From the Leadership Team
Dear Families,
I would like to extend to everyone a very warm welcome to Term 2 and to new families who have commenced at our College this Term.
With Term 1 having been a time of adjustment and familiarising ourselves with our beautiful new environment, we are now ready for the challenge of taking our new school facilities to the next level and delivering the very best secondary education outcomes we can deliver.
For our Year 12 students it is an important term as this is when they will do the bulk of their learning, so it is essential they are at school every day and use their time well to prepare for their future.
Our ethos of Greater Care, Greater Belonging, Greater Expectation and We’re Greater Together is being reflected in our daily actions. Every day as I walk around the College, I see instances of staff and students displaying greater care for each other.
I see the majority of our students in full school uniform displaying a greater sense of belonging and pride. I see students working hard and expecting to do better at their learning as they choose to use their recess and lunchtime to study inside in the booths or in the rooftop terraces.
I see staff supporting students daily in their academic learning and emotional wellbeing and I see strong relationships being forged between students because “we’re greater together”. This is the culture we will continue to develop and strive for in our College.
As we settle into our new facilities, our students are getting on with the job of participating in College activities. The first of these was when students represented our College at the ANZAC Day Services in Shepparton and Mooroopna. Trinity Drain recited 'In Flanders Fields' and Angelina Mason sang the hymn 'Abide With Me' as well as the Australian and New Zealand national anthems. Trinity also read The Ode at the Tatura ANZAC Day Service.
Captains Skylar Norton, Olivia Judd and Ella-Rei Dunlop are pictured above, with Mayor Kim O'Keeffe and myself, at the Shepparton service, where they laid a wreath on behalf of the College.
Our Cross Country run was held last week which was well attended by students from all year levels.
This week our Year 12 VCE students attended the Tertiary Information Service (TIS) excursion at Deakin Reserve and our Year 9 students continue to participate in the My Careers Insight Morrisby program. Other important events this term are the NAPLAN assessments, winter sport and our second Presentation Ball.
As we grow and develop our College, we value the partnerships we have with our families and our goal is to continue to build on these. We know that parents/carers are their child’s first educators, and our job is to support this by continuing to broaden the learning experiences for every child. Our bold vision to create a College where young people ‘become creative, curious and caring learners who actively contribute to making a better world,’ drives our teaching and learning.
Equally important to us is the wellbeing of our students, and as such we have a strong focus on providing wide-ranging wellbeing support, for all students. We have an extensive wellbeing team that includes two Mental Health Practitioners, counsellors, a doctor on site through the Doctors in Schools Program (every Wednesday), a Paediatrician (every Tuesday) and Headspace is also based at our College.
Students are able to access wellbeing support at any time by speaking to their House Leader. If parents/carers are concerned about their child’s mental health or wellbeing they can contact the school to speak to their child’s House Leader.
This term our College will undertake a review of our performance by DET which will inform the directions of our four-year Strategic Plan (a legislative requirement for all schools). The aim is to create a self-sustaining cycle of continuous improvement, where our College is supported to improve student outcomes. The review will seek community, staff and student feedback. This will be an important process in identifying the future direction of our College.
Thursday 19th May is a Pupil-Free day. All staff will be participating in Restorative Practice training, that will support our School Wide Positive Behaviour processes. Thursday 2nd June will also be a Pupil-Free Day as it is a Professional Practice Day for all staff who will have the chance to collaborate together to plan curriculum and assessments.
I look forward to continuing to work closely with you to make GSSC the best it can be.
Barbara O'Brien
Executive Principal
for
Leadership Team
Greater Shepparton Secondary College
Congratulations
GSSC teacher, Vince Branigan, proudly received an Order of Australia Medal for Services to the Benalla Community on Wednesday 27 April. Vince has had a long association in official roles with various sporting and community organisations in Benalla. He has been teaching in Regional Victoria since 1980. Vince is pictured below with the Victorian Governor Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau Ac. along with his daughter, Bridget. Congratulations Vince!
Picture by Rico Photography