From the Assistant Principals

Lateness – Learning begins at 9am

We are concerned that many students last year were arriving late for school on a fairly regular basis. Unfortunately this is a situation that can have a negative effect on the education of not only those students who are late, but also the other students in the class In speaking with students, most who are arriving late are students who walk to school or who are driven to school.

As a result, students who arrive to school during period 1 or period 2, without a note from their parent, will complete their work for that class supervised in the conference room. Once the next lesson starts they will join their peers.

We are all human. Cars can break down and unexpected situations can occur. A note with the student provided by you is greatly appreciated. We know that family morning routines are not always straightforward. If you are experiencing problems, speak to us, as we may be able to offer suggestions to help. Please contact our student support worker, Alyssa Zumbo.

We are happy to accept that students will be late on the odd occasion because of unforeseen circumstances. However, arriving late on a regular basis is not acceptable.

Repeated lateness will require parent meetings and the development of an attendance plan.

We thank you for your support in ensuring students maximise their learning time at school.

What impact does being late have on the student?

Students who are late miss a lot of instructions and information about what is happening, not to mention important learning sessions. This means that they have to catch up somehow. Students also miss out on catching up with their friends in the playground before school. Students can feel unsettled, disorganized and unhappy for the rest of the day and it can take them some time to complete and understand the work that they have missed. It’s similar to being late to see a movie and not being able to understand what’s happening because you have missed out on who the characters are and what the plot is.

How does it affect the other students in the class?

Students who are late have an unsettling effect on the rest of the class. Because not all late students arrive at once, the interruptions go on until the last student is settled. Students who are late often have things that need to be done prior to them joining the class and this causes even more disruption. Sometimes other students have to wait to get the teachers attention and important issues can be forgotten.

Why does student lateness cause difficulties for the teacher?

The teacher has a certain amount of material and activities to cover each lesson. Also, organizational issues are usually dealt with at the beginning of the day. Teachers can become increasingly frustrated when late students continually and repeatedly interrupt their planned routines, as they have to stop teaching to deal with the issues involved.

Remember

A student who is half an hour late each day misses the equivalent of 16.6 days of learning each year.

Parent Communication

The College will communicate with parents/carers in a number of ways including:

A newsletter sent electronically to every family three times per term
Through the Xuno portal or gmail
Information on our website at www. gec.vic.edu.au
Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews, Progress reports and Assessment Task reports
Parent representation on College Council and its committees.
Communication from staff during business hours (8.30 – 4.30pm) will occur via:

gmail
phone calls
letters
Xuno messaging

Parents needing to speak to their child should contact the General Office. A parent must arrive at the General Office to sign out the student. A staff member will collect the student from class.

We are committed to responding promptly and helpfully to all inquiries. If a person has an issue they would like to raise they should:

Seek an appointment with the relevant person
Always enter the College via the General Office
If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, seek advice from the Principal.

If still unresolved, contact the Regional Office of DET.

Nick Hamer-Smith

Assistant Principal

Uniforms

Family support is appreciated to ensure all students wear their uniform with pride.

Students are to be in full school uniform before they arrive at school. This will ensure that our college is represented with distinction whilst students are travelling to and from school.

Please be reminded that all dresses and skirts should be of an appropriate length - not shorter than 5cm above the knee.

Nails must be of a reasonable length to participate in the curriculum safely. Students who choose to have fake nails can only do so if they are short and of neutral colour. Long nails are a safety issue and will be addressed by year level coordinators. Makeup and coloured nail polish are not part of the uniform and must not be worn. Natural coloured foundation with SPF is the only permissible makeup.

Socks must be plain black with no logos and must cover the ankles.

Students should not wear jewellery to school other than a watch and a max of 2 pairs of studs or sleepers in the ears only.

Personal items

Could parents please make sure that ALL clothing is clearly named. We often find jumpers, hats, lunchboxes and PE uniforms at school and we cannot return them if they are unnamed.

Interschool Sport

Mr Adam Golding will be coordinating our very busy sport program throughout 2020.

Our Interschool Sport Program kicks off this Friday 14 February with our senior teams heading out. During Term 1, students will be invited to sign up for the following sports: Cricket, Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball, Lawn Bowls and Ultimate Frisbee.

The round robin dates and sports in term 1 are:

Senior (Year 11 & 12) - Friday 14 February

Intermediate (Year 9 & 10) - Monday 24 February

Year 8 - Friday 13 March

Year 7 - Tuesday 24 March

All students are reminded that it is their responsibility to keep an eye out for any trial or training sessions to be held for their interested sport.

Aaron Petersen

Assistant Principal