From the Principal Team

R U OK? Day—Showing Gratitude to Our Staff

Glen Eira College marked R U OK? Day on 10 September with a thoughtful initiative led by our student leaders.

Students from Years 7–12 wrote personalised gratitude cards to their teachers, recognising the care, encouragement and support they provide each day. Our student leaders coordinated the initiative and delivered the cards, together with a small gift pack, to every staff member.

The student leaders also delivered a heartfelt speech at a special morning tea, thanking staff for their dedication and contribution to our school community.

This wonderful display of student leadership reflected our values of Care and Respect and reminded us of the importance of checking in with one another—not only on R U OK? Day, but every day.

A special thank you to Danielle Wilson, Milja Lin and our Year Level Captains for coordinating this meaningful initiative. We are also very proud of all the students who contributed and helped strengthen connection and gratitude across our school community.

Reset and Return: Supporting Students to Re-engage in Learning

At Glen Eira College, we are introducing a consistent Reset and Return process to help students regulate their emotions, respond positively to challenges and return successfully to learning.

Our first priority is to support students to remain regulated and engaged within the classroom. Teachers will use a range of strategies, including calm reminders, clear expectations, movement or sensory breaks, changes to seating and brief check-ins.

If a student needs additional time to regulate, they may be supported to take a brief reset just outside the classroom. The purpose of this reset is to help the student regain calm, reflect on what they need and return to class ready to learn.

When further support is required, a staff member may accompany the student to Wellbeing for a supervised 15-minute reset. Wellbeing staff will help the student regulate and develop a clear plan for returning to learning. This may include a brief conversation with the teacher to clarify expectations and support a positive re-entry into the classroom.

Reset and Return is:

• brief, calm and supportive
• focused on regulation and re-engagement
• responsive to individual student needs
• not a punishment or an alternative to attending class.

Where harm has occurred or expectations have not been met, appropriate restorative conversations and behaviour responses will follow separately.

This process supports our school-wide focus on Care and Respect by maintaining high expectations while recognising that students sometimes need guidance to regulate, repair relationships and return successfully to learning. Families can support this approach by encouraging their child to identify strategies that help them remain calm, seek assistance appropriately and return to their learning.

Care and Respect Workshop: Listening, Reflecting and Improving

As part of our ongoing commitment to Care and Respect, Glen Eira College staff recently participated in a workshop to reflect on the initial results from the Attitudes to School Survey (AToSS).

The workshop focused particularly on students’ experiences of respect, teacher concern and effective classroom behaviour. Staff considered what the data tells us, celebrated areas of strength and explored practical ways to improve every student’s experience at GEC.

We used a structured discussion process called Rounds, which gives each participant equal time to contribute while others listen without interruption. This encouraged thoughtful, honest discussion and ensured a wide range of staff perspectives informed our planning.

The initial results highlighted the importance of students feeling known, supported and respected by their teachers. They also reinforced the value of calm, orderly classrooms with consistent expectations, where students feel safe and ready to learn.

Staff identified several priorities for continued action:

• strengthening positive relationships between students and teachers
• responding consistently to classroom behaviour
• ensuring students know where and how to seek support
• recognising and celebrating respectful behaviour
• creating more opportunities for student voice and feedback.

This work will continue throughout the year as we examine the survey findings in greater depth and seek further feedback from students. We look forward to sharing our next steps with families as we continue building a school culture in which every student feels safe, respected, connected and supported to learn.

Clarification re Absence Codes – Compass

Our attendance officers have noticed that some parents and carers have been using the ‘Sorry Business’ reason when reporting student absences. Parents and carers are reminded that this is only to be used when students are not at school as they are gathering with their family due to grief or loss within the Koorie community. Please select the most appropriate absence reason when recording an absence for your child.

Warm regards,

From the Principal Team