From our Principal

Welcome to our second newsletter for 2023! It has been a jam-packed month here at Glenroy College. You'll read more about it in the following pages, but here's a quick snapshot of all the opportunities Glenroy students enjoyed over the past few weeks:

• International Women's Day Celebrations, both at Glenroy College and at the Mulberry Gardens
• Harmony Day celebrations 
• Mid-term School Wide Positive Behaviour excursions
• Year 7 Camp 
• Interschool Sports
• Wheelchair basketball
• NAPLAN
• Visit by Alfie Bamblet, Chair of the Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group
• Visit by Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Member for Broadmeadows and DET North West Regional Director Angela Singh
• Over 30 student excursions!

We are a very proud school, and we are committed to offering the absolute best to our students. We have more great opportunities coming up, so keep your eyes peeled!

School Council 2023

I am very pleased to announce the Glenroy College school council for 2023.

Parent Representatives: Tanya Renaud (Deputy Council President), Colin Simmons, Mahmut Guler, Deborah Clarke.

Staff Representatives: Declan Dodson, Andrea Santi.

Community Representatives: Bridget Kille (Council President), Janet Stephens (Treasurer)

Executive Officer: Andrew Arney.

I would also like to thank the members of the 2022 council: Parent representatives Rebecca Juhas, Tanya Renaud, Colin Simmons and Deborah Clarke; staff representatives Declan Dodson and Yota Korkoneas, community representative Janet Stephens, and our amazing School Council President Bridget Kille. Your contributions have been integral to the growth of our school, so a huge thanks from a grateful community.

Since last newsletter …

Potential Changes to College Uniform

One of the most prevalent conversations I have had with students - both in the yard and during our focus groups - is that the uniform at Glenroy has components that don't quite hit the mark. Some common themes are that the white shirt can sometimes be translucent, that students would prefer a button up sports top to give greater flexibility on how to wear it, and the rain jacket is not fit for purpose.

I have met with uniform supplier Lowes to discuss options to address some of these, and will meet with students in the coming week for feedback. The sample pieces from Lowes (pictured above) are an excellent start to the conversation, and I'm excited to work with our students and families. 

Changes to the School Day

As you may be aware, there has been a great deal of buzz around potential changes to the school timetable.

Although our current timetable was viable at the time of implementation, evidence shows it no longer suits the post-Covid needs of students,  particularly the three hour block of learning in the morning.

Student focus groups have indicated that although the 2.30pm finish is preferred, a 30 minute lunchtime isn't enough to access the canteen, eat and participate in the lunchtime activities which support connection and wellbeing. Additionally,  not one student, staff member or parent has been able to put forward a case that the current timetable positively supports student learning.

Our key focus is to creating a calm, safe environment which optimises learning for all students. This means we will change the timetable as of Semester Two this year - and this change may require alterations to start and finish times each day.

I will invite students and the community the chance to give feedback on proposed models early in Term 2. There will be plenty of time for families to consider any impact on their schedules. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out via email (andrew.arney@education.vic.gov.au) to share your thoughts.

Parent Student Teacher Conferences and Reports

The end-of-term progress reports are yet another valuable chance for students and parents to reflect on students' learning growth. 

Coupled with our Parent Student Teacher conferences (set for early Term 2), these are key ways to highlight the importance of a partnership approach to student learning, where home and school work together to achieve the best outcomes.

Progress reports give a fabulous overview of a student's work habits, effort and achievement levels, and are designed to show areas that can be targeted for immediate growth. When read as a whole, they are an opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness of learning strategies and can assist in the broader setting of goals. Importantly a discussion about these reports is also a valuable chance to celebrate the wins, to discuss how students are feeling in their learning, and makes a very visible statement to students that their learning journey is one we take together as a team.

My family's tradition at home after reports come out is to prioritise time to sit and talk through the whole report. We start with the learning habits (effort, behaviour, etc.), and then discuss the School Assessed Coursework (SAC) outcomes and how these relate. We break down the feedback, their perceptions on why they got that feedback, and how we can continue to grow in each of these areas. Often we make comparisons with previous reports so that their growth is visible, and then - as with all good celebrations - we conclude with chocolate cake.

However you choose to do this, approaching these discussions while modelling a growth mindset will pay huge dividends to a student's learning in the long run (even more so than the addition of cake!)

School Wide Positive Behaviours

Our core business is not just about the skills and content within a learning area, but importantly it is about preparing our students for the real world around them.

It is an unfortunate reality that as learners, young people sometimes make poor choices, as we all did as students. They also need to understand that there are consequences for their actions, and learn the appropriate ways of dealing with situations as they arise.

Our College policies and processes must be centred on protecting our most vulnerable students, because this is the level at which inappropriate behaviour must be stamped out. These processes must also build in opportunities for student to take away some learning and the ability to redeem themselves, something that we take very seriously as a College. I think we can all agree that behaviours that make students and staff feel anything less than valued and safe have no place in our community.

They definitely have no place at Glenroy College.

With this in mind the leadership team here at Glenroy are reviewing our processes and policies around student behaviour, the referral and restore processes, detentions and suspensions.  We will share the outcomes with families for the start of Term 2.

I am unashamedly prioritising student and staff safety alongside the creation of a place where all students can learn, and all teachers can teach. This is at the heart of every decision I make as Principal of Glenroy College.

Communication

That’s all for this newsletter, but don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and keep your eyes open for Xuno and email notifications.

Have a great week!

Mr Arney