From the 

Leadership Team

Welcome back to Term 3! It’s hard to believe we’re already at the end of our second week - as is always the case with schools we have hit the ground running and have had a busy start to the term.

I’ve enjoyed visiting the neighbourhoods of a morning, dropping into classrooms and wandering the yards during recess, lunch and after school. This has given me a chance to chat to many students about their holidays, as well as their hopes for Term 3 and beyond.

I’ve been able to meet with our College Captains a few times now to work through their idea to host a talent quest next week. The captains have been so enthusiastic about driving this activity, with the aim to build a sense of fun and belonging among the students and staff. I am very much looking forward to seeing the array of talent and creativity on display when ‘GSSC’s Got Talent’ takes place next Thursday.

Much of the focus during these first two weeks has been preparing for our subject selection program, which kicks off next week. This is such an important event in our school calendar, particularly for our Year 10 students who will spend Monday and Tuesday learning remotely, to allow for course counselling to take place. This allows the students and their families an opportunity meet with a GSSC Careers Practitioner for an individual and tailored appointment before making their final selection of subjects for next year.

Bringing parents and guardians in on the course counselling is an important feature of this process as it ensures students and their families are all on the same page when it comes to their senior secondary years, and also allows parents to better understand and support their child/children through VCE/VCE-VM.

This year we have also placed a focus on our junior years’ students, where last week we presented subject selection booklets to Years 7 and 8 students during special neighbourhood assemblies hosted by our Careers Team. Capturing students during these earlier years helps to generate a buzz around student’s future aspirations and assists them to know what to expect regarding subject selection in future years and the value in this process.

In addition to parent information sessions held last week for Years 9 and 10 families in preparation for subject selection and course counselling, it is fair to say that there is a huge amount of work that goes into this program and in assisting students to navigate their own pathways and career aspirations. I am so proud of our careers and pathways offerings, which are unique to our college and provide our students the best possible opportunities for achieving their goals and future dreams. Well done to our Careers and Senior Secondary teams and all the staff behind the scenes who make this happen.

You may have heard our PAC Cup (Positive Acknowledgement Chronicle) focus for weeks one to five this term is on respect - that is, showing care for ourselves and others and valuing difference. This has been a real focus during Home Group and during our year level assemblies and attendance at events. More information around our PAC Cup is available on the website and we’ll be sure to keep you updated on our House winner!

We had a few important reminders go out to our students during the first week around our expectations in and outside of the classroom and I’d like to call on your support for helping us to implement these …

Mobile phones: The Mobile Phone Policy is a Ministerial Order and clearly states, “Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours.” We are asking all students to place their mobile phone in the tub provided in every classroom (the only exception is Home Group time). This is to happen at the start of the lesson and students can collect their phone on the way out of the classroom at the end of the lesson. Students should not have their phones in their pockets in the classroom.

Uniform: We will be working to address students who are out-of-uniform, with the biggest issue I’m seeing being hoodies under or over GSSC tops. Not only does our uniform help identify students as belonging to GSSC, but it also ensures we are representing our College with pride and professionalism.

This term our Year 6 into 7 transition program also gets underway with visits from various primary schools from across the region. This begun on Tuesday as our students put on a ‘Cultural Showcase’ for Grahamvale, Mooroopna Park and Mooroopna Primary Schools. Hosted by our First Nations and Multicultural student leaders, the Year 6s were treated to a variety of cultural performances, as well as an interactive Q&A session highlighting the cultural diversity, celebrations and leadership opportunities here at GSSC. Read on further in this newsletter for more on the Cultural Showcase, including photos!

This term also brings plenty in the way of sport with Hume region basketball, table tennis and soccer competitions and our GSSC Athletics Carnival taking place on Monday 14 August.

Happy reading!

Barbara O'Brien

 Executive Principal