Junior School

Junior School News

With the Term off to a flying start, the Junior School has been full of excitement as students settle in to the school year. Classes are now well underway and students are working hard in the classroom as well as participating in a range of cocurricular activities.

Swimming Carnival

On Friday the 7th of February, students participated in the Annual Ringwood Secondary College Swimming Carnival held at Aquanation. House spirit ran high with many students participating in multiple events, earning points for their House. There were a range of events on offer including the traditional races, along with novelty events and a fashion parade. With students’ chants from the sideline, there was a supportive yet competitive spirit in the air. In the end, it was Freeman who took the win for 2020. 

Student Leadership Day

On Monday the 24th of February, our Year 7 2020 student leaders spent the morning at EVs Croydon participating in a workshop before returning to Ringwood in the afternoon to work in small groups within their portfolio. One of our Year 7 student leaders, Ella, recounts the events of the day as follows:  

Last Monday, the year seven ambassadors had a leadership training day. We started the day off at EV’s youth centre in Croydon. There were also some other student leaders from Heathmont and Norwood Secondary College. To kick off the program, we started with an introduction done by the youth workers at EV’s. They told us about some of the programs they do. Then we played an icebreaker to get to know some new people. After that, we split off into groups of people that we didn’t know, and looked at character strengths. We also had to bring a photo of someone who we thought was a good leader, and we had a discussion in our groups about what skills and attributes that our chosen leader shows.

The next activity we did, was separating into different groups. We had two things to do, one, was to come up with a fundraiser idea (I really liked doing that!) and two, was to come up with a little icebreaker game/activity to help people get to know each other. We presented to other groups, and then some groups ran their games with the entire group of students.

Overall, the entire experience was fun and beneficial to all of us in one way or another. I asked some of the other year seven leaders what their favourite parts of the morning was and they said meeting new people, coming up with a fundraiser idea, and just the whole program in general. It was a really great morning, and I hope that as student leaders we get to do more training programs like that in the future.

By Ella Halbert

Uniform

A few reminders regarding the College’s uniform policy

• We remind families that when a student is out of uniform to please provide a written note of explanation and to encourage your child to obtain a uniform pass before school. Please also be reminded when purchasing items to check the Dress Code online to ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform.
• As summer draws to an end and the days become cooler, a reminder that undershirts must be plain white and not visible at all.
• If any part of the P.E uniform can’t be worn on P.E days, please ensure that your child wears the regular school uniform and changes into the appropriate sporting substitute for the P.E lesson only.

Managing homework

As a guide, students in Junior School should be spending at least 30 minutes per day on homework or study. This will help to build study habits so when increasing the time in future years it is already part of their routine. Study planners are encouraged and students can manage their homework using the Reminders app and Compass app as well as syncing their calendar with compass.

Upcoming Progress Reports and Parent Teacher Conferences

In the coming weeks, students will be assessed against their learning behaviours (see visual below) for each of their subjects through progress reports.

Progress reports will be available to parents on the 13th of March and can be accessed through Compass. We encourage parents to view these reports as they are an excellent tool to collect feedback on your student’s progress in the classroom.

In addition to Progress reports, parents are also invited to attend the Parent Teacher Conferences that will be held on Thursday the 26th of March from 12pm – 8pm. Parents are encouraged to attend with their students and bookings can be made through Compass once the portal is open on the 13th of March.

Bike Safety

As many students travel to and from school on their bikes and scooters, we would like to remind parents to ensure your child is wearing a helmet at all times whilst riding. We would also like to remind students that they must dismount their scooter or bike and walk once on the school grounds to ensure their safety and the safety of those around. Once the bikes or scooters are on school grounds, they must be locked them away in the designated bike bays.  

Krissi Friedli

Junior School Frazer House Coordinator