Dear Maffra Secondary College Families, Students and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2024 school year and a special welcome our Year 7 students and all of the new students at other year levels who either joined us during Headstart towards the end of last year or are joining us this year for the first time. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break with family and friends and I look forward to a positive and productive year ahead.

We look forward to all students taking a positive attitude into 2024, staying focused on their learning as we continue to increase our expectations in the classroom for all students as well as following our 10 expected behaviours, which in turn will ensure a safe learning environment where all students can experience success. We have a strong focus on our value of Respect this year and embedding a culture of respect and equality across the college. I am proud to be the Principal of Maffra Secondary College and I hope that everyone is proud to be a part of the Maffra Secondary College community. This focus is for all members of the community – staff, students, and parents/carers and we are really focusing on using the expected behaviours associated with this value which are: respectful language, volume and tone; support and encourage others and be kind, thoughtful and inclusive of everyone. I am looking forward to the year ahead and hope that all students make the most of the opportunities and challenges that are presented to them and that we continue to have respectful interactions with all family members throughout the year.

Introducing the College Leadership Team

We have expanded out leadership team with the introduction of a new learning specialist. Our Leadership team includes the following staff:

Principal – Jennifer Roep
Assistant Principal – Cheryl Evans (oversees Student Wellbeing and Engagement and Year 7-9)
Assistant Principal – Marie Clark (oversees Student Learning and Engagement and Years 10-12)
Acting Senior School Leader Years 10-12 – Ryan Evans
Year 9 Leader – Elise Westphalen
Acting Year 7 and 8 Leader – Ashlee Williams
7-9 Literacy and Numeracy Improvement Learning Specialist – Sarah Schellen
Cognitive Engagement Learning Specialist – Lashay Tricker
Student Engagement and Community Partnerships Learning Specialist – Kristen Raine
Acting Inclusive Practice Leader – Rebecca Jackson
Wellbeing Leader – Emily Boyle
Business Manager – Leonie Allen

Please don’t hesitate to contact any of these staff if you have questions related to their role.

Introducing the Year Level Coordinators

Carol Caffrey Yr 12
Brett Hudson Yr 11
Heidi Bassler Yr 10
Katie Johnston Yr 9
Fiona Ray Yr 8
Felicity Scully Yr 7

Introducing the Domain Leaders

Maths – Matthew Clark
English – Rebecca Jackson
Humanities – Judd Newton
Science – Kristen Raine
Health/PE – Brittany Tancred
The Arts – Cheryl Evans
Technology – Lynette Hipwell
Languages – Ainsley Butcher

Uniform and Jewellery

Our uniform is a very important part of the building pride and connectedness in our school community and therefore I expect all students to wear their uniform correctly and with pride to, from and at school. I would like to congratulate all of students who have started off the year in a positive way in the wearing of the correct College uniform and I thank all parents for your support with this.

A reminder that hoodies and leggings are not to be worn under any circumstances and students will be provided with alternative uniform items instead.

The school uniform is decided and agreed upon by School Council. As the Principal, it is my responsibility to enforce the wearing of the school uniform, I do not decide what the uniform is. If there are any suggestions or requests for changes to the school uniform these need to be submitted in writing and addressed to the School Council Uniform Sub Committee which meets when required. The most recent change to the uniform was in 2020, when a request was made for a warmer uniform item. After seeking feedback from the wider school community, a soft shell, fleece lined, navy blue jacket was introduced to the uniform items and is now worn by many students, particularly in the cooler months of the year.

School Council Elections

School Council elections are approaching. Further information will be in the next newsletter and nomination forms available from Reception. Please give some thought to contributing to the College by participating in School Council – there are generally two Monday evening meetings per term, and it can be very rewarding. School Council decides, to a large extent, the policies and direction the College takes and is therefore a very important part of the College community.

Mobile Phones, smart watches and ipads

As we begin the year, I would like to remind all members of our community about the mobile phone policy at Maffra Secondary College. This policy can be found on our school website and I recommend all families revisiting this.

A mobile phone is a telephone with access to a cellular (telecommunication) system, with or without a physical connection to a network. For the purpose of this policy, “mobile phone” refers to mobile phones and any device that may connect to or have a similar functionality to a mobile phone such as smart watches and iPads/iPods.

In accordance with the Department’s Mobile Phones Policy issued by the Minister for Education, personal mobile phones must not be used at Maffra Secondary College during school hours, including lunchtime and recess, unless an exception has been granted.

Mobile phones and other personal mobile devices owned by students at Maffra Secondary College are considered valuable items and are brought to school at the owner’s (student’s or parent/carer’s) risk. Students are encouraged not to bring a mobile phone/mobile device to school unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Please note that Maffra Secondary College does not have accident insurance for accidental property damage or theft. Students and their parents/carers, are encouraged to obtain appropriate insurance for valuable items. Refer to the Department’s Personal Goods policy.

Where students bring a mobile phone or mobile device to school, Maffra Secondary will provide secure storage. Secure storage is storage that cannot be readily accessed by those without permission to do so. At Maffra Secondary College, students are required to store their mobile phones in their lockers with a secure combination lock. Students are expected not to disclose their combination to anyone. If, for any reason, a student believes that their combination may be known by another person, it is strongly recommended that they reset their combination to a new one as soon as possible

At Maffra Secondary College, if a personal mobile phone or mobile device is seen, heard or used during the school day, the following process will be applied:

The student will be instructed to hand over the item(s) to the staff member
The staff member will place the device in a specifically designed envelope for mobile devices and relevant information will be completed on the envelope
The student will initial the envelope and be provided with a ‘tear off strip’ from the envelope with the envelope number printed on it
The staff member will take the envelope to the front office where it will be stored securely

First offence:

At the end of the school day, the student will come to the front office and meet with a member of the Principal team before collecting their mobile device
A member of the Principal team will speak with the student and go over the school and DE expectations about mobile phones/devices, then return the phone/device to the student with a warning

Second and subsequent offences:

The student will need to organise for their parent/carer to contact the school and organise a meeting with a member of the Principal team to discuss the mobile phone policy and identify support for the student to ensure they do not use their mobile phone or device during the school day
The device will be returned to the parent/carer at the end of the meeting

Refusal to hand over the device:

Staff member will contact a member of the Principal team
Principal team will meet with student and contact home if required
Consequences will be implemented in line with the school’s existing student engagement policy and/or the DET Ministerial Order 1125 - grounds for suspension

Further information and details can be found on our website. Please note, this policy does not apply to:

Out-of-school-hours events
Travelling to and from school
Students undertaking workplace learning activities, e.g. work experience
Students who are undertaking VET

To assist your child/ren to abide by this policy, we strongly recommend that parents/carers contact the front office if they need to get a message to your child/ren during school hours. We understand that circumstances change at times and please rest assured that all students will be able to contact a family member during the school day, if required. We ask them to see their Year Level Coordinator/Leader or a member of the Wellbeing or Principal team and we will arrange an appropriate location for them, away from other students, to make contact when necessary.

Kindest regards,

Ms Jennifer Roep

Principal

Breathe Easy Gippsland