ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS' REPORT

Jeff Pavlou
Jeff Pavlou
Belinda McGee
Belinda McGee
Glenn Morris
Glenn Morris
Gary Rule
Gary Rule

Volunteers Morning Tea

On Thursday, 13 December, our College Chaplain, Katherine Lazarus, organised a morning tea to thank members of our community who contribute to Doncaster Secondary College through volunteering.

Our volunteers provide support through:

  • English reading support
  • Math support
  • MYSELF excursion participation
  • Office administration and Photocopying
  • Breakfast Club operations
  • Mentoring
  • Student Focus club
  • EAL Homework Club
  • Basketball clinics
  • Counselling
  • Weight training
  • Integration and Inclusion

Our volunteers include parents, grandparents, DSC Alumni and local church groups. A number of our incoming Year 7 families have recently completed a survey indicating how they would like to be actively involved in our College community. We look forward to working with you in 2019!

Year 7 class Parent Representatives

Doncaster Secondary College introduced the Class Parent Representatives at Year 7 in 2018. The role of Class Parent Representative was to promote parent involvement in our school community and develop social connections with their child’s peers and parents. 

 

This week we received some great feedback from our current parent representatives about the valuable social connections which they have made. Activities organised by our representatives included dinners for parents, dinners for parents and children, and ten-pin bowling.

 

We will continue to offer this opportunity to next year’s Year 7 and 8 families. A number of parents and carers have expressed an interest in being a representative however, parents this year appreciated the opportunity to take on the role with another parent. Please contact Glenn Morris at morris.glenn.c@edumail.vic.gov.au or Anna Ditchburn at Ditchburn.anna.a@edumail.vic.gov.au if you are interested in being your class representative at Year 7 or 8 in 2019. 

 

The role of the Class Parent Representative is to:

  • Assist families in getting to know other parents and feel part of the school community e.g. informal social gatherings such as a coffee morning at a local coffee shop or a class dinner at a local restaurant (Term 1 and Term 3)
  • Encourage parents to be involved in school life
  • Communicate with the Level Coordinator/Discovery teacher as necessary to discuss class needs

Compass Attendance Notifications

Daily school attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don't fall behind both socially and developmentally.

 

Whilst we are aware that there are times when students will be absent, parents and staff must work together to ensure that accurate records of attendance are kept. In an effort to ensure that absences are entered in a timely manner, Doncaster Secondary College supports families through sending an SMS to indicate when a child is absent. In an effort to make this easier, our SMS will now include a link to enter the absence approval.

 

Where possible, absences should be entered prior to the start of the school day. We understand that when this is not possible, absences should be entered within the next 24 hours. If you believe that your child’s attendance record is not accurate, please contact your child’s specific subject teacher or the relevant sub-school office.

Parent Association

In 2018, a number of parents and staff members worked together to establish a constitution for the establishment of a Doncaster Secondary College Parents’ Association.

 

During March next year, Doncaster Secondary College will hold our Inaugural General Meeting to elect office bearers (President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parents Victoria representative etc.) All office-bearers will be elected annually to their positions. If you are interested in finding out more about the establishment of the DSC Parents’ association and the office bearer roles, please contact me at the College via 9848 4677 or morris.glenn.c@edumail.vic.gov.au.

 

Glenn Morris

Assistant Principal

December 2018 Reporting 

Have you checked the Learning Tasks since December 10? 

 

This year there have been changes to the way subjects are reported on. Instead of one summary report at the end of a term or semester you will be able to see Learning Tasks with comments and grades on the following dates.

 

March 12, May 14, June 25, Aug 20, Oct 15, Dec 10

These tasks will be flagged to show there is an indication of the grade and effort, as well as a comment. 

The end of semester reports which are a summary of each subject with Victorian Curriculum levels and grades for key tasks displayed will be published on Compass by December 17th . There will be no comments on end of semester reports. You will see comments on the dates above by following the instructions attached.

What this means for Parents:

Parents will need to log into Compass and look at flagged Learning Tasks on or just after the dates published above. You will be able to regularly monitor student progress and see feedback about specific tasks and how students can improve. ​ There is a file attached which will help you navigate Compass to find this great feedback provided by teachers.

What this means for Students:

Students will need to ensure Learning Tasks are submitted on time with maximum effort applied. You will be able to read comments and analyse rubrics to see feedback about specific tasks and how to improve. This allows you the opportunity to regularly monitor progress towards your goals.

 

Gary Rule 

Assistant Principal