GEC College News

From the Principal Team

It is with great pride that I thank all members of the GEC community for all that you have done to make 2022 a successful year for our students and our college. I am so proud of our students, staff, parents and community. I appreciate the work that you all do in supporting our students to achieve the very best they can in all aspects of their lives at GEC.

 

I would like to thank Stephen Loyer - Council President, Inbal Steinberg - Council Vice President and the School Council, Parents and Friends Association and all other volunteers who contribute so much to the College.

 

It will be wonderful to welcome 170 new Year 7 students on Orientation Day tomorrow.  Our peer support leaders have been training to ensure a smooth transition for our new students.

VCE Results and Student Awards

We were delighted with the wonderful results achieved by our Year 12 students and are so very proud of them all. Every Year 12 student has many doors open to them and all have a pathway. 

Some of the highlights include:

  • Median Study Score of 31 – 3 years in a row now
  • 10.1% of scores 40 or above
  • Over 20% of students achieved an ATAR score of 90 or above

I am very grateful to the support of families and staff over the years. 

Further information will be provided after Presentation Night.

Canteen Update

School Council have secured a licensee to provide a Canteen Service for 2023. 

Lauren Montgomery has been the Canteen provider at Elwood College for the past 8 years and is looking forward to providing healthy, homemade food for our community. A menu will be shared with families at the start of the new school year.

STEAM: Frontiers & Application STEAM tour to the USA

We held an information session, exploring the possibility of conducting the Immersive Education’s STEAM: Frontiers & Application STEAM tour to the USA in October/November 2023. Thank you to those parents who attended online and in person. The presentation and a recording of the session can be found in the XUNO news on the parent portal.

Confirmation of participation is due by December 16, then a deposit ($500) due by December 20. 

Pease see links to the registration form below.

Tour Registration Form

Tour Portal Page www.immersive-education.com.au/gleneiracollege 

 

Staffing 

We say farewell to:

  • Sarah Mortimer, Arivu Kumaran, Parminder Kaur and thank them for their wonderful contribution in working with our students during their time at GEC and we wish them all the best at their new schools.
  • Congratulations to our School Health Nurse, Christalia Formoso, who has achieved a promotion.  Christalia has worked at GEC for over 10 years supporting our students and families and has been an outstanding advocate for positive mental health and life choices for our students.  We will definitely miss her being regularly at school but are delighted she will still be working with us and a number of local schools.
  • We say see you soon to Ben Wickham and Sue Rio who are taking leave in term 1 and to and Adam Golding who is taking leave in semester 1.
  • Thank you to Robyn Kleinig who has completed her contract at GEC in PE and Science – we thank her for all of her work.
  • We also farewell 2 retiring staff – Maria Anbar and Jenny Sanchez.  

Both Maria and Jenny have been outstanding teachers and members of the GEC community of approximately 25 years. Maria has taught maths through to the VCE and has taken on the responsibilities of Year Level Coordinator and Careers and Pathways Coordinator. 

 

Jenny has taught in the areas of Health, Physical Education and Science.  Her passion for ensuring that every student receives the very best they can out of their education is reflected in her outstanding work as a Leading Teacher – Student Wellbeing. We have been privileged to have Jenny support so many, many students and families over all of her years in education.

 

They will both be greatly missed at GEC and we hope they will return for a coffee from time to time as they both enjoy the next chapter of their lives.

 

As our numbers continue to grow we are in the wonderful position of recruiting excellent teachers to the college. 

 

We welcome back Julia Pound, Annemaree Harper and Karen Muramatsu from leave.

 

We welcome:

Jared Bandara – English, Leading Teacher Junior School Leader

David Ellis – Drama / Media, School Production Coordinator

Nicholas Ford – Business Management, Leading Teacher Student Wellbeing

Paul Jenkins – Health and Physical Education

Chizuko Inoue-Andersson – French / Music

Nicole Korbakis – English / Humanities

Charly Layton – Health and Physical Education

Lauren Moon – Maths / Science

Edward Nott – Maths / Physics 

Dean West – Maths

 

Finally, I wish all students and families a happy and safe holiday. I look forward to seeing our students ready for the 2023 academic year on Monday 30th January.  Students must have their locks with them so that they can securely place their books and mobile phones in their lockers.

 

Sheereen Kindler

Principal

 

2023 College Captains 

We are delighted to introduce our new College Captains Uno Mondejar, Candice Roxas, Isabel Conrad-Stewart and Austin Micciche (L-R in the photo).  

 

They will jointly lead the students throughout 2023. 

 

Their appointment follows a rigorous selection process involving a written application, a speech to their peers and an interview with our Principal.  Both staff and students were invited to vote for their preferred candidate.

 

They spent Friday morning being introduced to their peers who welcomed them with rapturous applause before they took a moment to excitedly phone their parents.  

 

They have already had their first meeting as a team and have a full calendar of upcoming commitments.  

 

We're looking forward to them leading with distinction next year.

School for Student Leadership 

Five students (three boys, two girls) have been selected to attend the School for Student Leadership for Term 1 2023 at the Don Road Campus.  Interested Year 8 (2022) students completed a written application, participated in a group task and met for an interview early in Term 4. 

 

Congratulations to:

  • Lucas Kennedy
  • Max Zelener
  • Hayden Amarasinghe
  • Alice Jayaweera
  • Holly Hudson-Thompson

The School for Student Leadership is a Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) initiative offering a unique residential education experience for Year 9 students. 

 

The School for Student Leadership offers a fully residential program for one school term with accommodation. During their nine week stay, students will live and work in a very close environment with their peers. There are challenges and lessons on human relationships that will arise from this lifestyle. Great friendships are made, tolerance is learned and teamwork and leadership is created.

 

Aaron Petersen 

Assistant Principal