Dear Parents and Students,

I would like to congratulate all students for their accomplishments this year. The Year 10 and Year 11 students embarked on their Orientation Program (Year 11 and Year 12 Programs respectively) with as much dedication and commitment as they had done so throughout the year. Their achievements are remarkable. This year’s Unit 3 and 4 results are outstanding. My congratulations to our Year 12 students. This is indeed a testimony to the hard work and diligence of our students and staff. I am very proud of our students’ efforts and I hope they will have a well- earned rest during the Christmas holidays.

Community and Leadership Award:

I have the pleasure of attending the Clare O’ Neil Community & Leadership Award event on the 16th December. Ms O’Neil is the Federal Member of Parliament for the seat of Hotham. JMSS had nominated Tony Gu to receive this Community & Leadership Award. It is with great pride to see Tony Gu receive this award. My congratulations to Tony.

Structure of the Day for 2020:

The structure of the day for 2020 will have a couple of changes (please refer to the link for the 2020 Structure of the Day). The changes came about from feedback from Focus Groups (students, parents and Mentors). The purpose of the change is to provide one longer Mentor Session (30 minutes in duration) for the Mentors to have quality time with their students. This longer Mentor Session enables Mentors to have more time with their students to build House spirit, build relationships, conduct Mindfulness activities, work through individual Student Goals / Reflections, assist students to work on organisational and revision skills, work on Positive Education strategies build teamwork and many activities to build personal leadership.

The changes are on the dismissal time on Mondays and Tuesdays:

Mondays: Students will be dismissed at 3.30 pm (15.30). This is due to the Mentor Session being extended to 30 minutes in duration (instead of 15 minutes).
Tuesdays: The dismissal time on Tuesday is at 3.00 pm (15.00). There will not be a Mentor Session on Tuesdays.

Please note that the structure of the day for Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays remain as per the current year.

If you have any queries in regards to this, please contact Sally Cheah-Johnson on sally.cheah-johnson@jmss.vic.edu.au.

Thank- You:

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people for their ongoing support:

The JMSS School Council, Parents & Friends Association, Programs & Policies Committee and our colleagues from Monash University. It has been a great pleasure to work in partnership with you and I am very grateful for your contribution and support.
The House Leaders, Mentors, Faculty Leaders and Subject Teachers: Your commitment and dedication to student engagement, learning, pastoral care and wellbeing have facilitated the outstanding achievements of our students. My sincere congratulations to you.
The Counselling Team and Education Support Team (Integration Aides, Careers & Pathways Coordinators, VCE Administrators): Your have provided first class support and guidance to our students.
The General Office Staff: The ‘Engine-Room’ staff whose work and support enables all operations at school to run smoothly. Thank-you.

To all students, I would like to say that it has been a great year because you have made it so. You should be very proud of your accomplishments. I would like to thank your parents for their support and I hope you will also thank your parents for their encouragement and support of you.

I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New year.

Have a great, safe and restful holiday.

Sally Cheah-Johnson

Assistant Principal

John Monash Science School

Issue 16 · 19 Dec 2019

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