Junior School Highlights

Junior School Report

We are off to a flying start in the Junior School. We’ve had school photos, interschool sport, Shave for a Cure and many other extra curricular activities. Congratulations to the Year 9/10 softball team who are through to the SMR finals. Year 8 Camp is just around the corner so stay tuned for the next newsletter.  

Thank you to the parents and guardians who attended the Year 7 parent evening, followed by the XUNO parent information session. It was lovely to catch up informally. We are looking forward to seeing you at the Year 7 - 9 Parent Teacher Interviews on Tuesday 28th March.

The Year 7 students participated in a Time Management Seminar run by Elevate Education. Students received a booklet which focused on creating a home study planner, breaking down assignment tasks and revision of content.  This website is applicable and beneficial to all Junior School students. Follow the steps below to access information and resources:

1. Go to http://au.elevateeducation.com/
2. Enter username STUDENT
3. Type in password pacco

Student Feedback:

"I learned how to be able to fit in times to do homework when I thought I had no time." (Nat Cosgrave 7E)

"During the time management seminar we wrote down a timetable to help us plan out our week. It helped to find time to do homework and to write down what other activities we do. We heard really good tips like only doing one hour of homework at a time so that you can stay focused and that we should do the harder work first. I found these tips really helpful." (Emma Gould 7E)

Parents and guardians, we encourage you to be checking the planner each week to view the homework, assignments and upcoming events. It is a way of keeping the communication lines open.

As per the Homework Policy in the GEC Planner, homework is the work the teacher sets for students to practise a skill or develop their understanding of the content. Short, quality, purposeful homework tasks make a difference to fostering good lifelong learning and study habits.

Year 7 and 8

30 to 45 minutes daily, maximum 5 days a week

Year 9

45 to 90 minutes daily, maximum 5 days a week

Parents and guardians can help students with their homework by:

• Encouraging a homework routine each night.
• Providing a regular place to complete homework that is free from distractions.
• Talking to the teachers about any homework problems.
• Helping balance the time spent on homework and extra-curricular activities.
• Checking the planner regularly to monitor the students’ progress.

Homework Help occurs every Tuesday and Wednesday in the Library until 4.30pm

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Junior School Team.

Keira McLean

Junior School Leader

Year 7 Highlights

What a fantastic first term for our Year 7 students. It was wonderful to see so many Year 7 students participate in the variety of events at our annual Swimming Carnival. The Elevate Seminar was a success with many students taking away some fantastic strategies to organise their homework and study schedules. We also had our annual Year 7 Parent Evening, which was a fantastic opportunity for parents to meet their children's teachers. Some of the things on the horizon are Interschool Sport in week 8, Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 9 and the Cross Country held on the last day of term 1.

Just a reminder, if a student will be absent for an extended period during term, as a result of a planned family holiday, please inform the Year Level Coordinator so that teachers can arrange any work that may need to be completed. We hope you all have a very restful holiday.        

Bernie Coghlan and Daniel Mulligan

Year 7 Coordinators

Year 8 Highlights

Students have just finished summer sports. Aside from some great individual batting and bowling in cricket from Yash, Cormac and Miro, the whole team played in the spirit of the game. Tennis and softball teams had some mixed results and other schools seem to have a greater average height which was a disadvantage in volleyball.

The Kangaroobie camp is just around the corner and everyone is excited about getting away. Having said that, it is important that students keep up to date with assessment tasks towards the end of term, because Year 8s have definitely been busy. Generally, Year 8 students have been keeping themselves organised and with the Chromebooks we have seen a noticeable drop in problems with students losing or forgetting work.

Shaun Reynolds

Year 8 Coordinator

Year 9 Highlights

Term 1 is already almost over and the Year 9s have definitely been busy. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the Year 9 students have been going out to St Kilda for the Making Connections topic in the Year 9 Program. This term is focused on exploring homelessness and Indigenous culture in St Kilda.

I recently accompanied the Junior Captains to the Gold Medal Schools Program workshop run by the Cathy Freeman Foundation. This was a great opportunity for the captains to develop their leadership skills and learn more about the fantastic work done by the Foundation in addressing educational disadvantage in Indigenous communities.

In regards to school work, the latter part of term 1 is always a busy time for assessment tasks. In the lead up to joining the Senior School and looking ahead to VCE, it is important for Year 9s to ensure they have developed successful strategies to manage their study time. This includes having an effective home study timetable, developing timeframes for larger assessment tasks and having a range of revision strategies. If you feel that your child needs further support in these areas, please let me know and I can work with them to help develop these skills.

Fiona Finnegan

Year 9 Coordinator

From the Junior School Captains

This year is off to a great start, with the Year 7 cohort settling in to the Glen Eira College school life.  Our gym finally got knocked down as I’m sure everyone has noticed, and all of the renovations are going to plan and are well on their way. Last week we had a crazy hair day raising money for the Leukaemia foundation.  Our school is proud to say that 5 students got their hair shaved for this occasion, including Runcha Jiva-Anan (Year 12) who donated a large amount of her hair to the cause. District Swimming was on Tuesday the 7th March, with many of us finishing in the first 4 places. Congratulations to everyone that raced, and we’re proud to say that everyone demonstrated excellent sportsmanship to all the other schools on the day. A reminder to everyone that we have the Cross Country Carnival on the last day of term. Thankyou!

Chloe Guss and Leah Sandow

Junior School Vice Captains