Kurunjang Secondary College

Newslet t erTerm 2 | Issue 4 | Date: 30th June 2017

As the semester draws to a close it provides us with the opportunity to reflect and celebrate our accomplishments for the last 6 months.

We have continued to build on our already excellent programs by introducing further initiatives for our students. To highlight all of them here is difficult but I will take this opportunity to highlight a few.

The College?s Open Night was a huge success with over two hundred and fifty people in attendance. Our guests were given a brief welcome by the Principal Class team and this was followed by an hour-long tour visiting all areas of the school. The feedback from families was extremely positive as they gained a real sense of our very positive and inclusive school community. The strong partnership that we have with our students was clearly evident. In the last fortnight, we held our Rock Band Concert as well as out Instrumental Music Concert. A number of very talented students entertained the large audience of parents, families and friends and showed everyone how much they have improved over the semester.  Joanne Zerafa and the instrumental music team have been working with our students through their individual lessons and group practice sessions throughout the year.  These concerts are getting bigger and better each year. I wish to acknowledge and thank all of our students who worked with teachers and support staff to produce such excellence.

It just proves what can be achieve if we exemplify our school values of high expectations, respect and perseverance.

I wish you all a safe and restful break and I look forward to next semester.

John Mit sin ikos -College Pr incipal

A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL RUGBY LEAGUE CLINIC

LIBRARY OPENING HOURS

On Wednesday the 21st June, a group of Yr.7 students participated in a rugby league clinic run by the Melton Broncos Rugby League Club. For some of our students this was their first exposure to the skills of rugby and for others they participated in a series of skills that was well known to them.

Thank you to the Melton Broncos Rugby League Club for running this clinic and thank you to all the students who participated. Everyone had a great time. For further information about the club, please see Mrs Hardham in the PE office.

The Library is open in the mornings before school, luncht im es bet ween 1:30pm -2pm and af t er school t i l l

4:15pm when Study Hall is not running.

Please note that there is an expectation that students will be productively occupied when using the Library.

On Friday, 23rd June, 16 of our Year 9 and 10 students went on an excursion to Ballarat Hospital where they were introduced  to a  diversity of health professional roles and careers, many of which they may not have thought about.

The aim was to:

- Learn about the career pathways in the Health professions and the importance of university;

- Understand the differences between the Clinical, Allied and Complementary Health professions.

- Take part in a hands-on activity from one of the Health professions which was discussed (this varied based upon specialist staff availability).

All students enjoyed the day and participated in activities with great enthusiasm.

The Careers Team

Study Hall is a support program

where students can use the Library

after school to complete homework,

study, or complete Learning Tasks.

Teachers from across each Learning

Area are rostered to provide support

and assistance.

Study Hall is held after school

between 3.20 and 4.20pm.

St udy Hall Dat es

July- Wed 26t h

August - Tues 1st

Wed 2nd

Wed 9t h

Tues 29t h

Wed 30t h

YR. 9 & 10 HEALTH PROFESSION PATHWAYSSTUDY HALL

TERM 3 "JULY/ AUGUST" KEY DATES

The Reaching Children through Universal Services (RCUS) is a demonstration project auspiced by Baptcare for children and young people that have been affected by family violence. It provides a wrap?around service, covering all aspects of the child?s life. Families will be included and supported. A RCUS Worker will be co-located at Kurunjang S.C from July 2017 to June 2018 for the purpose of engaging and working directly with children who have been referred to RCUS. The service will provide counselling, therapeutic case management to build life skills, resilience and emotional wellbeing, health, school engagement and education.

Please contact for Ms Neilsen, if you wish to avail of this service.

STUDENT WELFARE

JULY

Mon 17t h July

Term 3 Commences

Tues 25t h July

Yr. 10-11 VCE, VCAL & VET Course Info Evening

AUGUST

Tues 1st Aug

Yr 8-9 & 9-10 Course Info Evening

Tues 8t h Aug

Athletics Carnival

Thurs 10t h Aug

VTAC Info Evening

Tues 15t h Aug

Yr. 10 Course Counselling

Tues 15 Aug- Fr i 18t h Aug

Yr. 8 Camp

In a world where Design and Technology dominates every aspect of our lives, students at KSC recognize the importance and relevance of this learning area. Students acknowledge all that has been developed using Product, Design and Technology, beginning with the necessity of creating shelter, items to keep us warm, to all materialistic products we require in our daily lives.

The Design Process t aught :

Students choose a client, who they interview. They then gather a wide range of important information, which assists them in understanding the constraints of the product needed.

Next, students undertake extensive research and development looking at existing designs to gain valuable information, allowing them to modify and/or create individualised project designs based on their client?s specific needs and requirements. From this information, students develop and then present their own design options to their client who in turn choose their preferred option and formally justifies their choice. During the planning stage, students use their numeracy skills to breakdown all material components, and create a working drawing that outlines their cutting and costing list.

Finally, our fabulous workshop facilit ies makes it possible for students to learn new construction skills. Students, who find real purpose for their learning, achieve success and gain great satisfaction when they see their ideas become reality.

LINKS WITH THE COMMUNITY

This year, Yr. 10 student Lin Viligia chose his local pastor as a client and discovered their church needed a pulpit to conduct sermons. This important link with the community and Lin?s willingness to take positive action to meet the church?s need, was a key factor in successfully designing and constructing a custom-made pulpit. Below is a photo of the handcrafted pulpit.

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY THE COMMUNITY

SEMESTER ONE REPORTS

Student reports will be available on the Compass portal from Monday July 3.   You can also use Compass to access previous reports, so it?s a great organisational tool.  Reports are available in PDF format.  You can download these and store them on your own computer.  While the report is similar to those in the past, you will notice the reports now include Victorian Curriculum Standards. These look similar to AusVELs levels on earlier reports.  Because it is a new scale, you may not see ?previous results? this year.  Teachers use the Standards when developing learning plans for students in order to ensure activities are both relevant and challenging. The level at which your child is shown, is determined by looking at a range of Learning Tasks and observations made in class.  The Victorian Curriculum graph indicates the expected standard of achievement for students at a particular level. These reports also have information on key Learning Tasks. These are tasks completed during the semester and allow students to develop skills and demonstrate their level of performance as measured by the Victorian Curriculum Standards mentioned earlier. This report is an important step in helping with your child?s learning. It?s important to look at achievements as well as identifying ways of improving areas where things haven?t gone so well. If you have difficulty accessing your child?s report on Compass, please contact the college

Ker ry Howard (Repor t s Coordinat or )

IN THE CLASSROOM WITH PHIL SCHWALGER

Term 3 Uniform Shop Hours

Every Thursday

8am -9am

2:30pm -5pm

They can be contacted on 9746 6865 during opening hours

Visa, Mastercard, EFTPOS and Layby are all welcome.

UNIFORM SHOP

What is one of your hidden t alent s? ? I love reading ? especially books about education, the body and learning in general.

What m akes a ?great ? day at school?- Seeing my year 7 and year 8 classes? also seeing students in the mall after school ? and visiting parents and students? love it all..

Your dream vacat ion would be? ? Any time the whanau and I are together joking, eating, laughing and screaming? happy days? .

What inspires you? - People of integrity who tell the truth with empathy? and students who spark up as they discover something new? that?s awesome.

What would st udent s be surpr ised t o f ind out about you?- My first job was cleaning the floors of a big fitness place? . The toilets yuk ? The showers yuk?

If you could pass on any w isdom t o your st udent s, what would you share?- Effort? Effort? Effort? . Get out of the blame game and put the effort in to succeed. Make sure you can do VCE ? . You don?t want to get kicked out?

The best t h ing about being a t eacher at t he College?- Psychology.... Literacy is also the bomb

What is your favor it e subject t o t each?- Each day is different ? keeps you on your toes ? . Pumping.

Our school has registered to take part in eSmart, a guiding framework for schools to manage cybersafety and wellbeing.

eSmart will help teachers, students and the whole school community embrace the benefits of technology and reduce our exposure to cyberspace risks such as bullying, identity theft, online sexual predation and accessing or sending inappropriate images and content.

eSmart is an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, a national charity committed to protecting children from violence.

Our work towards achieving eSmart status will involve the whole school community- for example we'll be integrating cybersafety into our wellbeing policies, establishing clear procedures to deal with incidents, and delivering curriculum around the smart, safe and responsible use of technology.

We'll regularly update you on our progress through this newsletter. More information is also available at www.esmart.org.au

IMPORTANT CYBERSAFETY MESSAGE DOGS FOR DIGGERS

NUMERACY IN TERM 3

Part of the Year 12 VCAL student body is involved with the Woodlea/Aintree Walk of Honor. This Walk of Honor is not just for the fallen veterans/diggers, but for all who suffered because of war. The walk will be interactive in a hope that it will get younger generations involved and the legacy will be carried on.

We are working with Chris Bracher, Community Development Manager of Woodlea Estate. Our role is to gather information such as stories, letters, photos and poetry from veterans or families of veterans for the iBeacons that will be situated in the Woodlea/Aintree Walk of Honor. If any students or families have stories that they would be comfortable to share please contact Mrs Baker at school or through email: baker .m ar ia.t @edum ail.vic.gov.au. We are also asking for donations for a program called Dogs for Young Diggers. This program helps veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) reconnect themselves with their communities and provide some much-needed companionship. Money collection tins will be placed in the General Office and canteen for anyone who would like to

Term 2 has been a long busy term. NAPLAN, Year 9-12 mid-year exams, reports and many assessment tasks. Students approached their exams with a positive attitude. Most had their own calculators, and were focussed on answering all questions on their exams. This was the first exam for the Year 9 students. They now have a clearer understanding of the importance of their Maths note/resource book. The annual Australian Maths Competition runs at the end of July, and students will have time at the start of Term 3 to prepare for this National event. Maths club will also run again in Term three at lunchtime in H3. Students can get some help with Learning Tasks, homework, play maths games and get involved in problem solving. To be prepared for Maths in Term Three, all students should be taking their pens, calculator, ruler workbook/notebook and textbook to all classes. Please ask your child about Maths and check that they are taking their equipment to class. If you have any questions about your child or Maths, please contact their Maths teacher or Numeracy Leader, Mrs. Bentley.