Newsletter 

 PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

I hope that everyone had a lovely Easter break with loved ones and that our students have returned for Term Two rested and rejuvenated. Term One was a longer term than usual, making Term Two only nine weeks in length, so we will have a lot to pack into these next few weeks!

Changes to COVID-19 Restrictions and Health and Safety Protocols

As communicated via Compass to all families, there have been changes to the operations of the College related to our experiences of the pandemic. These have come about due to the further easing of some restrictions that come into place for Victoria as of 11.59pm on Friday April 22. 

 

The main changes have been:

  • Household contacts of positive cases of COVID-19 are no longer required to isolate, meaning that students can now attend school if someone in their home tests positive. They will be asked to wear a face mask during this time and also conduct a RAT test on 5 of the 7 days of their family member’s isolation period (please ensure that these are school days). Please still inform the College via the covidresponse@scsc.vic.edu.auemail if your child/ren are a household contact so that we are aware.
  • There is no longer a requirement to show proof of vaccination for visitors to the College.
  • Rapid Antigen Testing as a surveillance measure will still be in place for the first 4 weeks of Term Two. Early in Week Two we communicated about the schedule for the next round of RAT kit collections. Please ensure that your child/ren have a note or evidence of some sort (via text) that you give them permission to collect their own RAT kit if you wish for them to collect after school.

Attendance Matters – Every Day Counts 

Whilst we are aware that students are unfortunately still missing time from school if they fall ill and test positive for COVID-19, it is very pleasing that the household contact isolation requirement ceasing means that less students will be absent from school for lengthy periods of time. 

 

This Term we are commencing a strong focus on maximising our attendance for all students at the College. Now that learning has recommenced face-to-face back at school, it is important that we work in partnership with parents to engage all of our young people in being at school and being ready to learn.

 

We have made some changes this Term to help us ensure there is clear and consistent communication with home when your child/ren are absent.

 

  1. Entering absences yourselves into Compass is the most efficient manner of informing the College of your child’s absence and reason for this absence. However, as we have been receiving several calls, we have implemented a new attendance phone line. When you call the College, you will be able to choose to be put through to the absence line and able to leave a message for our Attendance Officer.
  2. Parents of students who are late to school will receive an SMS and email from Compass notifying you that your child has signed in late for school that morning. Please read these communications carefully and contact your child’s Learning Community Leader to address any concerns. Students that are habitually late will be engaged in developing attendance support plans to improve their ability to arrive at school on time.
  3. Parents of students who have an attendance percentage at or below 80% will receive communications on a 6 weekly basis with details about your child’s absences. Attendance Support Plans will be developed for students that are deemed to be developing concerning attendance patterns at the College and we will be asking parents to come into the College to meet with us so that we can work on clear strategies between home and school.
  4. Regular reminder letters will also be sent to families of students that have unexplained absences – asking that you clarify the reason why your child was absent from school. The amount of unexplained absences, meaning parents have not communicated the reason why their child is not at school, is concerning for us. If we do not have this information, it is hard to gauge why students may need support to improve if their attendance is on a concerning trajectory.

New College Hoodie 

A reminder that the new College hooded jumper went on sale over the holidays. I understand that Surf Coast School Stuff was closed for some of the break, but we remind parents that you can also now purchase SCSC uniform items from the PSW Uniform shop, who are our supplier, in Geelong. I have seen a few students last week wearing the new hoodie and it looks great and students seem very happy with the change in design. Learning Community Leaders will be in touch with parents of students that are in non-unfirm hooded jumpers and asking that you purchase a new jumper for your child as Winter approaches. We expect all students to be in full school uniform at all times. If your child needs support to be in uniform for financial reasons, please let your LCL know and we can work with your family to provide support.

Student Led Conferences

We were pleased to welcome parents back into the College for Student Led Conferences last Thursday. These events each semester are such a valuable opportunity for parents/carers to engage with our teachers and to celebrate the great things our young people are learning and doing, and also get on the same page about any concerns that need addressing. If you were unable to make a booking with a teacher, as their schedule may have been full already, then please contact the teacher directly and an alternative time can be arranged. 

What Matters Most?

Each Term SCSC staff establish ‘What Matters Most’ in relation to our Learning and Teaching and also the College Environment. This Term, we have established three key area of focus in each area:

 

Learning and Teaching:

  1. Reflect on the structure of lessons using the SCSC Instructional Model to improve the quality of learning. This work is being introduced to staff in Week 3 of Term and will form the basis of most of our shared work this year. We will also share the Instructional Model with our wider community later this Term.
  2. Support on task behaviour with deliberate, planned strategies for engagement. 
  3. Maximise opportunities to learn by following up attendance. 

College Environment:

  1. Routine – be clear, consistent, structured and predictable. 
  2. High expectations about uniform and following expected processes.
  3. Minimise student time out of class.

 

We look forward to sharing more of this work with our community throughout the Term, and also appreciate your support on the College Environment objectives in particular. 

VCAA VCAL 2021 Achievement Awards

Congratulations to Shari S!

On Thursday April 28th I had the honour of attending the VCAA VCAL 2021 Achievement Awards with one of our VCAL staff members, Luci Reuben.

 

We were so proud to be present to see Shari S of the 2021 graduating class receive the Senior VCAL Outstanding Achievement Award. Senior VCAL is the highest certificate level in the current iteration of the study. This is a state wide competitive award.

 

Shari was also one of the College’s Vice Captains in 2021 and was always an active student in her time at SCSC. She is an excellent role model for taking all of the opportunities given to you and trying your best, even if things are challenging. 

 

A huge thank you to all of the VCAL staff for the support that you gave to Shari in her development during her final two years of school, and to all of Shari’s teachers over her time with us. 

 

Well done Shari on your deserved award and we wish you all of the success that we know will come your way in the future.

 

 

Erin Wright

Principal SCSC