Principal's Report

I hope all of our families had a wonderful break and that our students had the time to spend with family and friends, resting up and preparing for an ever busy term.

As we enter into Term 4 we are reaching the final stages for our Year 12 cohort and moving into a very important time for all of our students. Term 4 is a time to focus on the path ahead and ensure that you provide yourself with the best opportunity to succeed at your assessments and also your very important exams. 

Our Year 12 students begin their Practice Exams in preparation for the End of Year examinations, and we had our final assembly celebrating an end of 13 years of schooling and outlining the importance of a few more weeks of hard study and concentration. It is important to not slip at the final hurdle. We encourage our families to support their children in the important final phase of the year to continue strong study habits, find time to revise, and be ready for their exams. Make the most of the time they have left this year to give themselves the best opportunity to succeed.

Please encourage your children to use the school resources at their disposal during the exam period. There are study classes, teachers available to help with revision and students can use the library to study if they need a place to study.

Phone & Personal Devices Policy

As a College, we have decided to reintroduce the Phone and Personal Devices Policy to students during Term 4 2023. We have chosen this area of focus to ensure the College community has a shared understanding of the Department and Tarneit Senior College’s policy requirements and expectations relating to students using mobile phones and other personal digital devices (including but not limited to headphones and smartwatches) during school hours. There is a ministerial policy by the Minister for Education under section 5.2.1(2)(b) of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 that explicitly bans Mobile Phones from being used during school hours. It is important that we provide an environment free of distractions as students concentrate on their learning and achieve the best they can both inside and outside of the classroom.

Tarneit Senior College understands that students may bring a personal mobile phone to school, particularly if they are traveling independently to and from school. Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored in the lockers provided during school hours. Students who are caught using their devices on school grounds as of Monday 23rd of October will have these items confiscated for the day.

Student devices that are confiscated the first time can be collected by the student at the end of the day, from the main office. If this device use repeats, the confiscated items will need to be collected by a parent or guardian from the main office during office hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). Refusal to follow these expectations and teacher instructions will result in students being sent home for the day and facing possible further consequences.

Please note that students are unable to use their devices during breaks or at the canteen to purchase food. We recommend students begin planning how they will purchase food from the canteen including arranging for a physical bank card they can use, ordering online through the school app prior to the school-day, or arranging cash to purchase items from the canteen.

As Parents/Guardians we know you may wish to contact your child during the day and the school is happy to accommodate this if a parent contacts our Front Office and messages can be relayed to your child, or we can arrange for you to speak to your child.

We thank you in advance for supporting your child, the school, and our College Community by reinforcing this policy and its implementation at home and working with the school as we begin implementation of the policy on Monday 23rd October.

Please refer to a later section in the Newsletter for full details on the Policy and you can also download a copy from Compass by checking the recent News Post.

If you have any questions, please contact the school, and we will be happy to answer your queries.

Uniform

Our College Uniform provides an opportunity for students to take pride in their school, and we ask parents for support to ensure that the correct uniform is worn every day. A reminder that hoodies are not part of the school uniform and all non-uniform items need to be removed when attending school each day. Our House Leaders and Year Level Coordinators will be monitoring uniforms and if students are not in the correct uniform students will be expected to remove the item of clothing or if they are completely out of uniform arrangements will be made for them to return home.

If you are unsure of the correct uniform for your child please refer to the school website (https://www.tarneitsc.vic.edu.au/our-school/uniform) or speak to their Pastoral Care teacher.

Stage 3 Build

We received the keys to our Technology Space on the last day of Term 3, and we are excited about how far along this space has come. We now have a range of machinery installed, student and teacher workbenches, and plenty of storage space for upcoming projects. We will continue to install some equipment over this term and finalise the space to make sure it meets Occupational Health & Safety Standards.

Our extension to the Chirnside Building is starting to take shape. It was exciting to see the school colours go up on the facade,  and we can see how this building will be an exciting addition to our school landscape. The building has taken shape internally with all the internal walls and structures in place and work now begins on the complicated fit out inside.

-Shane Cole-Hayhow

 College Principal