The Score

Principal's Report           

Welcome to our last edition of 

our newsletter for 2022

Next week we will be conducting our Orion Night Awards presentation evening at the Knox School Auditorium.  

 

We are excited to be returning to our first face to face evening to celebrate the achievements of our students throughout the year.  Parents of award winners will have received invitations and all award winners are expected to be present for rehearsals during the day on Monday and on the evening wearing full school uniform. 

 

While not all students can receive awards, there were many more students who deserve to be congratulated on their hard work and dedication to their studies this year. We have an amazing learning community which has been recognised by visitors including the Deputy Secretary of Schools David Howes, tertiary providers, employers, local politicians and more. Our students are exceptional, and the majority have been successful in demonstrating positive attitudes towards their learning, growth in their academic outcomes or excelling in other areas of their education. 

 

Tickets are available online through Trybooking https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/992853

 

Orientation Day

Next Tuesday 13 December is Orientation Day, where we officially welcome our new 2023, Year 7 students to participate in their first full day of activities at the College. I would like to congratulate Ms Emily Phibbs, Head of Junior School, Mr Donovan Lawrence, Year 7 Coordinator for 2023 and the team of staff who have led transition and organised a fabulous day the day.  

 

Transition programs that are well planned and implemented can set up solid foundations for students to settle into their secondary environment.  Based on the observations, our Year 7 cohort for 2022 are well placed for a great start.

 

Senior Student Leadership

I have had the pleasure of interviewing our prospective student captains for 2022. Working with students is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my role and provides purpose and motivation for the work I carry out daily.  What impressed me most about the interviews, was the genuine commitment each of the candidates had for representing their fellow students and the pride they have in their college. 

 

The process for selecting our College Captains has taken place over the past few weeks and included nominations, candidate speeches, interviews and voting by student and staff. The end results were very close as all candidates were worthy of taking on these important roles. 

 

I thank all candidates who were nominated, and I am pleased to announce the following appointments.

College Captains

Karlia Buckley

Levi (Rose) Lyons

 

Vice Captains

Dallas Jankovska

Luke Barton

Sports Captains

Jacob Compton

Imogen Brown

 

Interact  Captains

Maya Faddoul

 

Amy Mitcham

 

Interact Club Leaders

Krista Bartholomew

Kiera Steinfort

Loren Watson

 

End of Year Activities

I would like to thank staff and students for the positive start to the end of year activities program.  We have offered the students an array of activities including a day at Gumbaya Park, Christmas tree making for Arcare residents, Christmas baking, creating wooden Christmas tree decorations, get fit get active, robotics, paper craft, a walkathon, board games, a sports afternoon, music and singing. 

On Monday the activities come to a conclusion prior to an early dismissal at 1.00pm for students to prepare for Orion Night which commences at 7.00pm. 

 

The remainder of the week students will undertake Community Service. Community Service is an important element in fostering skills and attitudes for giving back to the community. Arcare Aged Care residents will be receiving the Christmas trees produced during the activities and cards with messages from the students.

 

Australia Federal Police - Important Information for families

The Australian Federal Police through the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation is seeing a concerning global trend of teenage males being targeted to send explicit images of themselves and then blackmailed. This is called sexual extortion, or sextortion.

 

The AFP is urging families to have important safety conversations ahead of the school holidays to prevent young people from becoming victim. This crime can have serious wellbeing and psychological impacts. 

How does sextortion start?

  • Unsolicited friend and follow requests on social media
  • Direct messages on one app and then being asked to keep chatting on a secondary app
  • Conversations suddenly and quickly becoming sexualised
  • Requests for sexualised images or content. 

What can families do?

  • Have open and regular conversations about your child’s online activities and interactions
  • Know what platforms, apps and games they are using and who they are interacting with
  • Remain open and approachable, victims will be reluctant to come forward if they feel they will be punished or blamed
  • Ensure your child knows that it is okay to leave conversations if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe
  • Support your child and know how to respond. The Online blackmail and sexual extortion response kit has been created to recognise sextortion and get help. 

The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation is here to keep young people safe from online sexual exploitation and abuse. 

You can make a report via accce.gov.au/report 

For further information, resources and advice visit thinkuknow.org.au 

 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Direin Weerasooriya, Year 12 who will be performing in the Grand Final of the Knox Factor tomorrow night at the Knos Carols by Candlelight. Direin has participated in our music program throughout his time at Scoresby Secondary College.

Good luck Direin!

 

2023 Uniform

The uniform policy has been published and students informed of requirements, including the specifications for the dress and skirt length to be at knee length.  It is also important to check the details regarding the requirements for shoes to be black leather lace up, mandatory use of the College school bag, jewellery, and natural hair colours.

 

I recommend that you do not leave purchase of new uniforms or carry out any required adjustments to existing items prior to the start of the school year.  If you are ordering items, the sooner you order the more likely your items will be at the store and not the warehouse when you need them.  Parents who are eligible for CSEF can seek assistance through State Schools Relief by contacting Mrs Vicky Kamfonas prior to 16 December 2022.

 

 2023 Central Australia Trip

Students of Years 10, 11 and 12 in 2023 have been provided information about our Central Australia Camp. The camp has been scheduled for June to allow students from Year 12 who missed out on the camp during COVID-19 to participate.  Numbers are limited therefore students are expected to return the expression of interest by the due date.

 

End of Year

As this is the last newsletter for 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to thank members of College Council, student, parents and carers, business and industry partners and other members of our community for the support throughout the year. We have experienced several waves of COVID this year with the past few weeks being our most recent. 

 

I particularly would like to thank members of the leadership team and teaching and non-teaching staff for their dedication and efforts towards student learning and supporting student wellbeing. Their courage to take risks and commitment to improving student outcomes in and out of lockdowns has been a crucial element in the on-going success of the College.

 

 I would also like to publicly recognise the service several departing staff who have given to our college and wish them well in the next exciting chapter of their lives:

  • Mr John Healy who is transferring to a new ongoing position at Glen Waverley Secondary College
  • Ms Emma Rooke who is taking up a one-year temporary transfer to Patterson River Secondary College 
  • Ms Melinda Morna who finishes her contract at the end of the year.
  • Mr Ricky Zhu who has completed his tertiary studies and taking up full time employment.

We will be welcoming new staff members for 2023 next week for their induction to Scoresby Secondary College. Our college continues to be a ‘College of Choice’ for teachers which has enabled us to not compromise our high standards when making new appointments.

 

I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday period and look forward to continuing our work together.

 

Mrs Gail Major

Principal