College Matters
Council Report
Hello everyone. I’m Phil Pearson and I am the ICT Manager at the College, and have been employed at MGSC for ten years. I have worked in ICT in the education sector for the last twenty years. I run a small team of three people who help keep all the IT running around the school, implement DET directives and deploy our own initiatives to best deliver the curriculum to our students.
I am a recent addition to the Council having been appointed this year. I decided to join the Council as I can see the positive developments happening around the College, and I want to be a part of that and contribute to the College’s ongoing growth. Working in an education support role, I feel that I will be able to provide a different perspective at Council meetings.
It was quite an eye-opener attending my first Council meeting. I hadn’t quite realised what was spoken about at Council, but apart from the School’s finances, we discussed student enrolments, VCE ATAR scores, landscaping works, Council correspondence, the School’s Annual Report and approved various camps and excursions.
At last week’s Council meeting, we were fortunate to have Helen Forgasz, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Education, at Monash University join us as a co-opted member of the Council. We look forward to Helen’s insight on all things education, especially in the area of STEAM.
It’s an exciting time here at MGSC with new projects beginning this year including the STEAM building and the athletics track. These two projects themselves will be of tremendous benefit to the girls.
Phil Pearson
Council Member
Student Attitudes to School Survey
At MGSC we value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing, and quality instruction, and are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of our school. The Attitudes to School Survey is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. We will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child’s schooling experience.
Students from Years 7 to 12 at our school will participate in the survey. Your child will complete the survey online, on their own device, during school hours using a purpose built secure online survey tool. It is important to note that we are not in any way “testing” your child. Your child has the right to refuse or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during, or after completion of the survey.
Your child will be provided with a unique login to complete the survey. The student login is an assigned identifier that may be used to link data for statistical and research purposes only. All responses to the survey are kept anonymous in the response file. Personal identification data will not be recorded in the survey response file. This ensures that the confidentiality of your child’s responses is protected at all times.
This year the Attitudes to School Survey will be conducted at our school over the coming weeks. The Year 11s have already completed theirs and the other years are scheduled to complete theirs during an upcoming assembly, English class or Personal Learning class. The survey takes up to 20 minutes.
The survey results will be reported back to the school before the end of term 2. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identified.
Last year we used the survey results to inform our Strategic Review (our four year action plan). We have incorporated, and will continue to incorporate, more student voice, through a revised student leadership structure. We have also increased the number of surveys that we are asking teachers to complete in their classes. The questions they are asking are taken directly from the 2018 Student Attitudes to School survey in key areas where the responses indicated that we needed to improve.
If you would like more information about this survey, please contact Bronwyn Moline at the school or visit: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/management/improvement/Pages/performsurveyat.aspx
Mid-year exams
Year 11 Exams: Friday 31 May to Friday 7 June
Year 10 Exams: Monday 3 June to Friday 7 June (this includes Year 10s doing a Year 11 subject)
Year 9 Exams: Monday 3 June to Friday 7 June
Students are only expected to attend when they have an exam, however Year 11 students doing a Unit 3 & 4 subject are expected to attend that subject if they do not have an exam at the same time.
Friends of the Garden Working Bee
Fine weather and many enthusiastic participants contributed to a very successful working bee in the school grounds on election. Many thanks to Adrian Pitts, Michelle Rowland, Aaron Byrne, Brett Hughes, Ted Vicary, Kate Vicary, Darren Hawkless, Sarah Clement, Lisa Parrott, Glenn Chadwick, Georgi Manger and Chris Pidd for coming along. The trees on the south boundary received some top soil and with recent rain we hope to see them flourish over coming months.
2018 Flagbearers recognised
This week we took the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the 2018 Year 8 students responsible for raising and lowering the flags on campus each school day. Thanks to Laura Masters, Emy Read, Lily Brill. Charlotte Stokes, Sri Dyavanapally, Samantha Martin and Rhini Geetha Ashok Balaji. Your contribution and service to the school community is greatly appreciated.
2019 Reunions
The Past Students' Association will run two official reunion events for past students this year.
Thursday 8 August, 7pm to 9pm will be a combined reunion celebrating 5, 10, 15 and 20 years for the classes of 2014, 2009, 2004 and 1999.
Thursday 24 October, 2pm for a 2.30pm to 4.30pm reunions will be an afternoon tea and tour open to former students from 1955 to 1998.
There will be more information about each event soon.
Free dental checkup for eligible students
For further information please contact Sue Gravina (First Aid) gravina.susan.m@edumail.vic.gov.au
Carol Duggan & Bronwyn Moline
Assistant Principals