ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS' REPORT

PUNCTUALITY TO SCHOOL

It has been the College’s policy for many years that students who arrive late to Period 1 (which begins at 8:50am), will receive an automatic after school detention the next day unless a note/phone call with an acceptable excuse is provided by a parent. An acceptable excuse is a doctor’s appointment, illness, etc. We ask all parents to support our expectations by ensuring students arrive at school by 8:30am, allowing enough time to get organised and be in class before the start of Period 1 at 8:50am.

If students have to leave school during the day or are arriving late (e.g. due to a medical appointment), they must have a note from their parents explaining the situation. Students must show this note to the Attendance Officer at the General Office when signing in or out of the school. In addition, this information can be entered on Compass. We thank parents for their support on this matter.   

EXAMS

The Semester 1 exam period is commencing next week for Year 11 students, followed by Year 10s and 9s in the following weeks. Students should be preparing for exams at home, spending time working through revision resources and revisiting topics covered this semester. We wish all students undertaking exams a productive period of study. All students undertaking a VCE Unit 3 and 4 study will sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday 9 June. Information about this test will be sent to students directly. All students undertaking the GAT must report to their Student Managers by 9 am to be signed in.

REPORTS

End-of-semester reports will be available on Compass at the end of Term 2. These reports will include a transcript of all information provided via Learning Tasks throughout Semester 1.  Please note that this information is posted on Compass by teachers as each assessment is completed, so you do not need to wait until the end of the semester to access your child’s academic results. To complement Learning Tasks, Progress Reports (reflecting on students’ work ethic, behaviour and organisation) will also be published at the end of Term 2.

When reflecting on their results, students should focus upon the attributes and behaviours teachers recommend for further improvement - perseverance, hard-work, asking for help, taking pride in their learning and setting high expectations. Educational research has proven that intelligence is changeable (not predetermined or fixed), and that academic growth can be achieved by all - working hard, being resilient and acting on the advice provided by teachers are the keys to achieving this growth.

YEAR 7 (2022) - SIBLING ENROLMENTS

If parents/carers have another child wanting to start Year 7 at McKinnon next year, please note that you still need to complete a Year 7 enrolment form. These can be collected from the General Office.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

As outlined in both the State Government Policy and our local College Policy, students must leave their mobile phone in their locker during the school day. We have unfortunately had to confiscate an increasing number of phones in recent weeks because some students continue to carry their phones with them in class and in the yard. Our phone policy is designed to help students improve their concentration in class, build stronger relationships with their peers and ultimately improve their mental health. Please remind your child that if they choose to bring their phone to school it must remain in their locker (secured with a school-provided combination lock). We thank all families for their support on this issue.

BIKE SECURITY

As mentioned in our Principal’s report, bikes must be locked with a secure bike lock when students ride to school. It is clear from our observations that many students are continuing not to do this, leaving their bikes at risk. It is very difficult to investigate a stolen bike when it is not locked, even when we have some CCTV cameras around the area. To further improve bike security we are now locking the middle gate next to the bike compound to protect bikes from thieves. This gate will be locked from 9:30am to 2:30pm each day.