Need to know

Happy holidays!

It's difficult to believe we are already 1/4 of the way through the school year.    Thank  you to our dedicated staff who, as well as delivering the teaching program and support programs, have invested in running many exciting and enjoyable events, excursions, activities and camps for our students.  

I would like to wish students, staff and families a restful and enjoyable Easter, and a happy term break.  

Key Dates:  Term 2 

I CAN Network Mentoring Program 

We are very pleased to share that St Helena Secondary College will be offering a leadership and mentoring program delivered by the I CAN Network in Term 2, 2023. 

The I CAN Network is an organisation that provides a range of resources for people who demonstrate Neurodiverse qualities, or are on the Autism Spectrum. Learn more here - https://icannetwork.online/

Who is eligible to be part of the program?

The program is available to those students who demonstrate Neurodiverse qualities or have an Autism diagnosis. 

We are thrilled to be offering two groups (Junior & Senior) at St Helena in Term 2, 2023. Students from Year 7 to 12 are eligible to participate. 

Please contact Jenny Heathcote (jhe@sthelena.vic.edu.au) or Rachel Weiss (rws@sthelena.vic.edu.au) if you would like to express interest in your young person participating in the program. Email invitations will also be sent out to some families identified as suitable for the program. 

Why is there a cut off date for excursions and incursions? 

As you are aware, we have a strict 3 day cut off for consent/payment for excursions and incursions.    A number of parents were disappointed that we did not waive this for late payment for the Year 8 Medieval Day.

The three day consent/payment policy is there for a number of reasons.  

When students go out of the school, it is ensuring we have up to date consent lists and don't end up taking students who do not have written consent, that we have accurate parent communication details for the day, that we take appropriate first aid kits to cater for individuals with medical conditions, that inclusion officers are booked to go on trips where there are students requiring support, that we meet teacher ratios, that third party providers have been paid the appropriate amount  etc. etc.  Organising teachers do all the leg work around teaching and other commitments, and need sufficient time to ensure all legal and safety obligations are met. 

With a large incursion like the whole Year 8 Medieval Day, it is a workload and logistics issue.  Our events coordinator, Carol Dixon, put all the student groups  for the Medieval Day together on Friday, including rooms and teachers, as well as organising an alternative program for those not participating.   If we allowed any one parent  to pay after the cut off, we would have to allow all students who also missed the deadline to pay.   We do not have the resourcing to redo all of the organisation.  Compass does not discriminate between those who are late consents and those who consented on time, so Carol would have to redo all of the groups and thus the timetabling and staffing.  It is not a matter of just "slotting in" late attendees to an existing program.  This is not a small job.  The group that brings the Medieval activities into the school has also invoiced us on the number of students registered, and the invoice has been paid accordingly.    

This is the case in all incursions involving third party providers.  

I think we have made the 3 day policy clear to our community.  

Please understand we take no joy from stopping students from participating.

If any parent  would like to take the matter further,  you can contact the Department of Education North West Regional Office on 1300 338 691.

Respectful interactions 

The core value of our College is Respect.

We teach it to our students, and we live our value.   We expect it of students, teachers and community members.

Unfortunately, following a couple of regrettable incidents during the recent Report Discussions, I feel the need to remind our community of the Department of Education 

Respectful Behaviours Policy:

Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy

This policy outlines the shared roles of parents, carers and school staff in creating a positive environment for learning. There are also other policies that set out clear standards of behaviours that are specific to school staff and students.

When parents/carers and school staff work together as one team, our students do better. Victorian Government schools want to work with parents and carers to achieve this.

The expected standards of behaviours apply to different school settings. This includes at school events, camps, excursions, outdoor activities, online learning and other places online related to schools.  

Building a positive relationship with your school

Parents/carers and school staff have a relationship that can last many years. This is an opportunity to work together to create a positive relationship in the best interests of the child.

When this relationship is built on respect and trust, students learn better and feel like they belong in the school. The foundation of a good collaborative relationship is based on:

• open and honest communication
• trust and respect
• working together
• fair and reasonable expectations by all.

Shared responsibility of members of the school community to behave respectfully 

Positive school environments are important because everyone has the right to be safe and play a shared role in being respectful. Everyone at school, particularly staff and parents/carers, play a role in making school a better place for learning and work.

Respectful behaviours are important in building strong, healthy and thriving school communities. 

School staff in Victorian Government schools have to follow the Respectful Workplaces Policy to build and maintain a respectful workplace, including:

• treating each other with respect and consideration
• being inclusive, valuing others and accepting their differences
• recognising the efforts and achievements of others
• considering our impact on others
• calling out and addressing behaviour that can lead to bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Parents/carers can create a positive environment for learning and work by:

• modelling positive behaviour to their child/children and to the school community
• communicating politely and respectfully with all members of the school community
• working with the school to achieve the best outcomes for their child/children
• communicating constructively with the school
• making use of the expected processes and protocols when raising concerns  
• following the school's processes for communication with staff and making complaints
• treating all school staff, students, and other members of the school community with respect.

By treating everyone with respect, parents/carers and schools can make sure students feel supported and cared for. 

Respectfully raising complaints at your school 

The Department supports your right to make a complaint and provides a Parent Complaints Policy to help you do this. Complaints from parents and carers help the school community by providing feedback to improve how a school operates. 

Schools welcome complaints from parents and carers if they are communicated in a respectful and constructive way. They may ask that concerns be communicated in writing.

The Family Engagement in Learning page shows parents and carers how they can best talk to schools to provide feedback or complaints. Each school is different in how they prefer to talk to you– please refer to your school’s guidance. 

You can have a support person to help you at any time, who can talk to the school on your behalf or help you understand school policies. They can be a family member, a friend, a community member or a person from a support service. 

You can also ask your school for an interpreter or translator to help communicate with the school, as per the Interpreting and Translation Services Policy.

For more information, refer to your school’s own complaints policy or the Department’s Parent Complaints Policy. 

Unacceptable Behaviours and Consequences

Schools are positive places of learning where everyone has a right to a safe and healthy learning environment. Schools are also workplaces, and school staff deserve to work in an environment where they don’t feel threatened or unsafe. 

When a small number of parents and carers behave unacceptably towards a staff member or another member of the school community, this can affect their health, safety and wellbeing. The impact can also be felt by the wider school community.

Unacceptable or unreasonable behaviours include, but are not limited to:

• being violent or threatening violence of any kind, including being physically intimidating,  aggressive hand gestures or invading another person's personal space
• speaking or behaving in a rude, aggressive or threatening way, either in person, via email, social media, or over the telephone
• sending demanding, rude, confronting or threatening letters, emails or text messages
• discriminatory or derogatory comments
• the use of social media or public forums to make inappropriate or threatening remarks about the school, staff or students.

If a parent or carer behaves in an unacceptable way, the school principal may contact them to talk about this further and there may be consequences. This may include making a School Community Safety Order to prohibit or limit harmful, threatening or abusive behaviour from a parent, carer or other adult to members of the school community.

Unacceptable or unreasonable behaviour may be escalated to the Department, where it will be assessed and managed by:

• requesting that the parties attend a mediation or counselling sessions
• requesting all communications be in writing
• written warnings
• conditions of entry to school grounds or school activities
• exclusion from school grounds or attendance at school activities
• reports to Victoria Police
• legal action.

For more information about this policy, email safer.school.communities@education.vic.gov.au.

Canteen Payments

I emailed all students this week to emphasise that they cannot use their phones to purchase food and drink from the canteen.    The statewide legislation bans phones from 8.30 am until 2.50 pm and students are not permitted to take them out of their locker to buy food.  Students may use their debit cards or cash or order and pay online the day before via boccafoods.com.au

If students have a smart watch that does not need to be in proximity to their phone, they may use their smart watch to make payment at the canteen.  Please note that, in accordance with the state mobile phone laws, if a student has  a smart watch at school, notifications must be turned off between 8.30 am and 2.50 pm.  

We are looking into some software that will allow students to use their Compass cards as payment cards, but need to do some further investigation and meet with Bocca Foods before committing.  

Want to jump the canteen queue?

Our canteen offers an online ordering system, where parents and carers can pre-order their child’s lunch via the website.

Students pick up their lunch from the ‘Lunch Orders’ line which is a lot faster than the usual queue, without having to carry cash or worry about payments.

Head to https://boccafoods.com.au/. All you do is register and create an account. You add each child to your account and identify the school you wish to order for. Then you place the order and pay online via your card. Note - there is a minimum order amount of $4.

Many parents use this already and have reported that it’s a really easy way to order their child’s lunch.

Concreter wanted!

Are you a qualified concreter with the requisite insurance etc?   We are building a new  bike shed measuring around 10mtrs X 10mtrs and we will need a concrete base about 100mm thick.  Are you interested, or do you know anyone who may be interested, in quoting this job?  We would like to support a contractor from our wonderful community.  (In addition to payment I’m able to organize parking and a speedy exit from the carpark with a wave and a smile ). Please contact Stephen Hird Grounds and Crossing Supervisor at St Helena through the office  on 9438 8500, or via AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au 

Maths help available 

Every Wednesday Years7-9 from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm in the library.   Students in Years 10-12 should seek extra assistance from their Maths teacher.  

Showcase

We had a fabulous evening last week showcasing our College for prospective students and families.   A big thank you to the 100 + students and 50+ staff who volunteered to stay back and run activities and supervise displays.   So many visitors commented on how friendly and polite our students are.   

A big highlight for the night was the showcasing of our new Virtual Reality headsets.   I experienced performing open heart surgery!  It was amazing .... until I took my headset off and realised I  had been waving my arms around and simulating using surgical tools in the middle of a library full of people!  The educational potential of this program is huge - imagine students virtually strolling the streets of Rome and speaking to locals in Italian!  Or virtually dissecting a human heart.   We are very excited to introduce the use of virtual reality in a range of subjects.  

St Helena on TV

A few weeks ago St Helena was approached to be part of the Beyond Blue Be You campaign.   We were very proud to offer our facilities, along with a local primary school and early childhoood centre, for the filming of the campaign.    You may see the familiar faces of our teachers Sian Clarke, Antoinette Hulsen and Michael Gin if you look closely enough!

Year 7 Humanities Real Life Learning!

Ms Marcon's Year 7J and 7F Humanities students have provided a great example of real life learning this week.    They ran a class referendum to mirror the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.  Students used the same wording, and made the ballot papers.    "Officials" helped run the voting, students voted as they might in a real referendum and each class had official, live vote counting!   The YES vote won with a resounding majority.  

St Helena Achievement

We are very proud to be recognised by the Department of Education North Western Region for achieving the bronze level of acknowledgment for implementing the essential features of the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support with fidelity in 2022.  

Earning a SWPBS award, particularly bronze, silver, or gold, is a significant accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated. The award recipients have submitted extensive evidence of their implementation as part of their application. A panel of statewide Area SWPBS Coaches reviewed these applications to determine which schools will receive an award for their implementation of SWPBS in 2022.