Principals Report

How quickly this term is going – already we have past the half way mark. This term we have seen our students clearly embracing the college values, as well as the academic challenges of the New Year.

Later this week our first progress reports will be released to families via Compass. This is an important time to check in with your child about their academic progress and ensure they are focused on achieving their pathways through strong academic achievement.

The circuit-breaker lockdown caused our community to jump into action in response and we thank the entire community for their swift response and success at remote teaching and learning. We know we can do it and it is incredible how agile our community can be to ensure the continuance of learning.

A growing school population has also seen a much busier carpark and surrounding area during drop off and pick up times. Parents, please be mindful of the parking areas to ensure a smooth drop off and pick up of students and also please try and keep at or below the speed limit in the surrounding streets to ensure the safety of our students and the general public walking and driving in the local area. Students, a reminder of bike safety, and being mindful of cars and the public in our local streets and public transport.

Parents are reminded NOT to park in the Bus stop on Crossway Avenue, this is illegal, and several parents have reported being fined by local council for illegal parking in the bus stop area whilst waiting for their child after school or dropping them off in the morning.

Student Attendance and Educational Outcomes

Daily attendance is important for all students and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don’t fall behind both socially and developmentally. Studies show that absence does affect learning growth and that there are no safe number of days a student can be absent from school. A student missing one day a fortnight will miss four weeks in a year. It is important that students develop regular attendance habits. In addition, a student who is half an hour late each day misses the equivalent of 16.6 days of learning each year. This is not acceptable. It is not okay to be away or late without a medical certificate! School participation maximises life opportunities for our young people by providing them with education and support networks. School helps students to develop important skills, knowledge and values that set them up for further learning and participation in their community. If you are having difficulty getting your child to school, please contact your child’s House Leader or Year Level Coordinator at the College to discuss strategies that may assist you.

Why attendance at school is so important

School is better when you’re here; when you miss school, you miss out.

Students develop good habits by going to school and being on time every day—habits that are necessary to succeed beyond school, whether in the workplace or in further study. As well as academic development, attending school every day helps your child develop crucial social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and the ability to work in teams.

“Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher outcomes across their lives. “

There is no safe number of days for missing school — each day a student misses puts them behind, affecting their educational outcomes. Research confirms there is a strong link between poor attendance and adverse student outcomes like early school leaving, poverty, drug and alcohol use, unemployment, criminal activity and poorer health and life expectancy.

“A child missing one day a fortnight will miss four weeks in a year.”

For some parents, 90% attendance may seem like an acceptable level of attendance, but the reality is that 90% attendance means that your child will miss half a school day each week, or 19 days of school a year; that’s nearly 4 weeks of school. If your child is regularly late to school, this not only adds up to many days of lost learning, but interrupts the teacher, and the whole class of learners, as they enter the room late and need help to get started. Unless you are so sick you can’t get out of bed or there is an event like a funeral, you should be at school, on time. There are no other reasons to be away from school.

Parents can improve student attendance

Remember that every school day counts. Don’t let your child stay home unless genuinely sick. Attendance is expected at all Tarneit Senior College scheduled events, such as classes, sports carnivals, incursions, excursions, camps, study group, End of Year Activities. Exams, Parent Teacher Conferences, etc. If it is on their Compass schedule they must attend.

Tarneit Senior College wants to work in partnership with parents— if you have any concerns about your child’s attendance and connectedness to school, contact your child’s House Leader or Year Level Coordinator and ask for advice and support.

Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day.
Book family holidays, routine medical and dental appointments and birthday celebrations during the weekend or the 12 weeks of school holidays, not on a school day.
Establish routines, teenagers should:

- Have a set time to go to bed

- Leave electronic devices out of bedrooms, and don’t use at least 30 minutes before sleeping

- Pack bags the night before, get uniform out.

- Have a nutritious breakfast

Expect your child to go to school, instead of allowing them to stay home to finish an assignment, discuss with them how to improve their study habits and time management.
Use Compass to help your child plan their study; avoid late nights catching up.
Be aware of your teenager’s social contacts. Peer influence can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.
Set clear parameters around part-time work and sport commitments. More than 10 hours per week will impact on their ability to go to school on time, or interfere with assessments.
If your child is home very sick, don’t allow it to be a fun day by letting them play their devices.

If for any reason your child must miss school:

Inform the College via Compass or telephone as soon as possible. Do NOT give student access to parent login code.
Find out what work your child needs to do to keep up by keeping track of Google Classroom.

Getting to school on time

Each day scheduled classes start at 9.15am. For students to be prepared and seated in class they should be at school by 9.00am.Teenagers don’t always have the skills to manage their time in the morning, meaning parents must work with students to develop a routine which allows them to be at school by 9.00am. A large number of our students catch public transport or walk to school. If parents must drive students we suggest they are dropped a short distance from the school to avoid congestion and allow for extra exercise.

Simon Haber

College Principal

VCAL in Pictures