Newsletter 

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Erin Wright - Principal

Strive

Welcome back for Term Two. Term One was the longest that staff and students have spent physically together at school in a year. We understand that people’s experiences of the periods of remote learning last year were varied, and that everyone would transition back to face-to-face learning in different ways. The College's focus during Term One was ensuring that our values are being demonstrated and that we are together working towards having a positive climate for learning. We will continue to communicate our goals for the College environment with students, parents and carers so that we can all work in partnership to ensure that SCSC is a positive and safe place for learning to occur. 

 

There have been some changes to some staffing this term:

  • Peter Gunning commenced leave in his Materials Technology role and will be absent for the remainder of this year. We welcome Broderick Ashmole in his place who will commence with us in week 3 or 4 of this term. I thank David Ferey who has been taking these classes until Broderick can officially join us for the remainder of the year.
  • Kate Griffin has joined us as an English and Media teacher. Kate has some Year 10 English and Year 11 Media classes and will also be engaged in some Literacy tutoring.
  • We welcome back Carly Reynolds who was working in the Administration Team in 2020. Carly will be replacing Jenny Moss as the College Librarian for the remainder of this year as Jenny is on leave.
  • We say goodbye to Jessica Lancaster who was employed as a Literacy tutor with the College. There will be some adjustments made to the tutoring program, and we will be in touch with affected families to inform you of this.
  • Claire Power commenced her maternity leave at the end of Term One. Claire was our Learning Specialist - Positive Climate for Learning leader. Aaron Gleeson has stepped in to this role and commenced at the beginning of this term. He will continue in this position for the remainder of the year.
  • Claire was also engaged in Numeracy tutoring. Late last term we also welcomed Steve Andrew as a Numeracy tutor to replace Claire. Steve brings with him a wealth of expertise in school leadership as well as Numeracy, so we are excited to have him join our team.
  • Narelle Geary our Junior Years Assistant Principal (Literacy/Numeracy and Integrated Learning) will be with us for one more week and then will also commence maternity leave as she gets ready to welcome her second child. Lara Campbell commenced this Acting Assistant Principal role from the start of Term Two. Please contact Lara for any assistance with the listed portfolio areas.

Unite

Student-Led Conferences will be taking place at the College tomorrow (Tuesday 27 April). The change of day (usually on a Thursday) was in response to a survey that was sent to parents in Term One, indicating that this was the preferred day of the week for the majority of respondents. COVID-safe social distancing measures will be in place and the locations of staff will be more spread out than usual to enable us to cater to this.

 

Bookings are open via Compass in the Conferences section. Staff will also be offering some opportunities at another time to connect via Google Meet for parents that do not yet feel comfortable attending on site or are unable to make this date. More information can be found in the 'Important Information' section of this newsletter.

 

Respect

It has become apparent that some students have been using electric scooters or moped type vehicles as a means of transport to and from school. A number of these have been parked illegally under cover at the Grant Pavilion which is adjacent to the soccer pitch on Shire grounds. To maintain our positive relationship with the Shire, we ask that students do not park their scooters in this area. Shire staff will be patrolling the area and asking students to move these vehicles. Students are required to use the bicycle shed to store their scooter during school hours. They will need to lock their scooter up with a bicycle lock for security and this is to be supplied by parents/carers. Skateboards and non-motorised scooters can be stored in the racks that are located around the College in the locker areas. Students are also not to ride skateboards or scooters through the College grounds. They will be asked by staff to cease doing so and dismount their wheeled transport if they are caught doing so. We will contact parents/carers if students repeatedly continue to not abide by this expectation. Students are also expected to wear a helmet when riding a wheeled transport as per the VicRoads website, CLICK HERE to view. Parents/carers will also be informed if students are not wearing helmets when riding to and from school and we appreciate your support in ensuring that your child/ren are following the legal requirements listed on the website.

 

I also remind parents/carers that masks are still required in Victoria on public transport, including school buses. Please ensure that your child/ren have a mask and are following this expectation to support our bus companies. Several students towards the end of term were not wearing masks on the buses, so we would like to see this improving during this term.

 

Flourish

NAPLAN: Years 7 & 9

The annual NAPLAN testing was not undertaken in 2020 due to the pandemic. However, it is returning this year and will be taken on-site in a paper-based format commencing 11 May 2021. If your child is in Year 7 or 9, information was sent to parents/carers via Compass last week. If you have any further questions, please contact Lara on Lara.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au.

 

Whilst NAPLAN is a moment in time indication of what students can achieve in Literacy and Numeracy, it is a great diagnostic tool for staff to utilise and determine what areas students need more support in as they continue in their schooling with us. We use NAPLAN to compare to the Victorian Curriculum teacher judgements and also our Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) that is conducted twice per year in Maths and English classes. 

 

The GAT: VCE students 

The General Achievement Test (GAT) is also being undertaken this term on 09 June 2021 for all students undertaking a VCE Unit 3 and 4 subject this year. The GAT will be held in the College Gymnasium. 

 

GAT results: 

  • do not count directly towards a student’s VCE results.
  • help check that school-based and external assessments have been accurately assessed.
  • contribute to statistical moderation of school-based assessment results.
  • help calculate Derived Examination Scores.
  • determine scores in school-based assessment, external assessment and if a derived examination score is required due to illness, accident and trauma.

More information will be communicated about this important event for VCE students closer to the date and support for being prepared will be provided at the College so that our students can do their personal best.