Assistant Principals Report
Uniform
As we head towards the end of term 3 and embark upon term 4, we also experience a change with what the weather brings.
During this time it is important for students to wear the school uniform in its entirety and not mix and match summer and winter uniform items. We appeal to parents for their support in ensuring that their children are leaving home each morning wearing the correct uniform. All members of the school community have a responsibility to uphold the WHSC culture of always wearing the school uniform correctly. In working with staff and members of the school council, we are in the process of administering a compliance audit with respect to how well students are wearing the college uniform. The outcome of this work will provide a indication as to how well each student is wearing the uniform, areas for improvement and strategies to facilitate further improvement. Our college uniform is symbolic of our brand and identity of our college. We do have high expectations at our college and as such this needs to be reflected in all areas. We encourage students to wear it with pride.
Student Leadership-RYPEN Camp
Once again in 2017, the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley generously sponsored three of our students to attend the RYPEN camp- Rotary Youth Program for Enrichment. The camp was held over the weekend from the 14th-18th September. Students who attended have demonstrated outstanding leadership potential within the college and through sending them on this camp, allows them to develop their leadership capacity even further.
The students who attended RYPEN 2017 were:
Jemma Frisina and Gabby Giulieri both from year 9.
Dalya Bozkurt from year 10 also attended as a group leader this year after originally attending in 2016 as a participant.
Please enjoy the students reflective pieces below.
My RYPEN experience
Hi, my name is Jemma, I am in year 9 and I was chosen and sponsored by the Glen Waverly Rotary club along with one other student, Gabby Giulieri, to participate in the 2017 RYPEN camp, standing for the ‘Rotary Youth Program for ENrichment’ held for students aged 14-17. The program went from Friday 15th-17th of September and truly lived up to its name because it was one of the most enriching and most fun experiences of my life. I met so many new students from a range of ages, backgrounds and personalities. We all had one common goal and that was to grow and learn to discover who we are, how we are going to succeed, thrive and lead in our different ways. Over the weekend we were led by a variety of leaders to help us along the way.
Over the 3 days we did many purposeful, meaningful and enriching activities that taught me so much about what leadership means and who I want to be. It taught me that you need to stay focused and clear of distractions if you want to achieve a goal. It highlighted that trusting people and cooperating with one another is integral to getting a job done efficiently and that we have the power of choice about everything we do and how we react to events can result in a positive or negative impact upon ourselves and the situation.
I felt like the camp increased my confidence in networking and meeting lots of new people. It definitely heightened my self-awareness and self-esteem, and enabled me to explore my values and discover what makes me the person I am. It also outlined the importance of having good relationships in your life, whether it be at school, at work or at home. I learnt countless things on this camp and the RYPEN experience will always be very close to my heart. It was an ideal environment where everyone was equal, socialising and bonding 24/7 and I felt like I really thrived.
My favourite parts of the camp were meeting so many new people, the dance party, the environment, the activities, the many new friends I made and the invaluable life lessons I learnt through this camp. I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to take part in this wonderful program. I really hope I can return next year as a student group leader! I can’t speak of RYPEN highly enough!
Jemma Frisina 9E
My Name is Dalya, Year 10 student, and I too was sponsored by the Glen Waverly Rotary Club to attend RYPEN 2017!! However, I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the six Colour Group Leaders for the camp, rather than a participant. I attended RYPEN last year as a participant, as did Gabby and Jemma this year, and was fortunate enough to have been asked to put in an application to be a Colour Group Leader, which I succeeded in! Once the Colour Group Leaders were chose, we were paired up with our Colour Group Mentors who guided us through this whole experience.
Before the camp itself, each of us Colour Group Leaders, as well as our mentors, had multiple meetings to plan each and every single one of the activities the participants got the opportunity to do and were able to have. These included; the theme for our Saturday Night Dance Party, Mission RYPEN, RYPEN Books, Certificates, Trust Activities, Trivia, and the list could go on for ages!
Once the camp had begun, we were all very excited but also very nervous as we had to lead 9 participants in our group and ensure that every single one of them were having fun and getting the most out of their RYPEN experience. I was the Colour Group Leader for the Yellow Team, who I must say – was in fact the best team, who were lucky enough to win the Trivia on the Friday Night!!
Throughout the camp, I ran multiple activities with the collective group of 55 participants which included; Energisers, Lava Shark during Mission RYPEN, Communication Activities and was also the head of the Camp Fire. On the Saturday Night, there was a dance party with the theme of Heroes vs Villains where everyone had the opportunity to dress up. I of course went as Wonder Woman! The dance party was amazing and there was a game of limbo, which I of course won!! Straight after the dance party where everyone got to bust a move, we had a camp fire where I played the guitar to the songs that the participants suggested whilst everyone was singing. This was a very nice way to end the night as it calmed a lot of people down and everyone was able to keep warm!
My favourite part about this whole experience was being able to watch the participants have fun and get the most out of their RYPEN experience, the same way that I did last year. I would highly recommend the camp to everyone, and if you’ve been a participant, I would highly recommend you apply for Colour Group Leader! Thankyou to the Rotary Club of Glen Waverly for providing me with this opportunity, and GO TEAM YELLOW!!
Dalya Bozkurt 10D
Respectful Relationships
The Victorian Government is investing $21.8 million to support Respectful Relationships in all Victorian schools, because the best relationships are respectful ones.
During term 3, a team of staff from WHSC have attended several professional development sessions to learn more about the facilitation of the roll out of Respectful Relationships.
The Respectful Relationships initiative has come about from a Royal Commission into Family Violence, where the Victorian Government has recommended Respectful Relationships be introduced to all schools to change attitudes and prevent the prevalence of family violence in future generations. Respectful Relationships is underpinned by evidence that shows schools can play a key role in preventing family violence by helping students develop an understanding of healthy relationships and respect.
Respectful Relationships is a wide ranging initiative to help young Victorians deal with a range of challenges they may face and covers topics including being respectful, resilient and engaged at school and confident in themselves.
More information regarding Respectful Relationships and will be provided in the coming months.
Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
Thanks to all parents and students who attended the P/T/S Conferences on Wednesday afternoon and evening. It is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the successes of each student and provide feedback on how they might develop and improve in their education. Teachers who were unable to attend on the evening will contact the parents/guardians who had made appointments. If you were unable to attend, please contact any teachers you wish to speak to regarding your student via Compass.
Mrs Judy Anderson & Mr Andrew Dixon
Assistant Principals