with an interest in education—a grade-level teaching and learning team, a school committee, a high school department, an entire school district, a state department of education, a national professional organisation, and so on. In fact, the term has been used so ubiquitously that it is in danger of losing all meaning.

The professional learning community model has now reached a critical juncture, one well known to those who have witnessed the fate of other well-intentioned school reform efforts. In this all-too-familiar cycle, initial enthusiasm gives way to confusion about the fundamental concepts driving the initiative, followed by inevitable implementation problems, the conclusion that the reform has failed to bring about the desired results, abandonment of the reform, and the launch of a new search for the next promising initiative. Another reform movement has come and gone, reinforcing the conventional education wisdom that promises, “This too shall pass.”

The movement to develop professional learning communities can avoid this cycle, however, educators need to reflect critically on the concept's merits. What are the “big ideas” that represent the core principles of professional learning communities? How do these principles guide our school’s efforts to sustain the professional learning community model until it becomes deeply embedded in the culture of the school?

NGSC Learning Communities ensure that:

Students Learn

The professional learning community model flows from the assumption that the core mission of formal education is not simply to ensure that students are taught but to ensure that they learn. This simple shift—from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning—has profound implications to our school community.

There is a teacher Culture of Collaboration

Educators who are building a professional learning community recognise that they must work together to achieve their collective purpose of learning for all. Therefore, they create structures to promote a collaborative culture. The school’s PLC (Professional Learning Communities) model lends itself to provide time to groups of teachers to work together in a systematic process analysing and improving their classroom practice.

There is A Focus on Results (data)

Professional learning communities judge their effectiveness on the basis of results/data. Working together to improve student achievement becomes the routine work of everyone in the school. Every teacher team participates in an ongoing process of identifying the current level of student achievement, establishing a goal to improve the current level, working together to achieve that goal, and providing periodic evidence of progress. 

Framework for Improving Student Outcomes

The Framework for Improving Student Outcomes uses the latest research on student learning and global best-practice to assist our school community to focus our efforts on key areas that are known to have the greatest impact on school improvement.

The Framework has four components: an improvement model with four state-wide priorities, six evidence-based initiatives to focus improvement efforts, performance measures aligned with the Education State targets, and a cycle for continuous improvement. It has been developed to dramatically increase the focus on student learning in schools. 

Key education stake holders such as Principals, school leaders, teachers, students, parents, regional staff and policy-makers work together to create better outcomes for our students. As an evidence-based, practical resource, the Framework helps our school community to implement its four state-wide school improvement priorities. 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS

Whilst we welcome and encourage parents to attend the school for a wide range of reasons, it is important that all visits to the school come through our front office. Parents, guardians and visitors to the school are not to go directly to other areas of the school including different wings, classrooms or the technical support office. Our office staff will handle all parent and visitor enquiries and make the appropriate arrangements for you. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter.

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to schools

Parents and Guardians are reminded that the Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students.

Parents and guardians of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs. In some circumstances, medical or other expenses will be paid by the Department where it is assessed that it is likely, in all the circumstances, that the Department is liable for negligent (careless) acts or omissions of its staff/volunteers. 

Student accident insurance/ambulance cover policies are available from some commercial insurers, and can be obtained by school councils on a whole-of-school basis, or by parents/guardians for individual students. 

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage.