From the 

Leadership Team

Welcome back to Term 2! 

This will be a short term at only nine weeks, but a busy one with lots to look forward to, especially in the way of sport and cultural celebrations.

Speaking of which, I would like to congratulate students who took part in the cross country yesterday, running a 3km race from Chinaman’s Gardens in Mooroopna to Princess Park in Shepparton. You all put your best foot forward and well done to those students who will now continue on at the Goulburn Murray District competition.

This term a focus remains on students upholding our college values, with a particular focus on respect – that is respect for our staff, respect for our peers and respect for ourselves. Respect is a two-way street, and these are conversations I have with both students and staff to ensure we are all treated equally and fairly. Verbal and physical abuse of any kind will not be tolerated.

We have been reminding students to come to school in full uniform and place their mobile phones in tubs at the beginning of each class. These can be collected as they leave the classroom. This is a non-negotiable as we need students to be in class and ready to learn. 

Although at times, some of our policies and procedures might seem like ‘a drag’ for our students, they are there to ensure we are creating a safe, positive and respectful learning environment for everyone. When we feel good about our school and our culture, this is reflected in our students' behaviours and attitude to learning.

As mentioned above, there is much to look forward to this term including a Dance Showcase being held on Tuesday from 6pm in our Theatrette. Next week our Year 10's will also be attending the Careers Day Out.

This term is a busy one for our transition team as Year 6 families begin putting in their preferences for secondary schooling in 2024.

To support this, we have been running ‘talks and tours’ of our college with more of these taking place next week. On Wednesday evening we will also host an information night for 2024 enrolments and we look forward to meeting many prospective Year 7 students and their families.

In addition to our teaching and learning, our staff have been busy planning for some big events and celebrations this term, including NAIDOC Week – being held earlier due to school holidays. It has been fantastic to see our specialist leaders supporting this event planning and ensuring student voice is front and centre.

Over the past two weeks much of my time has been spent supporting the School Review process, with focus group meetings being held next week. These will capture student, staff, family and community opinion and feedback, particularly into how the college ensures that every student’s learning needs are met. The School Review process feeds into the development of our school’s four-year Strategic Plan, so is a hugely important exercise to set a future direction for GSSC that is reflective of our whole school community.

In closing, I would just like to say congratulations to our VET Hospitality students who prepared, cooked and served a delicious three-course meal to the whole-of-school leadership team on Wednesday evening. The students were so professional and enthusiastic and did us proud. This is very much a credit to these students and the VET hospitality staff.

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm – winter is very much upon us!

Barbara O'Brien

Executive Principal

for

The Leadership Team