Acting Principal's Report

As we come to the end of Term 3, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our students, families and fantastic staff for their on-going effort, perseverance and commitment to maintaining our focus on supporting all students in our school community, and building success and achievement in teaching and learning. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support while I was Acting Principal. Mr McNeil will be back on board the first day of Term 4, refreshed from his time away in North Queensland. I would also like to thank Ashleigh Hudson for taking on the role of Acting Assistant Principal covering mine and Mr McNeil’s leave. Term 3 is a such a long term with the cold weather and no public holidays so I would like to thank all staff of the school for their commitment to 'going the extra mile' to cover classes when required as well as continuing to provide a wide range of co-curricula and extra- curricula opportunities. This includes a wide range of sport, music concerts, debating, excursions and our very successful Production and Senior Diversity Dash. I am also proud of our students who continue to provide their personal best at all times in catching up on learning when absent and trying their best at all times.

Finally, a big thank you to all our families. Your support of both your children and the school is truly appreciated and valued.

Year 9-12 Bring Your Own Device 

To all our families a reminder that Reservoir High School operates a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program for students in Years 9-12.  At Year 9, our classes have moved to the use of Microsoft Teams and One Note (Class Notebook) to support the learning of all students. 

Reservoir High School operates a genuine BYOD program- we do not stipulate a device that needs be purchased. We understand that the purchase of a computer can be expensive, so our policy is to provide a set of recommended specifications, as well as access to a purchasing portal if families choose to use it. A device for your child can be purchased from any provider of your choice.  The recommended specifications also support the use of older computers that your family may already own. 

The school has partnered with Edunet to provide a parent portal with a range of devices available for purchase. All purchases through the portal can also include extended warranties, insurance and accessories. While we support families using the portal to purchase devices, as a family, you can choose to source the device from any provider you wish. You may also use your current device. If you are purchasing a device from another provider, or bringing a current device, our minimum specifications are-

• Windows 10 or Mac OS 10.4 minimum
• It must hold charge for 8 hours
• 10 inch screen (this does include 9.7 inch iPads. IPads must have an attached keyboard)
• 4 Gb Ram (8Gb is recommended)
• 128Gb SSD (256 Gb SSD is recommended)

We strongly recommend the use of a touch screen device for all students. Devices that operate with a touch screen, stylus and can be folded into tablet mode allow for greater flexibility in learning. The school recommends the use of the Lenovo ThinkPad 500w Gen 3 as it is both a touch screen and has the specifications that will support longevity of use. The 500w Gen 3 is available on both our school portal. Please note, a touch screen device is not required, only recommended. 

The portal can be accessed from-

https://reservoirhs.technologyportal.com.au/

The password to access the portal is- RHSBYOD

Please note that the Department of Education is unable to offer insurance or cover the cost of damage to personal devices. Please consider insurance when you purchase your device.

In 2023, Reservoir High School will continue to utilise Microsoft Teams and Office 365 as the basis for all classroom digital environments in conjunction with Compass. Office 365 is provided free for all students at Reservoir High. There is no need to purchase or activate copies of Office 365 if you buy a new device. The use of a personal device to support the learning of students is fundamental in a 21st century classroom. For families experiencing financial hardship, please contact Amy Angelovski at the school with supports. 

We understand the addition cost that the provision of a BYOD is for a family. As a school, we have worked hard to off-set this cost by reducing the number of textbooks required for purchase. This includes increasing the number of textbooks to be retained from Year 8 and providing options around the use of Digital editions of the textbook for installing on a student’s device. 

 Pathways Planning 

This is the time of year when we are planning for 2023. We are receiving enrolments for 2023 Year 7 students and all students have selected their subjects/electives for next year. This is a very important process, so I thank all students and parents for the thought and consideration that was taken when selecting subjects. I also thank the sub school staff, careers team and timetabler for all of their work in running such a smooth process. We are now making decisions on what subjects run in 2023 and sorting through all the student selections to ensure each student has a viable course. As soon as we are able, we will notify students of their 2023 subjects.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me either by email or phone.

Progress Reports

Term 3 Progress reports are now available for parents/carers and students to access via Compass > View Academic Reports or by clicking Profile (..) > Reports Tab. 

Students logging in need to click on their name at top of screen first to go to their Profile, then click the Reports tab. Then under the Reports sub-heading by clicking on 2022 – Progress Report Term 3, you will be able to generate and download the progress report to be saved, viewed, printed or emailed. You may have to allow pop-ups in your internet browser. 

You need to have a pdf file reader software installed, such as Adobe Reader to open the file.

If you have any issues in regard to connecting to Compass or downloading reports, please contact your child's Sub School Office Manager during school hours for assistance via 9466 0900.

Parents, please read the progress report carefully and discuss it with your child. If you have any enquiries, please contact your relevant sub-school or you can contact individual teachers via Compass.

Events

Seussical Jr Production

What an event!!! I was extremely proud of our students who put on a wonderful performance, they were outstanding. I am always amazed by the talent of our students, and they had all the audience engaged for the whole performance. The shows were very professional.  The dancing, singing and acting were exceptional, and the backstage crew were very organised and polished. Over the 3 nights we had over 400 people watch the show and over 500 primary school students during the matinees. Congratulations to Nina Rossini, Louisa D’Ortenzio, Rohan Bayley, Geoffrey Barker, Joseph Sirianni and all the other staff that assisted including Darryl Forbes who organised the Matinee shows. The show could not go on without the extra work these staff members put in. It is hours of rehearsals and preparation.

Bruce Kingsbury Ceremony

On Friday 26th August we once again had the pleasure of hosting the Bruce Kingsbury Ceremony. We have a long association with the 2/14th Battalion and life member of the Association, Michael Ralston gave a very moving speech as did our Student Leaders and Kingsbury Primary School students. It was also an opportunity for the Bruce Kingsbury Scholarship winner, Charli Hancock, to read her winning entry. The ceremony was thought provoking and a very moving event. It was great to be able to run it live for the first time in three years. I thank all the Year 7 Humanities teachers and Mr Forbes for organising the event and preparing the students.

Lions Club Debating Competition

On Wednesday 7 September I had the pleasure of attending the Lions Club Debating Final where our Year 11 students, Jolin Liu, Blessmol Jose and Teishalee Palaia competed against Northcote High School who were the reigning champions. Our students were so professional, well-spoken and well prepared. Northcote High were very convincing in their arguments, but our students’ arguments were stronger and they were able to rebut strongly. The girls hard work paid off as Jolin, Blessmol and Teishalee won the debate. It was an immensely proud moment for Reservoir High School and the prize was $1500 to be spent on library books. Congratulations to the girls as they worked so hard preparing for the debate. It was a well-deserved win. I would like to thank Libby Warren and Penny Keaughran for their hard work and dedication in supporting the girls.

There have also been many other excursions and events that have occurred in the last few weeks. Book Week, Whole School Assembly, Year 8 Elevate, Year 10 Teen Mental Health Toolkit, Sporting events, Pasifika Program, Grade 5 debating, Chinese Cultural Experience, History Excursion – Vietnam Vets Museum, Chess Tournament, Immigration Museum, Outdoor Ed Excursions, R U OK activities, VCE Legal Studies Parliament House, Year 9 STEAM Latrobe Prosthetics Dept Excursion, Primary School Reservoir Cup, Senior School Diversity Dash, Year 9 La Trobe Humanities Excursion and these are just to name a few. These events take a long time to prepare but staff want students to have experiences outside of the classroom so are willing to take the time to prepare for such events. I would like to thank staff for giving the students opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. I would also like to thank families for supporting these events.

Now I would like to take the opportunity to wish all students and families a safe and enjoyable school holiday. Students take the opportunity to have some screen free time and enjoy the outdoors whenever you can. Recharge for what will be a very busy Term 4 especially for our Year 12 students who will be sitting their final exams.

Stay safe everyone and enjoy.