Principal's Report
Awards Assembly
St John’s Regional College – Semester 1 Virtual Awards Assembly
This week, we conducted a Virtual Assembly to celebrate the achievements of our students from Semester 1. It is a bit later than usual for this awards assembly for obvious reasons but it is very important that we applaud those who through their self-discipline, dedication and commitment have achieved results of a very high standard in the first half of the year. In this newsletter I have listed all the students who were acknowledged on that day for Academic awards and Stella awards and congratulate them on the work ethic and determination that was evident in their achievements, particularly our Year 12 High Achievers who have had to face the challenges and interruptions to their VCE program over the last two years. Running the assembly remotely presents some challenges and I wish to acknowledge and thank all staff and students who contributed to its production particularly Mr Abdelahad, Mr Alexander, Mr Swan , Dr Biggin , Mr Van Es , Ms Robinson, Mr Graham and student leaders Aiden Cachart, Maria Hinen, Kent Mijares and Tiana Amoretti. A link to the assembly is available to our community via our Facebook page.
Vaccination Push
The priority vaccination blitz has been in operation for a week now and we have anecdotal evidence that our senior students have been able to make bookings for vaccinations prior to their GAT Assessment on the 5th of October. A survey has been set home to senior students to ascertain if any students have not been able to make a booking before October 5th as we are in discussion with Dandenong City Council about providing vaccines for our senior students at St John's during the school holidays. If large numbers of students have not been able to make a vaccination booking, we will convey this to the Dandenong City Council.
We strongly encourage all of our senior students and staff to make a booking if they have not already done so as this will help keep them and our community safe and support the safe conduct of the VCE examinations in Term 4.
RUOK Day
I thank Miss Angelique Phillips-Kemp for her leadership on RUOK Day this week which has taken on even more significance given the challenges we all face with isolation in this current lockdown. To reach out and support students Miss Kemp led staff through a process of homeroom-based affirmations for our students and the construction of a video from all staff demonstrating how much “We want our Students back". A little humour goes along way during these times so enjoy the link to our rendition of “I want you back” on our school face book page.
The focus of RUOK Day is to check in with people we know and care about through asking the question “ Are you OK.” This can sometimes open a necessary follow-up conversations and a simple structure is outlined below which emphasises preparation, listening and connecting people with the right resources if they are struggling.
I thank our Wellbeing Team Ms Jo Webb , Mr Milan Colic, Miss Achok Bieth, Mr Juma Lofornk and all of our Staff, teaching and non-teaching for their great support of our students well-being not only during this week but throughout a very difficult two years .
Parent Teacher Interviews
The term will conclude with Parent Teacher interviews on Thursday evening and Friday of next week. Interim reports have been sent out providing feedback on student performance and effort observed over the course of this term. I encourage all parents and their children to attend our virtual Parent Teacher nights next to discuss with their teachers the progress that has been made during remote learning this term. Families can book interviews via the PTO link found on the St John’s Regional College Website.
Year 12 Trial Exams & Tutoring Program
Due to the COVID restrictions the Year 12 practice exams will be mailed this week to give students an opportunity over the school holidays to put themselves under test conditions as they count down to their final exams in November. These exams will be collected from students for teacher marking and feedback when our senior students come into St John’s on the 5th of October for the GAT. To assist them in their preparation their preparation for final exams the online Tutoring program will remain available over the school holidays , specifically Monday and Tuesday from 4pm to 5.30pm. Students can book a half hour slot via our school website.
SIS Chess Session
Despite the challenges of remote learning our students have managed to continue with the SIS Chess program via an online competition this week. After a few weeks of practice our students finished 3rd overall and I congratulate coach Nathan Yap and the following students:
Niyandagala Liyanage Perera MO5
Calvin Fonseka CO4
May Ellaine Harrisson DE6
Ashaan Sen DE6
Yashmit Dogra PH2
Harikailash Krishnamurthy PH7
Tim Duong AQ4
Adharsh Sriram Kannan PH6
Joshua Sunil LE5
Allister Jonathan SimonMO7
Hannah Faga PH7
Adau Matiok CO2
Aon Dutta AQ3
Nate Micallef LE7
Allister Simon was our highest scoring player.
End of Term
I thank staff and students collectively for the efforts they have put into remote learning this term. It has not been easy following on from Term 2 and our experiences from 2020. However, I am very proud of our staff for the way they have continued to promote and support the learning of our students and the resilience we have shown during this period particularly our students who have persisted with their learning despite the obvious restrictions. I wish all our families a safe and happy holiday period and pray for a return to more normal school days with our students on site for Term 4.