College matters

Exams

Well done to the Year 9 to 11 students who have been spending their time revising and preparing for their exams. We strongly value the examination process and the experience it gives our student before they reach their final year of schooling. We hope students are taking time over these next few days to reflect on how they prepared for their exams and how that translated to their performance in order to help them refine their study and revision processes for the future.

Headstart

The College is buzzing at the moment as students are just about to transition into their new year level. This is a great time for students to be able to form new connections with students whom they may not have met or worked with before and develop confidence as they step out of their comfort zone somewhat into new classes.

The Headstart program runs across three weeks with normal classes running across all year levels. Our new Year 9 cohort will be involved in an exciting three day initiative where they will be using a whole range of skills in a design thinking project.

Following the Headstart program we will be running an environment week for the final week of the year where students will be involved in environmental and community tasks within the College.

Headstart dates are:

Week 1: Monday 25 to Friday 29 November - 2020 Years 8 to 12

Week 2: Monday 2 to Friday 6 December - 2020 Years 8 to 12. Program ends for 2020 Years 10,11 and 12 on Friday 6 December

Week 3: Monday 9 to Friday 13 December - 2020 Years 8 & 9

Environment week

Environment week runs for the final week of our school year from Monday 16 to Thursday 19 December. Students will participate in environmental duties until lunchtime and view a film in the afternoon. Due to the alternative programming, please be advised:

Each day will commence at 9am and students will be dismissed at 3pm.
Students are to dress in casual clothes, with enclosed footwear (eg runners).
Students are to report to Room 1 each morning at 8.55am.
The canteen will NOT be open so students will need to bring their own recess snack and lunch. Students will not be permitted to leave school grounds to purchase food.
Recess (10.15am to 10.30am) and lunch (12noon to 1pm) will be held in the canteen quadrangle.

2020 Mobile Phone Policy

From Term 1, 2020 there will be a new mobile phone policy for all government schools. The policy means phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely during the school day.

The aim of this policy is to provide:

a safe environment to learn without inappropriate mobile phone use (including cyberbullying) or distractions
greater opportunities for social interaction and physical activity during recess and lunchtimes.

The 2020 MGSC Student Mobile Phones and Related Technology policy was ratified at a recent College Council meeting and has been included in this newsletter.

For more information on the Department of Education’s use of mobile phones can be found at the following link: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/going-to-school/Pages/Mobile-phones-in-schools.aspx

Road closures

The LXRP have advised Charman Road, Cheltenham will be closed between Blagdon Street and Station Road until Friday 6 December 2019. Traffic diversions and bus routes changes are in place. There are changed traffic conditions at theBalcombe Road level crossing which are impacted travels times to the campus.

Our entire school community is encouraged to be informed about road closures in the local area.

See the LXRP or PTV websites to see how this will impact your journey to MGSC . These are useful websites to stay informed about possible traffic disruptions:

Bus Route 708

There have been minor changes to bus Route 708 Carrum to Hampton could change the travel times of some of our students. A new timetable began on 17 November and will include minor weekday adjustments to travel times. We encourage students and parents to check travel times as a result of this change. It is expected that these changes will make it easier for students to get to and from school. The PTV website for more details:

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/footer/about-ptv/improvements-and-projects/bus-and-coach/more-peak-services-on-route-708/

Second-hand uniforms needed

All families, and especially current Year 12 students, are invited to make their excess to need uniforms available for the next generation of MGSC students through the second-hand uniform shop. They can be donated or sold on consignment. Uniform items passed over the the shop need to be clean and in good condition. They can be dropped off at the office. Please label them with name and contact details. Payment is by EFT. Bring the items now and they will be available for Year 7 Orientation on Tuesday 10 December.

Carol Duggan and Deb Jarvis

Assistant Principals