From the Office
Facilities report
Following the highly successful term holidays, the facilities team has been very busy around the school, endeavouring to improve the teaching and learning environment for the school community. The following list highlights the most recent activities. A reminder to the Facilities Committee of the upcoming meeting on Thursday 30th August and a big thank-you to Terry Bebe for his invaluable assistance with the new hall heater pump.
Recent activities
- Garden fencing installed and landscaping of major garden behind library
- Weatherboard repairs and painting to old Junior School office
- New pump installed on the hall heater
- Replacement lights installed in Rooms 416/417 under warranty
- New grasses planted around the Junior School
- Hall locks refurbished to new master key system
OH & S
- Electrical tagging in hall prior to production
- Replacement of faulty exit lights in RT
Chris Salisbury
Facilities
RSC Work Futures EXPO 2019
We have made great progress in the past month; some people were keen to accept our invitations to speak to the students and parents on the expo evening, sharing new experiences from their changing workplaces with the young people on how the changes may affect their futures.
RSC obtained a grant from the Bendigo Community Bank (Ringwood) to assist with this first ever expo to be offered by the college — perhaps the first of many similar events to assist students entering the workforce.
On Wednesday 19th June 2019, the Ringwood Secondary College’s Expo 2019 will provide a great opportunity for those leaving school to see how this new work mindset may provide new pathways and opportunities for employment into the future.
The Principal, Michael Phillips, has invited some high profile Australians to be Keynote speakers to launch the evening. We hope that they will be able to find time for our event in their 2019 diaries.
We have also prepared questionnaires to send to presenters seeking their presentation details to ensure we cover as many of the job types in the seven Work Clusters to answer any questions posed by those who attend our Expo.
We still need to find some presenters from industry, hospitality and commerce to talk about changes in their workplaces as new technologies affect both employers and employees. On television recently, a program on building the Tesla electric car showed how manual work was transferred to robots, programmed to minimise the heavy work usually done by workers, therefore reducing injury on the assembly line. Those assembly line workers were re-trained with new IT skills to help program the robots. The Tesla plant is a good example of new technology changing the workplace. I am sure there are other examples much closer to home, and some of you may be willing to share your experiences with the students of Years 10 to 12 on those changes. Please contact me or the college if you can help.
We will be offering Q&A sessions at the end of the presentations for those who would like their questions answered by the presenters.
For further details contact the school or the convenor, Barry Ring, at barry.ring@bigpond.com
Ringwood Training
Vet In Schools Applications
We are now accepting all Vet in Schools Applications. Please ensure that your VET Coordinator or Careers Teacher completes Section D - School VET Coordinators Endorsement before returning to the Ringwood Training Office.
Ringwood Training Tours
Every Thursday between 3 and 4 pm we have tours from our Admin Office where you can see the Automotive, Engineering (Fabrication) and IT Departments. Other Arrangements can be made by Appointment.
Welding Short Course
The next Welding Short Course is comencing Thursday 30th August, four sessions, 6 – 9pm.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
DIRECT ATTENDANCE LINE – 9845 7519
STUDENT ABSENCES
YEARS 7-10
- Ring the attendance line each time your child is absent from school. Alternatively, update Compass on the day of the absence.
- If you are leaving a message on the line please give a reason for the absence.
- Please provide a note or ring the school if you know your child will be late for any reason. Too many unapproved late arrivals may result in a lunchtime detention.
- Ongoing absences due to illness or medical conditions will require a medical certificate or letter from a treating health professional otherwise, the absences may not be approved. Please notify the school if this is the case as soon as possible.
VCE STUDENTS
- Notification of absences is essential for Year 11 and 12 students as their attendance is monitored on a daily basis.
- For medical absences longer than two days it is wise to provide a medical certificate.
- Please contact your child’s Coordinator if there is a likelihood of ongoing long term absences for any reason.
- Students who are absent on days where they have a SAC must provide a medical certificate to cover this period otherwise no allowance will be made to do the SAC at a later date
Why Regular Attendance is Important
Poor patterns of attendance place students at risk of not achieving their educational, social and psychological potential. Children also need time to socialise with his peers and to build friendships.
Regular attendance at school is particularly important in the transition from primary to secondary school as it can be a stressful time for some children and a consistent pattern of attendance makes this process easier and helps them to overcome some of the initial concerns around being at a new school. Regular attendance also gives children the opportunity to develop important relationships with their teachers and the school community in general.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any concerns about your child’s /children’s attendance.
Kay Priestly
Attendance