Bluff Road - The End is Nigh!

THE END IS NIGH!

Its hard to believe how quickly the year has gone and that there are only a few weeks until our final ALTs, exams and the commencement of our Headstart Program. It has been fantastic to have a year without the interruption of lockdowns and the impact, socially, emotionally and academically, this difficult time  brought into our lives. When you break this down, our year 7 cohort did not have all of the excitement that the final years of Primary School often brings; year 8 also missed most of grade 6 and the important social and emotional aspects of starting high school; year 9 missed most of the on campus connections and programs that comes with  the first two years of secondary education. Our College has been committed to working hard with “filling these gaps” and assisting students catching up with some of the wellbeing and study skills that could not be addressed over this time. 

Already this term we have had:

"No Bull"

Year 7 have had a presentation on the importance of kindness and which is a social action organization that inspires teens and young adults around the world to take a stand against bullying and to promote digital responsibility, leadership and correct social interaction. Whilst our recent Attitudes to School Survey from students showed low bullying within the school, it is important that our students are constantly aware of not only our expectations of them as students, but also as people with regards to never being unkind and us helping them always be people of good character. 

Sleep

Our year 8 students had a presentation from our Wellbeing team on the impact of sleep and how not enough sleep inhibits their ability to perform at their best, both inside and outside of school. We understand that many families are facing the challenges of online activities with their young person which also contributes to issues around sleep. Our Mental Health Practitioner worked with this cohort to explain the importance of good sleep habits and gave strategies to support students who struggle with this.

Exam Prep.

Elevate Education came to our college to work with year 9 students in preparation for the forthcoming examinations. This was the second of two presentations for year 9 students to assist with strategies to prepare for the examination process and increase motivation. We hope that students use this information to assist them with maximising their results now and into the future. 

Study Planner reminder

Just a reminder that all students at junior campus prepared a Study Planner in term three to assist with Organisational Skills and Time Management. We hope that as a family you have discussed this and have it displayed somewhere visible to assist your young person with finding the time to complete necessary tasks and have time to review notes in preparation for the forthcoming exams. 

Please remember: High attendance  is imperative to the success of your young person at school. There are a number of parents/carers who pick their children up from school when there is a subject that they don't like. This is not good practice and we would rather work with you and the student on resilience and perseverance, as this is an important life skill. Every day and every minute at school counts!

SWPB

Well done to the students across the College who may have received a SWPB postcard from their teacher during the holidays. Teachers were asked to select a total of two students from any of their classes to receive this School Wide Positive Behaviour (SWPB) award. Those who received this award should be very proud of their achievement. 

Teachers are also continually acknowledging students who model the College Values of Excellence, Respect, Integrity, Community and Creativity with Green Posts. Students who accumulate the most points through Green Posts are also acknowledged at assemblies and sometimes given rewards such as the Brownie Vouchers and the prestigious Sandringham Star Award.

The winners of the Sandringham Star Award for term three were:

Year 7 : Sierra Rubin

Year 8: Tye Harper

Year 9 Patrick Wells

Congratulations to these students for their amazing modelling of the College Values!

Year 9 Farewell Assembly

Students in year 9 will have their final day at the Junior Campus on Thursday 17th November . The day will commence with normal classes for period 1&2. Students will then assemble in the Hall after recess for a farewell assembly until lunch. They will then be treated with an Ice Cream van and spend time cleaning out their lockers before being dismissed by 1.30pm

REDEMPTION PROCESS

If a student does not satisfactorily complete an ALT (N) or is absent during this process, they will be given an opportunity to do so, so that it is redeemed or completed to a Satisfactory level (S). In most cases, this will be done by attending the Redemption Centre after school on a Wednesday afternoon under supervision. 

The Teacher monitors this process to ensure the student is given an opportunity to demonstrate sufficient understanding of the skills and knowledge of the task to receive a Satisfactory result. 

The Re-submission task typically could include: 

• Student re-sitting, re-submitting whole task at Redemption Centre 
• Student re-sitting, re-submitting part of the tasks where learning needs to be demonstrated. Eg key questions initially answered incorrectly. This should be done at the Redemption Centre
• Student demonstrating understanding in other ways. Eg Student self-correcting task or completing orally. This can be completed independent of the Redemption Centre process

This process must occur within 2 weeks of the ALT being deemed unsuccessful in its result.  

Students who are absent on the day of the task should also sit the task or an alternative task in the Redemption Centre within two weeks of returning to school

The teacher will notify the parents via Compass that redemption is required. This notification will include information regarding the date the student is required to attend the Redemption centre and the type of Redemption Task required. The classroom teacher will provide support and feedback to the student before Redemption to assist improve the learning. One of the primary purposes of the Redemption process is to help the teacher understand what the student doesn’t know, as well as to improve the student’s learning. 

Good luck class of 2022!

Best wishes to all of our year 12 students who are about to complete their final year of their secondary education. We hope that you all achieve your hopes and dreams as you move out of the safety of our nest  that you know as Sandy College and go off to University, the workplace or a gap year. Good luck also to our VCE students who are undertaking their final exams. We know that all of the skills and knowledge that you have gained over your years at Sandringham College will have put you in good stead to go out in the world and make a difference. 

Vivienne McElwee

Campus Principal