Middle School News

A lot happening in Middle School during the last fortnight. 

Year 7

Immunisations took place last week and the students were awesome. The immunisation program is a valuable program, run through schools and the students were calm, listened to instructions and the process ran smoothly and seamlessly. Well done to everyone involved.

Year 7 camp begun this week. It was great to see so many eager and excited faces on the Monday and Wednesday mornings. It was also a privilege to spend Wednesday to Friday with the second half of the camp. 

Some photos from Camp 2 ...

Class Captain interviews were held on 22nd February with the Middle School Leadership Team running interviews Periods 1 to 4. They were extremely impressed with all of the candidates and the calibre of students applying for these positions. Thanks to Shaun, Haim, Vrinda and Abishek for all their work on the day. Congratulations to the following students:

7A: Kevin Z and Titan Ng

7B: Aiden Aspropotamitis and Gaurangi Chaudhary

7C: Isabel Van Geyzel and Joe Yeen (Chermaine) Wong

7D: Jose Gerges and Sienna Kochhar

7E: Mark Chimel and Haoyue (Isabella) Xie

7F: Hasna Rawat and Ayushi Das

7G: Michael Dauncey and Aayan Khurram

7H: Yarra Khraiss and Ayeh Maghashian Haghighi

7I: Neel Shah and Amanda Ho and Olivia Ching

7J: Kate- Lynne Geertsma and Aryan Billimoria

7K: Laiyi (Jolin) Chen and  Shin Yu (Eunice) Lee

7L: Kelly Mei and Zhac Godden

All these students were invited to attend the Student Leadership Training Day, which was run last Friday 26th February.

Year 8 

Year 8 meet and greet afternoon was held on Tuesday 2nd March to facilitate a missing component from last year's lock down, the opportunity for parents to come and connect with one another and the school. Class Captains facilitated the event by running activities for students while parents could interact in a social and informal setting over a tea or coffee. The event was a great success. 

Year 9

Students were briefed on a number of events during period 4 last Thursday 25th of February to mark the beginning of City Experience planning, Alpine School applications and requirements for students who intend to apply for an accelerated VCE subject next year.

Alpine School: School for Student Leadership

An opportunity has arisen for seven Year 9 Students to attend the School for Student Leadership in Term 4 2021. 

Students in Year 9 can attend the campus for 9 weeks to work on personal development, leadership and life skills. 

Students who attend will write an application and students will then undertake an interview process for the final selection of students. 

A range of outdoor activities and personal learning classes are undertaken during this period which develop leadership, independence and confidence. 

It is a unique opportunity to develop a unique set of skills which are essential for life.  

Applications can be sent through to Tim Bourke: tim.bourke@education.vic.gov.au

Applications close Friday 5th March. Application forms can be downloaded via Compass News Feed.

Accelerated Subjects

As you will all be aware, students in Year 9 will start to make some significant choices about their future Senior School pathways. With this in mind, all Year 9 students were addressed last week at their year level assembly to discuss the importance of their studies this year and the impact that their efforts and achievements will have on their choices for next year.

Assistant Principal Karen Boyle, specifically explored with students the criteria that they will have to meet if they would like to undertake a VCE subject in Year 10. In addition, their Year 9 Maths results and Science results will also inform the Maths and Science pathways open to them in Year 10. These early discussions have taken place so that students understand the impact their semester 1 results will have on these choices.

The criteria for a VCE accelerated subject in Year 10 is as follows:

Excellent Academic Results  (This will include Year 8 Cycles 1-6 and most importantly Cycles 1-3 in Year 9)

80+ across Cycles 1-3 in Year 9 in the subject area where a student wishes to accelerate.

80+ across Cycles 1-3 in Year 9 in four other related subjects including English.

** Please note that other Year 8 subject data may also be referred to as part of this process.

Work Practices – Attitude and Effort on cycle reports will also be taken into consideration.

Attendance - a minimum of 90% attendance, excluding approved absences.

Decisions will be based on the extent to which the criteria have been met, as well as the number of places available. Year 11 students will always have priority placement in a Year 11 subject.

At the assembly Ms Boyle clarified the common misconception with students that undertaking an accelerated VCE subject will allow students to have a reduced Year 12 workload. This is not the case. Students will still be expected to complete 5 studies in Year 12. The extra subject completed simply allows for students to have a bonus subject for their ATAR calculation.

Students will be provided with further information and guidelines regarding course selections and VCE acceleration applications late in Term 2. This will be followed by extensive course counselling for every student early in Term 3.

Justin Bond

Head of Middle School

Breakfast Club

Every Tuesday morning in The John Landy Centre, there will be free food for ALL students. 

Foodbank Victoria are providing nutritious food items for students to eat before they start their day. There will be cereal, fruit, toast, baked beans & spaghetti, fruit cups and muesli – no need to order, just rock up.

Student Lunches

Just a reminder to parents that we are unable to deliver lunches to students during school time.  If your child has forgotten lunch, it can be left at the General Office but it is the student’s responsibility to come and collect it. 

Hot food is not suitable to be left at the office.  PLEASE NOTE:- Take-away food is not allowed during school hours.

Under no circumstances are students to be ordering take-away food to be delivered to the College.

College Charges 2021

East Doncaster Secondary College Council would like to thank you for your support of the College as we endeavour to provide the best possible education for your child.

In order to provide quality programs and a comfortable and efficient learning environment for our students, the College relies on strong support from the College community. The College Charges are designed to supplement the Government’s allocation to schools to provide materials and services. These charges enable us to enrich and extend the learning experiences of our students in each subject. Please find attached the explanatory Parent Payments Parent Letter and Parent Payment Policy. 2021 College Charges are now available for parents to pay on Compass. 

Please note that there is no additional charge incurred if paying online via Compass.

For further information regarding our Parent Payments Policy, please refer to the attached documents.

1 to 1 Digital Learning Program 2021

In 2021 we will continue with our whole school 1 to 1 Digital Learning Program for all students.

Our Year 7 and 10 students will be required to purchase a laptop, Year 8, 9, 11 and 12 students will continue with their laptop from 2020.  The purchase of these devices is crucial to the learning program as students will access eBooks rather than an extensive number of expensive textbooks.

Details of the 1 to 1 Digital Learning Program for all students and important information regarding suitable devices are detailed in the attached policy.

Student Compass ID/Library/PTV  Cards

Please remind all students that they must carry their Student Compass ID/Library/PTV  Cards with them at all times.

ALL students must sign in/out with their card at the General Office when they are arriving late or leaving early for any reason. A reminder that Year 12 students are required to sign in/out at The John Landy Centre Compass Kiosk.

The cards are also used for any student photocopying that is done at school. The EDSC Student Compass ID/Library/PTV  is also the student PTV (Public Transport Victoria) cards. They are required to carry this card as student identification while travelling on public transport.

If a student loses their card, parents/guardians are able to re-order a replacement card via the Compass parent portal.