From the Office
What's Gonski?
http://www.igiveagonski.com.au/whats_gonski
Last Wednesday a delegate of dedicated staff braved the elements to show their support for the vital GONSKI funding.
Please take the time to understand what this means for RSC and the education system.
All children are educated in schools that have the right resources to meet their needs.
This funding began in 2014, after the independent Gonski Review <https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/aeu/pages/1/attachments/original/1393387838/Gonski_Final_Report_2012.pdf?1393387838> warned too many children were missing out due to a lack of resources.
The review, headed by respected businessman, David Gonski, said Australia was under-investing in education and there were alarming gaps in achievement between students from different backgrounds.
Under the Gonski plan, all schools are funded according to the individual needs of their students and what is required to educate them to a high level.
Schools can use the additional resources to better meet the individual needs of students. Things they can do include:
* Reducing class sizes
* Employing additional specialist teachers in areas such as literacy and numeracy
* Providing greater assistance and support for students with disabilities or behavioural problems
* Building the skills and knowledge of teachers through increased training.
2016 senior Production
"ANYTHING GOES"
Ringwood Secondary College Production has "hot pants" for the return of ANYTHING GOES to our stage in 2016.
ANYTHING GOES is set aboard the ocean liner S. S. American, where nightclub singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney (Maddi Riley/Kirsten Manuel) is en route from New York to England. Her pal Billy Crocker (Sam Clarke/Michael Syme) has stowed away to be near his love, Hope Harcourt (Kira Coghlan/Jasmine Arthur), but the problem is Hope is engaged to the wealthy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Harley Pettett/Joel Gosbell). Joining this love triangle on board the luxury liner are Public Enemy #13, Moonface Martin (Caleb Lindner/Matt Nichol) and his sidekick-in-crime Erma (Sarah Monteau/Bella Portillo). With the help of some elaborate disguises, tap-dancing sailors and good old-fashioned blackmail, Reno and Martin join forces to help Billy in his quest to win Hope’s heart.
Previously performed at RSC in 2008, this hilarious musical farce doesn't have a dud song in it! Selected highlights of Cole Porter's wonderful score include "I Get a Kick Out of You", "You're the Top", "It's De-Lovely", "Blow, Gabriel Blow", "All Through the Night" and of course, the show-stopping "Anything Goes" itself.
Brought to you by the team whose 2015 season of OLIVER! was judged Youth Production of the Year by the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria, as well as the best choreographed musical in the state, ANYTHING GOES is sure to follow recent trends and sell out in advance. Tickets are now available via the following link:
http://www.rscproduction.com.au
PERFORMANCES:
Friday August 5 @ 7.30pm
Saturday August 6 @ 4.30pm
Sunday August 7 @ 2.30pm
Wednesday August 10 @ 7.30pm
Thursday August 11 @ 7.30pm
Friday August 12 @ 7.30pm
Saturday August 13 @ 7.30pm
Get in quick as it is going to be another sellout year!
Benjamin Moody
Director of Performing Arts
Music Association
Chocoloate Drive
Thanks to all families that are currently selling chocolates on behalf of the Music Program, please have your money back to the College by Tuesday 14th June 2015 to go into the Prize Draw.
All money is to be dropped at the General Office
Autumn Raffle
Congratulations to the Winners of the Autumn Raffle and thanks to all families for supporting the Music Program by buying raffle tickets at the concerts.
1st - Stevie Rose Bell
2nd - Hutchins Family
3rd - Maria Allison
4th - Peta Burns
Bernadette Holt
Music Assoc. President
Facilities Report
The major focus over recent weeks has centred around the new Junior School and we all look forward to the project starting in the next few weeks.
Recent works include:
- Painting of 417A/417B external
- Commissioning of 2 new lighting bars for the hall
- New blinds ordered for the north side of rooms 416, 417, 418,419,420,421
- New desks ordered for Chaplaincy/International Office
In addition, we are well advanced in our planning for the installation of change cubicles in the girls’ changerooms and for the re-coating of the floor surface. This area will be much more pleasant for the girls and will be a major focus over the upcoming holidays. We are also about to start the arduous task of replacing the worn out oval tier sleepers. This will be done in stages over the next few years due to the exorbitant costs of concrete sleepers.
Chris Salisbury
Facilities Manager
School Council Report
Council welcomed new members to the meeting; parent Sharon Rogers, teachers James Barut and Jonathon Rogers. The last meeting we said cheerio to our president Sandra Kitching and Heritage chair Terry Kane.
The Annual report on the school’s performance was tabled and accepted; the report showed that the school was performing well against the average of all Victorian schools. The college has been audited and we await that report but, thanks to the super efficiency of our Front Office team the four days the auditors usually need was completed in one and a half days.
The council discussed and agreed to two proposals in regard to cooling and solar installations for the new Junior School. The cooling will ensure the comfort of students and teachers for years to come and make the classrooms very pleasant study areas in the summer months. This will be funded by the college but also included as part of the initial building infrastructure costs. The solar installation will be part funded as an up-front contribution by the college and leased over 20 years. This financial arrangement will mean that we will start saving money immediately upon installation. A lot of work and consultation went into the financial modelling for this including a request for financial assistance from the Minister for Energy and Resources. However, no funds are available from the government for solar projects.
The Tender Report for the Junior School construction has been accepted and just awaiting a signoff by DET. The builder is ready to start so watch out on Rosewarne Lane for the “Big Boys Toys” arriving.
The Facilities Committee still have to “soldier on” with maintaining the older buildings and ensuring the safety and well-being of personnel around the campus. Over that past few weeks some roofing has been replaced, lighting improvements and pruning of dangerous trees. The two new portables were painted over a weekend along with some landscaping and the installation of a new drama stage in 413. There is simply no stopping the heroic efforts of the Facilities Team.
Council discussed the logistics of the Year 12 Deb Ball; the outcome being to move the Ball to the Year 11 cohort instead of the current Year 12 due to the huge workload that they have during that period. So next year there could be two Deb Balls to compensate them for missing out this year and then continuing with year 11 in the future.
The Music Association have completed the handover of duties to a new committee and are using the TryBooking system for the first time for the Autumn Concert. This has resulted in a complete sell-out already.
The Production “Anything Goes” is well underway and because of all the disruption with the removal of the old portables the costumes have had to be relocated to another portable. Huge achievement by the ExtraParts team and co-opted Facilities Heroes.
The College Open Night attracted over 1,000 people attending the two sessions. RSC is in high demand by the community and deservedly so. Also, the RTTF had a very successful Graduation Night for the apprentices and the attendance of three politicians demonstrated the importance of the event. The numbers of apprentices is steadily growing (some leaving their current training to come to Ringwood) especially in the automotive division. The “Quiet Achievers” (except on the day they have their own “Motor Show”)
Council approved the updates to the Student Driver Policy so please take note all student drivers and parents of drivers, please review the policy especially in regard to excursions.
Council have confirmed and approved the following camps: Production Camp July 13-15, Asia Tour September 14-24, Queensland Trip December 5-8. Council discussed the risks and timing of a proposed trip to Indonesia in August that was combined with Ringwood North PS which would expose students to Indonesian culture and language, agreed it was a good idea and had considerable merit. However it was felt that it was too close for comfort and suggested the LOTE facility investigate the risks involved and the time missed from classroom with further planning for French and Indonesian tours in 2017 for Year 9+ students.
A very exciting year coming up; we can’t wait to see the new Junior School coming up out of the ground.
Charles Heathcote
School Council Member