General School News

School Captains 2020

Elyssa Hausler - College Captain 2020 and Hayley Grigg - College Vice-Captain 2020

Senior, Middle and Junior School Captains and Vice Captains pictured above with Principal, Jon Neall

College Captain Elyssa Hausler, Vice Captain Hayley Grigg, Middle School Captain Emma Robinson, Vice Captain Mark Kelly, Junior School Captain, Layla Linto, Vice Captain Lolah Joubert.

2020 Calendar

These are now available in the Front Office.

Student Representative Council

The SRC members had their first meeting this week (Week 3). The Year 7 representative is still to be confirmed, and students will nominate and vote on this next week, when they are back at school.

The group have plenty of ideas of their own and from their peers and will work together to make them happen! So watch this space in future editions for more information!

Mrs Annabel Hawkins

Student Voice Failictator

Mobile Phones in schools

From Term 1, 2020 there is a new mobile phone policy for all government schools. The policy means phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely during the school day.

The aim of this policy is to provide:

• a safe environment to learn without inappropriate mobile phone use (including cyberbullying) or distractions
• greater opportunities for social interaction and physical activity during recess and lunchtimes.

The use of technology is important, but the risks and benefits from its use need to be managed. A summary of research articles is available at this link.

Emergencies

In emergencies, parents can contact their children through the school office.

Exceptions

A small number of exceptions will be made. These exceptions will only be available if a mobile phone is essential for a student in:

• managing a health condition
• classroom learning.

Teachers can grant a classroom-based learning exception. Other exceptions are managed by the school principal. Your child’s school can give you more information about exceptions.

Summary

From Term 1 2020, students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours.

Exceptions to the policy may be applied if certain conditions are met. Exceptions can be granted by the principal, or by a teacher. Exceptions must be documented.

Where students bring a mobile phone to school, the school must provide secure storage.

Schools are required to develop a local Students Using Mobile Phones policy, which must include how this Ministerial policy will be implemented.

Schools will manage non-compliance with their local mobile phone policy in accordance with their existing student engagement polices.

Rationale

The Victorian Government takes the safe and responsible use of digital technologies, student safety and wellbeing, and the development of social skills and positive behaviour, very seriously. On this basis, the Hon. James Merlino MP, Minister for Education, announced that a new mobile phone policy would take effect from Term 1 2020.

Whilst the Victorian Government acknowledges that we live in a technology-rich world where mobile phones are an important communication tool, research has found that mobile phones can be disruptive in classrooms and open to misuse at school. The unregulated presence of mobile phones in classrooms can undermine students’ capacity to think, learn, remember, pay attention and regulate emotion.

At recess and lunchtime, opportunities for students to communicate with each other face-to-face or be involved in physical activity are also valued, rather than students being focused on a mobile phone, particularly when they are using it to engage with social media.

This new policy acknowledges that technology is increasingly affecting how students learn and communicate. Therefore, when a student has been given explicit permission to access and use such devices to enhance learning by the classroom teacher, mobile phones will be permitted for that specific purpose. For a small number of students with particular health and wellbeing needs, an exception to the policy may also be granted.

This policy will remove a major distraction from our classrooms, so that teachers can teach, and students can learn in a more focused, positive and supported environment.

Earn and Learn 

Late in Term 4 of 2019, we received the long awaited delivery of new school resources from the Woolworths Earn and Learn promotion. A huge thank you to all who collected the stickers back in Term 2 (we received over 12,000). Our primary students have some great new literacy and numeracy resources as well as some fantastic outdoor games to enjoy during their recess and lunch break. 

Childsafe

New Library Space

Over the summer break the library was relocated. Thanks to all staff who made the move happen. As you can imagine this was no small task and as a result the library is currently out of action, while Ms Austin & Mrs Riley get their bearings and have a chance to get this amazing new space organized and ready for students to reap the benefits from. Keep you eyes open for news of when this will be opened, as we would love to share it with the Edenhope College community.