Dear Families, Students and the wider Tarneit Community Members,

Welcome to the 2022 school year, and a warm welcome to our Year 10 students, and any new students who are joining us this year for the first time. I hope everyone was able to have an enjoyable time with family and friends over the summer holiday period and look forward to a positive and productive year ahead.

This year we have approx. 350 Year 10 students starting with us, and our total school enrolment is approximately 980 students. The college has seen another significant period of growth in line with the continued growth and development of the Tarneit area.

We look forward to all students taking a positive attitude into 2022, staying focused on achieving their personal best and always striving to improve. I am proud to be the Principal of Tarneit Senior College and I hope that everyone is proud to be a part of the Tarneit Senior College community. As a staff we are collectively looking forward to the year ahead and hope that all students make the most of the opportunities and challenges that are presented to them. Given student experiences of the previous two years, with significant periods of remote learning, we really hope students have a genuine appreciation for what it means to be back onsite for face-to-face learning.

COVID Safe Behaviours

Collection of free rapid antigen tests

Thanks to parents and carers who were able to collect the tests for their child before classes began. Any students who still don’t have them are able to collect a box of five tests from the General Office. This should happen before school, at recess, lunch, or after school (not in class time).

Twice-a-week testing is strongly recommended for both students and staff. This first box will cover the first 2.5 weeks of school. We will be providing all students and staff with a second box in week 3. It is recommended students make this part of their before school routine and test twice weekly on school days – as a college we encourage students to undertake the test before school on a Tuesday and Thursday.

Students will do the tests at home; they only need to report their result if it is COVID-positive. We will not be testing students at school; this is the parents and students’ responsibility.

As previously communicated, parents/carers should complete the Student COVID-19 COVID Test Portal if a student tests positive to COVID-19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test). Where a parent/carer informs the school by phone or written notification, the school will complete the Schools COVID Case Management Tool.

Parents/carers also need to report a positive result to the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

Students who report a positive result must isolate for seven days and not attend school during that period. They will be able to check their Google Classroom and Google Sites for their respective classes to stay up to date to the best of their ability during their isolation period.

Where a student is a household contact of a positive case (that is, they have spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID-19 inside a house, accommodation, or care facility) they must inform the school and isolate for seven days and not attend school during that period.

A negative test is not required to return to school the following completion of 7 days of isolation. However, if the student is still presenting with symptoms, they should remain at home until they are better and no longer displaying symptoms.

If there has been a positive case attend onsite, once notified, I will let the school community know so you are aware to monitor for symptoms. The identity of any positive cases, of course, remains strictly confidential. This notification will occur via Compass.

A few reminders about the key behaviours required for reducing COVID-19 transmission risk - they include staying home when unwell, washing hands regularly and use of hand sanitiser, no sharing of drink bottles or food and, where possible, social distancing. Students should always carry a mask with them and they must be worn when inside at school and on public transport and school buses.

All our classrooms have hand sanitiser stations and regular use is advised. Hand sanitiser is also located in key areas of the school for student and staff use. Both students and staff are encouraged to cough or sneeze into their elbow or tissue. Air purifiers have been placed in most classrooms and small breakout spaces.

Any staff member or student who becomes unwell while at school with symptoms of COVID-19 must return home immediately and get tested. Students need to report to our first aid officer at the General Office first and she will call a parent/carer to arrange pick up as soon as possible. The student will be isolated in an appropriate space with suitable supervision until this can happen. It is not acceptable for an unwell student to travel home unsupervised.

All visitors (including parents) to the school need to wear a mask, be double vaccinated (three doses by 25 February if fully vaccinated before or on 25 October or if after the 25 October, by March 15) and check in at the General Office.

Excellent Year 12 Results and DUX 2021

I would like to congratulate all our 2021 Year 12 students on achieving excellent Year 12 VCE and VCAL results after such an extraordinary and most challenging two year period.

Congratulations to our top performing VCE student who was:

Kaileshwaran Kumaran who achieved an ATAR score of 94.1 and was awarded College Dux for 2021.

Our class of 2021 students have been successful in receiving offers in a range of university courses, including: Biomedicine, Science and Arts; Psychology, Engineering; Architecture; Teaching; Social Work and a range of other courses.

In addition, congratulations to all our Year 12 VCAL students for completing all course requirements and receiving offers to complete diplomas, traineeships, and apprenticeships.

Starting the 2022 school year with a Positive Start

As students begin the new school year, they are reminded that success is based on work ethic and perseverance. Achieving ones best does not just occur in year 12, setting oneself up for success is achieved through continued hard work over a number of years. As students enter Year 12 there are some key learnings they can put in place to enable even greater success. Students wanting to succeed should ensure they use the below as a guide:

regular completion of practice exam questions and getting feedback from your teachers,
taking on feedback and re-writing answers or paragraphs for improvement,
prioritise time on the work you find most challenging not what you find easy,
take regular breaks,
focused study on what matters most, don’t let one disappointing SAC mark get you down,
set goals for your pathway beyond school,
utilising the support offered by teachers in and out of class time,
talking to parents about what they're learning,
little and often (don’t need to write an essay every time for feedback) instead regular submission of paragraphs for English to get feedback.

Ultimately there is no substitute for effort. Students need to be prepared to work to their Personal Best consistently over the year to achieve their goals. Utilising the support of our fantastic teachers and team, supporting each other through the highs and lows, staying positive, making the most of all opportunities presented to them and, of course, enjoying their final years together of secondary school.

Student Pick Up and Drop Off

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.

Please be aware that parking within the bus stop lane on Crossway Avenue is illegal and if caught by local council officers or police carries heavy fines. We have heard reports of a number of parents being fined for parking in the bus lane and blocking bus access.

We know that before and after school is a very busy time with students from Tarneit Senior College and Tarneit P-9 College finishing school around the same time. Parents are asked to be extra vigilant around school crossings and encourage their child to meet them at a suitable pick up location – we encourage the use of side streets to avoid the congestion.

Mobile Phone Policy

For the past few years Mobile Phones have been banned by the State Government from school use during the school day. As all should be aware now, the State Government last year issued a new mobile phone policy banning them from use during the day at school. This wasn’t a huge change for us. The main thing for students to get used to, especially after a long holiday break, is to actually lock them away in their locker for the day rather than carrying the phone on them in silent mode.

Introducing the 2022 College Leadership Team

Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at the College, if you need to speak to someone.

Principal – Simon Haber

Assistant Principal – Reardo Luka – Teaching & Learning

Assistant Principal (Acting) – Angela Roberts – Engagement in Learning

Assistant Principal – Stephen Baker – Support in Learning

House Leaders – Abby Graham (Chirnside), Justine Radford (Gillard), Daniel Guerrieri (Barak) & Visha Lingam (Penrose)

Careers & Pathways Leaders – Joanne Maxwell & Josephine Mineo

VCE/Vic Curriculum Leader – Elyse Ganly

VCAL/VET Leader – Jamie Calleja-Bailey

English Domain Leader – Katrina Ketsakidis

Maths Domain Leader – Sindhu Kumar

Learning Specialists – Jaclyn Levasseur, Mary Haveaux, George Ghobrial, Janine Poole & Michael Daborn

New Pastoral Care Model

This year we have introduced a new pastoral care model to replace Tarneit Time. All students have a dedicated teacher who they meet with daily and go to for support. Pastoral Care teachers are also available to assist parents with general enquiries.

In addition to their Pastoral care teacher, each House has a dedicated Year level Coordinator and overall House Leader.

For details on your child’s pastoral care teacher, year level coordinator and House Leader please refer to later page in this newsletter highlighting who each of the key House contacts are.

Be Involved

We encourage parents to be active in your child’s learning. Ask your child about school and what they have learnt at school during the day. Don’t hesitate to ask your child questions and please contact your child’s teachers or House Leader if you have any concerns about their learning/schooling. We look forward to working with you in a partnership of learning in 2022.

Uniform

Our uniform is a very important part of the image we project of our College community and therefore we expect all students to wear their uniform correctly and with pride to, from and at school. I would like to congratulate the majority of students who have started off the year in a positive way in the wearing of the correct college uniform and I thank all parents for your support with this. A reminder that all students should be wearing black lace up school shoes with no colour markings. Students are not permitted to wear hoodies under any circumstances..

Attendance

Adequate attendance is integral to the successful completion of units of study. At Tarneit Senior College, we want all students to have an attendance rate of at least 90%, according to the school/ VCE percentage on Compass. Any student who is below 90% will need to address this during the semester to ensure that their percentage lifts above 90% by the end of the semester. As a guide, students and parents/ carers should consider:

Attendance of 90% or more, the student is considered on track.
Attendance of 80% - 89%, the student is encouraged to review their routine and make adjustments to increase their attendance rate.
Attendance of less than 80%, the student is strongly advised to review their routine and make adjustments to increase their attendance rate. Consultation with the Wellbeing Team or the Pastoral teacher is also encouraged.

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.”

Classwork

We expect all of our students to satisfactorily complete the classwork set during the semester in addition to Common Assessment Tasks (year 10), SACs/ SATs and Outcomes (Years 11 – 12).

Teachers will comment on whether the student is on track or if there is a particular area that they need to focus on such as meeting deadlines, working to their personal best, and/ or incomplete or overdue work.

College Council Elections

College Council elections are approaching. Further information will be sent to families in the next week and nominations forms available from the General Office and via our website. Please give some thought to contributing to the College by participating in College Council – there are generally two evening meetings per term, and it can be very rewarding. College Council decides, to a large extent, the policies and direction the College takes and is therefore a most important part of the College community.

Contacting our School – the importance of making an appointment

Our school prides itself on encouraging parents to take an active interest in their child’s education and we welcome your enquiries. If you have any concerns that you wish to have addressed or any positive feedback that you wish to offer, please do not hesitate to contact us. You will find our office staff extremely helpful and professional and our team of House Leaders equally so.

It is important to remember that parents wishing to speak with a House Leader, Year level Coordinator an Assistant Principal, a teacher or myself should phone ahead to make an appointment. We can’t guarantee staff availability without a prior appointment.

Key House Contacts