by Rosina Fotia, Principal
Welcome back to face-to-face leaning! After a period of lockdown, it has been wonderful to welcome back students and staff. The College is definitely a more inviting and lively place with students in attendance. Transition to onsite learning has gone very well and a new routine has been quickly established.
Learning Focus
The staff focus has been on re-engaging and re-socialising students, as well as ensuring that students are now provided with an opportunity to review their learning and begin to take steps towards completing assessment due before the end of the school year. The College has established a range of support options to ensure that students can catch up on missed opportunities or be further extended with their learning. Our priorities for the remainder of this term will centre on:
1. Mental Health and Wellbeing
Our highest priority will be the wellbeing, particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff. This means effectively mobilising all available resources to support our most vulnerable students and enabling staff to access the relevant support services.
2. Learning and Excellence
Some of our students have thrived in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress and some have fallen behind, despite the best efforts and those of their families and teachers. Our priority will be supporting both those who need it to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend their learning.
3. Transitions
We will make every effort to ensure successful transitions for children in Grade 6 moving into Year 7 and the Year 12’s moving into employment or further education and training. Thank you to staff for their work in this area and many thanks to families for their patience and support.
Year 12 Celebration Day
October 21st signalled the final day of official school for the current Year 12 cohort. The cohort was honoured with an online whole school assembly. Here they were acknowledged and thanked for their contributions to the College over time in front of students, staff, family and friends. This was followed by a colourful costume parade, outdoor games and fun, as well as a visit from Mr Whippy himself. Thank you to the organising team of Ms Gentile and Ms Steeper. We wish them the best of luck in their upcoming final assessment period.
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Building Update
ASPYER building contractors have begun work on Stage 2 of our capital works upgrade. This will see the refurbishment of the C-Wing classrooms as well as an upgrade to the roof and asbestos removal works in the library area. The team has made a great start. We look forward to watching this new space transform. For the remainder of this term, the library will operate out of a mainstream classroom. To support the Independent Reading Program, we encourage students to bring their books from home.
Parliament Prize
Congratulations to Athena Rose Marana who has been awarded 3rd Place in the Year 7-9 category for the 2021 Parliament Prize. She placed 3rd from over 630 applicants from across the state. Athena had to record a 90 second video outlining what she would say to Parliament if she were an MP. An amazing effort!!
Attendance: It’s Not OK to be Away!!!
A reminder to parents of the importance of regular attendance at schools. Daily attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don’t fall behind both socially and developmentally:
- School participation maximises life opportunities for children and young people by providing them with education and support networks
- School helps children to develop important skills, knowledge and values that set them up for further learning and participation in their community
- School helps them to make the most of life opportunities
Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12, or an equivalent qualification, have:
- better health outcomes
- better employment outcomes
- higher incomes across their lives
Research confirms there is a strong link between poor attendance and adverse student outcomes like:
- early school leaving
- poverty
- substance use
- unemployment
- negative health outcomes
Please remember to contact the school on 9735 1133 if you child is absent from school.
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Staying COVID Safe
In order to ensure that we maintain a COVID safe environment, it is essential that we all adhere to the following guidelines:
- If a student is unwell, even with the mildest of symptoms, they must stay at home. If a student becomes unwell during the day, they must be collected from the College as soon as possible and be COVID tested before they return school.
- If a student has any of the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) outlined below, however mild, they should get tested and they must remain at home until they receive their results:
- fever
- chills or sweats
- cough
- sore throat
- shortness of breath
- runny nose
- loss of sense of smell or taste.
In certain circumstances headache, muscle soreness, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may also be considered symptoms.
For further advice you are encouraged to:
- call the 24-hour coronavirus (COVID-19) hotline 1800 675 398
- call a general practitioner
- use the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) online self-assessment tool.
To support this in schools, hand sanitizer is available in every classroom, high ventilation is encouraged and cleaning processes have been heightened.
