March 2018

ISSUE 2

COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Achieving success in a caring and creative environment.

PLR Rubric 2018

It was great to see so many “VCE families” come to McBride campus to attend the Yr12 information evening on the 28th February. Hopefully the Yr12 support team helped demystify some of the acronyms and jargon while providing helpful hints for students, parents and siblings to tackle the Yr12 journey

A wealth of information was covered including assessment, statistical moderation, Study Scores, the ATAR, tertiary pathways, key dates, study hints, student well being and more. It was fantastic to be able to field any questions par-ents had regarding the VCE Yr12 year and to see such valuable discussion generated on the night.

It certainly was a lot to digest in such a condensed format however please feel free to contact any one of the team for any clarification or further information.

As all of the students are by now aware, the marathon has well and truly begun. It’s time to set our pace. Stay up to date. Be aware of assessment coming up in the near future and adjust your pace when you need to. And remember, if you’re not sure of anything, ask.

- Philip Hughes, VCE Coordinator

Year 12 Parent Information Session

Bass Coast Leaders

Our school was incredibly proud that three of our students were awarded Bass Coast Young Lead-ers of the Year awards at a recent ceremony held at the RACV club. Micah Condron, Erinn Harnden and Kearny Hull were all recognised for their contribution to school leader-ship.

It was fantastic to see both students from the VCE and VCAL programs awarded, reflecting the diversity of skills, both academic and vocation-al, demonstrated by our students. These students were indeed won-derful ambassadors for our school.

In week seven, staff at our school will be writing your child's first Personal Learning Report (PLR) for 2018. Late last year the staff at WSC worked to develop a new and improved rubric that we will be using to assess your child's classroom work habits. You will notice that the Levels presented on the rubric, shown on page 2 of this newsletter, have changed. Staff will now be marking the students as; Beyond Expectation, Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Never or Absent. For a student to achieve “Beyond Expectation” they would need a work rate that is consistently above that expected for a student in their year level. We expect that most students will fall into the “Mostly” category where there is some room for im-provement in their work habits. This rubric is being introduced and explained to the students in their home group so that they are aware of what they would need to do to become an exceptional student. When you are able to access your child’s PLR we ask you to refer to the rubric when interpreting it. An electronic copy of the rubric can be found on the school web page:

http://wonthaggisc.vic.edu.au/plr/

L-R: Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Tessari, McBride Campus Principal

Margaret O’Donnell, Erinn Harnden, Micah Condron, Kearny Hull

and Mayor Cr Pamela Rothfield.

Page 2 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

PLR

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Page 3 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent/Carer/Teacher/Student interviews will be held at the Dudley Campus from 4.00pm—7.00pm on

Monday 26th March and Wednesday 18th April.

We have changed our parent/teacher booking procedures and you can now book interviews at times

that best suit your family.

Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and follow these simple instructions.

BOOKINGS OPEN TUESDAY 13TH MARCH

BOOKINGS CLOSE MONDAY 26TH MARCH at 9.00am

xpc5s

Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au

Enter THIS school event code. Then follow the 3 simple steps.

When you click finish, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically -

check your junk mail folder if you do not receive your email immediately.

You can return to www.schoolinterviews.com.au at any time, and change your inter-

views - until bookings close.

BOOKINGS OPEN TUESDAY 13TH MARCH

For parents/carers that don’t have access to the internet at home, at work, at a friend’s house or on their phones,

bookings may be made at the school office from Thursday 15th March onwards. Parents may also send a note to

school with the approximate times they require, or phone the school on 5672 0900 (Dudley) or 5671 3700

(McBride). Interviews are strictly 10 minutes and spaces are limited. Parents are asked to please only make one

booking per teacher even if your child has that teacher for more than one subject. If you require more

time, please contact your teacher directly to make alternative arrangements.

Parents can change their interview bookings, any time prior to the closing date, by re-visiting the

www.schoolinterviews.com.au website, and using the event code. Parents wishing to change their interview times

after the closing date should contact the school directly on: 5672 0900 (Dudley) or 5671 3700 (McBride)..

We would love to hear what you think about online booking. If you get time, click on the “contact us” button on the

www.schoolinterviews.com.au website, and leave some feedback - anonymously if you wish, but please include

the school’s name and suburb. Alternatively, you may give feedback to the school office.

Page 4 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Lunchtime Club

This year, 2018, sees the beginning of Monday lunchtime club! Different activities are available every Monday lunchtime and students are en-couraged to sign up in the library the Friday be-fore. Week one saw Year 7’s and 9’s learn to make Vietnamese rice paper rolls together, and make new friends at the same time. Learning about dif-ferent foods, traditions and cultures helps us all become more empathetic, open-minded and ad-venturous. It also develops our critical thinking skills. A very warm welcome to all of our new year 7s!

Family Update—Saver Plus

Saver Plus provides individuals and families on lower income the opportunity to have their savings matched dollar-for-dollar (up to $500) to pay for education costs. Find out more about your eligibility and how to apply by phoning 1300 610 355 or visit the Saver Plus website www.saverplus.org.au

Work Experience: May 7th—11th

A big part of the Year 10 Careers Curriculum is to organise and complete a week of work experience.. Year 10 students will be doing work experience during week 4 of term 2 this year.

Some students have been proactive in arranging this but there are many who are yet to commence organising their week of work experience. Work experience has many benefits for the students including:

Building self confidence,

Job prospects and networking opportunities

Career Planning

Students are encouraged to speak with their Careers Teachers and the Pathways Team if they need assistance with any aspect of their work experience.

A FREE Introduction to Indonesian workshop will be held on Monday March 26 at Dudley campus, at 6pm. Parents, family members and friends welcome! Come with or without your child (preferably with), and learn some phrases for your next Bali/Indonesia travels! Please reply to me at my email above to confirm if you are interested.

FREE Indonesian Workshop

Page 5 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Year 12 Tertiary Camp

Yet another wonderful Tertiary Camp occurred earlier this term. Eighty eight eager Year 12 students packed their

bags for an epic four days of walking around universities, bowling, watching a film at Cinema Nova, and generally

soaking up Melbourne life.

This group is to be commended for being simply, wonderful. They stuck to the sessions they had signed up for, and

were at the allocated places and time when asked to. As well, they were cohesive, excited, and terrific company.

While days one and four were locked in, with Monash Clayton and La Trobe Bundoora on Tuesday, and Deakin Bur-

wood on Friday, students chose a morning and afternoon session from a wide selection of options for Wednesday

and Thursday.

Thanks to all the staff involved:

Phil Hughes, Marg O’Donnell, Remi D’Agostin, Penny Morris, Genevieve Manhal, Pete Epifano, Sharon Christopher,

Jack Taylor.

- Antonio Castello, Year 12 Coordinator

Head Lice

There have been recent reported cases of head lice at the Dudley Campus. Please be vigilant in checking your child/

ren’s hair and use the appropriate treatment if required. More information can be obtained from your local Pharmacy.

Page 6 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

House Swimming Sports

Wednesday 14th of February may have been wet, cold and windy but it did not deter students from participating in the

College’s swimming sports. Students braved the conditions to swim in the Freestyle, Breastroke, Backstroke, Butter-fly and relay events but also had the opportunity to have a go in some novelty events.

After a delayed start Year 12 Sports Captains and MC for the day, Alana McRae and Laura Thompson got things underway with a number of heats being run across all events. Halfway through the carnival Garnham house were continuing their dominance leading the house points tally, with not much separating the remaining three houses. Novelty events for the day included; Face Painting, Human Hungry hippos, Sponge & Bucket relay, Donut eating contest and Tug of War. The Donut Eating Challenge was seen to be one of the most popular events, where stu-dents had the chance to show off their skills of eating a donut as quickly as possible without using their hands.

The Vanderkolk sisters and Muir brothers made an impression with their dominance in the pool, winning the majority of their individual events which is a great achievement. A final tally for the day saw Garnham house win its fifth con-secutive swimming Championship, followed by Luke (2

nd), Berry (3

rd) and Lovett (4

th).

Congratulations to all swimmers and a special mention to the following age group champions;

U13 Girls U13 Boys

1st – Jordi Vanderkolk 1

st – Angus Chisholm

Equal 2nd

– Jorja Newman & Hannah Simmons Equal 2nd

– Ryan Gray & Noah Robertson

U14 Girls U14 Boys

1st – Alicia Smith 1

st – Luke Muir

2nd

– Louise Strickland Equal 2nd

– Caleb Robertson & Jamieson Schmidt

U15 Girls U15 Boys

1st – Mayson Vanderkolk 1

st – Alex Muir

2nd

– Isabelle O’Neill 2nd

– Lochlan Hill

U16 Girls U16 Boys

1st – Jennifer Sokac 1

st – Max Newman

2nd

– Holly Hughes 2nd

—Nicholas Szutta

U17 Girls U17 Boys

1st – Lily Robinson 1

st – Jess Gislingham

2nd

– Juliette Townsend 2nd

– George Burgess

Page 7 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Interschool Swimming

Tuesday 20th February saw around 45 Wonthaggi students head back over to the Korumburra pool to compete

against the South Gippsland district.

WSC had a very successful day filling the majority of events and placing in the top three of most of these events.

Five new records were made by the College, with the most impressive one being a record from 1996 which was

smashed by 5 seconds by our 15 year girls freestyle relay team. Three other relay teams went on to claim new rec-

ords and Lily Robinson now holds the 50m breastroke record.

Overall, Wonthaggi finished second but also claimed the Girls Championship shield. The day also saw a number of

swimmers finish well in the Individual Champions. Jordi Vanderkolk (3rd

), Luke Muir (2nd

), Mayson Vanderkolk (1st),

Alex Muir (2nd

), Jen Sokac (1st), Nick Szutta (equal 1

st), Lily Robinson (equal 1

st), Jarrod Muir (2

nd) and Ella Hughes

(2nd

).

Well done to everyone who swam on the day and good luck for Gippsland round which is on Thursday March 15th in

Sale.

Upcoming Events

DUDLEY STUDENT INVESTITURE CEREMONY - Wednesday 21st March

- Student leaders, peer supports and house captains will be presented with their badges and congratulated on their roles for 2018 and their parents/guardians will be invited.

- Guest speaker: Andrew Flynn (an ex-student) will be talking about his post-school experiences.

- This will be followed by an afternoon tea in the Flexible Learning Centre.

HEARTKIDS OUT OF UNIFORM DAY—Friday 23rd March

- Heartkids is a charity supporting young people suffering from Congenital Heart Disease and their families.

- Students and staff will be asked to contribute a gold coin for non-uniform day to go to wards this charity.

- Theme: a splash of pink and red.

- Heartkids merchandise will be on sale.

- At our whole school assembly in the afternoon, we will have a guest speaker from Heartkids talking about their work and where the money for the non-uniform day will go to help.

* * * * * * * * * *

Page 8 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Defence Force Expo

Fifty students from Years 10, 11 and 12 had the opportunity to visit the Australian Defence Force’s Careers Expo recently. The Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton was chock full of interactive displays, Army vehicles, Defence Personnel and Recruitment and Careers Counsellors.

Wonthaggi Secondary School students had great access to the latest army vehicles including the Mercedes G-Wagon, Bushmaster Troop Carrier and other armoured vehicles.

Students were able to talk to many defence personnel about a wide range of career opportunities. Some students also took advantage of the Australian Defence Force Academy seminars on offer.

Other highlights included weapons demonstrations and displays, virtual reality experiences, Navy helicopter simu-lators and the Special Forces Training Centre display.

Recently, Year 12 Geography students travelled to the site of the former Pentridge Prison in Coburg to investigate how this iconic site is currently being developed into a residential and commercial precinct.

The students were given a guided tour by the site’s building manager and had access to some of the remaining prison buildings including B Division. This is a unique experience as this historic and iconic building will soon be transformed into luxury apartments.

Later in the day students were given further insights into the site’s heritage with a Ghost Tour of D Division – home to some of Victoria’s most infamous criminals such as Chopper Reid and Ronald Ryan.

Year 12 Geography Field Trip—Pentridge Prison

5 Year 7 Camp Yr 12 Supreme Court Excursion

6 Year 7 Camp

7 Year 7 Camp Yr 12 Supreme Court Excursion

8 Dudley Incursion - Questacon

9 Yr 12 Physics at Luna Park Girls/Boys Super 8’s Cricket

12 LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

13 Grip Leadership Con-ference

14

15 Gippsland Swimming - Sale

16 Hike to Higher Education 16-19th Wonthaggi HPV 16-18th

19 Hike to Higher Education

20 Year 9 Incursion

21 Dudley Investiture Ceremony

22 WSC Athletics Day Year 11 Supreme Court Excursion

23 Dudley Campus Out of Uniform Day for Heartkids

26 Parent Teacher Inter-view Night at Dudley Campus 4– 7pm FREE Indonesian Workshop

27 Year 8 Geology Excur-sion TBC

28 Year 8 Geology Excur-sion TBC

29 Yr 8 Geology Excur-sion TBC LAST DAY TERM 1

30 GOOD FRIDAY

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

16 FIRST DAY TERM 3

17 18 State Swimming MSAC

19 20

23 24 Interschool Athletics

25 ANZAC DAY

26 27 Primary School District Sports

WE

EK

8

WE

EK

6

WE

EK

7

WE

EK

9

WE

EK

1

Page 9 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

School Calendar

Like our Facebook page:

Wonthaggi Secondary College

Please advise the General Office if you have

updated your email address and/or would

prefer to receive future newsletters online.

Thank you

WE

EK

2

Page 10 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

National Harmony Day Community Event

Re: National Harmony Day Community Event, Saturday 24

th March 2018

I am writing to invite your school and students in both Junior and Senior Campus’ to participate in next year’s Nation-al Harmony Day community event to be held in Wonthaggi on Saturday 24

th March, 2018.

Australia’s National Harmony Day began in 1999 as a day on which we affirm and celebrate the rich cultural diversity in Australia. Harmony Day also coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Dis-crimination.

Over the last 70 years seven million migrants have made Australia their home and almost half of Australians were born overseas or have a parent who was. People from more than 200 countries make up our Australian community and 300 languages are spoken in our homes.

This year we are marking the day with a colourful Street Parade (led by the Wonthaggi Citizens Band) from Apex Park, up McBride Ave to the Wonthaggi Town Hall where a Harmony Day Program comprising music, presentations, the launch of a new photo exhibition ‘Many Faces: One Community’, cultural dance and food tastings will be conduct-ed!

Part of the program will include the acknowledgement and presentation of the inaugural ‘Local Harmony Hero’ Awards. These awards will be given to individuals and organizations who promote and /or lead by example in exemplifying the value of cultural diversity and inclusiveness in our community and work places.

We are keen to hear from you if you have someone or a group you would like to nominate as a ‘Community Harmony Hero’. Nomination forms can be obtained by emailing us at Wonthaggi Neighbourhood Centre mitch-ellhouse@dcsi.net.au or by calling in during the month of February. The cut-off date for nominations is Friday 10

th

March.

We would also like to invite students from your school to participate as a group in the Street Parade through an arts based activity (e.g. carrying flags, signs, a banner, dressing in the colour orange) and by encourag-ing children and parents from culturally diverse backgrounds to march in their national dress.

Harmony Day is a national celebration of our cultural diversity and a time to reflect on the importance of respecting each other and our differences. Leslie Smith, a member of our Steering Committee will be in touch in the new week or so to discuss the ways in which your school could be involved.

We look forward to joining with you and your students in helping to spread the Federal Governments message that

‘everyone belongs’ in our community and our country!

Please contact me: 5672 3731 for further information or details. Yours Sincerely Jan Bourne, Coordinator Wonthaggi Harmony Day Event 2018, Wonthaggi Neighbourhood Centre

‘Building Community Spirit’

Wonthaggi Neighbourhood Centre at Mitchell House Inc. 6 Murray Street, Wonthaggi P.O Box 175, Wonthaggi. 3995 Ph: 5672 3731 Email: mitchellhouse@dcsi.net.au

Page 11 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Community Announcements

The Wonthaggi Soccer Club is currently looking for a new Club President. The club has had a very success-ful 12 years and has grown to over 150 members in the 2017 season. Can you help?

You don't have to have any previous experience, just a passion for our club. Your role would include:

- Attending GSL meetings monthly at Korumburra

- Liaising with other Clubs in the league weekly throughout the season

- Being the Club spokesperson

The President would have the full support of Gippsport Victoria who are able to assist step by step throughout the season. The Club is also seeking Coaches for the 2018 Season.

Please contact the Secretary, Alycia Marotta, if you have any questions.

mailto:wonthaggisoccerclub@gmail.com] Mob: 0400 110 115

Blood Donors needed in Wonthaggi - can you help? Wonthaggi needs +130 appointments filled in March to help patients experi-

encing cancer, blood disorders, trauma & surgery. A donation takes less than 1 hour and can save up to 3 lives.

The Donor Mobile Unit will be located at:

Big W Car Park, 5 Biggs Street, Wonthaggi

To make a booking please call 13 14 95

Page 12 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

CONTACT US

McBRIDE CAMPUS: McBride Avenue, Wonthaggi 3995 Phone: 5671 3700 Fax: 5672 1578

DUDLEY CAMPUS: South Dudley Road, Wonthaggi 3995 Phone: 5672 0900 Fax: 5672 4136

MAIL ADDRESS: PO Box 119, Wonthaggi 3995 WEB ADDRESS: www.wonthaggisc.vic.edu.auEMAIL ADDRESS: wonthaggi.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au

Used Batteries

Return your household batteries for FREE at any Aldi store for recycling. Household batteries—AA, AAA, C, D

and 9V— can now be dropped in to the dedicated bins at your nearest Aldi

store or at the Dudley Campus General Office.

Community Announcements cont’d