Thank you to all the students who have made an effort in regards to taking pride in their efforts in learning and showing respect for themselves and Epping Secondary College. As a community we all have a role to play to continue to make ESC a wonderful and outstanding school to learn and enjoy.

As we head into the second half of Term 2 it is timely to think about how we can bring out our best. For our students, I would like to reflect on the work of Dr Stephen R Covey, renowned educator and author of the book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.’ Covey identified these habits and then went on to modify them slightly for students. The following points might be things that you wish to discuss as a family to help your son or daughter bring out their best over the next five weeks.

Be proactive, recognise that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your priorities, your time and your resources. Don’t allow peers to dictate what you consider important.
Begin with the end in mind. Envision what you want in the future and how are you going to make this a reality.
First things first! Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself and don’t get distracted from your goals. Discover your key productivity periods and places. Do you work better in the morning, afternoon, or evening? Find spaces where you can be the most focussed and productive.
Think win - win. Contribute well in your class - you, your fellow students, and even your teacher will benefit. Value and respect those around you.
Seek first to understand, then to be understood. When you have an issue with another person, try to see it from their perspective. Now ask yourself how you can best approach the issue with that person given the situation.
Synergize! Combine the strengths of others through positive relationships and teamwork.
Sharpen the Saw: Exercise, service, reading, healthy diet and sleep all contribute to a healthy fulfilling lifestyle.

Over the next five weeks we encourage all of our students to think about the choices they are making and if they are helping them to learn and to develop as an individual ready for the world beyond school. There is food for thought in the 7 habits above and if these don’t resonate with you, then lean on our school values of Commitment, Respect, Honesty, Fairness and Perseverance to guide you in your endeavours.

A time to celebrate and thank our Education Support Staff Team

Every day, our Education Support Staff work hard to keep the school running and to support our students, parents/carers and teachers every step of the way. On Sunday the 16th of May it’s time to celebrate our ES staff on International ESS Day. BUT, since one day just isn’t enough (and because this day falls on a Sunday), we used Friday 14th May to celebrate and recognise the extraordinary contribution that our ES staff team makes.

On behalf our school community, I would like to say a HUGE thankyou to Janet, Maureen, Tanya, Shauna, Carly, Rita, Regan, Lynda, Rhonda, Peter, Liz, Louise, Michelle, Janie, Deanne, Anab, Andrew, Melanee, Kathrine, Antonio, Sofi, Sophia, Lewis, Sam, Debra, Mark, Tyler, Tiff, Maree, Mona, Georgia, Maurice, Shayne, Gabriella, Hasan, Maha, Edna, Nadia, Jodie, Linda, Melinda, Janessa and Raymond for the many and varied contributions that you all make, and to let you all know how much we appreciate and value you all, not just in ESS week, but each and every day.

If members of our school community (students, parents or carers) would like to thank our Education Support Staff Team or a specific member of the team, please feel free to contact the school via telephone or alternatively message me directly through Xuno with your thanks and gratitude and I will ensure that this is passed on to our Education Support Staff.

NAPLAN 2021

Our Year 7 and Year 9 students have been undertaking NAPLAN this past week. It has been wonderful to witness high levels of student effort and endeavour during the three days of assessment and our students are congratulated for demonstrating our College values of respect and perseverance in the process. The results, although not available for some time, will be provided to parents later in the year. As a school level we use the information collected through these assessments to evaluate our teaching and learning and to determine modifications and changes that may be required to better support our students in their ongoing development of literacy and numeracy skills.

Respectful Relationships

Recent media reporting has highlighted the issues of consent, sexual assault, and gender inequality, and these issues are critically important. Our College, in partnership with parents and carers, has an important role to play in addressing these significant social issues.

We are committed to Respectful Relationships at Epping Secondary College. Respectful Relationships is a College Community responsibility where we strive to further embed a culture of respect and gender equality across our entire College Community.

We also teach Respectful Relationships as part of the Victorian Curriculum, which focuses on building students’ social and emotional skills by supporting them to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and build and manage safe and respectful relationships (including understanding consent). Our College provides sexuality education as part of the Health and Physical Education curriculum.

Consent Education is vital, and the State Education Minister, Mr. James Merlino, has made it clear that all schools have a responsibility to cover this area with students. We are working with faculty and other leaders within the College to best address this area with students.

Please contact the College on 9401 2599 should you have any queries. Please contact 1800 RESPECT or visit https://1800respect.org.au/ if you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault and / or violence, and needs support.

Traffic around the school

I’d like to remind all parents and students of the need to be extremely careful on the roads around the College, particularly at the start and the end of the school day. There are a number of schools, all with students arriving between 8:30 and 9:00am each morning and all dismissing students between 3:00 and 3:30pm, which can often mean traffic congestion around the College at this time. We would also like to remind students to utilise the pathways and not the roadways when entering and leaving the school. Parents are reminded that they should not be driving into the school grounds and we appreciate your support in this area.

Brad Moyle

Principal

Library News

May