PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Professional Learning Day for Staff – August 1

SCSC teaching and learning support staff spent the day at Deakin Waurn Ponds on our Professional Learning Day on August 1st. We were fortunate to be hosted for the day by the university to use their Nyall (means ‘open your eyes’ in First Nations language) facility which is a 360 degree immersive video experience. Staff rotated through this experience during the day; observing pre-recorded video of some of their colleagues teaching and reflecting on aspects of the Instructional Model.

Staff also engaged in a workshop on making adjustments for students with specific learning needs. We are so fortunate to have a speech therapist, Dianne Kuriger, on staff this year and her expertise was shared and appreciated by all on the day.

Staff also engaged in a workshop on applied learning. Our Learning Specialist – Applied Learning, Luci Reuben, took staff through the 5 pillars of applied learning. It is important that we understand that applied learning does not mean ‘hands-on tasks’ and is only relevant to a certain type of learner. Learning is retained better when it is applied and we are focusing on how we are ensuring that we are engaging all of our students as active participants in the learning process as we implement our instructional model.

Our ES staff also engaged in some shared work back at school on emotional intelligence and collaborative practices.

Please remember that there is one more day this term, on Friday September 9th, where students are not required at school. This is the staff common professional practice day which all staff receive currently each term as part of the Victorian Government Schools Agreement. In 2023, there will be two of these days; one in each semester.

Michael Carr-Gregg Parent Education Sessions

The first of the series of three parent education sessions presented by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg was held on Tuesday August 9th. The Shire are funding these presentations to support the community to navigate adolescence with your young people and ensure that we are working together to nurture positive development of our youth.

The first of 3 sessions was focused on ‘Raising Happy and Resilient Kids’ and had a good turn out at the event, with over 70 parents and carers present, which was a fantastic turnout. Local support services Headspace, Barwon Child Youth & Family, Geelong Regional Parenting and Drummond St were also present at the event, offering parents and carers information and sharing support options. If you do book into a session and cannot attend closer to the date, please do cancel as there was a wait list for this event and seats that were left unfilled.

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg was engaging and informative. He spoke about the numerous challenges that we cannot deny our young people are facing; challenges that most of us adults did not encounter when we were their age. He spoke about how adolescence now begins at age 10 and goes until approximately the age of 24, and how the physical and emotional growth of young people is not happening at the same rate as it used to years ago.

He also spoke about protective factors that support the development of happy, resilient young people. These included:

The presence of a supportive adult/s in their lives
Self-regulation skills
Healthy peer relationships
Connection and culture (comes in various forms)
School – we know and appreciate the important role that we play in supporting and developing our young people

Katie Reaper, Manager Community Strengthening also attended the first event and shared ‘I took so many things away from Dr Michael Carr-Gregg’s session tonight that I know will shape and influence my parenting and Harriet’s life journey significantly and I know that will be the same for many who also attended. I really look forward to the next two sessions Dr Carr-Gregg is delivering for us in the coming weeks. Life changing!’

Registration for the next two sessions are still open:

~ Monday August 29 – Coping with Tobacco, Alcohol and other Drugs

~ Monday September 5th – Managing Healthy Risk Taking

Supporting your child to be safe online

The safety and wellbeing of our students is of utmost importance to us at Surf Coast Secondary College. It has come to our attention that currently there are some concerning materials circulating on social media platforms, Tik Tok in particular.

As a College, we can support students when they are at school to form and maintain positive relationships with their peers and develop the skills to navigate relationships. We also support students to be educated about their safety and possible implications of their interactions online.

We encourage parents and carers to speak to your children about their social media interactions. Sometimes these conversations can be challenging or you may be unsure how to approach your child. The eSafety Commissioner has excellent resources for parents that can be found here to help you navigate this.

If you would like to understand more about Tik Tok, the platform has a parent guide located here. Please note the minimum age limit for Tik Tok is 13 years of age. Many Year 7 students therefore may just be starting to access this platform, with your consent, and may require support in learning how to do so safely.

Regards,

Erin Wright

College Principal