GEC College News

Junior School Highlights

Get organised, get involved, get focused

Our Junior school is currently focusing on the concept of community and it was so wonderful to see students in Years 7-9 strongly representing their houses at the Swimming Carnival. Many students got into the house spirit and dressed in their colours, while also being willing to get in the pool and participate, whether it be in the novelty events or the swimming competition.

 

Junior School Captains

Congratulations to our Junior School Captains in their leadership role. We look forward to the contribution you will make throughout the course of the year. Junior school students are welcome to call on the assistance of these students to provide support in their time at GEC.

 

Haddi El Shorbagy, Darcy Messenger, Yashasvi Agrawal and Sebastian Buley-Delanty.

Homework Help

Every Tuesday and Wednesday after school, tutors in key subject areas will be available in the library to assist students with their homework queries from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. It is highly recommended that students attend these sessions to get the most out of their learning and be on top of homework. The library is available as a quiet study space after school Monday-Friday.

 

GEC recommended homework time is:

Year 7 & 8: 30 to 45 minutes daily, 5 days a week.

Year 9: 45 to 90 minutes daily, 5 days a week.

Year 7

Our Year 7 students have now had five weeks to experience GEC. During this time, they have had a parent information session, been enthusiastic participants of our Swimming Carnival, obtained their Bunsen burner license and even presented their first oral presentation focusing on autobiographies. It has been a pleasure to watch them assimilate into our community and we value their contribution already.

 

Wednesday 20th February was our Year 7 information night where parents and students came to find out how to work their way around Xuno, how the students were settling in and meet other parents. We were very proud of one of our students who spoke eloquently, Lambros Argiriou, addressing everyone about the use of the school planners and how to stay organised. We are very pleased to see how students have been proving to us their managerial skills so early in their school year.

 

Year 7 Camp

There are currently no further updates on the Year 7 camp rescheduling. Once we have a date, parents will be informed via Xuno.

Year 8 

Our Year 8 students have been participating in a variety of learning activities, one of which was an incursion around the effects of graffiti on the community. Here’s what Alexandra Wood-Freeman took from the session:

 

“In week 2, Year 8 had an incursion on graffiti where I learnt that a lot of taxpayers’ money goes towards the removal of graffiti instead of building/renovating community facilities. Some graffiti can look nice but the tags are the real issue and are  just ugly. We also learnt that the fine you can get from graffiti can be up to $40,000. Graffiti is legal in some places and you can get a licence, but it's the kind of graffiti that could be art/use talent instead of just drawing lots of tags. Graffiti also can reduce the value of a property.”

Year 9

Year 9 is off to a busy start with the Year 9 Program in full swing. Students have thus far participated in an indigenous cultural walk, giving back to their community through cleaning up St Kilda Beach and have been visited by the RSPCA. This is community participation is designed around the principles:

  • That students learn best when they are involved in and accept responsibility for their own learning
  • That students learn best when they are engaged in authentic, rich tasks
  • That students need to learn not just content and skills but also how to learn—how to become better learners.

Interschool Sport

Year 8 Interschool Sport - 15th March

Year 7 Interschool Sport - 19th March

All students should have signed up for their sport of choice in the Assistant Principal's office if they are wanting to attend. This opportunity facilitates the development of teamwork and learning experiences outside the classroom.

Key Messages in Junior School

  • Learning starts at 9am - We appreciate your efforts in working together to have students at school and ready to learn by 9am. This is paramount for the best learning to occur and to set positive habits in place for students’ futures.
  • Correct uniform - all students should now be wearing the correct uniform. If there are queries about this, please refer to the uniform policy set out in the Student Planners.
  • Step outside your comfort zone - it is where the magic happens.
  • Attitude to learning - we all get to choose how we respond to situations in our life and learning is no different. Having a positive attitude to our learning will open many opportunities to take our learning further.

Important Dates:

  • March 15th - Year 8 Interschool Sport
  • March 19th - Year 7 Interschool Sport
  • March 26th - Parent Teacher Interviews (Student surnames A-K)
  • April 2nd - Parent Teacher Interviews (Student surnames L-Z)
  • April 5th - GEC Cross Country

 

Junior School Team

Year 7 Coordinators: Daniel Lake and Sue Rio

Year 8 Coordinators: Laura Baker-Goldsmith and Charlee Cowley

Year 9 Coordinator: Brenton Hale

Junior School Leader: Ryannan Mathieson