CONNECT – TERM 3, 2022

Thank you for taking the time to read our Term 3 Newsletter.

This edition will show you that this term has certainly been very busy with  events and activities including; Term 3 Parent Forum, planning for our Year 9 Program, Learning Growth Awards, Student Personal Growth and Wellness Day, 100 Days Celebrations, Primary School Transition Events and much more!

STAFF APPRECIATION

This term our wonderful school council organised a morning tea and some gifts donated and prepared by some of our parents, Belinda Collins and Rebecca Cooper, as their way of thanking staff for their hard work in establishing a successful school that the community can be proud of.

The establishment of a new school is not a solo job and it has seen an impressive level of dedication from our staff supported by our generous families and community.

SUPPORT USING COMPASS

Thank you to all of our families for their connection and engagement with learning at Greenvale Secondary College. In our continued efforts I wanted to raise awareness of the assistance available to access and navigate Compass.

It is important that all families are regularly logging in, reading notifications and celebrating the learning growth of their child. Sometimes we recognise that navigating or accessing technology may require a little support, so recommend that families:

1. Drop into the Administration Office and ask for assistance
2. Check out the online Parent and Family Guide for Compass
3. Login to Compass or our Website and view the help guides under School Documentation

STAGE 1A PROGRESS

Many families will be aware of the ongoing challenges in establishing our grassed playing fields which has been hampered by the wet weather. The College has been working closely with the Victorian School Building Authority who oversee the works and we are trying to ensure that this much needed open space is available before the end of the year.

STUDENT TOILETS

As our families will be aware, the Victorian School Building Authority delivers all new schools with Unisex Toilets which is the same as any new government building such as a hospital. There has been plenty of publicity about Unisex toilets in schools and workplaces including this article in the Age from 2021 and in the Building Quality Standards Handbook about how decisions on facilities in new builds are reached.

Our current unisex facilities are not the old style toilet blocks found still in many schools. Rather – each toilet is in its own individual room behind a locked full size door with its own basin and mirror.

After receiving feedback from families and our community, School Council have reviewed this situation and have now approved a change so that each building has a combination of unisex as well as gender specific male and female toilets. This will ensure that we balance the expectations of our local community and the requirements of the Department of Education and Training to create an safe an inclusive environment for LGBTIQ+ students. These changes will come into effect before the end of Term 3.

We continue to encourage any or all families and members of our community to speak directly with the College on these matters.

COVID – A BIG THANKS

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank parents and students for continuing to keep us informed of COVID cases in their families. Unfortunately Greenvale Secondary College, like many places in the state, have had a further uptick in cases during Term 3. This has contributed to the difficulties we have had in staffing the school, but thankfully we have been able to keep almost all classes, excursions and events running as in pre-COVID times. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their efforts at this challenging time.

YEAR 7 2023

Our offers for Year 7 2023 have been confirmed via the primary schools and we have now welcomed our new families to Greenvale Secondary College.  In 2023, we will have an additional class of year 7 students to cater for the demand however have not been able to place over 100 families.

As a result of a high demand for enrolments, the College has been placed under an Enrolment Management Plan which now further restricts enrolment to only those who live within the enrolment zone.

TERM 4 PARENT FORUM

Each term parents are provided with detailed information that will assist them to best support their child at Greenvale Secondary College. This takes place in regular Parent Forums.

In Term 4 our Parent Forum is on Tuesday 18 October at 5:30pm.

Parent Forums run each term and have a different focus or set of topics. Topics to be covered in Term 4 include Academic and Social Resilience

Bookings are made via www.eventbrite.com.au/o/greenvale-secondary-college-38054468573

NAPLAN

Our students sat NAPLAN in May and the reports will be available for parents to pick up at Parent Teacher Conferences on September 13 in the Library.

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year and it is important because it helps us understand how well students are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy.

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time. The difficulty for parents and schools in 2022 is that students did not sit NAPLAN in 2020 so we can’t measure growth from Grade 3 to 5 and from Grade 5 to Year 7 for this cohort, but there is still a lot of valuable information for schools in the NAPLAN reports.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it is very useful for teachers because it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ progress. It also helps us as a school to establish literacy and numeracy strategies for the cohort.

If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact Lucy Gibbs (Head of Curriculum) or me.

(Based on information directly from the ACARA website)

Download FAQ Individual Student Report

VALUES

In our learning this term we have been focusing on the value of RESPECT. This value has been written into the learning intention and success criteria to ensure it is explicitly taught and learnt.  You will be aware this has been supported by work in the Mentor Groups on The Kindness Project and with incursions such as The Man Cave and The Big Sister Experience. Next term we will concentrate on TEAMWORK!

PARENT TEACHER STUDENT CONFERENCES

Parent Teacher Student Conferences will occur on September 13 between 12-8pm in the library.

Conference bookings can be made via the Compass portal. Please note that teachers will have two half hour breaks during the day: 3.00pm-3.30pm and 5.30pm-6pm. There are step by step instructions in the Compass Welcome page should you need it.

Whilst there are no scheduled classes on this day all students are expected to attend the conference with parents/carers.

We look forward to seeing you then!

READY TO LEARN

It is great to see most students arriving to school enthusiastic and ready to learn every day! As a parent/carer you can do the following things to help your child be ‘ready to learn’ every day and maximixe their learning opportunities:

1. Check in. Take some time to talk to your child. Ask some open-ended questions, listen without judgement for the answer and try to empower your child to solve their own problems at school.

• • What subject are you enjoying at the moment? What are you doing in it?
  • Are you having any trouble with any of your learning? What can you do to help with this?
  • Who is a person/teacher you can talk to at school?

2. Sleep, Health and Routines. Teenagers need 8-10 hours’ sleep a night. Their brains and bodies are growing, and they need good food. Routine and establishing independence in these are critical for young people as they move through secondary school. While life and families have dynamic lives it is important to provide as much opportunity for the establishment of routine as possible”
   • Is your child getting off electronics and to sleep at a reasonable time?
   • Are they getting themselves up, ready for school and to Period 1 on time?
   • Are they developing independence getting to school?
   • Does he/she/they have a healthy lunchbox to fuel them through the day?

3. Prompt your child each night (if necessary) to prepare for the day ahead. Perhaps at the start they need a check list in their bedroom or on the fridge and you to help them with this, but students should be able to do this independently by the end of Year 7.
   • What classes do you have tomorrow?
   • Is the laptop on charge?
   • Are the correct books and folders packed?
   • Has the planner been checked for tasks to be completed?
   • Is uniform clean and ready for wear?

Based on advice from Raising Children

https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/school-education/school-choosing-starting-moving/starting-secondary-school

The sky is brighter, trees and flowers are blossoming, the weather is warmer – it must be the end of Term 3! Greenvale Secondary College has had another busy but productive term. Students moved from History to Geography exploring Water in the World, from Music to Drama creating fantastic scenes using puppets, from Art to Vis Comm carving designs to create prints, and explored new topics in their core subjects, creating butterflies with grid references in Maths, using forces to move objects from one place to another in Science and understanding the importance of belonging to a community in English. With an increased focus on collaborative learning, it has been great to see students working in a variety of ways, individually, in pairs and small groups, helping each other to demonstrate learning growth in every subject.

The theme of this term has been Respect, a common word used in society but not always one which is put into practice. Respect encourages empathy and understanding, and students have been learning how to respect themselves, the environment, their peers and staff. Through this, the Respect Shout Out Board was created in the Learning Neighbourhood where students took the opportunity to acknowledge someone who has demonstrated Respect continually throughout the term. This Board will grow as this value is more embedded in our daily practice. This term has also seen the initiation of the Respect Club, attended by a few students with hopefully more joining by the end of the year, where students are contributing positively to the community and preparing to support the incoming Year 7s in 2023 to demonstrate Respect. So far, they have presented at assembly and are planning short videos to show the community ways to be kind, aware of others and show pride in our school environment.

We are looking forward to Term 4 where students begin their transition to Year 8, stepping up to become more independent and curious learners, discovering more of who they are as an individual and how to work together to contribute to a safe and supportive environment where everyone is seen and heard.

Have a safe and sunny holiday!

Kathleen Timms

Head of School (Years 7 – 8)

HOMEWORK FOR IMPACT

As Generation Z and Alpha enter their secondary years in the post-Remote Learning era, it can be difficult to keep up with the changing trends in best educational practice. For those of us who completed our schooling on typewriters or on desktop PCs, it is a challenge to navigate how different the learning experience for today’s children is from our own.

A prime example of this is the nature of homework today. In recent years, homework has come into the spotlight of educational researchers who have questioned its merit and effectiveness in the 21^st Century. John Hattie’s Visible Learning synthesis suggested a limited positive effect size on learning for homework (Hattie, 2009), and further research has suggested that benefits increase only moderately with student age (Horsley & Walker, 2013).

As educators have continued to investigate what is best for student learning, there has been a growing body of evidence that indicates that the “how” of homework is much more important than the “how much”(Ferandez-Alonso & Muniz, 2021).

The recent book ‘Homework with Impact’ (Jones, 2021) outlines key findings in the past five years, which suggest the type of homework that is most effective are tasks that promote skill practice. This kind of work supports building and consolidation of key skills that are needed in the classroom, rather than introducing new knowledge or extended projects.

Research has also been conducted into the role that technology can play in homework in 21^st Century learning. The capability of online programs to provide instant feedback and an opportunity to recognise and learn from mistakes immediately (Heffernan, 2019) support the widely established idea that assessment and feedback are crucial to making any task meaningful to students.

THE GREENVALE SECONDARY COLLEGE APPROACH TO IMPACTFUL HOMEWORK

This research, together with the homework policy guidelines outlined by the Department of Education, has led our College to develop a homework program that is assists students at their point of need, emphasising key literacy and numeracy skills. Students will participate in online activities on a weekly basis targeting their own level and areas for improvement and extension. This low-stakes independent practice, assessment and feedback aims to promote work ethic, self-discipline and responsibility.

HOW FAMILIES CAN SUPPORT STUDENTS

In a recent article in ‘The Conversation’, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at University of Oklahoma Daniel Hamlin addressed the complex issue of parent involvement with homework for secondary schoolers. The research cited promotes parent engagement with homework as a way of fostering independent learning behaviours and asserts that direct parental assistance with homework should cease in the secondary years. Hamlin suggests that ‘when helping with homework, parents should avoid trying to control the process and should also resist the temptation to complete assignments for their kids’ and instead encourage persistence through positive encouragement and feedback (Hamlin, 2021).

Fernández-Alonso, R., Muñiz, J. (2021). Homework: Facts and Fiction. In: Nilsen, T., Stancel-Piątak, A., Gustafsson, JE. (eds) International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education. Denmark: Springer.

Hamlin D. (2022, April 21). Should parents help their kids with homework? The Conversation. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/should-parents-help-their-kids-with-homework-121973

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London; New York: Routledge.

Heffernan, N.T. (2019). Backtalk: Don’t eliminate homework. Make it more effective. Phi Delta Kappan, 100, 80 – 80.

Horsley, M., & Walker, R. (2013). Reforming homework: practices, learning and policy. South Yarra, Vic: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jones, A.B. (2021). Homework with Impact: Why What You Set and How You Set It Matters (1st ed.). London: Routledge.

Instrumental Music students have been making excellent progress this term and we have seen so much growth and enthusiasm around the music program as we continue to go from strength to strength building the department and having students grow in their knowledge and playing of music through their instruments. This has included new students joining the program and doing very well.

Many of the guitar students have taken inspiration from Cem’s performance at assembly last term and are learning the melody and accompaniment for “Fly me to the moon” and other jazz standards. With many students finding friends within instrumental music, we are very excited to hear what music they’ll be playing together.

Students have also formed a rock band that will be rehearsing at Thursday lunch times. Starting with “No time to die” from the James Bond movie and looking to learn some Fall Out Boy. We should be in for some exciting performances at upcoming school events.

We have also added a keyboard in the library for students to play and practice on during recess and lunch.

Students learning to play drums have started off very well and continuing in that success knowing their 8^th notes, 16^th notes and triples being able to distinguish between them and incorporating them into drum grooves and drum fills around the drum kit. Their continued success will result with students being involved in multiple ensembles across the college playing songs and working with others to strive and achieve a common goal together.

We’re also very excited to partner with Yamaha music with their Great Start Grant which assists the College in building its instrumental program with the incorporation of new equipment and access to leaders in the instrumental music field to help build the college to be a highly regarded school in music and performing arts. Our performing arts facilities will help facilitate all these amazing and exciting advancements in the performing arts at Greenvale Secondary College which will lead to student successes in the future. The performing arts team are excited to share this journey with students and parents as we strive to achieve success together.

Term 3 saw our students compete in a variety of interschool sporting events.

The boys and girls had a great day representing Greenvale Secondary College playing Basketball against the other schools in our district. With both boys and girls finishing third in our district.

The girls table tennis team qualified for regionals by finishing first in our district. Ava Cooper, Emilia D’Angelo, Christaline Summabat and Carla Rametta will have the opportunity to represent the school at regionals to secure a spot in the state finals.

Noah Tarallo has had the chance to compete for the school in the recent state finals for cross country and even travelled interstate to Adelaide to compete in the nationals for Cross Country in his age group.

We now look forward to term 4 summer sports in PE where we will be practising Cricket, T Ball and other striking and fielding games.

CELEBRATING 100 DAYS OF GREENVALE SECONDARY COLLEGE!

On this day we had the opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the commitment of students, staff and our school community in our first 100 days of our foundation year. With parents in tow, we  got to showcase our classrooms and encourage parents to experience the life of a student at Greenvale Secondary College.

During the celebrations students and parents learnt 100 ways to say hello, how to make paper cranes, 100 ways to show kindness, physical challenges, as well as having the philanthropic opportunity to help those new to our country by donating goods to the ASRC.

The 100 Day cookies were a huge success, along with the raffle and the sale of bricks that will lay our foundation in the next stage of our building project. We can’t wait to see them!

STUDENT FEEDBACK:

“I enjoyed the 100 Day Celebration because we learnt about other people’s cultures.” -SV

“The cookies and zoopa-dooper were delish!” -AC

“A connecting experience that reminded us we are the foundation year and the future is looking amazing.” -SC

“A great bonding experience with parents and the school community.” -ML

“It was nice to be able to reflect on what we’ve done so far this year and celebrate with parents.” -NT

“It was a fun day with a good range of activities that we enjoyed.” -MM

Keep an eye out for our big plans in Term 4! The battle of the Houses is heating up!

Spring is here. Slowly the sun is breaking through the clouds that have been around for a long time. The cold weather has not stopped us from an eventful term 3.

We have welcomed a number of services and agencies to collaborate with the Student Services Team to provide ongoing support and learning opportunities for our students.

SCHOOLWIDE DAY WORKSHOPS

VICTORIA POLICE

Two police officers from the Proactive Policing Squad in Sunbury attended Greenvale Secondary College to present information to the students on Cybersafety, safety in the community and safety of each other. Students were provided with an opportunity to ask as many questions as they liked in terms of safety which allowed them to have a better understanding of the law.

THE BIG SISTER EXPERIENCE

On the 2^nd of August the Year 7 girls took part in the Big Sister Experience, which comprised of a full day of activities relating to self-love and confidence.

The girls engaged in discussions and challenges focusing on their wellbeing, health and social circles, which created a day full of fun, laughter and empowerment.

We received positive feedback as well as observed some positive changes from this day including a stronger sense of identity, the importance of sisterhood and supporting one another and strategies on how to put yourself fist and fill your own cup.

MANCAVE

What a success our day was. The students thoroughly enjoyed having the crew from Mancave come and facilitate some learning about self and others. The day was based on teamwork, identify and empowerment.

Thank you to Headspace Craigieburn for helping this day be possible.

SMALL GROUPS

RAISE MENTORING PROGRAM

The Raise Mentoring Program, which commenced in Term 2, has continued its momentum into Term 3, with all participating students fully engaged and enthusiastic to attend each week.

Each mentor (volunteer) and mentee (student) match are working through a selection of activities each week to gain a better insight and understanding of each other and themselves.

The mentees are provided with the opportunity to; seek guidance, self-reflect, be heard, bounce ideas and gain clarity on all areas of their lives, through the support and encouragement of their mentor.

DRUMBEAT

Drumbeat, a Hume City Council program, kicked off on Friday 29^th July and will continue to run through to 9^th September.  We were lucky enough to be able to offer this program to our Year 7 students.

Drumbeat incorporates hand drumming, behavioural therapeutic principles, and cognitive elements to achieve positive outcomes in health and social outcomes including anxiety and emotional control.

The students have really enjoyed the first half of this program, getting into the spirit of it and making plenty of noise!  Their positive attitudes, quick hands and dance skills have made these sessions both beneficial and entertaining.

MONASH UNIVERSITY STUDENT PLACEMENTS

From the 31^st August we welcome Gianni Vecchio to the Student Services Team.  Gianni is in his final year of Masters of Counselling.  Initially Gianni will spend time learning about the school and the students and then Gianni will provide short term counselling to students.  Parent/ guardian consent needs to be provided for Gianni to support students via counselling at the school.

SEPTEMBER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

During Victorian school holidays, the Hume Youth Engagement and Pathways School Holiday Program offers young people a variety of social, recreational, and educational development based activities. The School Holiday Program aims to enhance young people’s participation, connection, skill development, wellbeing and knowledge in fun and new ways.

The School Holiday Program takes place from Tuesday 20 September to Friday 30 September 2022.

View the list of free activities below:

• Gardening fun days
• Movie, pizza and trivia
• Arts and craft days
• E-games
• Mixed sports
• Navigating government services: 101 Life Hack Program
• Local industry meet-up:for those looking for a job over the Christmas holidays – meet local retail and hospitality organisations seeking casual employees.

Register through Eventbrite to secure your place or call 9205 2556 or email youth@hume.vic.gov.au if you need further assistance with registering.

Bookings are essential.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT STATE SCHOOL RELIEF

State School Relief provides financial support to families/ carers to ensure that no student goes without in regards to their needs for schooling.

State School Relief provides funding/ supplies of:

• School Uniform
• Stationary
• Text Books
• Laptops
• SIM cards
• Shoes
• Undergarments

Please contact Tanya or Connie at the school in relation to applications.

WELCOME 

It is always a pleasure to support your child at the front reception daily.  We are committed to do our best and if you ever have any questions we are here to help.   

TERM 4 KEY DATES

LATE ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL

Students who arrive late to school, after 8:50am, must sign in through the Compass Kiosk either using their student card or Compass Login details.

Parents/Guardians can either use the Compass Kiosk to sign their child late or contact the Office on 8393 0000 advising us why their child will be late.

EARLY DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL

We realise that at times you need to pick up your child early from school. When your child needs to be picked up early from school can you please either contact the Office on 8393 0000 or send your child with a note to bring into Office Administration letting us know, the time you will be picking up your child.

This will ensure the class teacher will be notified your child needs to leave class. When picking up your child before the end of day, please come into the Administration Office and use the Compass Kiosk to sign your child out.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED – EVERY SECOND THURSDAY and FRIDAY

Would you like to volunteer in our Library?

Some of the duties will include:

• Covering Books
• Cataloguing Books
• Loaning & Returning Books
• Put books back in shelves

We have a range of books still to go out onto the shelves and will be growing our book collection throughout the remainder 2022, but we need your help. For anyone wishing to volunteer please contact the office on 8393 0000

ATTENDANCE – IT’S NOT OK TO BE AWAY! 

 Daily school 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. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives. It is important that children develop habits of regular attendance at an early age. 

 We realise some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But we also know that when students miss too much school— regardless of the reason – it can cause them to fall behind academically.  

 It is important that you contact the school as soon as possible on 8393 0000 or log onto the Compass Portal to inform us of your child’s absence.  

 We also ask parents/guardians/carers to regularly monitor their child’s attendance through the Compass Parent Portal. 

EVERY DAY COUNTS 

A day here or there doesn’t seem like much but… 

UNIFORM – TERM 4

At the beginning of Term 4 all students should start wearing their Summer Full School Uniform. For students who are not in Full School Uniform, they are required to bring a note from a parent explaining why your child cannot wear their full school uniform – this way we can issue a uniform pass for the day.

Lost Property

Students at times loose their clothing and personal items. We have a lost property cupboard.  If your child has lost clothing or school items, please come and check at the Administration Office.

Purchase of uniforms

Uniform items can be purchased from Noone Imagewear, 543 Keilor Road, Niddrie. Online orders call also be placed directly at https://www.noone.com.au

100 DAY CELEBRATION

The 100 Day Celebration this term was a great success that allowed us to celebrate the amazing work that the students and staff have been doing since the College has opened.

We would like to recognise and thank the following sponsors within the local community who generously donated to our raffle on the day. Without their contribution, we would not have been able to offer the amazing prices that were up for grabs. A congratulations as well to our lucky winners.