East Doncaster Secondary College Newsletter

Middle School News - Year 7 to 9

Congratulations to everyone for navigating a term like no other. Never have we spent so long in front of our screens than we have during online learning. I would like to thank everyone, staff, students and parents alike for their commitment to remote learning and patience throughout this trying period of our lives.

 

In amongst the hardships we have endured during stage four restrictions, I would like to draw our attention towards some of the positives from this term. The values awards assembly slides are available on your newsfeed to have a look at and explore. In particular I would like to thank the Year Level Coordinators for their efforts in putting together some activities to help improve students connection with one another and boost mental health and wellbeing.

 

Now with that all said, please use this break to recharge and prepare for next term, whatever direction that takes us in. Be grateful for the people we have around us and the little things we can enjoy. Most of all try to get away from the screens as much as possible and enjoy outdoor activity as the weather warms up and further restrictions are lifted. 

 

Take care and see you all next term.

Justin Bond

Head of Middle School

YEAR 7 VALUES AWARDS – TERM 3 2020

RESPECT

  • Deborah Hsiao: Always in time to meetings and up to date, asks good questions, pays attention to detail and tries hard.
  • Moosa Ikram: Moosa displays an incredibly positive attitude to learning online through his participation in team meetings as well as seeking clarification for tasks he needs to complete. In Health Moosa often shows respect towards the class assisting others and seeking clarification.

RESILIENCE

  • Kallen Westwood: Kallen has been trying exceptionally hard during my classes (KAB) this round of remote learning. He tries his best all the time and is consistently engaging in class discussion, providing answers to our comprehension tasks and trying to encourage others to step up and contribute also. I am really proud of the commitment he is showing to his reading development.
  • Kallen has been trying exceptionally hard during Literacy classes this round of remote learning. He tries his best all the time and is consistently engaging in class discussion, providing answers to our comprehension tasks and trying to encourage others to step up and contribute also. I am really proud of the commitment he is showing to his reading development.
  • Kathleen Chow: After a recent period of absence, Kathleen quickly came back to her school work and did not find excuses to lighten her workload. On top of this, Kathleen completed the work to an excellent standard (receiving 100% on her Humanities task).

CURIOSITY

  • Jacqueline NG: makes every effort to keep up with the work set in EAL, to attend class regularly and to contribute to Chat sessions on MT.
  • Samar Gul: Is to be congratulated for taking the initiative to talk to her teacher and seek help after experiencing technical difficulties completing a Science online test remotely. She gave up her own time to pursue a better grade and I am really impressed with her work ethic and improvement.
  • Musfirah Qazi: Is to be congratulated for taking the initiative to talk to her teacher and seek help after experiencing technical difficulties completing this online test remotely. She gave up her own time to pursue a better grade and I am really impressed with her work ethic and improvement.

EXCELLENCE

  • Jacqueline Sabatini: Is always striving for excellence in the Humanities class and has produced work of an exceptional standard for every unit this year. She participates enthusiastically in class discussions and always supports other students.
  • Samyue Lam: Samy has done so well in remote learning PE, each week they need to upload evidence of the activities that have been set. Samy does this every time and her work is absolutely above and beyond what is expected.

FAIRNESS

  • Tahlia Colalancia: Tahlia is one of the first students to join the team and always makes a positive contribution during the lesson. The work she has contributed has been excellent.
  • Billy-Vasilios Emmanoulidis:Billy has been working really well in Italian this round of Remote Learning. He contributes to class discussion and completes set tasks. He is often assisting others with questions in chat.

CARE AND COMPASSION

  • Farah Aref and Chanelle Cai: Farah and Chanelle continue to demonstrate excellence and care and compassion on Microsoft Teams. When I was absent (due to course counselling) they directed other students to read the lesson plan and helped answer their questions. They are patient with their classmates and are always eager to help out.
  • Sonia Siddiqui: I can see that Sonia is working consistently and loving the opportunity to spend as much time as she likes on her Maths work. Michelle is playing such a positive role in her Maths class.  Great job on being the student in 7L with the most hours spent on your Maths.

TEAMWORK

  • Arwa Alwaheb: Arwa is an enthusiastic member of the class who is always helping other students. She participates in discussions and completes all of her work to a very high standard, but her support of other students who are unclear of what to do is amazing, leaving me time to work on correcting drafts and providing extra feedback for individuals.in this area. He is the same in our actual class also.
  • Michelle Zhou: I can see that Michelle is working consistently and I trust that she is understanding and enjoying the algebraic work that she has completed.  I encourage Michelle to ask for any assistance that she might need if she needs further explanation of the work we are doing. Great job.

YEAR 8 VALUES AWARDS

RESPECT

  • Renee Wong: Renee is always trying her best throughout remote learning. She is always proactive about class tasks and consistently communicates with the teacher. Renee is also really working hard in literacy and is showing signs of significant Improvement.
  • Mateen Momedi: Mateen has been working so well during class. He displays a great attitude and is a really well mannered student.

RESILIENCE

  • Mia Chambi: Mia has demonstrated a sustained high level of work ethic and application to her studies in Mathematics leading to a consistent improvements in her  LT results. She is seeing the tangible rewards for her efforts and this is being translated into considerable independent diagnostic (ondemand) diagnostic improvements as well.
  • Ashton Tan: Ashton has demonstrated a sustained high level of work ethic and application to his studies in Science throughout the year. He frequently contributes to class discussion and always demonstrates persistence when completing additional extension work when the opportunity presents, demonstrating an exemplary attitude and thirst for knowledge.

CURIOSITY

  • Emily D’Orazio: Emily is really on top of her work in English this period of Remote Learning. She has been paying more attention to the quality of work she has been submitting and is a frequent participant in our online class discussions.
  • Hyelin Lee: After watching MT meetings where we went through the answers to our Stile lessons for several weeks, Hyelin has logged into Stile and completed three lessons in the Light unit. Excellent progress for a student mastering technology for remote learning.

EXCELLENCE

  • Flynn Walker and Jesse Younger have demonstrated a great commitment for PE during remote learning. They always compelte work in a timely manner and demonstrates their learning through fantastic evidence via video or photos.
  • Stephanie Zois: Steph has continued working really well in English. She asks questions via email if unsure and checks with me what needs to be done. She is up to date with English work set so far and shows an excellent understanding of the text "Runner" She also submitted the most detailed answers to the chapter 1-10 "Runner" questions for cycle 4 and achieved 100%.

FAIRNESS

  • Siruirong Wang: I had made an error on CiCi's cycle report. She alerted me and asked for it to be changed even though it cost her significantly.

CARE AND COMPASSION

  • Abhishek Banerjee and Hajra Abeer: On the day of the Junior Science Olympiad, these students took time out to offer support, encouragement and assistance to other students entering the Olympiad.

TEAMWORK

  • Diego Lamilla: Diego has taken the writing prompt activity for Fun Friday to the max and has written and shared with the class a copy of an amazing story he wrote. He is always will to contribute to class discussion using his mic and chat function and has a genuinely positive attitude towards English which is an absolute joy.

YEAR 9 VALUES AWARDS

RESPECT

  • Mia Cutugno: Mia always participates in class discussions, completes all her required tasks and tries to submit work of an excellent standard all the time. She has been an enthusiastic learner over the remote learning period.

RESILIENCE

  • Tianhan Zhang:: Tianhan Zhang: Timothy joined us from the ELC at the start of term. He was immediately curious about History and displayed a strong willingness to learn totally new ideas and skills.
  • Si Qi NG: Si Qi demonstrated the College value of excellence by completing an outstanding report on Alternative Fuels for Systems Technology. She also displayed the College value of resilience by creating this highly informative and communicative presentation in isolation and having have never stepped inside the Systems Technology classroom.

CURIOSITY

  • Kar Yan Tong: Kar Yan has shown dedication to Humanities work by reflecting on her learning task and seeking further feedback.
  • Christopher Mathers: Chris always ensures he understands the content during remote learning by asking lots of questions.

 

EXCELLENCE

  • Holly Yelland: Holly has demonstrated a great commitment for PE during remote learning. She always completes work in a timely manner and demonstrates her learning through fantastic evidence through video or photos.

FAIRNESS

  • Jeffery Hann: Jeffery has been willing to share his recommendations for animes to watch with the class and good songs to listen to. It has been great to see him actively contributing to the class.

CARE AND COMPASSION

  • Jamie Yeng: Jamie has done a great job at being vocal in what she finds helpful during online learning. Her suggestions and sharing of her experiences has been very insightful and helpful to creating a unit that hopefully she finds more enjoyable and less stressful. She is using her voice and agency to impact the way she and her classmates are taught to minimise stress and help me know what works best for her.

TEAMWORK

Samin Ravanmehr: Sam was very active in a class when I asked for contributions of homemade memes about the text we are studying. Sam made many of these, all showing great understanding and a lot of humour which made the class a lot of fun.

Year 9 Mindfulness Colouring

Mindful colouring asks us to focus on how we choose and apply colour in a design to bring our awareness to the present moment. This process is similar to meditation, we let go of any thoughts about tomorrow or yesterday, or what we’re going to do when we finish (www.momentsaday.com).

 

As promoted by Smiling Mind, mindful colouring has been shown to:

  • Reduce anxiety and stress
  • Improve sleep
  • Improve focus
  • Improve vision and motor skills

If you’d like to read more about it, check out their website: 

https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/what-is-mindful-colouring

 

We would love for you to take a moment for yourself by participating in this creative activity. It’s a good chance to take a break from technology and other demands in life at the moment. 

 

All you will need are coloured pencils, crayons, paint – whatever you like. Print the design you like and get started. Let go of the fact that this is something you used to do when you were in Primary School and embrace it! You’ll impress yourself, just wait and see! 

 

This isn’t a competition but an opportunity to relax and create something magical. Invite your siblings and parents to get involved, make this something positive for the whole family. 

You have a choice of the designs provided, or have a go at colouring in all of them. Check your Compass Newsfeed for more information about downloading designs and submission. 

Mindfulness Colouring design.pdf

Do not throw your completed piece away. Save it and hand it in to the Year 9 Coordinators when we return to school next term. They have something planned ☺

 

Happy colouring!

Giulia Catalano

Year 9 Coordinator

1 to 1 Digital Learning Program 2021

In 2021 we will continue with our whole school 1 to 1 Digital Learning Program for all students.

 

Our Year 7 and 10 students will be required to purchase a laptop, Year 8, 9, 11 and 12 students will continue with their laptop from 2020.  The purchase of these devices is crucial to the learning program as students will access eBooks rather than an extensive number of expensive textbooks.

 

Details of the 1 to 1 Digital Learning Program for all students and important information regarding suitable devices are detailed in the attached policy.

1 to 1 Digital Learning Program 2021.pdf

Student Compass ID/Library/PTV  Cards

Please remind all students that they must carry their Student Compass ID/Library/PTV  Cards with them at all times.

 

ALL students must sign in/out with their card at the General Office when they are arriving late or leaving early for any reason. A reminder that Year 12 students are required to sign in/out at The John Landy Centre Compass Kiosk.

 

The cards are also used for any student photocopying that is done at school. The EDSC Student Compass ID/Library/PTV  is also the student PTV (Public Transport Victoria) cards. They are required to carry this card as student identification while travelling on public transport.

 

Students who are yet to collect their 2020 card are asked to please go to the Library. If a student loses their card, parents/guardians are able to re-order a replacement card via the Compass parent portal.