From Mrs Stathatos

I was privileged to attend the Middle School Awards ceremony and make a speech at the Junior School Awards ceremony this past fortnight and meet with students and their families to extend our congratulations to students who have worked effectively and consistently across all their subjects. Every student has the opportunity to aim for their best at the college and these high achieving students were recognised for their exemplary learning behaviours and their academic performance at this stage of the year. We encourage them, and all students to work hard, be engaged in the learning process and act on the feedback they receive from their teachers to improve their outcomes in Semester 2.

I was also involved in celebrating student success in language learning with a Languages celebratory event organised by the Head of Languages Jess Lundie and supported by the Languages department. Our Year 12 Prefects, Alice Darcy and Amelia Phillips, highlighted the rewards that their second language brings and they will leave secondary schooling this year as bilingual students.

An article from Deakin University on Why learn a language in Australia today?

promotes the benefits of language learning.

What’s the point in learning a second language?

Perhaps you’ve thought learning a language is too hard, or that there’s no point. Because the whole world speaks English, why should you need to learn another? Dr Weinmann and Dr Arber are particularly passionate about busting these myths. ‘The reality is that the majority of people worldwide speak and study several languages and it’s just a part of life. The “it’s too hard” debate is based on an assumption that languages are not necessary. We don’t hear this debate around mathematics, science or PE, where students are told it’s good to push yourself intellectually and physically.’

The link below provides further information.

https://this.deakin.edu.au/self-improvement/why-learn-a-language-in-australia-today

The Maroondah Network of schools has seen a number of schools participate in a Community of Practice involving a primary and secondary collaboration focussing on the skill of reading. Overall the goal is to improve our understanding of Grade 6 to Year 7 Transition and last Friday a group of staff from the network undertook Learning Walks with classes at Eastwood Primary School and Ringwood Secondary College to observe how the skill of reading is taught in both settings. A post Learning Walk discussion will be held by staff to draw out similarities and differences in approaches and to gain new insights and ideas about our teaching in each setting. It is a fantastic experience for all involved.

Parent Student Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday 28th August in the Junior School building and the library and we encourage students to accompany their parents/guardians to participate in the conversations about their progress. Progress reports focusing on positive learning behaviours will be accessible on Compass prior to the interviews. Students display positive learning behaviours when their engagement and wellbeing are high and opportunities to discuss this should be taken up by parents and students on the day.

Subject selections for most students and discussions and decisions about their pathways with parents and careers counsellors are in full swing. It is a busy time in the Careers Department as students utilise the resources available at school to plan their pathways for 2020.

The month of August always brings with it the challenges of winter weather including outside movement, staying warm and healthy. The number of activities outside the classroom including the college production, ‘Spamalot,’ the Victorian Music Festival, Royal South Street Competitions in Ballarat, sporting events and finals, offer students the opportunity to participate, collaborate, develop their skills and engage in their passions during this wintry period of the year. There have been many successes. We wish students all the best in their endeavours while managing their time and health and keeping up to date with academic commitments.

Eleni Stathatos

Assistant Principal

From Mr Barut

Ringwood Secondary College continues to thrive as a learning community. All our students are involved in their learning, their friendships, their whole school engagement and all the extracurricular programs that the College has to offer.

Students from Year 8 upwards will be entering their subject selections over the next couple of weeks that will assist with college planning for 2020! Where has the year gone?? Information nights have assisted students, together with their parents to make viable pathway decisions in their secondary schooling. Thus, the hard work of the team in Careers cannot be taken for granted, as well as the ongoing support of all our teaching staff and House Co-ordinators.

The Year 12 cohort are busy! busy! busy! The final weeks of a secondary education are nigh and this time is so, so important in setting up study notes, working out what’s best for each individual student as a study routine and completing old VCAA exam papers. The best way forward here is that there should be a three step method in exam prep:

1. Attempt an old paper, untimed, open book. Check answers for accuracy and clarity with the VCAA examiners’ report at the same time. Focus on the language that the examiners use to give you information about their expectations. Exams are no longer just a regurgitation of information, rather, the focus is more on analysis, synthesis, high end vocabulary and depth of answers….focus specifically on this shift in expectations.

2. Complete the same exam, closed book and untimed – this one goes to the teacher for a quick turnaround and feedback.

3. Complete exam paper under timed conditions, closed book, as per the same conditions that will be stipulated in November – submit for raw score feedback.

This is not Barut’s ground breaking study tip – this method has data and educational merit to support success in exams. Thousands of highly successful VCE students were surveyed and the two main defining factors to success was the above exam prep and teacher relationship/feedback. Please share this information with your son/daughter.

The College always welcomes parents to communicate with the co-ordinators and teaching staff to best support the students in their learning. The list of Heads of Sub School and the House Co-ordinators is set out below:

Year 7/8 – Junior School Sub Leader – Anna Urbano

Frazer House – Marissa Lee

Freeman House – Jessica Friend

Mabo House – Kim Watson

Jackman House – Faith Tucker

Year 9/10 – Middle School Sub School Leader – Matthew Tucker

Frazer House – Krissi Friedli

Freeman House – Beatrice Dauguet

Mabo House – Jackie Godfrey

Jackman House – Peter Vlahos

Year 11/12 – Senior School Sub School Leader – Cathy Menz

Frazer House – Caitlin May

Freeman House – Emma Lim

Mabo House – Matthew Saunders

Jackman House – Lucy Moore

Please be mindful that the College is working in a climate of positive psychology and respectful relationships. As such, we expect interactions between co-ordinators, staff and parents to be professional, respectful and solution/action focussed.

And finally, congratulations to all the students and staff involved in the latest RSC Production of ‘Spamalot’ – the show is amazing and we have so many talented students here at the College.

James Barut

Assistant Principal

From Mrs Allison

Flourishing together: Building wellbeing in Maroondah Appreciative Inquiry

On Friday, August 16th, Maroondah City Council and the Communities of Wellbeing held an Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The aim of the AI is to help create a future where everyone is equipped with the skills and knowledge to live each day with enhanced wellbeing. This event was a great opportunity to meet new people and to be proactive in shaping the future of our community within the City of Maroondah. It was great to hear study voice through some Year 10 students who represented Ringwood Secondary College.

Wellbeing Profiler (WBP) data

Last term, Ringwood Secondary College organised the WBP survey to be conducted with each year level, staff and parents/carers. This project was a collaboration between The Department of Education and Training Victoria (Maroondah Network) and Maroondah City Council. It is funded by The Department of Education and Training Victoria.

The benefits for the school include accurate measurement of student, staff and parent/carer wellbeing; a detailed wellbeing report that can help identify where resources and effort need to be directed; the collection of baseline wellbeing data providing the future option of assessing changes in student, staff and parent/carer wellbeing over time and evaluating the impact of educational intervention or programs at RSC and the broader network of schools. Results will be published in the near future once the data is fully analysed. I would like to especially thank the parents and carers who completed the survey for taking the time to complete this task and respond to our request in a timely fashion.

‘Spamalot’ Musical Production

Congratulations to all students and staff involved in the musical production ‘Spamalot’. It is another high-quality Ringwood Secondary College production that showcases the wonderful talent of our hardworking students.

Intermediate Girls Football

Congratulations to our Intermediate girl’s football team for their skilful, persistent efforts to excel in the wet conditions. They now move into the State Finals and we wish them all the best. Thank you to Roi Boutsikakis for her expert coaching.

Junior/Senior Choir/Senior Stage Band

Beautiful voices in our choirs! Congratulations to the Senior Choir, Mr Jaques (Conductor) and Miss Kenna (Accompanist) on achieving Gold at Victorian Schools Music Festival for Choirs. It was also very pleasing for the Junior Choir receiving Silver for their performance. I was very proud of our Senior Stage Band who performed well on Tuesday evening to bring home platinum for RSC. Well done to students involved and a special thank you to Mrs Pero (Conductor).

Wellbeing Focus for this week…Sleep and Rest

Wellbeing Element: Exercise and Health

Sleep deprivation is a massive issue amongst 21st century adolescents and it has a profound effect on their wellbeing. Expecting them to concentrate well and be engaged in class is unrealistic because it’s almost humanly impossible to do so when lacking sleep. Their 24/7 addiction of being electronically connected to their peer groups and having their phones on throughout the night communicating with others, makes deep sleep more than difficult. Interestingly, studies have revealed that some 60% of adolescents are unhappy with and exhausted from being 24/7 connected and also understand the consequences of a lack of sleep and rest. Yet in spite of this, the reason they continue to stay connected is FOMO – Fear of Missing Out.

Insisting of no mobile or computer use after 9.00 pm is the answer. It may lead to defiance, but to improve their health and wellbeing it is well worth weathering the storm. At least nine hours deep sleep and rest are non-negotiable essentials for the healthy all-round development of young people because they provide timeout for their eyes and vital organs and essential growth hormones are released and learnt material is stored in their long-term memory during REM sleep, Rapid Eye Movement.

Exercise can help students to fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly—as long as it's done at the right time. Exercise stimulates the body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which helps activate the alerting mechanism in the brain. This is fine, unless you're trying to fall asleep so aim to finish exercising at least three hours before bed or work out earlier in the day.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Maria Allison

Assistant Principal

RSC News

Issue 9 · 16 Aug 2019

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