We are halfway through the first term so welcome to our first newsletter for the year. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new students and their families, in particular our Year 7 students.

Our priorities this year are the following:

Learning – Support both those who need scaffolding and those who have thrived to continue to extend their learning, especially in numeracy.

This will be achieved through the Tutor Learning Initiative and the Middle Years Learning Initiative which has funded four teachers to deliver the program. We will also be focusing on building teacher capability in differentiation and modification.

Wellbeing – Effectively mobilise available resources to support students' wellbeing and mental health, especially the most vulnerable. This will be achieved through the embedding of the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Framework, Respectful Relationships and more resourcing in sub schools and the wellbeing team.

Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting – with a key action to implement continuous reporting.

New Staff

This year we welcomed the following new staff members to our team:

Kami Gillick-Lewis (Learning Specialist – Curriculum)

Jennie Hollamby (Science/Maths)

Christie Godby (Maths/Science)

Karla Stapleton (Office)

Michelle Gambin (Executive Assistant)

Marlee Ward-Davies (Classroom Support)

Lauren Hall (Classroom Support)

Ash Stewart (Tutor)

Child Safe Standards: Our commitment to child safety

Greensborough College is committed to child safety. As a community, we want children and young people to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children and young people, as well as our staff and volunteers. We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children and young people. There is zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures. We meet our legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously.

You will find the following policies on our website, http://greensc.vic.edu.au/ and I encourage parents/carers to become familiar with them.

Child Safety Policy

Child Safety Code of Conduct Policy

Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations

Duty of Care Policy

Visitors Policy

Visitors Policy

Bullying Prevention Policy

Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy

We ask families to support the College and our child safety practices by doing the following:

When visiting the College, all parents, carers and visitors to the College are required to report to Administration (Nepean Street entry) and to sign in and out. The Visitors Policy explains this procedure further.

When dropping off students, parents/carers are required to do this outside the school grounds on the street kerb. Please do not drop off in the school car parks as this may cause a traffic and safety issue. The car park at the school is for Staff Only. The car park at the Sports Precinct is for Staff and Visitor during the school day.

College Uniform

All students are required to wear the new school uniform – both the academic and sports uniform. The Uniform Policy, as endorsed by School Council last year, can be found on our website. We have provided visuals of the uniform that is to be worn and the accessories that are accepted.

Please note that a Uniform Policy states what is to be worn. It cannot list every item NOT to be worn. We will continue to have high expectations around the implementation of the Uniform Policy and we thank you for your support with our policies and procedures.

Attendance

A key priority for the College is to improve the attendance rate of all students across all year levels. High levels of attendance at school equates to greater positive outcomes for students and adults in life. The slides below highlight the importance of daily attendance and that absence from school should only be for illness.

We are looking forward to a full year at school, learning and playing in our wonderful spaces and facilities. As we open the school up for parent and community events later this term please make sure you drop by, participate in our programs and take a tour.

School Review

We began our School Review yesterday. The School Review Process is an opportunity for us to review our progress and performance against the last School Strategic Plan. Teachers, students and parents will be asked to contribute to the evaluation. We will also have contributors from other schools and the regional office. Three days will be devoted to collecting evidence, data and feedback with a view to developing a new School Strategic Plan for the next three years. I will keep the community updated with the progress. Thank you in advance to parents and students who contribute to the process.

Pauline Barker

Principal

Parenting Children Who Worry Too Much