Sally Cheah - Johnson

Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to 2021 school year. I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to our new students and parents to our JMSS community. 

Our new students have made a great start to the year and most have settled very quickly into their new learning environment at JMSS.  I would like to congratulate all new students for their courage and determination to adapt to their new environment.

Year 10 Orientation Camp:

All reports and feedback (from staff and students) have indicated that it was a very successful camp and I would like to congratulate Mr. Malcolm Anderson and all staff who were involved in the organization / facilitation of the activities in the Orientation Camp Program.

The Camp program was full of activities that promoted building of relationships and team.  All the activities were designed to help students to get to know each other and engender their House spirit and connectedness.  

In each of the previous years, the highlight was the JMSS Talent Show where our Year 10 students showed their willingness to participate (in singing, dancing, ‘magic’ tricks, poetry recitals and instrumental performance) in the Talent Show, and this year was no exception.  It was an amazing evening where the many varied talents were showcased.  The participants are to be congratulated for their courage and having a ‘can-do’ attitude.  The audience is also highly commendable for their encouragement of their peers in the performances.

I am most impressed with how our Year 10 students have participated in all Induction Program activities with enthusiasm and showed great determination to adapt to their new learning environment.  My congratulations to all Year 10 students.

Student Attendance:

As Term 1 of schooling progresses to Week 6, it is important to reflect on your child’s school attendance and their academic progress.   When you receive feedback from teachers at Parent-Teacher Conference (25th March) and should there be areas highlighted as needing improvement, please help your child to reflect on how much absences may have contributed to the situation. Absences from school do affect the continuity of your student’s education, and may contribute to adverse effect on their progress. When a student misses a class lesson, they lose the thread of the subject material. 

Subject development is a sequential building process that relies heavily on a firm grasp of each section of material. When a part is missing the student finds it immensely difficult in learning the work and frustration can set in. 

Should you require support regarding your child’s attendance or with regard to any other issue, please contact your child’s House Mentor immediately. 

‘Meet the Mentor’ Evening for New Parents:

We offered two evenings for this ‘Meet the Mentor’ program:

• Monday 1st March (for parents & students of Doherty and Flannery House), and
• Wednesday 3rd March (for parents & students of Blackburn and Wood House).

The evening’s purpose is for our new parents to meet with their child’s House Mentor and also to meet with the other parents of your child’s Mentor Group.  Please see below for the details of the evening:

          PROGRAM FOR THE EVENING:

6.30 pm to 7.10 pm: HOUSE MEETINGS

House Leaders Meeting with Parents in House area.

House Leaders & Mentors:

• Issue Parents with handouts with important information on school communication and procedures.
• Respond to any parent queries on student induction into JMSS.

7.20 pm to 8.00 pm: BRIEF INFORMATION SESSION

• Welcome, School Council, Regional Exchange Mr Peter Corkill (Principal)
• Parents & Friends Association (PFA) Mrs Belinda Chung
• Communications, Student Empowerment Mrs Sally Cheah-Johnson (Assistant Principal).
• Learning & Teaching at JMSS Mr Andrew Chisholm (Assistant Principal)

Child Safe Policies:

John Monash Science School (JMSS) is committed to maintaining the safety and wellbeing of all its students whilst at school and participating in any school related events. JMSS actively encourages an environment that fosters a culture of openness, inclusiveness and awareness. 

We want our students (and other students who are on-site such as visiting students, students on exchange programs and Emerging Science Victoria students) to be safe. We are committed to the safety of all students from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, the safety of gender diverse students and providing a safe environment for students with disabilities.

JMSS is committed to the Victorian Government’s Child Safe Standards to prevent child abuse, including encouraging the reporting of abuse and appropriate responses to all allegations.

Please note that any concerns regarding child-safety, is to be reported directly to the JMSS Child-Safe Officer (Sally Cheah-Johnson – Assistant Principal).

Below are the links to the JMSS Child-Safe Policies:

Sally Cheah-Johnson

Assistant Principal

(House, Student Empowerment and Achievement).