Assistant Principal Report

Year 10 and 11 Exams

Congratulations to our year 11 students for completing their semester 1 coursework and assessment tasks. Year 11 students will be commencing their Unit 1 exams in the coming week. Students were able undertake many different exam preparation study and revision activities prior to sitting their exams, including practice exams. Students will be involved in feedback activities with their teachers and peers, in order to continue to improve their learning, and preparation for future assessment tasks.

Our year 10 students will also commence their semester 1 exam period next week, beginning on Thursday with ancient history, food tech, geography, physics and visual communication. Our year 10 students have spent the past couple of weeks completing coursework and assessment requirements, prior to embarking in revision activities in preparation for their semester 1 exams that started this week also.

Year 10 exams are shorter in length, and are intended build the student’s skills in revision, preparation and also in the skill in addressing the specifics of exam questions. Year 10 students will complete their exams in their classrooms with their class teachers, and not in a formal exam centre. Feedback sessions have been built into the year 10 exam week in order for the students to seek feedback from their teachers on their exam preparation and performance. This will inform future goals for the students in their preparations for upcoming assessment tasks and semester two goals.

Exams in year 10 and 11 serve to prepare our students for the rigours of their future studies. Exam results will be published in our semester reports in the final week of term.

We wish all students well in their exams and studies for semester 2.

Semester 1 Reports

Throughout each semester of learning at Emerald Secondary College, students and families can access Compass in real time throughout each semester to view a student’s progress in Leaning Tasks, suggestions for goal setting through feedback including rubrics, attendance and also communication from teachers. Students may have also been undertaking a modified program, or working towards specific goals, which can also be viewed through the Learning Task tab on Compass.

Progress reports each term also give a picture of a student’s achievement against the College Positive Learning Behaviours.

In addition to this, the Semester reports combine a summary of the Assessment tasks undertaken (years 7-10), School Assessed Coursework tasks and Exam performance (years 10-12), and also a judgement from teachers on the achievement of student performance against the Victorian Curriculum Achievement Standards, along with the learning growth from the last time the particular Victorian Curriculum Achievement Standard was reported against for the student.

The semester 1 reports will be published to the school community on Friday 24th July.

Year 9 Patisserie – High Tea

On Thursday afternoon, I had the privilege of attending a high tea, prepared by the year 9 Patisserie class. I was impressed by the planning and team work shown by the students and also the wonderful products that were on offer to sample for the event.

Congratulations to the students and to Ms. Arnold, and thank you for the steaming hot cup of tea!

Future Planning:

We will soon have a lot of exciting information to share with you!

A lot of work has been and is currently being undertaken about the future direction of Emerald Secondary. In future newsletters and information nights we look forward to sharing information on:

The new Senior Secondary Reform that is coming. There will be a State wide change from the VCAL pathway, and a move towards the Vocation Major beginning in 2023. The Vocational major will open up a new pathway option to some students with a clear career pathway in mind. Unlike the old model of VCAL, with careful planning, Vocational Major students will have the opportunity to access subjects offered in the VCE pathway also.

Watch this space – more information is coming soon.

Emerald Secondary College is also planning to reorganise the middle years curriculum offerings in the future. We hope to offer greater flexibility of choice for our Middle Years students, and are investigating a vertical elective model.

Once again – we look forward to sharing further news with you in the coming weeks.

Exciting things are happening at Emerald Secondary College

Janine McMahon - Assistant Principal

Celebrating Success

Again it’s fantastic to reflect on the past fortnight and whilst there are many successes and fantastic things happening in classroom, here is a snapshot:

Jye Kent has made a self-propelled car – Jye’s car moves through the use of rubber bands and has a battery powered flashing light. Ella has written the most amazing text study essay in response to the very thought-provoking prompt ‘Holden is at once in flight from lies and reality’ – in her studies of J.D. Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’.

This is Sophie’s pamphlet - ‘A Tourist’s Guide to Pompeii’. Sophie has included a wealth of information about Pompeii accompanied with beautifully hand-drawn illustrations. Another terrifically crafted woodwork project from Lily who has designed a boat with a rubber-band propelled prop. Students were able to try their hand at soldering in this project as well.

Year 7 Science

7A had a special guest in their Science class on Friday – Mr. Gibbs demonstrated how the Van de Graaff Generator works in relation to the students’ study of static electricity. Riley and her classmates were able to explain how friction causes an electrostatic force and how unlike charges attract, and understand how like charges repel.

Can you or anyone you know help? – Drivers wanted

Students choose many pathways – while most students move into tertiary study for their post-compulsory education endeavours such as university or TAFE courses, several of our students choose to follow a work pathway. Living in our lovely Hills area absolutely has its perks but travel for our young people can be difficult. There are occasions when our students have to decline offers of an apprenticeship because of the barrier of transport. Perhaps you or someone you know might be in a position to offer the support of driving a student to their workplace – please contact Tanja Korsten or Shane Closter at the College if you think you can help.

(Requirements such as parental consent, Working with Children's Check will apply).

Respectful Relationships

Emerald Secondary College is part of the State initiative working to deliver quality education around Respectful Relationships. Respectful Relationships is a core component of the Victorian Curriculum all the way up to Year 12 and is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community.

Program Background

The Royal Commission into Family Violence identified the role that schools have in creating a culture of respect and changing the story of family violence for future generations. Relevant and appropriate, evidence-based curriculum is taught in our and all schools.

Everyone in our community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally and we know that positive changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when these are embedded in our education settings. We want these positive attitudes to relationships to grow from our homes and schools into our sporting fields, social events and to be embraced in our community. We aim to create genuine and lasting change so that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

How the Program works at our College

Victoria’s Respectful Relationships initiative supports school leaders, educators and school communities to promote and model respect and equality – and to teach our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. We access a resource kit with the strategies and tools to implement a whole-school approach to Respectful Relationships. This approach recognise that schools are a workplace, a community hub and a place of learning.

Much of the Respectful Relationships curriculum is taught through the College’s Health Program and our Wellbeing days, activities and pastoral care programs will reflect the strategies available through the initiative also. Our existing programs promote discussion, teaching and learning around Emotions, Personal Strengths, Self-Talk, Problem-solving, Help-seeking, Gender & Identity (tolerance/diversity), Positive Gender Relations and Consent – all at age-appropriate levels as per Government Guidelines. Staff are receiving comprehensive training in the implementation of this important whole-school initiative.

Adapted from https://www.vic.gov.au/respectful-relationships

Student Expectations at ESC

Emerald Secondary College supports a culture of mutual respect, active and supported learning. We have high expectations for learning and promote school wide positive learning. To this end, in order to successfully embed an environment that is safe, orderly, positive, engaging for all – AND offers students and staff optimum conditions for success - it is important we remember the following:

We will not tolerate swearing in classrooms or out in the yard – especially when directed at other students or at staff.
We will not tolerate disrespectful or dismissive behaviour toward staff. It is not OK to walk away from any adult in our College when engaged in a conversation; it is not OK to ignore teacher instructions. Students are afforded the right to be heard and issues can be negotiated and discussed in a respectful way.
If a student is asked to follow a reasonable instruction they must oblige. Reasonable instructions include working through set learning tasks, handing over phones which are not allowed to be used during the school day (and are safely kept and returned), remaining in the classroom and being asked to stay back to discuss issues or concerns.
If a student consistently behaves in an unproductive manner that interferes with the wellbeing, safety or educational opportunities of any other student they can expect consequences.

When students demonstrate such behaviours we are sometimes in a position where we need to enforce a suspension from school. However, we have many processes in place to support students to ensure patterns of poor behaviour are broken and positive success can be achieved. These include Individual Learning Plans, Behaviour Support Plans, meetings with parents, connections to Wellbeing and other services and learning supports and programs. We encourage and welcome communication from parents – supporting our students through their Secondary College years is a partnership.

Uniform reminders:

Hoodies are not a part of the College uniform. We appreciate it is cold – please encourage your children to ‘layer up’. Our uniform includes shirt, jumper and jacket options.
A College beanie and cap are also available – other items are not part of our uniform
Footwear – plain, full-enclosed, all-black shoes.

Tanja Korsten - Acting Assistant Principal