ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS' REPORT

WELCOME

Welcome to the 2018 school year. We especially welcome those families who are new to our school community.  We hope all families had a terrific summer break.  

COMPASS

McKinnon Secondary College uses Compass School Manager as our parent portal. It provides effective communication between parents and the College, and simplifies a range of administrative procedures. Using Compass you will be able to view your child’s assessment results through ‘Learning Tasks’, approve student absences, provide consent/payment for excursions, and book Parent/Teacher/Student interview times, among many other tasks.

All parents need to ensure their Compass username and password are kept secure and confidential. As parents have the ability to approve absences online, your login details should not be shared with your child.  In addition to using Compass, parents are welcome to provide notes, emails and/or call the College to inform us of absences.  

Any parents who are new to McKinnon this year and have not received their login details should contact the General Office. For parents who accessed Compass in 2017, the same username and password still applies.

ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL ON TIME - 8:30AM

Students who arrive late to Period 1 (which begins at 8:50am), will receive an automatic after school detention, unless a note with an acceptable excuse is provided by a parent. An acceptable excuse is a doctor’s appointment, illness, etc.

We have this system because we believe that:

i. Research shows the best learning occurs early in the day;

ii. Students must be organised and prepared for all classes;

iii. Our professional teachers and students who are punctual should not have their lessons interrupted by late students;

iv. Period 1 sets the ‘tone’ for each day.

Therefore we ask all parents to support our expectations by ensuring students arrive at school by 8:30am with time to organise before our 8:50am start every day.

UNIFORM

Please ensure your child comes to school in correct uniform that is in good condition at all times. Uniform should be clean and any tears, holes, etc. repaired. Boys must wear a plain black belt with both shorts and long trousers, with their shirt tucked in. Boys must wear college grey socks this year; black socks are not acceptable. Only polished black lace-up shoes are acceptable for both boys and girls. Facial piercings such as nose studs are not acceptable and students will be instructed to remove such piercings on-the-spot. Clear studs are also not permitted. We want students to wear the uniform with pride and it is an important part of our school culture.

Please make use of our uniform shop located on campus. The opening times are included in this newsletter and on the McKinnon website. Parents in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact the manager of the Student Wellbeing team, Ms Patty Etcell, for assistance with the provision of uniforms.

A reminder to parents that the new sports jacket is only to be worn with Sport/PE uniform. This replaces the Kia spray jacket that will be phased out and is no longer sold at the uniform shop. Students in Year 9 to 12 may still wear this jacket with their sports uniform this year.

The College blazer is the outer uniform garment for all students in Years 7 - 12. Blazers are optional in Terms 1 & 4; however, when travelling to/from school, students wishing to wear an outer garment must wear their blazer (rather than the College jumper). The blazer is the compulsory outer garments in Terms 2 & 3.

CHROMEBOOKS

All students in the College need to have a Chromebook to support their learning at McKinnon. Our curriculum has been designed with the Chromebook’s functionality in mind and both the leadership team and teaching staff believe it plays a vital role in delivering an effective and engaging teaching and learning program.

The following expectations have been explained to students:

• Students are expected to bring their Chromebook to every class, every day, just as they would bring books, pencils, calculators, etc. (unless explicitly advised otherwise in advance by their teacher).
• Students should ensure their Chromebook is fully charged overnight; the battery will support around 7-8 hours use, if fully charged.
• Chromebooks are provided for educational purposes; students’ use of these Chromebooks (and all ICT resources such as gmail, Google docs, etc.) must be appropriate at all times, regarding the language that is used, the online content students access, etc.
• Students should assume that nothing is private when using their Chromebook at school; internet access is filtered and monitored, and inappropriate content is automatically reported to the Principal team.
• Students must never sign in to the school’s network using another person's Chromebook, and they should not permit others to use their Chromebook at school.
• The Chromebook should be stored securely - in students’ lockers when not in use and in their bag when travelling to and from school.

More information about our Chromebook program, including how to order a new device, can be found here: http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/p/student-laptop-program.html

We thank all families for supporting this important part of our teaching and learning program.

HOMEWORK

At this point in the year it is important that parents check that their children are getting into the correct habits with homework. The school diary has recommended homework hours stated for each year level. These suggested times should not just be used to finish set tasks from class but also to review topics covered in class and complete wider reading.

Students are encouraged to write all deadlines in their diary and parents are encouraged to check diary entries, so that students can meet all deadlines punctually.

As all students in Years 9 to 12 have exams in June and/or November, effective revision skills are essential. If no homework has been set for a given evening, students should revise work already completed so that revision is not left to the last minute.

EXCURSIONS

Parental consent is required for students to participate in any excursion or camp, and consent is usually required around at least one week prior to the excursion taking place. Compass displays any events for which consent is required, with an alert under the ‘My News’ heading on the Compass homepage.

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS

School photographs will be taken throughout the day on Thursday 15 February.  Please ensure your child attends in correct summer uniform.  

The College recommends orders/payment are completed online; relevant information has been emailed to parents and can be viewed here:

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF)

CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities, for students in Years 7 to 12.  If you hold a valid means-tested concession card (e.g. Health Care Card) or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. Application forms are available from the Finance Office. For more information about the CSEF visit www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

WALNUT ST GATE LOCKED

Please note the Walnut St Gate will remain locked during the day. Students accessing the school from the north must enter and exit via the Draper St gate.