McKinnonNEWS

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

THISTLE COLLECTION & SECOND-HAND BOOKSTALL

Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 may collect their Thistle magazine from the College at 9:30am on Tuesday 17 December.  Students will need to attend the following rooms:

  • Year 7 - A7
  • Year 8 - B8
  • Year 9 - MERC

Year 12 students can collect their copy of the 2013 Thistle from the Year 12 Centre.  Year 10 & 11 students have already received their copy of the Thistle.

 

Any funds owed to families from the sale of secondhand books will be distributed in the following ways:

  • Year 12 students will have cheques posted home;
  • All students from Years 7 - 11 owed amounts exceeding $75 will have a cheque posted home; amounts under $75 will be given to students when they collect their copy of the 2013 Thistle (at the times outlined above); Year 10 & 11 students who have sold secondhand books will be required to attend T1 (Yr 10) & C11 (Yr 11) at 9:00am on Tuesday 17 December to collect money and/or any unsold secondhand books. (Students required to collect such money will be notified via email.)

PRESENTATION NIGHT REHEARSALS

Presentation Night rehearsals will be conducted on Monday 16 December.  Students who are not involved do not need to attend school on this day.  Students have been advised of the specific times of their rehearsal in the letter sent home.

COMBINATION LOCKS

All students need to retain their combination lock for their lockers.  The lock must be taken home and then brought with them on the first day of school next year.

IMPORTANT NOTICE (RE: UNIFORMS)

From 2014 the Senior School Jacket is to be worn by Year 11 and 12 students only.  This decision was debated and approved by the Senior School Council.  This means that all current Year 9s who have purchased the School Blazer will wear it during 2014 as their compulsory outer garment. 

 

All students from Years 7 to 10 must have a blazer with them each day.  If the temperature is at or above 25 degrees students do not need to wear them to or from school.

CHROMEBOOKS FOR 2014

The College’s leadership team and teaching staff are very excited about the wide range of new learning opportunities that will be facilitated by all Years 7 and 10 students having access to a personal computing device in every classroom in 2014. By having a Chromebook in every class, students will be able to access online editions of texts, undertake web-based research and demonstrate their learning by creating digital content such as documents, websites and presentations.  In addition, students will be able to access the wide range of resources teachers are creating to support student learning, such as podcasts, screencasts and class materials that were traditionally printed and handed out, but are now published online.  Furthermore, the use of Google Apps for Education allows for online collaboration between students and teachers when completing work in and out of class. 

 

Since the start of 2012 all VCE students at McKinnon have had a laptop they have taken to class and used at home. This has increased student engagement and allowed teachers to build upon the already rigorous and successful academic program at McKinnon; given this experience we are very confident about the positive impact our Chromebook program will have on students’ engagement and learning outcomes. There is a clear trend in Victorian education towards all students having access to a personal computing device in school; we are excited that Chromebooks offer the benefits of such access, bringing the world into our classrooms, plus the advantages of the Google Apps for Education suite.  We are confident that using Chromebooks at McKinnon will enhance our rigorous academic program and help students develop critical expertise for the 21st century, including online research, critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills.

 

Students’ Chromebooks can be ordered online until Friday 13 December; they will be distributed in the first few week of the 2014 school year.

 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank families for their support of our teachers and curriculum programs throughout 2013 and we wish you a safe and peaceful festive season.