PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Key Dates

11 FEB                   Whole School Assembly

27 FEB                   Student Photo Day  

01 MARCH            Catch up Photos

07 MARCH           Curriculum Day - Pupil Free

11 MARCH           Labour Day Public Holiday

18-20 MARCH      Year 7 Camp 1

20 MARCH             Information Evening/Open Night

21 MARCH             Whole School Assembly

20-22 MARCH      Year 7 Camp 2 

21 MARCH             Harmony Day

26 MARCH             Athletics Day - Landy Field

03 APRIL                Parent Teacher Conferences 7-12  

05 APRIL                Last Day term 1

22 APRIL                Easter Monday 

23 APRIL                First Day Term 2

25 APRIL               ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Mr Nicholas Adamou

Principal

Welcome back to the 2019 School Year

It is with great pleasure that I welcome everyone back to the 2019 academic year. 

I trust that students, parents and staff had a great holiday break and are now ready for yet another successful year. 

I extend a special welcome to our new Year 7 students and their families who joined us this year. On Monday, 4 February, at a welcoming parents & students and iPad distribution evening I was pleased to meet and talk to many of our new Year 7 student families.

Also, special welcome to all new Year 8 to 12 students and their families to our school community. 

In the last two weeks, it has been great to observe classes settled in their new Home Groups, developing a clear focus on achieving their goals and personal best for this academic year.  

To the Year 12 students, as they embark in their final year at North Geelong SC, I take this opportunity to wish them a year full of success. I cannot promise that it will be a year without any challenges, however, I can guarantee that applying themselves is the only way to succeed. Last year’s Year 12 cohort has set a high benchmark with outstanding results; however, I believe that this year’s Year 12 students are capable of greater outcomes, pushing the benchmark even higher.

Over the Christmas break there has been a lot of work completed on the physical environment of the school. Painting around the school, new garden beds, refurbished oval and new outdoor furniture.

Also the 4.75 million dollars capital works project is moving along with Stages One and Two completed and delivered back to the school. The students and staff are happy using the new facilities. All new or refurbished teaching spaces are fully air-conditioned and they include the latest ‘touch screen’ technology.

Stage Three (D Wing, Science Block, new toilet block) and Four (Car park) are close to being completed. The Science wing, the toilet block and undercover decking west of C wing and the car park are expected to be completed by mid-February. The final Stage Five (East of C Wing, including a new larger staff room) will begin in early March. The complete capital works/ refurbishment project is expected to be finished by July 4. 

I take this opportunity to thank students, staff and parents who have been very patient and resilient with all the building challenges in the last 14 months. 

North Geelong SC is a proud school community and places high importance on the way we look and behave in the wider community. Our aim is to continue improving the learning and teaching environment of our students, enabling all kind of learners to reach their full potential.

Once again, welcome back to what promises to be another great year for our school community. I look forward to meeting and working closely with as many parents/guardians as possible during the course of the year.

Wishing all the students, staff and families a great academic year.

Welcome to New and Returning Staff

I welcome the following staff to our College and wishing them a very productive and enjoyable year. We are looking forward to working closely with our new staff to ensure the best possible learning opportunities are provided to our student body. 

New and returning staff members

•    Ms Tara Tylinski (Maths and Science)

•    Mas Hannah Valmadre (English)

•    Ms Brittany Wilson (English/EAL/VCAL)

•    Ms Pauline Carra (ES Sub-School Assistant)

•    Ms Bonnie Pratt (ES Sub-School Assistant) 

•    Ms Katherine Roberts (EAL/ English)

•    Ms Sarah Hanan (English/EAL) 

School Zone Speed Limits

With the new school year started, it is an opportune time for school communities to be reminded of the importance of road safety around schools.  

School Speed Zones are enforced from the commencement of the school year and parents/carers are reminded to adhere to all VicRoads School Speed Zones rules. 

Also parents/guardians are reminded to take care and obey these parking signs and observe the Road Rules when picking up or dropping off students around schools. Students should not be dropped off or collected in the school bus bay at the start and end of the school day. The City of Greater Geelong Parking and Information Officers monitor all supervised school crossings on a regular roster and issue infringements to drivers who stop in unsafe areas, such as “No Stopping” zones, within 20 metres of a school crossing, parallel to a yellow edge line, or if double parked, even for a moment to drop off or collect a student. 

Queuing to enter a pick up/drop off zone can often lead to traffic congestion with vehicles being stationary in prohibited areas. Should the pickup/drop off zone be occupied with vehicles, to avoid the possibility of receiving an infringement it is advised to drive around the block and return when legal parking is available.

Statistics show that illegal parking around schools is greatly reduced due to an Officer’s presence and Council prefers to achieve these results though education and awareness. 

Designated school speed zones: Specified times (8:00 - 9:30 am and 2:30 - 4:00 pm).   

Further information in regards to VicRoads speed limits around schools can be found at: VicRoads School Speed Zones.

Also, please note that the school car park is out of bounds for all parents/guardians. The car park is only for staff. In particular, given the works currently occurring in the car park, the one entry/exit to the car park and the shortage of car parking spaces for staff, it is imperative that parents DO NOT enter the car park during pick up/drop off as they are placing students and staff at grave risk. 

I wish to thank all parents/guardians who always adhere to all traffic rules re: school zones and also the school car park rules. The safety of all children, staff and parents is paramount.

Students and Paid employment

The Australian Bureau of Statistics keeps track of the number of students engaged in paid employment. Their most recent report on the subject shows that the number of school age students involved in paid employment continues to rise. Another interesting trend that has emerged from this report is that a growing proportion of younger students are now working on a regular basis.

The main reason students work is to obtain spending money. Very few of the jobs that they undertake have any reference to likely future fulltime sustainable employment and very few supplement family income.

There are many advantages to students that can arise from paid employment. Exposure to the world of “real work” can be an eye-opener for young people. They often take far more notice of the expectations of employers regarding punctuality, appearance and communicating with others than they ever do of the same requests made by parents or their teachers. It can also attribute to improving organisational skills and the meaning of responsibility. It can also provide them with a degree of financial literacy and independence; As Principal and a parent, I have long been an advocate of students contributing to the cost of sometimes expensive educational extra-curricular activities such as state, interstate and overseas camps or exchange visits.

There are, however, some disadvantages at times. The main concern with students undertaking paid employment is the impact that it can have on school performance. The additional income, at times can be negative, as it enables and encourages students to become engaged in a more sophisticated social lifestyle or  diverts them from their school-work and other social, family or recreational activities which are essential to their development.

Like most things, there is no clear-cut answer to the question. The most important thing is getting a balance between work, social-life, family and recreational activities. 

Casual work is most common, followed by holiday jobs, regular part-time work, and then rostered work. Obviously any work on week nights is a problem as it means students cannot complete set homework. Similarly work straight after school can prevent students meeting school commitments, which is not a good thing. Rostered work, which often involves the student being called in to work at short notice, can also cause problems.

Not surprisingly research has established a clear correlation between hours worked and impact on student performance. Working up to an average of 12 hours per week (providing that the work is not on a week night) had little measurable impact on academic performance of high school students. Working more than 16 hours per week, however, was directly correlated with deterioration on academic progress.

Overall, holiday jobs are no problem. Part-time or casual work, limited to 12 hours per week and done at a time which does not interfere with homework, school commitments, recreation or sleep is seldom a cause of concern.  Students working 16 hours or more a week, however, inevitably suffer a deterioration in their academic performance.  Students who work at times which interfere with their other needs and commitments also suffer adverse effects to their progress.

The school supports students that are in paid employment, provided that the work they do and the hours they work per week do not interfere with the students’ academic performance. I encourage parents to communicate with the school if they have any concerns about their children having paid employment.