From the Assistant Principals

Alpine School

Glen Eira College is lucky enough to have six students from Year 9 currently living in residence at the Alpine School (which is part of the School for Student Leadership).  This intensive residential experience is proving to be full of many challenges for our young people, but it is also providing many rewards. 

The selected students from Glen Eira College are:

Jett Wheildon

George Lamb

Daniel Fluxman

Jasmyn Roberts

Kate Stamp

Leila Newby

In an exciting development, we have recently been offered a place for an additional six students to attend the school in 2020.  During Term 2 next year, 4 boys and 2 girls will be able to live at the Alpine School and experience life in this unique program.  Applications will be sought from students in the second half of Term 4. 

The school offers a fully residential program for one school term with accommodation for up to 45 students in a purpose-built facility. The Alpine School accepts students from metropolitan and country regions each term – this term our students are living on site with students from Maffra Secondary College, Sale College, Brighton Secondary College, Elwood College, Yarram Secondary College, Doveton College and Lakes Entrance Secondary College.

There are a number of unique lessons students get to experience at the Alpine School. In designing the curriculum, they have aimed to select classes that are relevant, enjoyable, engaging and integrated with learning from the core School for Student Leadership educational program.

The unique program at the Alpine School focuses on engaging the students in activities which allow them to explore and learn about the local environment and cultures, both indigenous and non-indigenous. Gaining a sense of belonging in local places through knowledge and experience is a key learning outcome.  Students have spent a significant amount of time learning to survive and thrive in the alpine environment.  Providing these safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences facilitates the practical application of knowledge gained from Thinking and Learning, Peer Skills, Leadership and Teamwork classes.  I was recently able to spend 24 hours at the school, visiting their rooms, sharing a meal and spending time skiing with our students. 

As part of their time at the Alpine School, our students have developed a Community Learning Project (CLP) that will provide an opportunity for all members of our school community to take part. The CLP is the curriculum thread that runs in an adjoining and continuous manner through the program. It provides the purpose for attendance and the motivation for departure. Students symbolically are wedded to their projects, which aim to deliver an action outcome of their learning into their home communities.

Aaron Petersen

Assistant Principal

NAPLAN 2019

We are very proud of our students' academic focus and determination to work hard. This is reflected in our excellent NAPLAN results. The growth our students achieve from Year 7 to Year 9 over the last few years are some of the best results for secondary schools in our region. This trend has continued this year with strong growth across all areas of Reading, Writing, Numeracy, Grammar and Punctuation and Spelling from Year 7 to Year 9. This growth is well above the state average.

Our teachers work very hard to incorporate the ‘Traits of Writing’ program to help develop student writing across the curriculum. Our writing results are slightly down from last year but continue to be above the state, while our focus on improving grammar as part of our writing program is certainly evident with 26% of our students in the top two bands compared to the state of 17%. Our numeracy results are similarly strong with the growth from 7 to 9 at 31% compared to the state 23%. Reading this year has proved to be the most outstanding of our NAPLAN results with 33% of students in the top 2 bands compared with the state at 21%. This is testimony to some significant work being done to improve our reading program in English classes and having teachers in a range of subjects implementing reading strategies.

Communication Policy

Below is an excerpt from our Communication Policy for your reference. We have also included in this newsletter the Communication Tree to assist you to determine the best person to contact.

The College will communicate with parents/carers in a number of ways including:

• A newsletter sent electronically to every family
• Through the Xuno portal
• Information on our website at www. gec.vic.edu.au
• Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews, Progress reports and Assessment Task reports
• Parent representation on College Council and its committees.
• Communication from staff during business hours will occur via:
• email
• phone calls
• letters
• Xuno messaging

Parents needing to speak to their child should contact the General Office. A parent must arrive at the General Office to sign out the student. A staff member will collect the student from class.

We are committed to responding promptly and helpfully to all enquiries. If a person has an issue they would like to raise they should:

• Seek an appointment with the relevant person
• Always enter the College via the General Office
• If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, seek advice from the Principal
• If still unresolved, contact the Regional Office of DET

Students

• During class time, students will go to the General Office or Year Level Coordinator if they need to contact parents (only in emergencies).

Nick Hamer-Smith

Assistant Principal