NGSC Newsletter

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

Paul Dawson, Bradley Headlam &  Julie Andrews

Assistant Principals

Welcome to Term 2 2021, how quickly the year is flying by.

At the end of Term 1 we held the Parent Teacher Conferences. On the day, over 2000 separate bookings to see teachers were made with approximately 35% of households making at least one booking. It seems that the earlier start time of 11:30 am was successful with many bookings occurring in the first half hour. The school had access to 17 interpreters who ably supported the conversations for some families. 

If you have specific feedback about the Parent Teacher Conference day please contact Julie Andrews either by phone, 5240 5800, or by email.   

The second Parent Teacher Conference Day for 2021 will be held on Tuesday, 27 July (Term 3).

The first Curriculum Day for the year was held on Thursday, 29 April. The morning focus was on various aspects of the Instructional Model that is used at NGSC. This was followed by discussion and work on moderation practices within Key Learning areas. Educational Support staff had a guest speaker during the day. 

​ANZAC DAY at NGSC

On Monday, the school observed the ANZAC tradition. It was great to see Year 12 indigenous student Stephi Murphy proudly present the ‘welcome to country’. The National Anthem was played by Sam Bolton of Year 8. 

The students participated in the traditional Last Post observation accompanied by the two minute silence. The ceremony was led by the School Captains. Year 12 Captain and Naval Cadet, Jess Tidd, and Year 10 student and Air Force Cadet, Jonathon Eather, presented the wreath at the assembly as a symbol of respect and remembrance.  They then spoke about the significance of ANZAC Day. 

The students also heard recorded voices of the diggers who served at Gallipoli and detailed the difficult conditions that our brave soldiers had to endure.

Edita Salcinovic and Stephi spoke about the Indigenous Australians participation in World War 1 despite the fact they were not recognised as citizens of Australians.

It was an inspiring ceremony and very pleasing to see the incredible level of respect exhibited by the students of NGSC.

Well-Being Centre 

The school would like to welcome Mia Brown who will be taking on the role as the School Health and Wellbeing Nurse and Jess Jubb who will be the new school nurse.

 

Doctors in Schools

The Doctors in School rooms at the school are located in A block.

The Doctors in Secondary Schools initiative is a government funded program that allows general practitioners (GPs) to attend up to 100 Victorian Government secondary schools up to one day a week to provide medical advice and health care to those students most in need. 

 

The objectives of the program are to:

  • make primary health care more accessible to students
  • provide assistance to young people to identify and address any health problems early
  • aim to reduce the pressure on working parents and community-based GPs.

Students are able to make bookings online or via wellbeing.

Tutoring

The Tutoring Program is in full swing and students are getting a variety of educational assistance in the classroom. In addition to this some students are given support away from the class environment. Here at the back of the school we find Ms Elkin engaging with a couple of motivated students.

Operation Newstart

Congratulations to Tyson McCallum who completed the Operation Newstart Program last term. The Newstart Program is an opportunity for students to participate in a challenging program that extends and re-engages students with their educational pathway. Tyson cited overcoming some fear of heights, but when it came to the bike riding felt he spent more time off the bike than on it!

NAPLAN details (11 May to 13 May)

In the lead up to NAPLAN 9C and 7G will be taking part in a compulsory equating test conducted by ACER. Both groups (randomly selected by ACER) will do a Numeracy calculator and non-calculator test which will be conducted on Monday, 3 May, for 9C and Wednesday, 5 May, for 7G. 

NAPLAN testing will be conducted 11 May to 13 May, as per the Department requirements. Communications around Operational processes will be shared with students. It is important to note that the College utilises the data gained from NAPLAN as a measure of progress and growth, for targeting support for students and looking to extend others. All data is published on Compass for staff to access and use to structure student learning in a more individual manner. Parents/carers can contact Julie Andrews, Josh Vassallo or Lauren Edmunds if they have questions about this annual testing program including the participation of their child in NAPLAN.

All students will require a calculator (not their iPad) to complete the Numeracy Calculator test. 

Year 9 NAPLAN certificates of achievement:

A new feature of the NAPLAN assessment is being launched this year, with the award of Year 9 Certificates of Achievement.

The new certificates aim to celebrate and recognise the importance of both excellence and learning growth.

Beginning in 2021, Year 9 students who achieve outstanding results, or who significantly improve their results in NAPLAN tests, will receive a NAPLAN Certificate of Achievement.

The certificates will be awarded for two categories of achievement:

* Category one: the achievement of excellence through getting a result in the top band for reading or numeracy, or both.

* Category two: the achievement of outstanding learning growth through improvement by two or more bands between the NAPLAN Year 7 and Year 9 tests for reading or numeracy, or both. For more information about the new certificate and measures for learning growth, refer to Year 9 NAPLAN certificates of achievement on the Department’s website.

In FOCUS: Using Whole School data to improve student engagement

Throughout the year we have several opportunities for students to analyse our school data and provide their perspective on what the data is saying and how we can improve. On Tuesday, 27 April, we held the 2nd Annual Empowering girls in the Middle Years Forum. This day began with a session in self defence which provided students with strategies to protect themselves, but also to empower them to use their voice. This voice was then directed at a range of data sets from which they highlighted several strategies for our school to improve. Some of which included recommendations to have ‘girl only’ sport spaces, education on how teens communicate, revisiting positive recognition, girls’ sport excellence, novels that have female core characters or heroes and more self defence. This information will be collated, presented to relevant stakeholders and then proposed changes will be explored further. Later this term approximately 10 of these students will be involved in a broader discussion with other schools in the region to find commonalities and potential community actions. Thanks to all staff and students involved!

Students sharing their thoughts on our Attitudes to School Data

The girls doing some visualisation prior to starting their self defence