From the Principal's Desk

College 2021 Theme

"I can do things you cannot; you can do things I cannot, together we can do great things" - Mother Theresa

Updated COVID – 19 DET Advice from Thursday 15th July (sent via Compass)

As a result of the Premiers announcement regarding the COVID – 19 lockdown for Victoria, please see below the Remote Learning arrangements that will operate from Friday 16th July to Tuesday 20th July

Students will be required to use their Term 3 Timetable and access the learning and their teachers during their regular timetabled class-times as of Friday 16th July.

S1: 9.00am – 10.00am

S2: 10.45am – 11.45pm

S3: 12.00pm – 1.00pm

S4: 1.50pm – 2.50pm

It’s important that you and your child can access our Intranet System - Compass.

As of Monday 19th July, teachers will be available for their adjusted timetabled class times (as above) to interact with students in an online capacity and support them in their learning for the 60 minute class duration.
Students will be required to respond to a Learning Task within the first 15 minutes of their class to ensure their Attendance
Students will be required to respond to a Lesson Review Task within the last 15 minutes of each class to ensure they have reflected on their learning
Students will be directed (as per normal) to complete designated Learning Tasks and submit them to their teacher (when required) for feedback
Teachers will provide instruction and direct students in the use of other online resources, just as is currently done at Lara Secondary College. Although not always directly speaking with students for the duration of each lesson, teachers will remain ‘online’ throughout each lesson.
Some teachers may use Zoom or Google Platforms and this will be conveyed to the students accordingly, by the individual teacher.

Attendance Marking

Roll to be marked by teacher at start of class within the first 15 minutes

Students not in attendance online, parents to be notified by SMS by 10.30am and end of the day.

Students will be required to respond to a Learning Task within the first 15 minutes of their class to ensure their Attendance
Students will be required to respond to a Lesson Review Task within the last 15 minutes of each class to ensure they have reflected on their learning

Student Illness

Parents in advance can notify teacher of student illness via Compass or can email teacher directly

Essential Workers

Any parent/carer who is an essential worker and is unable to supervise their child(ren) will need to complete the attached Onsite Attendance Form and email this form directly to me no later than 9.00pm Thursday 15th July. Such information is necessary in order to plan for staff supervision of the students each day up until Tuesday 20th July.

Semester One Reports - Reflecting and Goal Setting

I strongly encourage all students and parents to spend some time reflecting on the students’ achievements indicated in the Semester 1 reports, to identify their strengths, as well as any areas for improvement for Semester 2. I really appreciate parents, taking the time to be part of this conversation with their son or daughter.

I would expect all students from Years 7 to 12 to reflect on their efforts and achievements in Semester 1, during the early stages of Term 3 and set their academic goals for every subject they are studying in Semester 2. Please remember, if you have any concerns about your child’s progress or wellbeing, contact their Year Level Coordinator who will be able to assist you.

Semester 1 Academic Results – 80% and above letters

Please see the table below regarding the number of students from each year level that will be receiving Honours in one or more subjects, for their outstanding work throughout Semester 1 this year.

I wish to thank Neve O’Brien, Maree Borchard and Tania O’Callaghan for giving up a day of their holidays to print the 307 student certificates and individually assemble each certificate in a well presented frame for each student to receive early next week as part of our Mid Year Honours recognition process.

2021 Semester One Honours

Year Level	Total 80% or above student letters	% of cohort
7	67/123 students	54%
8	92/137 students	67%
9	35/104 students	34%
10	57/131 students	44%
11	35/101 students	35%
12	21/63 students	33%

Please see the list of students receiving a Mid Years Honours Award on the next page

Lara Secondary College Careers Evening

What a fantastic event this was for the students, parents and the school as a whole!!!

I thought Mat Stokes (Director Seeker Global) delivered a very good presentation pertaining to his career pathway after life as an AFL footballer indicating the different career opportunities he has been involved with up until the present. Mat’s career journey represents the employability skills we all strive for. His journey demonstrated the ability to plan and organise, a strong sense of initiative, the willingness to be a team player and an ongoing commitment to learning.

It was so good to see many vocations being presented on the night to provide students and parents with the opportunity to hear from people working in specific careers such as Aviation, Construction, Paramedicine, Allied Health, Police, Architecture and more. Parents and students were able to attend 2 x 30 minute seminars in rooms across the College to hear from the experts within specific vocational areas and gain an understanding about the type of work undertaken in each career. The feedback I received from parents, students and teachers in regards to these presentations was extremely positive.

I would like to thank Anna Kelly (Careers Advisor) for all her work in organising this very worthwhile event for the students and parents at Lara Secondary College.

Special thank you to Elyshia Sheldon, Tania O’Callaghan, Rowan Hore, Amelia Hawkins, Kim Baker, Tesni Rowlands, Sonia Tkaczuk, Amanda Pitcher, Damien St. Pierre, Carly Hastie, Ty Norman, Ben Johnson, Shane Hargraves & John Hassett (for setting up the 311 Room) and Bill Viney for the ICT technicalities.

Major Events in Term 3

I wish to outline some of our major events that are scheduled for Term 3, so that parents/guardians have enough time to prepare and make the necessary family arrangements to ensure they are able to attend these events where required. Of course many of the after hours events listed below, will clearly be dependent on the current COVID – 19 restrictions that are operating at the time of the event. We are hoping that restrictions will ease over the next couple of weeks and we will then be able to organise events that engage our whole school community.

Week 2:

Please be aware that due to COVID – 19 restrictions, the Junior and Senior Honours Evenings have been cancelled. If we are back on site as of Wednesday 22nd July, we will aim to present students with their Honours Certificates during their Year Level Assemblies. If we are unable to conduct the Year Level assemblies due to COVID – 19 restrictions, then a member of the Principal Class and a member of the relevant Sub School will present the Honours Certificates to students whilst they are in their TLC/Pathways class.

Tuesday 20th July: Junior Mid Year Honours Evening (6.00pm)

Thursday 22nd July: Senior Mid Year Honours Evening (6.00pm)

Week 3:

Monday 26th July: Year 10 into VCE/VCE Vocational specialisation Parent Information evening (6.00pm)

Tuesday 27th July: S2 Year 9 into 10 Student Course Counselling Briefing

Wednesday 28th July: S4 Year 8 into 9 Student Course Counselling Briefing

Year 8 into 9 (600pm – 6.30pm) Parent Information Evening

Year 9 into 10 (7.00pm – 7.30pm) Parent Information Evening

Week 6:

Thursday 19th August: Whole School Assembly (12.30pm – 1.15pm)

Friday 20th August: Staff Professional Development Day (Pupil Free)

Regards,

Wayne Terrill

Principal