PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Nicholas Adamou

Principal

2021 Key Dates

It continues to be an extraordinary period in our lives, however, everyone should be proud of what we have been able to achieve by working together.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude for the hard work and dedication by students, staff, parents and carers shown throughout Term 3. It has been a very tumultuous period in our lives, being challenged by lockdowns, continuous remote and flexible learning, and in-and-out of Covid-19 restrictions. 

Today is the last day of Term 3, yet again, a very challenging term. We continue to live and experience an incredibly different world. It has completely changed the way we work, talk, study, think, and live. Most of this term our students were taught and assessed remotely, in their virtual classrooms. 

The school community has been able to smoothly transition in and out of remote and flexible learning demonstrating a great degree of resilience and commitment by our students, teachers, and parents. The feedback I have recently received from parents, students and staff confirms the exceptional effort by all of the provision of the best possible learning outcomes during this term. 

We have learnt so much through this adversity, and I know we will all continue to learn and grow. I don’t believe schools will ever really be the same when we eventually return back to “normal”. These challenging times demand that we all be patient, stay calm, and follow the advice by the Chief Medical Officer and the Victorian Government. 

I take this opportunity to congratulate and thank our students, I could not be more proud of them. For the last 18 months they have risen to the occasion, adhering to our school values and transitioned between virtual classes with dignity and resilience. I am aware that most of our students have missed the school environment, their friends and teachers, however, they have been amazing, working hard to continue their schooling on-line via Google classroom. As responsible young adults they are fully aware of the current circumstances we have all found ourselves in.  Our students are facing these pandemic challenges with the utmost respect and patience.  

Also, thank you to all staff, teaching and non-teaching, for their dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment, they have shown in this ever-evolving environment. NGSC staff members have developed enormously extending their remote and flexible teaching and learning skills to successfully deliver our whole timetable/curriculum on-line.

Of course we could not achieve this outstanding outcome without the great support of our parents and carers. On behalf of the school community, I sincerely thank you for your understanding, flexibility and care you provided our students during this term.

Longer days and more sunshine are a welcome sign of good times ahead. I have been enjoying seeing the change walking around our school gardens. Noticing the good and focussing on the positive really helps us feel better and move forward in a positive way, in particular, during these pandemic times.

Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing break. I am looking forward to seeing all students back at school on Monday 4 October. I hope you all find some time in the coming weeks to take a break and indulge in some mindfulness.

COVIDSafe Principles for Schools

North Geelong Secondary College adheres to the principles for maintaining a COVIDSafe school which apply to all Victorian schools: specialist and mainstream, government, independent and Catholic. We are aligned with Victoria’s COVIDSafe principles for business and acknowledge the unique school setting as both a place of work for staff and a learning environment for children and young people, drawing on local and international literature.

As COVID-19 is a new virus, new scientific research is regularly emerging. Currently, the World Health Organization suggests that COVID-19 can be transmitted by contact with droplets or airborne aerosols from an infected person, and contaminated surfaces. Airborne aerosols are tiny particles that float in the air. This understanding may change as more research emerges and more is learned about COVID-19.

A combination of strategies is required to minimise transmission risk. No single strategy completely reduces risk and not every measure will always be possible in all educational settings. Where some controls are not feasible, others should be enhanced. Strategies should also be adjusted over time in line with changing risk of transmission in the community.

The School Operations Guide provides point-in-time and detailed advice on specific activities and operations for all schools, informed by COVIDSafe principles and Department of Health advice.

Reinforce COVIDSafe behaviours    

• Stay home when unwell
• Practice good hygiene
• Ensure physical distancing (1.5m)
• Wear a face mask
• Avoid interactions, as much as possible, in enclosed spaces

Create COVIDSafe spaces

• Make hand hygiene easy
• Keep surfaces clean and implement regular cleaning and disinfection
• Promote outdoor air ventilation and do not have air conditioners on recirculate

Promote COVIDSafe activities

• Move activities outdoors where possible, weather permitting
• Adapt, modify or defer higher-risk activities
• Limit school access to outside visitors where possible
• Reduce mixing between groups
• Create workforce bubbles

Respond to COVID-19 risk*

• Keep records and act quickly if someone becomes unwell
• Use personal protective equipment where indicated
• Clean and disinfect appropriately if a staff member or student has been unwell at school
• Manage individual risk

Final Year School Student Vaccination Blitz 

A reminder that final year students (all Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Units 3/4 students, final year Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) and final year International Baccalaureate (IB) students, their teachers and exam supervisors and assessors have access to priority timeslots to attend their vaccination appointment at a state vaccination centre until Sunday 19 September.

The vaccination blitz for final year school students has been extended until Sunday 19 September, following a very strong and positive response from the community in the first week of the blitz. We strongly encourage all eligible students to book their vaccination asap, as this is the only way to protect themselves, their teachers and their loved ones. 

Consent 

Students aged 12 to 15 can book their own appointment and may be able to consent to vaccination themselves if the health professional assesses them to be a mature minor. This means that the health professional assesses that they understand the information relevant to this decision to be vaccinated and the effect of that decision.

Where a student is not considered to be a mature minor by the health professional, the health professional will seek consent from the student’s parent/carer.

 Parents/carers can complete a consent form for COVID-19 vaccination for their child to bring to their appointment, or parents/carers can attend with their child to provide consent in person. 

How to book an appointment 

Bookings for a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be made for children aged 12 years and older via state vaccination centres, Commonwealth vaccination centres, GP clinics, pharmacies and community health services.

Find a participating Commonwealth vaccination centre, GP, pharmacy or community health service through the Australian Government Eligibility Checker. You can book your appointment online or by calling the vaccine provider nearest to you.  

School staff and students can book or change a vaccination appointment at a state vaccination centre through the Victorian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine online booking system.

To find a state vaccination centre and opening times, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

For information on what to bring to a vaccine appointment please visit Checklist: before your COVID-19 vaccination.

Just A Little More About Our School…

North Geelong Secondary College is a hugely vibrant school that provides many opportunities for the academic, co-curricular and other individual needs of all our students in wonderful ways. It is a school of choice, and it is currently at full student capacity. The school has a very limited school zone, therefore parents from outside the zone are able to enrol their children provided there is capacity. The most convenient way to be enrolled at the school is through the transition from Primary to Secondary school, Grade 6 to Year 7, provided you follow the DET process and timeline. 

The wellbeing of our students is paramount and even though we are in the middle of yet another lockdown, the school has been able to provide a number of extracurricular activities online for our students. 

The final exams are fast approaching not only for our VCE students, but also all students from Years 7 to 11. We hope that the Covid-19 situation will improve, and we will be able to welcome back all of our students on-site in Term 4. I urge and encourage all students to make good use of the next two-week break to take some time to relax, but also undertake significant revision and preparation for their final term for the year. 

On their return, our Year 12 students will have little time left at school. For parents and carers this time can be fairly wearing as we try to encourage and support our children so that they can perform to their best levels. It is also a little surreal as we look back and wonder how quickly the school years have passed and wonder what the coming years will bring for them. Of course, we acknowledge all the challenges our current Year 12 students have faced for the last 18 months and we thank the teachers and staff at NGSC who have absolutely tried their best to navigate through Covid19 challenges and support them during their senior years. I take this opportunity, and on behalf of the school community, wish our Year 12 students all the best for their future. Hang in there, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Working together with our parents and guardians. “It takes a village to raise a child…”

Research shows that parents play a critical role in their school children's academic success at every year level. Effective communication with parents has proven to be an important tool for teachers and school administrators to use as part of a planned continuum through the secondary year levels. 

Regardless of income or background, studies show that those parents who are engaged in schools have students who have higher test scores and higher GPAs, improved attendance and better social skills. Parental influence also is seen in students who take higher level course work, who graduate, and who go on to postsecondary studies. 

The important role parents play in education is embedded in teacher evaluation programs. Many of these programs now measure how teachers and school administrators strengthen communication with parents and require evidence of these efforts. “When schools, families and community groups work together, as a Community of Practice, to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer and like school more.” That’s the conclusion of “a New Wave of Evidence”, a report from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

The report, a synthesis of research on parent involvement over the past decade, also found that, regardless of family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to: 

• Earn higher grades and test scores, and enrol in higher-level programs
• Be promoted, pass their exams and earn credits
• Attend school regularly
• Have better social skills, show improved behaviour and adapt well to school
• Graduate and go on to postsecondary education

The school plays an important role in determining the levels of parental involvement in school. Specifically, schools can outline their expectations of parents and regularly communicate with parents about what children are learning. Also, schools can provide opportunities for parents to talk with school personnel about parents' role in their children's education through home visits, family nights, and well-planned parent-teacher conferences and open houses. 

When parents talk to their children about school, expect them to do well, make sure that out-of-school activities are constructive and help them plan for tertiary educational settings, their children perform better in school. When schools engage families in ways that improve learning and support parent involvement at home and school, students make greater gains. 

At North Geelong Secondary College we endeavour to strengthen our partnerships and relationships with families, respond to parent concerns, honour their contributions and share decision-making responsibilities, empowering the parents and carers to sustain connections aiming at improving student achievement and future pathways. As we have experienced in the last couple of years with Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, in and out of remote and flexible learning has highlighted the critical role of a parent/carer in their child’s education and success. 

Last Day of the Term

Wishing you all a very safe and restful break and look forward to re-joining you next term. Term 4 begins on Monday October 4.