Principal's report

Student Attendance and Educational Outcomes

Daily attendance is important for all children 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 is no safe number of days. A child missing one day a fortnight will miss four weeks in a year, and more than a year of school by the time they are in Year 10. It is important that children develop regular attendance habits at an early age. 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 children 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 the Wellbeing Team at the College to discuss strategies that may assist you. 

We do understand that illness and COVID-19 is still impacting families at the moment and encourage students to stay up to date to the best of their ability by checking Compass each day for each class they have. Staff are placing Learning activities, as well as the learning intentions and success criteria on Compass to ensure students who are away are able to remain up to date with their learning. Please get remind your child to contact their teacher if there is no work available for them to complete while they are away.

Tips for new parents transitioning to Secondary School

We really value the home-school partnership and parents staying connected and engaged with their child’s learning in secondary school. There can be a tendency for parents to step back from their child’s schooling, but the best outcomes can be achieved when schools and parents work together to create the optimal supportive learning environments at school and at home, aligned to shared values and aspirations. I encourage all parents to stay informed by staying in contact with their child’s main teachers, reading the College fortnightly newsletter and maximising their use of one of our main means of communication, the Compass parent portal. Through the portal you can do the following:

• Monitor your child’s attendance and enter in explanations for late arrivals or absences
• Communicate with your child’s teachers and update your family details
• Monitor homework, assessment tasks and view outstanding learning tasks
• Download and view your child’s progress on individual assessment tasks during the term and end of semester reports
• View ‘My News’, a news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates.
• View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
• Book parent-teacher meetings

You can access Compass- https://maffrasc-vic.compass.education. If you have any trouble accessing, please contact the General Office so your password details can be checked. Please don’t share your password details with your child. All students have their own password.

Regularly talk about school and the new and unfamiliar experiences with your child. Assist them to develop organisational skills to plan and prioritise; and encourage your child to take advantage of the many extra-curricular opportunities to broaden their interests and talents. Above all else, support them to have a positive attitude and be prepared to give things a go.

School Council elections

Once again it is time to hold elections for the College School Council. The Council is responsible for setting the policies the school will follow, monitoring expenditure of money and maintaining the facilities. Our Council meets at 5:30pm on a Monday twice a term.

Composition

There are three separate electorates:

1. The electorate of parent members
2. The electorate of Department of Education and Training (DET) employee members
3. The electorate of student members

Notice of Election and Call for Nominations

An election is to be conducted for members of School Council at Maffra Secondary College.

Timeline

Friday 3rd March 2023: Notice of election and call for nominations

Friday 10th March 2023: Nominations close 4:00pm (Nomination forms can be obtained from the General Office)

Monday 27th March 2023: First meeting of new Council

Following the closing of the nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the College. If there are more nominations than positions, a ballot will be prepared and distributed.

The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each member category open for election are as follows:

* The student member is selected from the Year 10 student leaders and will hold the position on School Council for 2 years.

If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.

Please do not hesitate to contact the College if you have any questions regarding School Council.

Jennifer Roep

Principal

Maffra Secondary College