ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

Paul Dawson, Bradley Headlam and

 Julie Andrews

Assistant Principals

Refugee Week Assembly

A wonderful whole school assembly was held on Thursday, 24 June, to acknowledge and celebrate Refugee Week. Thank you to Mr Adam Bond for the Acknowledgement of Country to begin the assembly. Over 100 NGSC students are recent refugees. Six former refugee students addressed the assembly speaking about their journey to Australia, the hope they have for their futures and the gratitude they have for the welcoming environment at NGSC. A beautiful dance by Irene Mulilo interpreted the joys and difficulties of the refugee experience. Acknowledgement was made of recent sporting successes at the college, Year 8 Soccer Geelong champions and the Cross Country team, emphasising the role that sport plays in promoting inclusion. We were entertained by the Karen women's choir who regularly meet at school as part of the CALD Women's group and informed about the progress of the 'Be Bold Be Heard Girls’ Forum by three passionate participants. 

Students discussing their stories of starting in our school

CALD Women's Group sharing a song

Irene Mulio dancing to Spirit Dance

Be Bold BE HEARD students voicing continuing to raise gender equality awareness

 

We heard from Mr Alex Betcher who for the sixth year participated in the Ration Challenge. For a week, he had to eat only from the food provided to him in a small box, similar to the rations provided to a Syrian refugee. He said that it was very plain, repetitive and the meals were small. Through donations for his effort Mr Betcher raised over $6000. By taking the Ration Challenge, the money raised will help save lives - providing emergency food, healthcare and support to people hit hardest by this ongoing crisis. 

The rations include:

Rice: 1.92 kg*

Flour: 400 g*

Lentils: 170 g

Dried chickpeas: 85 g

Tinned sardines (or tofu): 120 g

Tinned kidney beans: 400 g

Vegetable oil: 300 ml

*420 g represents the rice distributed by the Ration Challenge and its partners. The additional 1.5 kg of rice and the 400 g of flour represent additional food purchased with coupons that some refugees are given by the UN or other organisations.

Isabelle Andrews was introduced to the school as the new Arts Captain. Isabelle spoke passionately about the Showcase that is planned for later in term 3 and her desire to incorporate the Performing and Visual arts into the Multicultural Festival. We wish her well in her new role. 

Thank you to the school captains for leading the assembly and to Nicolle Brigden and Sefideh Agahzaman for supporting the students. 

VCAL Rap Battle

Congratulations to Mr Scoullar’s VCAL class whose persistent and hard work this term was validated with a very successful rap battle held at lunchtime on Thursday, 24 June. A huge crowd of students and staff cheered and supported the students who challenged each other for the prizes. It was a fantastic event - well done! 

Visiting author - Scot Gardner

The Year 7 classes were enthralled by the story telling expertise of Scot Gardner who made his annual visit to NSGC this week. Scot is well known for his novels such as Sparrow, The Dead I Know, Changing Gear and his most recent novel Off The Map. His reading of his books and his storytelling are filled with characters and clever use of words and voice that bring the listener into his world. Students also had the opportunity to tell their own stories.

Thank you to the library staff for arranging this event. 

Semester Reports, Progress Reports 

Semester One Reports will be published in week 2, Term 3. 

Progress Reports - next round of Progress Reports will be published in week 2, Term 3. 

All reports will be accessible through the Compass portal. 

Parent teacher conferences

27 July 2021

The second round of Parent Teacher Conferences will be conducted on Tuesday, 27 July, onsite as per the day held in Term 1. Bookings for these sessions will open on Tuesday, 20 July. More details will be available through Compass news closer to the time. The Parent Teacher Conferences are an opportunity to discuss your child’s academic progress and learning habits with the class teachers. The teachers will often reference the recent Semester Report and Progress Reports. These will be available on Compass. A notification of when they are published will come from Compass. 

When booking, please ensure that there is enough time between bookings to move to the next conference location. Families who need interpreter services will need to indicate the language required at the time of booking. 

**Please note that Course Counselling will also be booked in the same manner, please be mindful of which Conferences you are booking, as it is around the same time. We encourage senior students and parents to get advice on subjects through their teachers to inform their course selection decisions faced in Course Counselling. 

GAT

Due to the Victorian statewide lockdown in early June, the General Achievement Task (GAT) has been rescheduled for Thursday, 29 July from 10:00 am to 1:15 pm. As a part of their VCE studies, all students in Years 12, and 11 undertaking a 3/4 sequence in 2021, are required to undertake the GAT. 

Year 11-12 Course Counselling

This will occur during the school day on Tuesday, 20 July. Students will work with Course Counsellors to identify the most appropriate subjects to take them into 2022. It is essentially, for most students, a matter of dropping a subject. Counsellors ensure that the best decision is made that does not impact their desired pathway.

Middle School Course Counselling

There are two parts to our program that need clarification.

  1. Students at risk. These are the students who have had difficulty meeting the basic work habit requirements on a consistent basis and are at risk of failing the year. These go through a different conversation that includes modified programs or more support. This continues throughout the year until such time as the student demonstrates a readiness for the next year level.
  2. The remainder of students go through a discussion about their Morrisby data, school results, other data, teacher recommendations and their interested pathway to identify subjects suitable in their next year of study that will lead to their desired pathway or occupation.

Students going from Year 10 into 11 (for 2022) will go through a Careers week from Monday, 26 July to Friday, 30 July.

Students in Year 9 going into Year 10 (for 2022) will complete their Course selections on either Thursday, 5 August or Friday, 6 August. 

Booking a counselling session will occur through Compass as required. 

School Holidays

We wish every member of the NGSC school community a safe and rejuvenating holiday break. Semester 2 and Term 3 begin on Monday, 12 July. We look forward to seeing you back at school then. Mrs Sarah Bridges and Mr Brad Smallman will join the Principal Team as Assistant Principals while Mrs Julie Andrews is on leave for the remainder of the year.