SCHOOL OF POSSIBILITIES

On Thursday, March 7, the Year 12 Leadership Team, our College Captains and House Captains, attended the annual Ethical Leadership conference hosted by the Catholic Education Sandhursts. The focus of the day was to help students gain a deeper understanding and practical application of ‘ethical and servant leadership’ which they can bring to their leadership practice both at school and in the wider community. The objective of the day was to provide a springboard for all secondary schools in Sandhurst to continue to develop leadership skills amongst their students and to ensure that our students have a solid understanding of the practices that identify them as ethical and servant leaders.

The program included an opening address by Kate Fogarty Director CESL  with the theme “What the world needs of its young leaders today and into the future.”  This session included table talk, questions and journaling. Kate asked the students to write what their leadership mantra is.  This was followed by a discussion of what servant leadership is tied in with Jesus’s washing of the feet and the concept of ‘who’s feet should you be washing?’  Kate went on to give students tips for improving their public speaking. This was followed by mixed table groups – shared school student leadership priorities.  

Kate Wilde then engaged the group with the theme ‘Engaging others’ and associated activities.  Students looked at different qualities of leadership and had to look at what they were strongest in - leader, ideas person, an organiser, a shaper, the critic, the researcher.  The concept of ‘Zombie Leadership’ was introduced to the group which explored the idea of is leadership exclusive to people with special qualities? and if all leadership is the same is it easy to recognise good leadership?

I was honoured to have the privilege of accompanying our students to the Leadership Day.  They are such brilliant ambassadors for our school and were extremely thoughtful about waiting back and going to get food once all other schools had the opportunity to get theirs.  This sums up the very essence of who we want our leaders to be.

Students thoughts on the day … 

“It was a privilege to be part of a mind opening conference, supporting me to embrace my current leadership position.  Personally, my main take away from the conference was to not be afraid to ask for support and to support those that ask.  A leader doesn’t create followers by embracing this skill, but supports future leaders.”

“Lead inside the group not above it”

“Strive and lead to be the best person you can”

“Leadership is not only a reflection in a group role, it’s what you aspire to be”

“The leadership day was a great bonding experience for us student leaders to connect with neighbouring towns and student school leadership teams.  10/10 would recommend”

“Today’s Leadership Day was great.  It was inspiring to listen to other leaders from other schools in Sandhurst speak about their interpretations on leadership”

“It was a great day with a lot of insight about how to be an ideal leader”

“Our Leadership Day was very insightful and we gained many ideas and a clearer mindset of what leadership actually is.  It was a great opportunity to connect with other student leaders in the area”

It was with much excitement that students received their rugby jumpers this week.  The design looks amazing with most students having their ‘surname’ printed on the back of the jumper.  Year 12 students may wear their rugby jumpers on Monday with PE uniform and on Thursday with their academic uniform.

Wearing an academic uniform with blazers is part of the expectation of students in the School of Possibilities.  It is important that as a school we educate students for what is expected for ‘life’ out of school.  If students are required to wear uniforms as part of their part time work or in their work placement and/or they have to wear certain shoes i.e. black leather fully enclosed lace up shoes or work boots employers will often cancel shifts and send students home.  It is an expectation that students wear the correct uniform each day with the correct footwear.

We are now at the end of week 6 of school this term.  There has been plenty of time for students to organise with their parents to purchase the correct uniform.  Of note there are a number of students who continue to wear the wrong coloured shoes with their academic uniform.  Students are expected to have black shoes and to wear them with their academic uniform.  If parents/guardians could please ensure that this is addressed for next week.  Any concerns please contact one of the School Leaders.

We appreciate your assistance with ensuring that your child comes to school each day in the full correct school uniform.

Please provide a written note if your child is out of uniform and inform us how long it will be until the correct uniform will be available.

• Monday - all SOP may wear PE uniform and year 12 students may wear their rugby jumpers.
• Tuesday - all students wear academic uniform with either a school knitted jumper or blazer only.
• Wednesday - some students may have a double PE on schedule and if so can wear PE.
• Thursday - some students may have a double PE on schedule and if so can wear PE.
• Friday - all SOP students are to wear their full academic uniform with either a school knitted jumper or blazer only.

GET EXCITED...... next Thursday, March 14 is our excursion to the Victorian Careers & Employment Expo in Melbourne. The Melbourne Career Expo is the most comprehensive and exciting careers event in Australia. All students in Year 11 & 12 will attend. This expo encompasses all career opportunities from employment to education and training in the trades, corporate and professional sectors. This event will feature over 130 Training Organisations & Employers for our students to explore and inquire with! 

Please meet us near the basketball court at 8:30am on Thursday morning ready to leave, so we can mark the roll and set off. We will return to school by approximately 3:15pm  (the end of our normal school day).  Full academic uniform. It is recommended you bring your own lunch and water bottle.

Full SOP assembly will be scheduled on Tuesday 26th March at 12.10pm to be held at the stage area.  This will be the first full assembly run by our School Leaders and we look forward to their participation in this event.

Students visited our newest school members, Glenice's foundation class, on Friday, March 1. 

The VCE students are currently studying a unit on Development, which includes a more in depth look at Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. 

To investigate this theory, the VCE students asked the foundation students some questions about their understanding of the concept of "Conservation", a skill Piaget claims children in foundation are still developing. 

The room was certainly abuzz - games with playdough were invented and stories were shared. The VCE students and I are very grateful to Glenice for allowing us to visit.

- Sarah Baglin, SOP Leader

Students in Stephen's Year 10 Design Tech class are currently working on door hangers. Pictured happily painting away when these snaps were taken, students went on router their names in the finished product.

Year 10 Biology students spent the afternoon this week extracting DNA from strawberries after learning about DNA structure and function. They were interested to see what DNA looked like after it had bees treated and extracted from the mixture. 

Elevate Education will be hosting their next parent webinar on technology and focus on March 13. Elevate works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you’ll learn how you can help support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they’re learning at school. 

Sign up for the session below to learn how you can turn technology from a distraction into an incentive to study.  

How You Can Make Technology an Ally (& Not the Enemy!)

Wednesday, March 13 6:30-7:30pm

Click here to register for free 

Elevate will be covering:  

•  Reducing your child’s dependence on technology  
•  Using apps to prevent your child procrastinating  
•  Using technology to enhance your child’s learning

We hope to see you there! 

On March 26 at 9:45am Year 10 students will have their first Elevate Study Skills Session. The program is called Study Sensei. This program is an introduction to study techniques. There are two more programs booked - another for Year 10 and one for Year 11. Dates of these sessions are to be confirmed.

We still have families with outstanding balances for the Jacaranda Digital Library subscription and Edrolo learning resources. We appreciate that families settle these accounts ASAP. Time is valuable and following up families to ensure payment is made takes away from other important duties our staff have. If you are unsure if you have a balance owing, you can contact me at sbaglin@sackialla.catholic.edu.au. 

All Year 10 and VCE students need to purchase the Jacaranda Digital Subscription through Campion using the code on the front of the booklist. Students pay for Edrolo through their Edrolo portal. Ask your student to log into their Edrolo account and you will see the red “Pay Now” link. Thankyou for your support in this matter. 

All students in the SOP are expected to remain focused in their learning spaces during all timetabled classes.  Students are to bring their macbooks, folders, pens, textbooks, a water bottle and anything else they require.

All students must have a lock on their lockers and this lock should be locked at all times.  This is essential for our Year 11 and Year 12 students’ lockers that are accessible from the outside.  There have been incidents in the past where macbooks and learning materials and books have been stolen out of unlocked lockers overnight and on the weekends.  It is a requirement of the signed ICT agreement that students have devices stored in locked lockers.

Year 11 & 12 students who do not have a lock on their locker by the end of the day Monday, will be moved inside to a locker indoors.

Students should arrive at school in time to attend pastoral group each morning commencing at 8.55am.  This is an important part of the day and a time for prayer and reflection.  Teachers are able to follow-up with students and check in on how they are doing. Daily messages are delivered to students at this time.  It is vital that the school completes accurate records for attendance and the roll is marked during this session.

Students are not permitted to use air pods or mobile phones while at school.  These items are to be left in students lockers during the school day.  Parents are asked not to ring their child’s mobile phone while they are at school or expect them to receive text messages.  If you need to get a message to your child during the school day, please contact the front office who will deliver the message on your behalf.

Your support on these matters is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your support, 

 - Mez Lia & Sarah Baglin

Great opportunity with fantastic prizes for SOP students!

Love the GV are running a Video Revolution Awards competition for 2024 open to all schools in the Goulburn Valley. You are invited to make a one minute video about a social issue that is important to you. Whether that be bullying, public speaking or even how you love living in the GV, this is your opportunity to educate locals. The competition is open to different age categories, there is also a group category. Videos will be judged by 'Shepp-famous' locals including the mayor, with fantastic prizes on offer for the winning entries.

Register now using the QR code below.

VCE Assessment Task Dates 2024

Subject dates for VCE assessment tasks are as accurate as possible. Please note that dates can be subject to change based on school review.

Please find the link here to the live documents with assessment dates for each subject in Unit 1 and Unit 3 in Semester 1 2024:

Unit 1 VCE Outcome Assessment Task (OAT) dates 2024

Unit 3 School Assessed Coursework (SAC) dates 2024

The VCAA  is introducing the Student Achievement Profile - please click on the link for more information. St Anne's College will work with the VCAA through the VASS system to ensure students eligible for a Student Achievement Profile will have access when this becomes available. 

A first look at the VCAA's new Student Achievement Profile