Secondary School

Congratulations to this year’s WAVE award recipients!

The students below received their award at the final House meetings in Week Two and then had a morning tea with the Principal last Friday.  Over some fruit and biscuits, the students discussed what they thought the incoming Principal should know about GSG and they shared their ideas for improving the school.

Final Assessments

As students prepare for their final assessments for the year, I encourage them to stay focused and finish well.  I thought I would share part of the Student Code of Conduct to reinforce our expectations:

ACADEMIC CONDUCT 

In order to abide by the Student Code of Conduct, students must:

• Conduct themselves honestly and in compliance with school policies/guidelines
• Actively participate in and contribute to the learning process 
• Behave in a way which supports the engagement and learning of all students
• Refrain from behaviour which would interrupt the work of any class or hinder the learning opportunities of other students
• Submit assessment tasks on time, unless unforeseen or exceptional circumstances arise and notification as such has been forthcoming to the School
• Complete all set tasks
• Have required equipment for every class
• Maintain school diary
• Avoid any action or behaviour that would unfairly advantage or disadvantage themselves or another student
• Ensure their activities are conducted safely and do not place others at risk of harm
• Respect an individual’s privacy and individual learning needs

Elevate

We’re excited to announce that Elevate Education's next free webinar will be taking place on Wednesday 8 November.

Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school:  

Wednesday 8 November @ 6:30pm (AEDT)

How to Help Your Child Alleviate Stress

Click here to register for free

​​​​​In this webinar Elevate will be showing parents:

✅ How to spot your child's stress symptoms early

✅ How to start a conversation about emotional wellbeing

✅ Techniques your child can use to self-manage stress 

Young Writers Collective

Hannah Hull (Year Seven):

This year, I have had the opportunity to attend the 2023 Young Writers Collective at the Albany Public Library. The Young Writers Collective is a program that brings students from schools around Albany together to spend a day completing a writing workshop with an Australian author. There are two categories: Years Six to Eight and Years Nine to Eleven, and one session is a full day at the library once a term.

Unlike normal English schoolwork, the Collective’s sessions are not assessed, nor are they complicated or difficult. They’re simple, fun and provide many opportunities to practice your writing skills. They involve a combination of individual activities, such as creating your own character or creating a scene that slowly builds suspense, and partner and group activities, such as writing one sentence each of a story or reading and commenting on each other’s work. There are three breaks throughout the day: a twenty-minute recess, a thirty-minute lunch and a ten-minute afternoon tea. You are allowed to go outside and play games near the library during these breaks. At the end of the session, you can buy one of the author’s books from the selection on offer and have it signed by the author. Here is a picture of my three signed books from the Collective: Looking Up by Sally Murphy, Midnight: The Story of a Light Horse by Mark Greenwood and Tilda by Sue Whiting:

There are not too many students from GSG enrolled in the Young Writers Collective, particularly in the Years Six to Eight category. If you love reading or creative writing, this is a great opportunity for you to learn some tips and tricks, make friends from other schools and receive your own signed copy of one of the author’s books. If you want more information, you can talk to your English teacher, Ms. Couper, the head of Library Services, or Mr. Ruggera, the head of English.

Mrs Victoria Turnor | Head of Secondary