Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

Student Attendance and Educational Outcomes

Daily attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don’t fall behind, both socially and developmentally. Studies show that absence does affect learning growth and that there are no safe number of days. A child missing one day a fortnight will miss four weeks in a year, and more than a year of school by the time they are in Year 10. It is important that children develop regular attendance habits at an early age. In addition, a student who is half an hour late each day misses the equivalent of 16.6 days of learning each year. This is not acceptable. It is not ok to be away or late without a medical certificate!

School participation maximises life opportunities for our young people by providing them with education and support networks. School helps children to develop important skills, knowledge and values that set them up for further learning and participation in their community. If you are having difficulty getting your child to school, please contact the Wellbeing Team at the College to discuss strategies that may assist you. Please find attached our publication: Attendance Matters – A parent’s guide.

Please take the time to read this booklet and discuss with your child/ren.

Tips for new parents transitioning to Secondary School

We really value the home-school partnership and parents staying connected and engaged with their child’s learning in Secondary School. There can be a tendency for parents to step back from their child’s schooling, but the best outcomes can be achieved when schools and parents work together to create the optimal supportive learning environments at school and at home, aligned to shared values and aspirations. I encourage all parents to stay informed by staying in contact with their child’s main teachers, reading the College weekly newsletter and maximising use of one of our main means of communication, the Compass parent portal. Through the portal you can do the following:

Monitor your child’s attendance and enter in explanations for late arrivals or absences.
Communicate with your child’s teachers and update family details.
Monitor homework, assessment tasks and view outstanding learning tasks.
Download and view your child’s progress on individual assessment tasks during the term, progress reports and end of semester reports.
View ‘My News’, a news feed of school announcements, alerts, and updates.
View your student’s timetable and the school calendar.
Book parent-teacher meetings.
Pay and provide consent for events, excursions, and school fees.

You can access Compass at https://mcsc-vic.compass.education. If you have any trouble accessing, please contact the General Office so your password details can be checked. Please don’t share your password details with your child. All students have their own password.

Regularly talk about school and the new and unfamiliar experiences with your child. Assist them to develop organisational skills to plan and prioritise; and encourage your child to take advantage of the many extra-curricular opportunities to broaden their interests and talents. Above all else, encourage them to have a positive attitude and be prepared to give things a go!

Respectful Behaviours Within the School Community

Last year, the Department of Education and Training released a new policy that describes the positive behaviour expected from parents, carers and other adults in Victorian school communities. The policy sets clear standards of behaviour to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment for students, staff and adults.

There are also other resources to support safe and respectful relationships in our school community, including information about getting involved in the school, advice on how to raise a concern or complaint, and parenting support resources. You can find the policy and resources here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/Respectful-Behaviours-within-the-School-Community-Policy.aspx

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. 2022-Privacy-Policy-edited.pdf (mcsc.vic.edu.au)

Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, link here:

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information.

See link here:

https://www.mcsc.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/mc_google_parent_guidance.pdf

If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools-Privacy-Policy-information-for-parents.aspx

Building Program update

Unfortunately, due to some poor weather since my last newsletter article, there has been another delay with the handover of our new basketball/netball outside courts. The revised handover date is now the 27 February.

The new electronic sign out the front is coming – you may have noticed that our current electronic sign stopped working during Term 4 last year. This sign is now over 10 years old. School Council endorsed replacing this sign last year, and the new sign should be ready for installation within the next two weeks.

Year 7 Camp

This week on Wednesday, 210 of our 220 Year 7s headed off to The Summit in Trafalgar for a three-day adventure camp. The aim of the camp is for students and teachers to get to know each other better and for team building. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a range of adventure type activities. Thanks to the following staff who are attending: Jo Hannan, Loretta Ilott, Julie Pretty, Bryony Lowe, Mick Haber, Hayley Gregory, Ebony Powell, Tom Facey, Simon Belluzzo, Simon Cummins, Brendan McFarland, Angela Ziagas, Anna Davey, Di Douglas, Daniel Mayadas, Andrew Potter, Indigo Yorke, Kelly Scurrah, Georgia Davey, Erica Louise, Amber McHugh and Michael Barbas. Thanks to Jo Hannan and Daniel Mayadas for organising the camp and the Year 7 team for their support of our new cohort of students into Year 7.

Tips for Success in VCE by Aaliyah Zaph College DUX 2022

Thanks to our College DUX from last year, Aaliyah Zaph, for providing a summary of her tips for success for our current VCE university pathway students. Aaliyah achieved an ATAR of 99.45 and will be studying Fine Arts (Screenwriting) at Melbourne University.

Click here to read her article:

Congratulations Cooper Hewitt

Cooper (Year 10) has been selected to participate in the Shrine Young Ambassador program for 2023. This program is a highly respected and valued youth leadership program and Cooper should be very proud of his achievement. The role of a Young Ambassador is to act as a youth leader and representative at commemorative events and programs at the Shrine. He will play a part in actively contributing to the Shrine’s goal of building greater awareness and understanding of the importance of commemoration. There are several events that Cooper will be invited to attend throughout the year.

School for Student Leadership

Congratulations to the following Year 9 students who are attending the School for Student Leadership for all of term one: Reny Zhang, Natasha Konisberry, Emily Field, Sebastian Welsh, Oscar Goudy, and Zander Howell.

They are based at The Alpine School – Don Valley Campus located in the Yarra Ranges. The school provides experiential education that supports personal growth, aspiration, and transformation of all students as global citizens. It provides an immersive state-wide residential program for Year 9 Government school students which enables them to grow into better citizens and leaders through increased self-awareness, social engagement, community connection and environmental stewardship.

College Photos Days

A reminder that, given the size of our school we are now having two dedicated school photo days next week. On Tuesday 21 February, Years 12, 11 and 8 students will have their photos taken; and on Friday 24 February Years 10, 9 and 7 students will have their photos taken. This includes students having their portrait photos and class group photos taken wearing their full summer uniform. A schedule has been released to staff and classroom teachers will remind the students as the day approaches of the time they will be photographed. Thanks to one of our teachers, Angela Ziagas, for her organisation of these days.

Middle School Incursions this week

Courage to Care Incursion – all Year 8 students participated in sessions over Monday and Tuesday.

Our Year 8 students are currently studying the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which is set during the World War II Holocaust. These workshops informed and educated our students about the dangers of prejudice, racism and discrimination. Students engaged in discussions around challenging attitudes and behaviours, understanding that every individual can make a difference and the importance of being an “upstander” rather than a “bystander”.

Project Rockit – all Year 7 students engaged in two workshop sessions on Monday. The first one called RALLY, focused on creating a culture that challenges bullying, online and in person. Students and teachers worked together to explore socially credible strategies to take action rather than being a bystander. The second session focused on building resilience and emotional wellbeing.

Elevate – all Year 9 students participated in a Study Skills session during their period 2 classes on Tuesday with External provider Elevate.

I encourage parents of our Middle School students, to ask their child/ren what they have learnt this week from the incursion they attended and what will they put into action or do differently as a result.

COVID positive case process

Students and staff are still recommended to isolate for 5 days if they have COVID. Please see the following information from the Department:

1 - Management of suspected cases of COVID-19 in schools

A ‘suspected’ case means a person who displays any COVID-19 symptoms who has not yet tested positive for COVID-19.

The staff member, student or visitor who is symptomatic should be recommended to undergo testing for COVID-19. Parents of students who are symptomatic should be asked to collect their child from school and to keep them home until they are no longer symptomatic.

2 - Management of confirmed cases at school

Managing a confirmed case of COVID-19 in schools

The Department of Health recommends that a person who tests positive to COVID-19 report that result to their employer, school, and household.

Where a student or staff member is identified as a positive case, the following steps should be taken:

Principal actions: identification and notification

Parents/carers should complete the Student COVID-19 COVID Test Portal if a student tests positive to COVID-19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test). Where a parent/carer informs the school by phone or written notification, the school should complete the Schools COVID Case Management Tool.
Students who report a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved. Students who isolate because of a positive COVID-19 test should be supported in the same way as students with an extended absence due to illness or injury, with learning materials provided to support their continued learning.
There is no longer a requirement for principals to inform the school community of a positive case associated with the school.

Michelle Roberts

Principal

School Council Elections