WELCOME BACK

It was a wonderful sight on the morning of Tuesday 7th February, as we welcomed all staff and students back to school at the whole school assembly. Being the first assembly, we introduced and invested the 2023 school leaders. It was also pleasing to see their parents attending the assembly to witness this event. Both the school captains and myself gave speeches with the message that the students in 2023 need to challenge themselves, set goals and work towards them.

CAPITAL WORKS

After a short delay at the start of the school year the new building was opened for classes on Thursday 2nd February. It was with great excitement that students entered the building for the first time and experienced the facility. Light and bright, with room to move. It is primarily a Junior Learning Centre for our Year 7 and Year 8 students. There are still considerable works to complete the project, in particular the landscaping of the central area of the school. These works will continue through Term One.

I must take this opportunity to congratulate all students for the way they coped with the disruptions of the first two days, until the building was opened to us. Multiple room changes occurred and the paths around the school are not the most direct route at the moment.

STAFF

I take this opportunity to welcome all new staff for 2023.

New Staff Teacher (initials)	Role/ Learning Areas
Ms Dee Longwill	Maths/IT
Ms Nina Anastasiou	English
Mr Chris Beale	Economics/Humanities
Mr Chris Shaw	Humanities
Mr Jonathan Eng	English
Mr Nick Loadman	Geography
Ms Zoe Woebken	Art
Ms Katya Takla	Textiles
Mr Robbie McLauchlan	Leading Teacher Data/Maths
Ms Lucie Smith	Learning Specialist/Maths
Ms Olivia Purcell	English
Mr Jean-Marcel Moriceau	French
Ms Ana Mendoza	English Language
Ms Anne Mathers	English/History
Ms Kirri Sampieri	Reception
Ms Dianne Wain	Junior School Administration

And returning staff

Melissa Van Weeghel (MVA)	Maths/Science
Mel Kennedy (MKY)	Psychology/Humanities

I hope they all find their work at Parkdale Secondary College professionally rewarding.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

A reminder regarding the mobile phone policy. Students are to place their phones in their locker when they arrive at school. The phone is then not to be used until the end of the school day. This is in line with the directive from the Department of Education.

BUSES

Again, I remind students that travel on the buses to school, in particular those students that use the dedicated buses that pick and drop off in the turning circle at the front of the school, that this not a free service. The number of buses and the type of bus provided are determined by student usage. This figured is determined by the touching on and off of the MYKI card. Yes, the buses are getting crowded but the other day I watched, and it was confirmed by the bus driver, that the very full bus had only two students touch on. Additional buses will not be provided unless the patronage figures as provided by MYKI reflect the true number of students.

ACCIDENT INSURANCE

I wish to remind Parents/Guardians that the Department of Education and Parkdale Secondary College do not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents/Guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport and ambulance costs. Student accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers and these cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

PRIVATE PROPERTY

Private property brought to school by students eg: mobile phones, ipods, laptops etc. are not covered by school insurance, and that it is not the responsibility of the Department of Education and the College if that property is lost, stolen or damaged.

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website https://www.parkdalesc.vic.edu.au/privacy-policy/

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use

Microsoft Office 365 safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft Office 365, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese

Wellbeing

Mr Jake Phin and the Wellbeing Team