Please join us!

The Glen Eira College Parents Association (GECPA) welcomes all GEC parents and carers to join its meetings. All meetings are held online for now. They are friendly and informal, and your level of involvement is up to you. GECPA is a group of parents and carers who support the school community with events, news, and friendships. It’s a great chance to meet some school families.

If you are interested in joining GECPA or are not already receiving our emails, please send us an email.

To join in our online meetings, please email us for an online invitation gecpa@gec.vic.edu.au

Our next meeting is the AGM, Thursday 19th November 7.30pm.

We welcome Nicole as new Co-convenor and Prema as our new Treasurer and thank Eliza and Fiona for their contributions in these roles.

Rose & Nicole

GECPA Co-convenors

Congratulations Year 12 – Last day Friday 30th October

Best wishes for our Year 12 students and congratulations on their hard work in this challenging year – and much gratitude to their teachers, families, and supportive friends. GEPCA is planning a small surprise for students’ celebrations.

Year 12s if you don’t want your scientific calculators any more please donate them to the school at the office for other students.

Staff Appreciation Day – Friday 30 October – Lots of Thank-Yous!

Parents at Glen Eira College are so grateful for school staff’s amazing efforts to continue our kids’ education through this difficult year. We are assisting with a morning tea and we would like to organise a ‘thank you’ to express our gratitude. To do this, we need your help with either of the following:

photos, visual art or video contributions from families and/or children who wish to pass a thank you message to the school (please email your contribution to gecpa@gec.vic.edu.au)
presentation/design expertise to 'package' those messages into a video (please email to let us know if you can help)

Please do reach out with any other ideas and/or contributions. We are very keen to hear from you, so please email gecpa@gec.vic.edu.au

School Uniform

Returning to school uniform after home schooling can be a challenge if your uniform doesn’t fit anymore – and the shops are closed and it’s close to the end of the year. The college cannot relax the uniform policy but has supports for families in need.

GECPA is planning a second -hand uniform stall when COVID safe. The uniform stall is a helpful service for families. Please donate your unwanted uniform items to the office. Kindly ensure that all items are in reasonable condition and have been washed and dried before you bring them in. At the moment items can be dropped off ONLY by your child. We thank you for your generosity.

Wellbeing Tips

https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/be-healthy/mental-health-and-wellbeing-tips-for-parents-with-teenagers

Who We Are?

Hi, I’m Prema Teddu. My girls are in Year 11 and 7 at GEC. Qualified Professional of Chartered Accountants India and CPA Australia. I have worked in auditing, banking, taxation and finance. I am currently working as a finance and operations manager at an engineering company. We came here as permanent residents in 2011 and started our life in Glen Huntly. Currently living in Clayton South, and commuting to GEC, as my girls love to be part of GEC. I like to travel and explore new places and cultures. Our recent trip was in 2019, to three countries within 30 days, USA, Canada, and New Zealand. It was an exciting trip, thanks to all good friends!! My lockdown hobbies are cooking and gardening, taking baby steps in gardening with the help of YouTube😊

I have joined GECPA recently, as my friend Alicia suggested. Now I can see the hard work and involvement of group members behind the scenes and sincerely appreciate their efforts! Happy to be associated with such dedicated team and looking forward to contributing my time.

Hi I’m Juliet.

I have been involved with GECPA since it started in 2012. For several years I was convenor or co-convenor and am very proud of this organisation which has supported the college and college families over that time. My children have now finished school, but I have continued to be involved in a smaller way, to help ensure GECPA’s continued success. It’s also a pleasure to still be involved with Glen Eira College.

I was excited at the start of the year to see so many new and enthusiastic parents join. I was sure they would organise some exciting events this year – until everything shut down, of course! I’m happy to say that the enthusiasm and energy are still there. The committee members keep in touch regularly with meetings over Skype and chat groups where we discuss ideas but also share information and make each other laugh.

My children are now young adults and have both finished Advanced Diplomas at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Unfortunately, their plans for employment have been put on hold for the moment, as is the case for many young people this year. I work at VCAT, answering phone calls and helping people with cases in the guardianship and human rights lists. Until May 2019, I worked as a teacher’s aide at Glen Huntly Primary School. My husband works as a part-time lecturer and consultant. We are currently both working at home and are grateful we don’t have to worry about remote learning at the same time (big shout-out to all the parents who have transformed into remote-learning heroes this year!).

I encourage you to join the GECPA committee and/or join future events. You will get a lot out of it!

Hi…

My name is Monique. I have a daughter currently in Year 8 and another daughter who is starting at Glen Eira in 2021.

I was born and bred in Melbourne and have been living in Caulfield South for about 16 years.

Being involved in the Parents’ Association has enriched my experience as a GEC parent. By attending things such as the welcome picnic, selling democracy sausages on election day and serving supper at the school production I have met parents from my child’s class as well as parents who have been at the school for many years – all of whom are happy to share their knowledge and experience. Having a network of parents has been especially beneficial during this crazy Corona virus year!

I also believe that if our children see we are committed to the school and their education, they will be more committed as well (actually this may be more hope than belief!)

Involvement in the PA can be as much or as little as you like. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Stay well!

My name is Ruth Gordon and I have been involved in the GECPA for several years as well as being a parent rep on the GEC College Council (retired in 2020). I have two children - Jasmine in Year 12 this year and Ben who graduated from GEC in 2017. I have worked for many years in the homelessness sector, in research, policy and network support. I now work full time at the Australian Bureau of Statistics where I’m managing Victoria’s homelessness count for the 2021 Census.

Contributing my time and energy to the GECPA has been returned to me in new friendships and connections to the school community. Our little bit - volunteering on sausage sizzles, uniform stalls, trivia nights and snow cones stalls - all contributes to a stronger community as well as raising funds for our children’s school. I have always believed that if we, as parents, contribute to the school community, it shows our children the importance of school and education. I love the diversity of the GEC community and the way our school fosters and celebrates diversity of all kinds.

The GECPA has, like everyone else, gone online this year. We have chat groups and online meetings now. This has provided support to parents during this very isolating time. It has helped us stay connected. It has also made it easier for people to participate. We are a very friendly welcoming group. It is exciting to see this wonderful group of parents and friends growing in numbers, great ideas, skills and energy over 2020. I can’t wait to see how the GECPA will blossom once lockdown eases.

Take care.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

Approximately 1 in 5 Australians including kids in each classroom have some form of dyslexia.

Individuals with dyslexia have trouble with reading and spelling and learn in a different way.

Dyslexia occurs on a continuum from mild to severe and no two are alike. There is no cure for dyslexia since it is a brain based difference, however with appropriate instruction aimed towards their learning needs, most can overcome their literacy difficulties.

Schools are in the forefront in identifying, assisting and reaching students with dyslexia and related challenges. Schools need access to quality professional development in language and literacy research. Improving general classroom teacher’s knowledge and skills improves their ability to reach and teach all students in their educational care. Schools also require further professional development in what obstructs the acquisition of written language for some children and to understand the scientific basis of reading research to educational practice.

https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/dyslexia-in-australia/

GECPA parents have experience with raising kids with Dyslexia – if you need someone to talk to please email gecpa@gec.vic.edu.au

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aCt9iUMvUfU

Preview YouTube video Vincent Fantauzzo: Drawing a life in paintings | Australian Story

Monash Education

Can educational inclusion, equity and excellence co-exist?

26 October 2020 | 06:00PM to 07:30PM

Ph 399044273 Visit the Website

In celebration of World Teachers' Day and National Children's Week, join us as we focus on this important global debate. You will have the opportunity to hear from our esteemed panel as they address the following key questions related to the idea of creating excellent, equitable and inclusive school systems:

Why is a concern with inclusion and equity critical in creating excellent education systems?

How can teachers be supported in fostering inclusion and equity?

What are the implications for school organisation and leadership?

Teaching with technologies: Is TPACK still relevant?

5 November 2020 | 01:00PM to 02:00PM

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Teaching First Nations Content and Concepts 10 November 2020 | 06:00PM to 07:30PM

Visit the Website

In celebration of NAIDOC Week you will have the opportunity to join our panel discussion where you will hear from the co-authors along with education and performing arts industry leaders about the development of this resource and its unique approach to supporting reconciliation education in school and community settings.

Students Have Your Say on Climate Action in Glen Eira

Earlier this year, Glen Eira City Council declared a climate emergency. We are now developing an Environmental Sustainability Strategy (ESS) 2021-2025 that sets out how we will support our community to cut their carbon footprint and live more sustainably.

We invite primary and secondary school students and Early Learning Centres in Glen Eira to submit a two-minute video that tells us what support schools and young people need to be more sustainable.

Here are some ideas on how Council can support sustainability in schools:

Free solar assessments for schools to identify if solar panels are right for you
A sustainable schools incursion program
Funding assistance to set up food gardens
Subsidised composting systems
Help in setting up a Youth Climate Action Network
Help in setting up pollinator observatories to monitor native pollinating insects
Funding assistance to host climate action movie nights.

The invitation with instructions on how to submit a video will be sent on Monday 26 October. Video submissions are due on Sunday 11 November. The videos may be on behalf of a school, individual students or groups of students. They may be taken at a school or home learning environment.

For more information, contact the Council's Sustainability Team on 9524 3333.

Cathy McNaughton & Rose Robinson

GECPA

Performing Arts News

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