Principals Report

It is great to be back at school after my break and seeing what has been achieved this term.  The volume of activity across the school has been immense and a number of initiatives progressed, especially in relation to uniform and class attendance, whilst our core business of teaching and learning and a focus on student wellbeing has continued.  I want to publicly thank Russell Wigginton and Simone Moore for their commitment to their respective Acting Principal and Acting Assistant Principal roles in my absence. They, along with Lauren Anglin, the leadership team and the wider staff have had a hugely productive term.

We’ve held a number of community engagement activities recently, seeing us raise funds for the Exford Primary School bus disaster and WWF Australia.  We also had a great response to our food drive for the local Foodbank – thank you to everyone who was able to contribute to these important causes. 

Last week we held our Information Evening for current Grade 6 students that included a tour of the school and a presentation by leadership of our Junior School and our College Captains Rue and Harreson.  This was a wonderful evening and officially kicked off the transition process from primary to secondary school.  Next week the Grade 6 students that have chosen GSC as their secondary school for 2024 will visit the College and participate in a range of activities. Again, this forms another important component of our transition process, setting students up for success and a confident move from primary to secondary school.

It has been a busy time for exams, with our Year 11 students last week completing their semester exams, and this week our Year 10 students have done the same. Today all Year 12 students and those Year 11s undertaking a Unit 3 & 4 subject have sat the General Achievement Test (GAT).  Staff have spent the day undertaking Community Understanding Safety Training (CUST). This training is focused on cultural awareness to ensure that Aboriginal students are recognised at GSC, their culture is better understood and celebrated by the whole school community, and that they have a strong sense of belonging with their school.  This training is just one activity in the GSC Strategic Plan under the broad banner of Engagement and Wellbeing to ensure we truly deliver on our College Values of Respect and Diversity. 

With regard our Capital Works Program, I am thrilled to announce the appointment of a new builder. After a pause on works since Lloyd Group went into voluntary administration at the end of Term 2, this will see works re-commence soon.  This is in addition to the delivery of temporary portable classrooms to the school occurring tomorrow.  I’m sure everyone will breathe a collective sigh of relief to see progress again being made with this program of works.

As we move towards the depths of winter, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you about our updated Uniform Policy. Updates to our policy were approved earlier this term by School Council. The key adjustments are that students can now wear jackets over their school uniform when outside (jackets must be taken off, along with hats and beanies when in classrooms or other indoor spaces). The other adjustment allows students to choose whether they wish to wear the sport uniform or the everyday uniform – as long as students are wearing a uniform with GSC logo, they will be considered in full uniform. We are confident this strikes the right balance of student warmth and comfort, whilst still ensuring our uniform standard represents our college in the best possible light. 

All uniform is available at our uniform shop Beleza in Gisborne. If your child does not have the correct uniform, I would strongly encourage you to visit Beleza over the school holidays, to set your child up for success from the beginning of Term 3. Please see our student dress code policy on our website for further details of uniform, and contact information for Beleza.

It has also been wonderful to see our 2023 Production now moving into its final stages with ticket sales going live for the shows commencing in early August – link available later in this edition.  I can’t wait to attend myself to see months of work by students and staff come to fruition.

I hope you enjoy this edition, reading and seeing many great examples of what has been happening in and out of our classrooms.

Sarah Rose, Principal