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Dates to Remember

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September

  • Wednesday 7th – GAT Exam – Session A – 9.30am-11.45am
    • Session B – 1.15pm-3.00pm
  • Wednesday 7th – Teacher Professional Practice Day – Student free day
  • Thursday 8th – ESC Spring Concert – EPAC – 6.00pm-7.30pm
  • Monday 12th-Wednesday 14th – Year 9 Advance Camp
  • Friday 16th September – Last day of Term

October

  • Monday 3rd – Curriculum day – No school
  • Tuesday 4th – First day of Term 4
  • Monday 10th-Wednesday 12th – Year 11 Outdoor Ed. Camp

Principal’s Report

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3 way conferences – students, parents and teachers

As I pen this missive, our student/parent/teacher conferences are underway. This is an opportunity for all of us to share successes, build relationships with our entire community and look ahead at how to support and enhance the learning landscape for all our students. Nothing has changed in our charter and vision to bring all our parents along for the educational journey. Next year will see a new daily timetable, a new curriculum for students in Years 9 and 10, the new Vocational Major (VM) will take effect, greater scope for acceleration (subject to meeting college selection criteria) and more partnerships with VET providers outside our network cluster.

Final weeks for our Year 12 students

Our VCE and VCAL cohort are entering their final few weeks of their secondary schooling. There are still SACs to complete, projects to finalise and competencies that need to be completed. Our wonderful staff are working harder than ever to help our students achieve their personal best – it’s a two way street! Students must realise that they must do ALL the work, and then some, to achieve their aspirant goals.

There are celebrations planned within the College and we expect our cohort to finish their year well, with good humour, friendliness and full of class. It is imperative that there is an understanding that other year levels are yet to complete the year.

Senior School leaders, Mr Jack Talbot and Mrs Bri Holder will distribute key dates for all our families – please check the recent information from our Compass Newsfeed.

Wear It Purple Day….

….was a great day for all our students. Yours truly looks quite resplendent in purple nail polish, as we all came together to celebrate this international day to raise awareness of the experiences of LGBTIQA+ young people and to show them that there is hope, support and acceptance for those with diverse sexuality, sex and/or gender and they have the right to be proud of who they are. Thank you to the Wellbeing team and to all our external partners for all their hard work in organising the lunchtime activities.

2022 Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS/CAREGIVERS/GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. A random list of approximately 30% of our families have been sent a link to complete the survey. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. We encourage all families that have been selected to participate in this survey – it should take no more than 20 minutes of your time. Our college will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. Next year, we will expand the sample size to include all our families in this survey.

The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Wednesday 24th August to Friday 16th September.

 

James Barut – Principal

Assistant Principals’ Report

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Parent Teacher Interviews

Thank you to the families that booked and attended the recent parent teacher interviews. We hope that the conversation around your child’s achievement and learning growth was productive and that goals and strategies for further learning are able be put into practice to support each student in their continued learning.

For families who were unable to make a booking due to other commitments, here is a reminder of our positive learning behaviours that we use at Emerald Secondary College during class time.  You may wish to discuss with your child how they demonstrate these learning behaviours during class time.

Please keep an eye on the Compass newsfeed, as we will be seeking feedback from our school families regarding the recent parent teacher conferences.  We would like information on the booking process and format of the conferences.

 

 

Spring Music Concert

The music teachers and Instrumental music staff have been hard at work with their students this term.  Of particular focus over the past two terms has been the forming of ensemble groups and bands, as this was particularly difficult during times of Lock down and Remote learning.  I am happy to report that the College has many bands, Ensembles and choir that have been meeting and practicing their skills together regularly.

To share with the school community, the Instrumental music department will be showcasing a Spring Concert in our Performing Arts Centre next Thursday evening. Entry for the audience will be a donation of $5, which will be used by the music department for the purchasing of new instruments.

Year 7 Scholarships closing soon.

Year 7 scholarships for 2023 are closing this week.

Scholarship applications have been open since Friday 12th August.

Emerald Secondary College offers the opportunity for students to apply for scholarships (generally 5) who are enrolled at Year 7 level for 2023. The scholarships will recognize excellence in academic achievement and other areas which the College has been identified as priorities for 2023:

  • General Academic Excellence
  • SEAL
  • Art
  • Performing Art
  • Sport.

The General Academic Excellence, SEAL, Art, Performing Art and Sport Scholarships will contribute to the educational costs for the successful students first year of Secondary school. Each Scholarship will cover the essential student learning item fees for Year 7 in 2023.

We look forward to meeting with our shortlisted applicants for an interview early in term four.

Ancient History Excursion

We currently have ancient history classes running in Year 9 (The Mysterious Ancient Past), Year 10 (Disasters of the Ancient Past), Year 11 (Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt), and Year 12 (Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome).

This term students were lucky enough to visit the NGV for ‘The Ancient World’ exhibition as well as the ‘Open Horizons’ exhibit at Melbourne Museum. On this day, the years 10-12 Ancient History classes were able to explore a variety of interesting and intriguing artefacts allowing students to extend their knowledge of Ancient Civilizations!

Thank you to Ms Clayworth for organising this experience for our students.

Janine McMahon – Assistant Principal

Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Students

I hope you are all well. Term 3 has so far been another busy term for the College.

It is an honour to re-engage with Emerald Secondary College and to re-join this extraordinary school community. I can assure you that I share in this school community’s commitment to caring for your children each and every day while providing them with a successful learning environment.

I look forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our children can achieve their highest potential. We recognise that in order to be successful in school, our children need support from both the home and school. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our children’s success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that he/she:

1) Attends school daily and arrives on time, ready for the day’s learning experience

2) Completes all lesson plans, activities and learning tasks given by teachers

3) Shares school experiences with you so that you are aware of his/her school life

4) Informs you if he/she needs additional support in any area or subject

To strengthen our partnership and allow each student at Emerald Secondary College to ‘Access Excellence’ high expectations are necessary, but are fruitless without great support. Each student’s journey is for them to chart and individual growth requires community support.

Our school policies are all available on our College website and regular communication is posted on our Compass newsfeed regarding uniform, attendance and engagement so that you and your child can review them together. If you have any questions about the College policies and expectations, please feel free to contact me or to discuss them with your child’s teacher. It is very important that you and your child are fully informed regarding standards related to appropriate uniform, attendance, and behaviour for a safe and productive College.

As a College, we are mindful of the most recent weather forecasts rain, low temperatures and the potential of high winds.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all our families about uniform expectations:

  • It makes sense that all our students should dress appropriately for the weather in Emerald. A warm jumper or something similar, under the rugby top or shell jacket would be a priority. Sometimes, this is confused with the wearing of a hoodie, and just to reiterate, hoodies are NOT on the uniform list
  • Non ESC track suit pants are also not part of our school uniform – PSW offer ESC branded track suit pants that are uniform compliant, or blue uniform pants
  • The College will also support our students by offering warm meeting places at recess and lunchtime, away from the inclement weather
  • If your son/daughter requires a uniform pass, this is available from the relevant Sub School before the start of the school day

Emerald Secondary College is a uniform school. A school uniform allows connectedness, equality and creates school pride. We want all our interactions with our students to remain positive however there will be follow up for students who continue to make poor choices.

To match our high expectations with high support we have had a uniform delivery to Emerald Secondary College. If you have outgrown your school uniform or need to buy more uniform but can’t get to Officer please place an order by 4pm on September 2nd.

We have been working closely with our uniform suppliers and we are happy to announce we have organised a delivery of uniform to Emerald SC on Monday 5th September.

Lastly our Middle school students celebrated an awards assembly where students were recognised for Endeavor achievement in their classes. Students received a certificate and celebrated their achievements with their peers and teachers. Congratulations to the students for showing Endeavour in their learning.

We look forward to the upcoming celebration assemblies to finish off the term as we create long lastly memories for our students at Emerald Secondary College.

 

Many thanks again for your ongoing support of the College.

Jarrad Donders – Acting Assistant Principal

Science

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National Science Week

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. Running each year in August, it features more than 1000 events around Australia, including those delivered by universities, schools, research institutions, libraries, museums and science centres. These events attract a wide audience from children to adults, and science amateurs to professionals. Over one million people participate in science events across the nation.

Here at ESC we were excited that after two years of cancellations due to lockdowns, Science Week was up and running with special activities in science classes as well as optional activities available at lunchtimes. This year’s theme was “Glass: More than Meets the Eye.”  Students had the opportunity to learn about all the ways glass affects our lives.  They explored microscopes, telescopes, mirrors and prisms, cameras and film, made a kaleidoscope, and much more!

The photo contest winners for Science Week are:

First Place

Ben McGough 10B (Light & Liquid)

Mitchell Blackwell 10E (Space & Sky)

Jayden Regan 7A (Micrograph) – Junior School winner

Second Place

Nate Denham (9G (Nature)

Isy Pittard 7C  (Nature & Micrograph) – Junior School runner up

Ava Griffin 8G (Light & Liquid)

Ashley Forster – Science Domain Leader

PE & Sport

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District Athletics – Knox Athletics Track – August 30th 2022

It was cold, wet day when 50 students headed off to complete in the District Athletics. Despite the rain we have some outstanding results, with many students qualifying for Regional Athletics in October.

Some notable results are listed below, please note final results have not been published yet so I may have missed some.

  • Jonathan Malseed 1st Long Jump
  • Syd Neilson 1st Shot Put & Javelin
  • Cameron Fryer 1st 100m & Long Jump
  • Ziggy Ryan 1st 800m
  • Jarrad Smith 1st Javelin
  • Miah Beardshaw 1st 400m, 800m & 1500m
  • Briony Woods 1st Long Jump, Triple Jump & Shot Put
  • Bella Lloyd 1st Triple Jump
  • Saige Van Haren 1st Shot Put
  • Alice Mattille 1st Javelin

Special thanks to Mr Fairburn & Mr Kawakami, for helping out on the day and standing in the rain to make the day a success.

Yvonne Mauger – Sports Co-ordinator

Duke of Edinburgh

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Cairns/Far North Queensland Trip

Last holidays a group of 13 students and 2 staff were lucky enough to participate in a Duke of Edinburgh sponsored trip to Cains and Far North Queensland. The eight-day trip involved hiking, camping, sight seeing and Indigenous Cultural Tours. Well done to Kiara, Violet, Caitlin, Indianna, Nicky, Harry, Ben, Levi, Miah, Angelika, Teagan, Toby and Zac on your positivity, behaviour and respect shown throughout the trip.  Emerald Secondary College would like to thank the Duke of Edinburgh Award for their sponsorship that allowed students to gain this fantastic experience.

Two student reflections are included below:

“The FNQ trip was by far the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever experienced. The trip provided me with amazing, lifelong memories that I will cherish forever. The trip consisted of many hikes; Stoney Creek to Kuranda, Baldy-Yabi circuit, Lambs Head Range and Turtle Rock hike. To add to this, we spent 2 days around camp at Emerald Creek, learning skills on how to read a map, navigation and Rogaining, we then participated in a rogaining competition. We spent a lot of our afternoons swimming in the nearby creek, at Emerald Creek Falls and at a Crater Lake. We visited the Curtain Fig Tree, which was pretty incredible. For the last 2 nights we stayed at Cairns Colonial Resort, we spent a morning with Kuku Yalangi people learning about their culture and putting some into practice where we went spearing crabs, cracking open coconuts, and making necklaces out of shells we found on the beach. In the afternoon we made our way to Mossman Gorge, we did a tour with the Yalada people. The Yalada tour was by far one of my favourite moments, I enjoyed learning about how the indigenous people interacted with the environment. Overall, this experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I learnt skills that I will keep with me forever and met people that have become lifelong friends. I will miss the great views after a steep hike, all the great people that we met along our trip and the laughs and memories we made together.”

“The Cairns trip was a great experience, and I enjoyed every moment of it. There was a lot of memories made that will last a lifetime with the friends that I have made. With leaving from school at 4 a.m. I thought I would sleep on the plane and the bus, but I didn’t because I was too excited. The first day of walking was tough because it was humid and raining, we were not used to it. The Rogaining was an activity that was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I learnt how to read a map well and how to use a compass to take bearings. Lambs Head was the biggest walk that we did, gaining lots of elevation on the way up and losing a lot to get back down. The view was totally worth it though, with walking through such pretty dry and wet forest. Turtle Rock was a smaller climb with also a great view of all the other mountains. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the local indigenous people and learning how they live. I enjoyed learning about the didgeridoo and all the types of boomerangs. I now want to get a didgeridoo and learn how to play the fabulous instrument. What was also great was I was one of the only few to spear a crab (after being taught how to hunt these by the local indigenous tribe). It was great hearing all the aboriginal stories through Mossman gorge and how they used the surrounding resources. The views and the waterfalls were all amazing and I wish I could have more time there. I deepened my relationships with the people I already knew and made new friends throughout the trip. What a great experience!!!”

Shane Closter – Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator

Middle School

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Middle School Celebration

It’s been a busy term for Middle School students. As the term draws to a close, it is important that students keep up to date with their Learning Tasks. A reminder that Common Assessment Tasks can be accessed through Compass and to please be in touch with classroom teachers or the sub-school office if we can be of any assistance.

Last Thursday we held a special Assembly to acknowledge the efforts of students who last semester achieved Endeavour Awards in their studies. Endeavour Awards are given to students who have demonstrated a consistent effort in a subject area. The Assembly was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the College’s Positive Learning Behaviours and celebrate the achievements of so many.

Rebecca Arnold – Middle School Education & Engagement Leader

Senior School

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Senior Sub-School News

As our Year 12 students go through their final (ever!) classes, we are looking ahead to the exciting and important period ahead.

Below you’ll find information about our end of year plans for both Year 11s and 12s.

Because we have VCAL, Unscored and Scored students there is a multi-tiered approach required, so please read through the following information carefully:

Friday September 16th Last day of classes for Senior VCAL and Unscored students.

Senior VCAL and Unscored students will need to submit their Clearance Form (available on Compass and the Senior School Office) to the Senior Sub-School to ensure they have met requirements. Students who successfully complete the Clearance Form are not required back at school in Term 4.

October 4th – 14th

(Week 1 & 2)

Year 12 VCE classes continue to run (exam preparation).

Any VCAL or Unscored students with coursework outstanding or a low-attendance rate will be required back at school with their regular classroom teachers: students have until Friday October 14th to meet requirements.

Tuesday October 4th  (Week 1) Wole school assembly, which will include a section to farewell the Year 12 cohort (speeches from captains, etc.).
Monday October 17th (Week 3) Last day of VCE classes.
Tuesday October 18th (Week 3) Celebration morning to farewell Year 12s (breakfast with families in the canteen and quadrangle followed by a Year 12-only assembly in E-Pac during p1). All Year 12s will be offsite before the start of recess.

Other Year 12 News

Have you seen the 2022 Year 12 End of Year Policy? This is now available on Compass newsfeed – please read it so that you understand our expectations of Year 12 students during this critical period.

Also, this week Year 12 students were sent home with forms and information for the Valedictory, which will be held on November 16th at Bunjil Place. Please read and return forms to the Senior Sub-School as soon as possible.

Year 11 End of Year Plans

November 7th and 8th (Monday and Tuesday Week 8) Year 11 exam revision days (no timetabled classes to allow Year 11 students time to prepare for exams).
November 9th – 17th Year 11 exam period
November 21st – 25th Kickstart week for 2023 Year 11 and 12 classes (VCAL/VM and VCE). During this week our current Year 10s move to Year 11 and our current Year 11s move to Year 12. Students will “kickstart” their 2023 classes and will be given coursework to complete over the holiday period.
November 25th  (Friday, Week 8) Last day of school for all Year 11 VCAL and VCE students.

 

Good luck to all our senior students with their upcoming assessment periods!

Senior Sub-School Team

Jack Talbot, Bri Holder, Sema Yildirim, Meg Gogerly

Drama

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Tales of the Night Sky Production

Up for a bit of theatre?  A small and very dedicated group of year 10 and 12 students have been working on an intimate performance this term.

The piece is called ‘Tales of the Night Sky’ and involves a number of short, individual pieces related to the stars.

The performance will be held on Thursday 15th of September, at 6:30pm in the Emerald Performing Arts Centre, Emerald College.

Entry is free and the piece will be less than an hour, so come along and help bring some life and warmth (and the night!) into our theatre and chase away the emptiness that has settled on the building over the last few years!

Peter McKenzie – Drama Teacher

Wellbeing & Disability Inclusion

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Wear it Purple Day

We celebrated Wear it Purple day on Monday – Wear it Purple Day an annual LGBTIQA+ awareness day especially for young people, based in Australia. Supporters wear purple to celebrate diversity and young people from the LGBTIQA+ community.   The 4 main focus areas of Wear it Purple Day are awareness, opportunity, environment and collaboration.

We celebrated this day with Cardinia Shire Council Youth Services and Officers from the local police station.  We painted nails, painted faces, coloured our hair and made a beautiful fingerprint tree.  The day was organised by a very dedicated group of young people with the support of Cardinia Shire youth workers.  Every Monday at lunch time, we open up Wellbeing for the Gay Straight Alliance, a place our students can get together, support each other, learn and organise fun days like Wear it Purple Day – It was a wonderful day

Felicity Wooden – Wellbeing Co-ordinator

Learning Resource Centre

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Book Week

“Dreaming with Eyes Open” was the theme for Book Week this year and to celebrate we held some activities in the Learning Resource Centre last week.

We held a Poem Writing Competition and Mr Barut announced the winners and handed out their special Awards and Prizes.

A big congratulations to the following students:

  • Claire Aspinall – 1st place – Year 7
  • Charlize Wallace – 2nd place – Year 7
  • Taesha Korsten – 1st place – Year 8
  • Ella O’Brien – 1st place – Year 9

Students also enjoyed completing word searches and writing book reviews and receiving their small gift prizes.

Also congratulations to Hilary Green who was the winner of both the Word Search and Book Review and received her special Award and Prize.

The following students were the winners for the Word Searches:

  • Ava Gelastopoulos
  • Myra Incoll
  • Indianna Boatto
  • Anabelle Dewar

 

Thank you to Mr Barut for joining us and presenting the Prizes to the Poem Writer winners and our Word Search and Book Review winners.

The Learning Resource Team 

General News

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Caps and Beanies

Do you want to be warm and toasty in this cold Winter weather? Why not buy an ESC beanie to help keep those cold Winter chills away.

ESC caps and beanies are now available for purchase from the finance office and also PSW (uniform shop).

The caps are selling for $16.95 and the beanies are selling for $15.00.

Community Announcements

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Spring Has Sprung – and Christmas is on the Way

Time to make a little money and get rid of all those things that have been gathering dust over the last few years….since the pandemic began – and even before that.

EMERALD & DISTRICT ROTARY IS HAVING A MASSIVE SPRING MARKET & CAR BOOT SALE!

  • WHEN:   Saturday 10th of September 2022 TIME:  8.00 AM – 1.00 PM (And continuing the second Saturday of each month after that, except January)
  • WHERE:   Emerald Primary School Oval –  Heroes Ave, Emerald
  • COST:   $25.00 – All proceeds go to the Local Community, through Rotary

Fill the boot of your car;  get the kids to empty out their cupboards, bring a table if you like to set things up – or just a blanket!  Bring a chair to sit on, although you’ll be so busy selling you won’t have time to sit!

It’s a great day out and what a wonderful opportunity to clear up some space in the cupboards or the garage and of course make some extra cash.

SO YOU WILL NEED TO:

Fill in the online application form https://forms.gle/N7Q3zG3ZtZuvm83X6

You can also like & follow Emerald Rotary Market on Facebook & Instagram!

For further information on what your local Rotary Club does, go to our website:  https://www.emeraldrotary.org.au

See you on the 10th of September…

 

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