Principal's Report

COVID-19 Update

As you are aware, the Victorian Government, with the support of the Victorian Chief Health Officer, announced that school holidays would be brought forward to begin on Tuesday 24 March.

All students will be expected to attend school from the start of Term 2 on Wednesday 15 April, which may be by remote and flexible learning arrangements.

More information regarding coronavirus and schools is available on the Department of Education and Training website, which will continue to be updated as the situation evolves: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

Thank you for your support during this time. Once I hear further information in relation to school resuming for Term 2 and whether this is via online remote learning or students being required at school, I will communicate this via Compass.

During the coming weeks, please stay healthy and abide by the government's advice and guidance through the media outlets in regards to social distancing and isolation. It will be a challenging time for everyone but if we can all remain safe and well then it will be worth the challenge in the long term.

If you have any questions please email the College email on maffrasc@education.vic.gov.au and this will be sent through to the appropriate person. All families should have received a phone call this week by a staff member, touching base and checking your readiness for remote online learning. Thank you to all of those families that have been up to the school to collect laptops in the previous few days to ensure everyone is as ready as possible for the unknown.

I placed on compass at the beginning of the week, an overview of expectations for students and their learning if we go to online flexible learning. There are 3 documents, depending on which year level or program your child is currently completing. Please take the time to read these with your children prior to Wednesday 15th April.

Reporting to Parents

As outlined in my Compass messages, it is unfortunate that we have had to cancel Parent –Teacher - Student interviews for this term. We have already had one round of progress reports and at this stage, we are planning for a second progress report will be issued by the end of Week 2 next term on Compass for you to check your child’s progress. If you have any concerns about your child and have not been able to speak to your child’s teacher, please don’t hesitate to email them.

How to best support your child with homework

This article from the online publication “the conversation” may be of interest. Whilst it is focused on homework, much of the advice may assist families as we approach these uncertain times and the possibility of children completing remote online learning at home in the weeks ahead.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-your-kids-with-homework-without-doing-it-for-them-126192

Maffra Secondary College School Council 2020

In the recent call for nominations for parent vacancies on Council we received a number of nominations which was most pleasing. It is my pleasure to welcome back Narelle Petterson and Leanne Caithness and welcome a new parent member to Council – Shelby Kent. 

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to outgoing parent member Fiona Gardiner (member for four years), Joe Capurso who held the student representative position for 2 years and whilst Hans Simon is still on School Council, he has stepped down from being the President after 7 years of holding this position. I sincerely thank them all for their significant contribution to Council and their ongoing support of the College.

A couple of weeks ago we held the Student Leadership elections in Year 10. As part of the role of Year 10 Leader, one of the students will take on the one vacant student position on council for the following 2 years. The successful Year 10 Student Leaders where Jackson Jacobs and Lily Dierickx.  Congratulations to both of them for successfully gaining a position on the school leadership team and also to Jackson who will remain now on council for two years. The other student representative is Tim Elliott in Year 11 who was successful in joining the council in 2019 in a two year position.

The mandate of school council is to always strive for the  "best possible educational outcomes for students at their school.” Parents and families make a vital contribution to this mandate, not only through school council but also through the Parent Club and other involvement. We continue to seek input from families, to ensure that the collaborative nature of education at Maffra Secondary College remains strong.

In the meantime, if there are any questions or suggestions regarding governance or the strategic direction of the college, please ask.

We wish you all a safe and healthy Easter.