Clyde North Campus News

Engagement

As all year levels are settled into the routine of school it has been pleasing to see an uptake by students in extra-curricular activities. When students engage in school life and the school community their motivation and eagerness to be at school improves, which can present a strong correlation to improving their learning confidence. Engagement in school is both a protective and critical factor in supporting improved learning and wellbeing outcomes for students.  Parents, guardians, and caregivers play a significant role in supporting their child’s connectedness to school. This is a critical role as it supports the development of young people’s learning confidence and motivation to do well at school. Engagement is the key, and this requires the adults in the lives of young people to be as actively engaged in school life as possible. We know as working parents it can be hard to stay on top of all the activities of our child’s school life. That is why we are striving to provide parents, guardians, and caregivers easy access and opportunity to attend informative and social occasions across a broad range of topics, times, dates, venues, and mediums including inperson at school and via zoom. The more we connect the more our young people will connect with family and school life.  Some great opportunities for engagement over the past two weeks included: Our first ever Mother’sday Breakfast for mums, grandmothers, and the significant women in the lives of our students which was a most joyous occasion. Was the success of this initiative, the wonderful food provided by Mrs Valencia and the Vet Hospitality students, or the smiles and conversations enjoyed by a community drawn together to celebrate and share in gratitude the lives of our mothers, and significant women?  There is no doubt it was all of this, it was community. The success of this initiative has given us great confidence to welcome fathers, grandfathers, and significant men in the lives of our young people for a father’s day breakfast on Monday 4th September, so dads be sure to save the date now.  The VCE performance day held last week was also another wonderful opportunity for parents to engage with their child’s learning and it was pleasing to see many parents being able to attend this event. Rehearsals for the school production are in full swing and this will provide a tremendous opportunity for our students to showcase their talents and bring a level of community engagement with no doubt sell out performances that we have not been able to enjoy since COVID. This is another event no to be missed.

Engagement is not just limited to parents, guardians and caregivers attending school functions, it also takes place daily within the classroom. However, one class took engagement with staff to a new level. Rachael Gatwech from the year 10 Metal Fabrication shares a little about the process of transforming metal and wood into beautiful furniture. 

To get the result we have now, we examined the environment where our outdoor setting would be placed to get a better understanding of the design that would suit the area. We took note of the dimensions of the room, materials and considered the surrounding aesthetics noting the area predominantly comprised of metal and timber.  This led us to select 50mm steel metal tubing and a beautiful timber called ‘flutter gum’. Once we chose the materials and a unique design we began making the final product which involved the use of using practical machinery in a safe manner. As a class we think the result speaks for itself.

From this ……………………………………………………….to this stunning piece of furniture.

The class officially handed over the outdoor setting this week. This has transformed the outdoor area and will be enjoyed by all staff creating many opportunities for us to engage with one another. The real beauty of this piece of fine furniture is that every time staff use it, we will think of the students who made it. Our sincere thanks to the class and to Mr Cardona, this is a great example of engagement at its best. 

Athletics Carnival 2023. 

We were not deterred one little bit with the weather and the rain on the morning of Tuesday 16th May as we headed off to Casey Fields for the Athletics Carnival 2023. A wonderful event showcasing the talent of our students on the field, in the stands as cheer squads and on the BBQ cooking up seriously good food. There was passion and fierce competition as records were broken. The competition was very even throughout the day, but the relays gave Kolbe House the winning edge as they finished first with a record score of over 1000 points.  Marian House took first place in the House Spirit Shield which is always a difficult competition to judge with all houses producing inspiring cheers, and costumes.  This is again another fine example of engagement between students and students and staff and students. The final relay race is always the Year 12 team verses the staff team and once again, despite a powerful effort by the staff, it was youth, talent and the energy of the students that took first place. 

Well done to all, a fantastic day and my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr Brown and his team and all the staff and students who provided extra support and cups of tea that keep us all going.

Finally, I came across this saying; with gratitude optimism is sustainable, and it made me think how true this is. When we express gratitude most of us do so with a smile and a sense of optimism that things are ok but more importantly will continue to be ok. 

I wish you a safe and productive week.

Julie Banda

Deputy Principal - Head of Clyde North Campus