Middle School Report

“Fall Forward” – Denzel Washington

Welcome Middle School Families to the 2021 School Year. I was going to begin by saying let us hope we do not have any interruptions this year…….that draft quickly went in the bin.

We have had our short circuit breaker now, it is time to get going and enjoy our year together.

Firstly I would like to introduce our team – we are very lucky to go into 2021 unchanged and we know in sport an unchanged line up is a winning line up.

Our subschool office manager is Ms Tammy Dimarco – Tammy is your first port of call for any communication especially attendance and lateness. If during the school year your child needs any assistance / support at school we encourage them to head to the subschool to see Tammy.

We have Ms Lily Popovska as our Year 9 Coordinator, Ms Popovska is a very experienced / knowledgeable and above all caring leader who has a terrific rapport with her cohort. Ms Popovska is approachable and always makes time to listen and support our students. Ms Popovska has been a coordinator across all year levels and understands the needs of students at different stages of secondary school.

Mr David Gayfer returns again as our Year 10 coordinator. There is a nice symmetry here as many of our Middle School families will know Mr Gayfer in his role as Year 7 Coordinator a few years back. Mr Gayfer’s time in the Junior School gives us a valuable insight into our students which gives us a head start into being able to best support and nurture your child. Mr Gayfer like Ms Popovska is a very experienced coordinator who brings a wealth of knowledge having worked in other school settings such as SEDA and Peter Lalor Vocational College.

Term 1 Key Dates:

Combined Key Dates for Year 9 & 10

March 12 – Fair Go Sport Athletics Day

March 30 – Parent / Teacher interviews

Year 9 Key Dates:

Feb 22 – Advance bushwalk

March 3 – Outdoor Education Archery excursion

March 15 – Advance excursion to Latrobe retirement village

March 22 – Year 9 Outdoor education kayaking 

March 29 – Year 9 Health Immersion Day

March 31 / April 1 – Year 9 Advance Camp

Year 10 Key Dates:

Feb 19 – Year 10 Peer Support Leaders program begins

March 10 – Year 10 Outdoor Education surfing Anglesea

March 23 – Year 10 Outdoor Education orienteering

As you can see from our calendar of events the Middle School is a hub of activity and opportunities our program offers our students lots of variety and experiences.

Student Rewards & Recognition Program 2021 - Positive Education points

As part of our School Wide Positive Behaviour Program our Positive Education Rewards and Recognition Program is up and running again for 2021. Staff have already been using Quick Praise and Respect Passes in the first three weeks of Term 1. All students can see their ongoing Positive Education points on their Compass dashboard - top right hand corner. There is a line with how many Positive Education points.

At our end of term assembly we will acknowledge and celebrate our students who are awarded the most points!

Finally you might be wondering what “fall forward” means, it’s a quote from Denzel Washington……….look it up on Youtube.

Any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact one of our team: 9466 0900

Kind regards

Mr Nick Vass – Middle School Leader

Ms Lily Popovska – Year 9 Coordinator 

Mr David Gayfer – Year 10 Coordinator

Ms Tammy Dimarco – Sub school Office Manager

Ms Lea Volpe – Assistant Principal