ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

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PUNCTUALITY TO SCHOOL

It has been the College’s policy for many years that students who arrive late to period 1 (which begins at 8:50am), will receive an automatic after school detention next day and miss the first period (not allowed entry to class), unless a note/phone call with an acceptable excuse is provided by a parent.  An acceptable excuse is a doctor’s appointment, illness, etc.  In addition, students who are late to school without Parent/Guardian approval twice in one week will receive a two hour Friday Detention or Saturday Morning Detention.

We have this system because we believe that:

i. Research shows the best learning occurs early in the day;

ii. Students must be organised and prepared for all classes;

iii. Our teachers and students who have attended class on time should not have their lessons interrupted by late students;

iv. A productive lesson during period 1 sets the ‘tone’ for each day.

We ask all parents to support our expectations by ensuring students arrive at school by 8:30am, allowing enough time to get organised and in class before our 8:50am start every day.

REPORTS

End-of-semester reports will be available on Compass at the end of Term 2.  Please read these reports carefully and discuss with your child how they can further improve their academic performance in the second half of this year.

When reflecting on their reports, students should focus upon the attributes and behaviours teachers recommend for further improvement - perseverance, hard-work, asking for help, taking pride in their learning and setting high expectations.  Educational research has proven that intelligence is changeable (not predetermined or fixed), and that academic growth can be achieved by all - working hard, being resilient and acting on the advice in end-of-semester reports are the keys to achieving this growth.

YEAR 12 STUDENTS -ENROL TO VOTE

All Year 12 students have recently been advised of the importance of enrolling to vote, and understanding the Australian electoral system.  All citizens can enrol once they turn 17, and must enrol once 18.  Our College’s vision includes a desire to “assist our students to become global citizens who can actively participate in the emerging and interconnected world of the 21st century.  We encourage them to recognise that a strong sense of belonging, social responsibility, empathy, compassion and knowledge of the world are required to make a positive difference to the quality of their own and others’ lives.” 

To this end, it is critical students enrol to vote and begin to consider their place in our democratic society.  We strongly encourage all parents to discuss this message with students at home. Information about enrolling to vote can be accessed at http://www.aec.gov.au/enrol/

We wish all students and families a great holiday and look forward to another wonderful term at McKinnon beginning Monday 14 July.