Assistant Principal's Report
Year 11 & 12
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our Year 11 and Year 12 leadership team now that all positions have been finalised.
At year 11 our leaders are:
SRC – Anthony Apostopoulos and Olga Zaekis
Arts Captain - Stephanie Tsaketas-Chiu
Dunlop House Captain – Sebastian Trinchi
Cowan House Captain – Taliya Sezgin
Bradman House Captain – Nour Maqsodi
Patterson House Captain – Dorothy Ah Fook
At year 12 our leaders are:
School Captains – Meliz Bilgin and Obaida Chreiki
Vice Captains – Octave Tuitea and Humeyra Yildiz
Sport Captains – Emily Cabrera and Luca Gioskos
Arts Captains – Julia Corallo and Karla Yarak
Dunlop House Captain – Ekjot Jaur Saini
Cowan House Captain – Alice Cooper
Bradman House Captain – Jemma Gulielmi
Patterson House Captain - Daniel Ibrahim
SRC – All Year 12 captains are on the SRC
Now we are in week 6 of term, senior students are completeing SACs and starting to realise the pressure that can come from having several subjects to prepare for in one week. Organisation and planning are the key to academic success as well as finding the motivation to push through and study when required. The effort that students expend now at 11 and 12 will have a direct impact on their performance in their end of year exams and more importantly, the pathways open to them at the end of their time in secondary school. We have a range of supports for students including the after school homework club, yoga (for relaxation), student management, wellbeing, careers and of course subject teacher support.
It's been a busy time for our Careers Coordinator Krystal Bussell who is meeting with every year 11 student to start to map their post secondary pathway.Every student gets one on one time to discuss and start to plan what life will look like for them. All of these meetings are on compass and I encourage parents to speak to their child about how they are going with school as well to start having conversations about what your child will do after school.
As I speak to students and teachers of year 12, I am pleased to hear many talk about the benefits they have already had from Edrolo. I am glad to see our students taking advantage of this resource that can give additional support to students outside of class hours to revise, practice and to back up the excellent work of our senior teaching team.
At the time of writing, it’s the day before our Athletics carnival which is the final one for our current year 12s. Our year 12 students are able to dress up in house themed casual clothes and I am looking forward to all of their crazy costumes tomorrow! Our year 11s represent their houses by wearing house coloured sport attire and I look forward to our senior students leading our younger students throughout the day by encouraging them to participate in events and support their house!
I am sure that Dunlop house will be winners tomorrow and I’ll be proudly wearing my red house colours!
Julie Ryan
Year 9 & 10
Years 9 & 10 …out and about this week.
This Monday all of our year 9 students were very fortunate to be treated to a fantastic day out in Melbourne City to explore famous landmarks including the Eureka Sky Deck and a tour of the MSG. They travelled in by train, and enjoyed a lovely day sightseeing and becoming familiar with famous Melbourne landmarks. This day leads into the year 9 Explore Program where students will be given opportunities to investigate their community including the community hubs in our local areas as well as further opportunities to learn about Melbourne city. I would like to thank Ms Kotsopoulos and Mr Murcott for their planning and organisation of the day, as well as Mr Danher for his support during the day. A huge thank you to the year 9 teachers who attended and had an enjoyable day with the students.
Not to be left out, our year 10 Humanities classes were also out of the school on Monday and Tuesday, exploring the Williamstown precinct including the wonderful Jawbone Nature Reserve as part of their geography fieldwork task. Excursions provide a valuable enrichment to classroom learning, offering experiences to broaden and consolidate understanding of knowledge and further develop students’ communication skills and confidence when interacting in the broader community. Again thank you to the Humanities teachers who supported the students by accompanying them on these field trips. By all accounts, all enjoyed the day
Progress Reports
Teachers are currently completing progress reports for all students at the college. Students are monitored at school as to their progress in all of their subjects. As parents, it would also be an opportune time to talk to your child about their progress and monitor their homework a little more closely at home. Homework is an opportunity for you to help and be involved in your child’s learning. In secondary school, homework reinforces what they learn at school and encourages them to maintain lifelong study habits. There are many ways you can help your child with their homework including:
- encouraging a regular daily time to complete study and homework
- discussing key questions or suggesting resources to help with homework
- helping create a balance between time spent doing homework and recreational activities or part-time employment
- celebrating your child’s successes and achievements
The first of our Parent Teacher conferences for 2019 will be on Thursday 4th April. Further details will be sent out regarding making appointments to speak with your child’s teachers. In the meantime, put this date down in your diaries!
Laura Forster
Year 7 & 8
The weather is getting chillier, and the days are becoming shorter. While the great learning continues, students can become a little less comfortable with the change to cooler weather. A reminder that our uniform caters for the needs of students, and it is important that correct footwear, jumpers and spray jackets are at hand. I am sometimes asked why spray jackets are not permitted to be worn in classrooms. The reason for this is two-fold. In wet weather, where jackets become wet, they become a distraction and interfere with the task at hand. Also, we have learned from many years’ experience that body temperature moderation is messed up if the jacket remains on in the classroom, all of which are suitably heated. Students put their jackets on to meet the change in temperature outside and thus feel more comfortable in the different environment. A reminder also that under garment layers can be used to effectively maintain warmth in cold conditions. Any undergarment that cannot be seen is acceptable.
A good night’s sleep is a perfect way to set up for a good day at school. Many of the difficulties that we sometimes see come about through students being tired. Adolescents need substantial uninterrupted sleep. In the digital age this is a challenge as many students access their phones/ipads/laptops at night. The blue light that emerges from these screens is the same as daylight for the body, and impacts ability to sleep. To train our bodies for sleep, these devices should be put away at least two hours before bed. This also means that cyber-contact that can be unhelpful during these hours is eliminated.
It was enormously gratifying to attend the year 7 Orientation Camp last week. Moving around to each of the activities it was clear that students – virtually without exception – were having a go at all activities on offer and contributing their best to a great Camp. The company organising the outdoor events commented positively about the behaviour of our students – always great to get this feedback as much as I know we have excellent students. The activities were not physical challenges, several focussed on problem solving and there is a great workshop on our school values. Students were able to enjoy the great weather, with plenty of shade about. I want to extend our gratitude to the wonderful teachers who gave up their personal time to supervise our students on camp. It is a great time of sharing, and getting to know students from different perspectives to the classroom.
A huge thank you also to Josh Simpson (Sub school leader), and to Samantha Laird and Luke Carey who organised a magnificent camp. Thank you also to our parents who managed their children’s participation on the home front.
Timothy Cottrell