Feedback -
Yes give it to us!
We 100% welcome feedback.... We actually love it and encourage it in the right way. Tell us what we are doing well.... we love hearing the great things too and are more than happy to also hear about the areas we need to improve on but please do so in a respectful way......
Find below the link and QR code to our GSC Have Your Say page, which will go directly to our College Leadership Team and School Council.
If you wish to raise a concern, seek clarification, share an idea or provide some positive feedback, we would genuinely love to hear from you. We also love hearing about the wonderful things happening across our College and how these are being perceived by our community!
Please provide your views in a respectful and constructive way via the link below. If you would like a response, I will personally endeavour to respond to all concerns and feedback.
I thank you in advance for your respectful engagement, support and commitment to working with us to make Gisborne Secondary College the very best it can be.
GSC Community have your say....in the right way
Based on previous posts and FAQ's, we thought it would be good to share some of the previous forms of feedback and responses for the community to view:
Feedback/FAQ/Concern:
Some parents have outlined that they love receiving notifications when their child is awarded Merits, but have noted their child is not receiving these.
Response:
If this is the case, please let us know. All students should be receiving notifications of their own Merits. We may need to look over their device and ensure the correct notifications are enabled.
Feedback/FAQ/Concern:
There was also a comment around Merits being awarded for expected behaviours, somewhat taking away the value of them.
Response:
This is 100% correct. Staff have been informed not to award Merits for expected behaviour, as this devalues the system across the College. Merits may be issued for expected behaviours if they are specifically aligned to a goal of working towards these behaviours being seen more regularly, or for behaviours that are encouraged to become routine.
Feedback/FAQ/Concern:
Some students, and some families, are still requesting exemption from, or use of, mobile phones, without providing a medical reason. There are also an increasing number of earbuds and headphones being used and connected to a device.
Response:
Unfortunately, this is not something that will be allowed in the future. The College has worked hard to ensure our expectations, culture and behaviours are aligned with Department of Education standards and policy around mobile phones, and we are pleased to say we are very happy with the behaviours surrounding this across the school. We are seeing minimal phone use during the day, and from that minimal use, there are fewer students still refusing to comply with the expectation, resulting in escalated consequences, which we are very happy with. Our classes and yard are calmer and safer as a result, and that's a massive win! Thank you to everyone who has supported this push to align our expectations with Department standards.
From next year there will also be no exemptions for earbuds/head phones as new restrictions will be coming in place in regard to these also from the Department.
Feedback/FAQ/Concern:
The volume of notifications and emails coming through for out-of-class passes, toilet passes, etc., is excessive.
Response:
Whilst we understand the volume of notifications can be overwhelming, we hope this is or has reduced. Since we first rolled out recording lateness, out-of-class requests and tracking unwanted behaviours, we have seen a dramatic reduction in both the numbers and the behaviours, so we hope your child is aligning their behaviours with our College-wide expectations, which will lead to a natural reduction in these notifications. We also encourage all students to use our bathroom facilities during designated breaks, as they are all open during that time.
The damage and misuse of our bathrooms remains a significant concern, and we have closed some of our larger bathroom spaces during class time. I assure parents that all students have the ability to access bathrooms at all times. The bathrooms available in the sub-school buildings are monitored by our staff to ensure they are being used appropriately. This will continue into Term 4 and beyond, as a means of looking after our spaces. If the volume of students becomes too great, and there is an excessive wait time for these designated bathrooms during class time (which we are yet to see), we will assess the situation and open up a third space if needed.
Once again, we thank all our students and parents who have been supportive in this space - it means more than you know. The last thing we want to be putting valuable time, money and resources into is managing behaviours and bathrooms, but until behaviours align with our expectations, this is a measure we need to take.