Assistant Principals
Kyle Simkin
As we approach the end of the first semester, now is the perfect time to reflect on the achievements of our students. Whilst learning tasks which provide valuable feedback and grades have been posted on Compass throughout the term, the upcoming reports give a valuable insight into how students are progressing across all their subjects and the improvement that has been occurring. Reports will be available on Compass on Friday 28th of June, the last day of term, and we ask that you discuss with your child the progress they have made this semester and work with them to set goals for the second half of the year.
Firstly, a big congratulations is due to our 2019 Year 7 students who have completed their first 6 months of secondary schooling. Feedback from the Junior Coordination team is that the vast majority of students have settled in well, forging new friendships and participating enthusiastically in many classroom and extra-curricula opportunities. Year 7 students will be celebrating the end of Semester 1 with a Trivia Day and lunch at the Manningham Function Centre in Doncaster. I trust they will have a great afternoon there and thank the many staff and families who have helped to ensure a smooth transition for these students into the college.
The last two weeks have also seen plenty of action on the sporting fields with Year 7 and Year 8 students. Year 8’s round robin day was held last Tuesday and Year 7’s competed in AFL, Netball, Soccer and Badminton on Monday 17th June. Congratulations to all students who participated and represented Ringwood, with particular note to the Year 7 Girls Netball, Year 7 Girls Soccer, Year 7 Boys and Girls Badminton, Year 8 Boys Football, Year 8 Boys and Girls Badminton, Year 8 Boys Soccer and Junior Girls AFL, who all won their Division titles and will progress to Region finals later in the year. Certainly, a very successful period for our sporting teams!
Year 10 students have just finished their first week of Work Experience, and I imagine that there are many exhausted students! Hopefully this program has given them a chance to see the realities of working life and possibly also ignited interests in future careers. Many staff have enjoyed visiting students at their work placements, with visits continuing this week for students completing two weeks of Work Experience. Thank you again to the Work Experience coordinator, Ms. Hetherington and the Career and Coordination teams, who have ensured that 270 Year 10 students have successfully secured a work experience placement.
For 123 students, it was straight from Work Experience and on to the plane, as they departed for the Central Australia trip, accompanied by 13 staff. These students will spend 11 days exploring Northern Australia, before returning on the first Monday of the school holidays. We wish them all the best with their travels, on what I’m sure will be a fantastic trip.
Senior school students have commenced their Unit 2 and Unit 4 studies, with all students who are undertaking a Unit 4 study sitting the VCE General Achievement Test (GAT) last week. After visiting students in the library during the test, it was very pleasing to note the way students approached this assessment and the feedback from the external assessors was that the conduct of our students during the GAT was a credit to themselves, their families and the school. Well done.
Kyle Simkin
Acting Assistant Principal
Maria Allison
Community support is the backbone of our educational future. Ringwood Secondary College is very fortunate to have wonderful support from our parent community. The Music Association supports our music program by actively raising funds throughout the year to purchase musical instruments for student use.
The annual Music Association Chocolate Drive was recently launched with chocolates distributed to families in the music program. The 2019-2020 edition of The Entertainment™ Book (EB) (cost-$70) is a great fundraiser to support Ringwood Secondary College. The EB is a local restaurant and activity guide which provides hundreds of up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers from the finest restaurants, cafes, attractions, activities, retailers and hotel accommodation. The membership entitles buyers to exclusive offers that are virtually restriction-free, and is valid through to 1 June 2020!
If you prefer to use a digital membership… The Entertainment™ Digital Membership puts all of the value of the Entertainment™ Book into the customer's smartphone. To order your copy of The Entertainment™ Digital Membership or The Entertainment™ Book refer to the file located in Compass newsfeed.
Careers Education
Careers education is a priority at this time of the year. With the Year 9 Morrisby Testing and Year 10 Work Experience underway, middle school students will soon begin planning for their futures. It is an exciting time in many ways and support from parents through pathways discussions is encouraged.
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Pathways team for their dedication and never wavering support for all RSC students. A special thank you to Sharlene Hetherington and Debbie Mock for their supportive work in ensuring all students secured a work experience.
Work Futures Expo
The Work Futures Expo event held this week, on Wednesday evening was a wonderful collaborative success. Organised by the Heritage and Alumni group, it was the culmination of ex-students and parents, current parents and practitioners from the wider school community informing our community through careers focussed sessions. Focussing on the FYA seven clusters of work (Artisans, Designers, Informers, Generators, Technologists, Coordinators, Carers) the Expo has helped broaden our horizons into the ever-changing world of work and the continued need for transferable skills across the clusters.
Thank you and farewell to Robyn Flinn
Robyn Flinn has been a long serving teacher at Ringwood Secondary College who is retiring as of Term 3, 2019. She has held various roles over time, both inside the classroom as an educator and in areas of learning support. She has implemented, supported and encouraged many programs at our College. Her energy and persistent drive is evident in the many projects she has undertaken and worked upon. The Learning Support team and myself, wish her a very healthy, enjoyable retirement.
Wellbeing Focus
This week’s wellbeing focus is: Compassion
(Living by Giving)
The character strength focus is: Gratitude
(being aware and thankful of the good things that happen and taking time to express thanks)
“Research from Stanford University on compassion, which included the input from Dr James Doti and the Dalai Lama, has revealed that the more people give of themselves to help others benefit and shine as people, the less they focus on the negatives in their lives and the more they focus on the positives; the more they give the more they live”.
Sir Winston Churchill alluded to this is by saying, “we make a living by what we get, but live by what we give.” Living by giving to build your and other peoples’ wellbeing fitness is a proactive way to boost our self-esteem. Research also indicated that people who adopted compassion by wanting to do selfless acts of kindness (altruism), showed less anxiety and more positive attitudes to life. With a growth mindset, people will have better health and more meaningful and harmonious relationships.
By focusing on building students’ self-esteem, they can feel good about themselves which has a flow on effect so they are happy in themselves and motivated to learn. Students who possess a healthy sense of self-esteem usually do positive and good things to help others.
The act of compassion is a very powerful mechanism for personal growth and community wellbeing. Be mindfully on the lookout for opportunities to do acts of kindness for others, when others do them and when you receive them yourself.
I wish you a safe and restful holiday break; appreciate the good things in life and enjoy time with family and friends.
Maria Allison
Assistant Principal