GEC College News

From the Principal Team

We welcome:

  • School Health Nurse, Roz Murray, starting today. Roz will be at GEC on Monday and Thursday.
  • Emma Stefan, piano teacher, working Fridays.

It has been truly wonderful to see our students engaged deeply in their learning and in a range of activities.  Some of the highlights include:

  • The Swimming Carnival - a wonderful Whole School event.  We had many students participate in the Beachside swimming event.
  • We hosted a very successful interschool Chess Tournament and will have 2 teams compete at the state finals.
  • Year 8 students participated in a Talk Money program.
  • Students participated in a range of interschool team sports.
  • Our variety of lunch time and after school clubs and activities continue to grow and I encourage all students to get involved.  Activities include - Robotics, Coding, Dungeons and Dragons, Chess Club, Rainbow Retreat, UJEB, Anime, Crochet Club, French Club, Book Club, numerous activities in the library, Instrumental music ensembles, various Year 12 subject study groups. 
  • All Year 9 students are participating in the Morrisby Testing and 1:1 interviews as part of their careers education.
  • Year 7 camp was wonderful with our students engaging in a range of experiences and making new friends.
  • Our Breakfast Club runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8.00am – 8.30am in Room 2.

Learning Stones

You may have noticed that the area of rocks at the front of the quadrangle has been undergoing a change. Dylan Charles, a local indigenous artist, is designing a 'learning stones' space to acknowledge and commemorate first nations people. Dylan is talking to different classes of students about the cultural heritage of the area. He is also bringing a range of cultural artefacts into the school to show students. This will become an important space at the school to welcome our community and to acknowledge the place of first nations people. There are some photos below.

 

We have celebrated International Women’s Day and will soon be celebrating Cultural Diversity Week, Harmony Day and Francophonie Day.   

School Council Elections

I am delighted to announce our School Council for 2023.

Parent representatives: Paul McNeill, Lance Voges, Jennifer Hayes, Stephen Loyer, Fiona Murrie and Issy Arieli.

Staff representatives: Gabrielle Darvell, Loveena Narayanen, Colin Shnier, Aaron Petersen

Student representatives: Mael Gaudy and Zahra Hnatko

 

I thank all retiring councillors for their superb work over the past year(s): Susannah Farfor, Alissa Woolf, Madeline Inber, Hasini Teddu and Darcy Messenger

The work of our councillors is very much valued. 

 

We will hold our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 22nd March, 6.30pm – 7.00pm in the library.  All welcome.

Mobile Phone Policy

Thank you to all parents and students for their support of the mobile phone policy. It has been reinforced to schools that the Mobile Phone Policy is to be implemented in all schools.  They cannot be used for payment at the school canteen. Students will need cash or a card for purchases. We also have a range of items available in the Wellbeing Centre  that we can give students for lunch if they are in need. Mobile phones are to be kept locked in student lockers from the start of the day to the end of the day.  

 

Students who use their mobile phone in breach of the policy will have their phone confiscated and stored securely at the General Office. 

Parents and students needing to communicate with each other during the day can do so through the General Office.

 

Click on this link to view the mobile phone policy or see our school website at www.gec.vic.edu.au.

 

DET Policy: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/students-using-mobile-phones/policy

Homework

By now students should be in the routine of completing set or self directed homework tasks to further develop and consolidate their independent learning skills by completing homework tasks. 

 

Students are responsible for recording their homework each lesson in their planner.  Parents and carers are encouraged to review the planner weekly with their child and discuss the tasks set.

 

Homework has a positive effect on learning and is an important part of reinforcing the concepts that are introduced in class. It also plays a significant role in building work ethic, self-discipline and responsibility.   

 

Teachers at Glen Eira College are encouraged to exercise their discretion in assigning tasks that are appropriate for their students. Homework assigned across different learning areas will be coordinated by teachers to avoid unreasonable workloads for students. 

  • Homework is the work the teacher sets for students to practise a skill or develop their understanding of the content. Short, quality, purposeful homework tasks make a difference to fostering good lifelong learning and study habits.
  • The setting of homework needs to take into consideration the need for students to have a balanced, active lifestyle. This includes sufficient time for family, sport and recreation, cultural pursuits and employment where appropriate.

We acknowledge John Hattie’s research in his book “Visible learning” that suggests the following;

  • The highest effects of homework in secondary school are associated with rote learning and practice or rehearsal of subject matter
  • More task-orientated homework has higher effects than deep learning and problem solving tasks
  • Teacher involvement in homework is key to its success.

Click on this link to see our Homework Policy. If you have any questions of concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the classroom teacher, year level coordinator or myself.

 

Homework Help runs in the library Tuesdays and Wednesdays 3.30pm – 4.30pm.

Google Class Room Summaries for Parents and Carers

Providing parents and carers with easy to access information about their child’s learning remains an ongoing priority for the college. All parents and carers have received an invitation to receive email summaries of their child’s Google Classrooms activity.  Those who elect to receive email summaries can opt out at any time.  Once registered, you will receive summaries for all of their classes.

 

Google Classroom is one way that students receive information from their teachers.  As such it is important to know the following:

  • Summaries for each class will look different from one another.
  • Teachers will continue to have autonomy about the frequency and structure of their Google Classroom posts.
  • Parents cannot join a Google Classroom. Parents can only receive the email summaries.
  • Parents cannot view or comment within any classroom.

You can choose to receive either daily or weekly summaries.  Email summaries may include the following information:

  • Class activities—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers.
  • Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails).
  • Missing work—Work not turned through Google Classroom.

With these summaries you can:

  • Have reflective conversations at home about your child’s school work
  • Support your child to use their planner to develop their organisation and time management skills
  • Support your child to complete tasks by the due date.

Finally

  • We are always looking for ways to involve our parents in our community. Please contact me if you have ideas of how you would like to be involved. Our Parents and Friends group is an excellent way to meet other families and I encourage you to join.
  • Lockers:  All students are required to have a lock for their lockers.  Combination locks are available at the General Office ($15). Any lockers without locks will not be available for student use.  I ask for parent support in providing a lock for their son or daughter.
  • Lost property: We have a growing mountain of unnamed lost property including jumpers, jackets and shoes.  I ask parents and carers to ensure all items of clothing and books are named so that they can be returned to students.

Should you have questions or concerns at any time do not hesitate to contact me at school, I am always happy to speak with you.

School for Student Leadership 

Five students who are living at the Don Valley Campus of the School for Student Leadership are already at the end of Week 3!

 

Last Wednesday and Thursday our group headed out on an expedition to Gembrook. They camped at Bunyip State Park and explored the Eastern Dandenong Ranges Trail and Kurth Kiln; and had some solo reflection time overlooking the valley at sunset – a real highlight for most students. 

 

The group is working so well together – polite, respectful, encouraging of one another; and genuinely inquisitive and caring towards the local environment. 

 

 

Next week students will be going mountain bike riding and caving, as well as starting to prepare for a Local Learning Project, where the students plan and deliver a fun day of activities to students from a local primary school.

 

Sheereen Kindler, Nick Hamer-Smith, Aaron Petersen, Loveena Narayanen

Principal Team