PI would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our students and their parents to the
Principal’s Report— 20th March 2015
March 20th 2015 #02
Postponement of Term Two Pupil Free Day
Contents
Please note that the pupil free day that has previously been advertised for the first day of
Term 2 has been postponed until a date later in the term. Classes for all students commence
on Day 1 of Term 2 – April 13th, 2015.
School Board
Principal’s Report
1
Assistant Principals’ Report
2
Open Day & Expo Night
3
Admin Matters
4
TiqBiz
5
Year 7 Sport
6
At the first meeting of the new School Board (March 16 th) the following office holders were
confirmed: President Jade Lees-Pavey; Vice President Kay Lockhart; Treasurer Lisa Cannon.
VCAL Workplace Safety
7
Term 1 Interim Reports and Compass School Manager
Swim-Fest 2015
8-9
Student Wellbeing
10
Community
Announcements
11
Advertising
12
Dates to Remember
Tuesday 17th March
College Open Day &
Evening Expo
Tuesday 17th March
Year 9 Sport - External
Friday 27th March
Term 1 ends - 2:30 pm finish
Monday 13th April
Term 2 starts for students
8:30 am.
Thursday 16th April
Whole School Athletics
Saturday 18th April
Vision Portraits Fund Raiser
I would like to thank the parents and staff who nominated for the recent vacancies on the
School Board of Somerville Secondary College. Congratulations to returning parent
members Lisa Cannon and Angela Quigley and new parent members Philip Beattie, Jade
Lees-Pavey, Kay Lockhart and Cally McNulty. Congratulations to returning DET
representative Catherine Arnold. Congratulations also to Sarah Mataitoga and Tom Burton
(School Captains) who were elected to the School Board in the Community Member
category.
Early next week all families will receive a letter from the school containing their Compass
Parent Portal login details. The portal is located at https://somervillesc.vic.jdlf.com.au
(which can be also accessed via the link on the school website at http://
www.somervillesc.vic.edu.au). Parents should not share their username and password with
students (who have their own login details). Instructions for using the parent portal can also
be download from the school website. Parents will be able to access students reports via the
Compass Parent Portal. Parents also have access to attendance data, student timetables,
learning and assessment tasks. During Term 2 parents will also be able to electronically sign
excursion permission forms and make electronic payments via the portal. The letter will also
contain a printed copy of the Term 1 Interim Report but this is the last general mail-out of
reports that will occur. In future all reports will be available via the portal and will not be
posted home unless parents indicate that they cannot access the portal.
Student Learning Devices 2015
The letter going home to parents next week will also contain paperwork for the rollout of the
2015 SLD Tablet Program. Parents who wish to participate in the program will need to
return the completed forms to the school by Friday April 17. Parents who wish to find out
more information are welcome to that information evening on Tuesday April 14 at 6:30 p.m.
All existing ACER 1830T SLDs are now at the end of their agreement term and as of the end
of Term 1 will no longer be covered by extended warranty or insurance programs. Students
may continue to use their existing ACER SLD until the end of 2015 but the cost of repairs
and maintenance, if necessary, will need to be met by the parents. The replacement SLD is a
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Type keyboard which will be covered by an extended warranty
and accidental damage policy as part of the per term payments. The Surface Pro 3 is very
similar to the SLD rolled out to 2014 Year 7s and has proven to be an excellent student
learning device. The price of the machines to parents will be kept to a minimum (in line with
the existing Surface Pro 2 SLD) by using the bulk purchasing power of the school. The
school will provide full technical support and cover all software licensing costs for the SLDs.
To make the most of access to the Compass School Manager portal all students should have
access to an SLD.
End of Term 1
I wish staff, students and parents a restful Term 1 break and look forward to seeing student
on Day 1 of Term 2 – April 13th. Continued next page.
Chris Lloyd
Principal’s Report continued...
Korean Sister School Visit
As part of our New Pedagogies for Deep Learning program we have been investigating establishing sister school relationships with
schools in other countries. As a result of our efforts we have established a relationship with SMA 1 Kudus in Central Java and
also with Eom-Gung Middle School in South Korea. We have the opportunity to host a visit from our South Korean Sister School
during Term 3, 2015 and I would like to hear from parents who would be interested in hosting a couple of students for a 3 week
period. Korean students learn English from an early age so all visitors will be able to converse in English comfortably. Host
families are paid to host a pair of students for the duration of the visit. There is also an opportunity for the students of host
families to be part of a reciprocal visit to South Korea in 2016 which will be subsidized by the South Korean YMCA. The only
cost to students/parents will be the airfare – all other costs will be picked up by the Busan YMCA Program. This is a great
opportunity for students of Somerville SC to learn firsthand about other cultures in the Asia region. If you are interested in hosting
2 students from South Korea and you have a son or daughter at the school in Years 8 – 11 please contact me at the school either
via letter, phone (03 5973 1000) or email: [email protected] by the beginning of Term 2.
Chris Lloyd
Assistant Principals’ Report.
A very short Term One has flown by but, as usual, we have packed a lot into it.
Swimming Sports
The day was perfect for a day at the pool - blue, sunny skies, glistening water and students dressed colourfully in
House Colours. Days such as these are a nice break in routine for students and staff and an opportunity to interact
with each other away from school and the classroom. It was fantastic to see students putting in an effort to swim for
their house and cheering each other on. Non- competitors had a chance to get wet in the novelty events run in the
small pool.
The students who attended are those who consistently participate fully in school life which is not just about studying
subjects in a classroom. I urge those parents whose sons and daughters chose not to attend this compulsory event to
support the school in insisting that their child attends all school events.
Student Leaders
This year we asked prospective school captains to submit an application form, then present for an interview with
myself, Chris Lloyd and Helena Anggraeni, the Student Leadership Coordinator. We were very impressed by the
calibre of applicants and their earnest desire to represent the school and be the student voice for all of our students. I
would like to congratulate Sarah Mataitoga and Tom Burton who will be our 2015 School Captains and Jessica
Lanigan and Sam McLean who will be our Vice Captains.
Lynn Motteram
2015 is well under way. School photos have been completed and should soon be delivered. Academically the year has
started very well indeed and it is always pleasing to conduct school tours with prospective parents who almost
inevitably comment on how quiet the classes are and how friendly the tone of the school is. It often takes an outsider to
highlight what we take for granted.
We have already completed our swimming sports, the Year 7 and 12 camps , the Hands On Learning program is up and
running with increased energy and we are adding to the activities available to students at lunchtimes. Every Monday we
have a craft group hosted by some local volunteers, on Tuesday we have Energise Games in the gym and next term
Mornington Youth Services will begin regular activities on Wednesdays. Each Thursday the school hosts board games
for students in the library and on Fridays we have the Martial Arts Therapy ( MAT ) program. The school is really keen
to encourage ever more interaction with our local community and we are currently working with our local Rotary club
to outfit a weights and fitness centre for our students to use.
This year there has seen a dramatic change to the government’s policy in relation to student vaccinations. In light of
community health concerns over parents electing not to have their children immunised, the government will now
vaccinate all students unless the parents actively opt out of the program. A letter to this effect was sent home at the start
of the year so it is timely to remember that consent forms should be returned ASAP as the first round of injections will
take place on Tuesday March 24.
Page 2
Jamie Robertson.
We Rocked on Open Day and Expo Evening!
Thank you for taking part in our
Tours, Displays, Activities and Expo!
We were delighted to welcome so many prospective parents on Tuesday 17th March for organised day time tours.
This gave our visitors a rare chance to see classes in action.
For the evening, the gym was transformed into an informative and innovative Subject Expo. Displays clearly
showed courses and electives available for students as they move through their school life to graduation and
further studies. This type of showcasing provides students and parents with valuable information when making
subject selection.
Somerville Transition Program
Over the last couple of days a big team of Year 7 volunteers visited our local primary schools as part of the Transition
Program from Grade 6 to Year 7. Students spoke about aspects they have liked and enjoyed about Year 7 and gave the
primary school students an insight into what a day at high school looks like. Every Year 7 representative spoke
clearly and represented Somerville Secondary College in a positive way.
Ms May would like to thank the following students for doing such a fantastic job; Victoria, Amy , Lauren, Chelsea,
Ebony, Bella, Jack, Lacey-Paige, Patrick, Michael, Brianna, Tamika, Lucy, Caitlin, Trent, Breanna, Jaymee, Bethany,
Lachlan, Chelsea, Jett and Alia..
This is also a good reminder for parents to get our name out to the community about all the fantastic things we are
doing here at SSC. Please remember to advertise to prospective parents our Open Day, 9:00am to 1:00pm for school
tours and Expo night, 5:00pm to 7:00pm coming up on the 17th of March. It is an opportunity to come and see classes
in action and all those good things we offer at SSC.
Catherine May
Year 11 Coordinator/Transition Coordinator
Page 3
Admin Matters
Student Absence From School
STUDENT ABSENCE LINE: 5973 1098
If your son or daughter is going to be absent from school, please phone our Absence Line as early as possible on
the day of the absence, stating the student name, form, reason for the absence and expected return date. A note
is still required upon your son/daughter returning to school.
Mrs Myriam Camilleri is our Attendance Officer and she will be contacting families whose child is absent
unexplained. Phoning the Absence Line will save having to phone home for an explanation.
Late Arrival at School
If your son or daughter is going to be late for school, please send them along with a note explaining the reason
for their late arrival. Students should arrive at school around 8:20am ready for Form Assembly at 8:30am.
Students are expected to be at their Form Room promptly at 8:30am. Those students arriving late without a note
from their parent/guardian will receive a lunchtime detention.
Payment of College Fees
Family statements will be sent out to all families shortly. This statement will outline outstanding payments for
2015 College fees, if anything at all. Payment of these fees would be appreciated immediately. If you are
unable to pay immediately, please contact the Administration office who will gladly arrange a payment plan to
suit your needs. Please note that all VET fees, VCAL fees and electives should have been paid already.
Payment Plans for College Fees
If you are unable to pay your College fees in full, we are more than happy to discuss the option of a payment
plan. By doing this, it means you can make regular payments (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) at a cost that is
affordable to you. It is advisable that you sign up to a payment plan early in the year so that your payments can
be paid over a longer period of time and therefore making them more affordable to you. By signing up later in
the year, your payment plan will of course be higher than it needs to be.
We have various options available:
Centrepay – If you receive family allowance or pension payments from Centrelink every fortnight, you can
elect to have an amount deducted from your payment. This payment will come to us automatically
every fortnight. There are no fees involved for you.
Credit Card:
We will deduct the agreed amount through our Eftpos facilities here at the College. All
you need to do is provide your Credit Card number, Expiry Date and complete the Authority Form and
we will do the rest.
Periodical Payment:
Have a regular payment deducted automatically from your chosen Banking
Institution. Again all you need to do is complete the relevant form available here at the office and take
this completed form to your Bank to commence deductions.
If you would like to commence a payment plan, please feel free to call the College and speak with one of our
ladies in the Admin Office who can discuss the various options with you.
Phone: 5973 1000
Page 4
Keep In Touch With TiqBiz
Tiqbiz is an easy to use app designed to allow Somerville Secondary College to communicate directly to
parents on their phones, tablets and computers. It will send messages, newsletters and has a calendar of
events.
Most importantly it will send ‘push notifications’ to your phone to alert you to any urgent messages or
information updates. This app will make you instantly aware for example if we have had to change a
sports day through poor weather, or if a bus is delayed back from a camp or excursion.
We would hope that as many parents and students who have either an iPhone or Smartphone will download this free app as we endeavour to improve our communication with our families.
A brochure is attached to this newsletter which clearly shows how to get started. If you have any problems doing this, the staff at tiqbiz are more than happy to help you. Call 9800 1489 between 8.30am and
5.30pm weekdays or email [email protected]
Tiqbiz Users – Update your Groups now!
With our Early Start Program rolling all our students over into 2015 year levels, you will need to go into
your Tiqbiz App and change your selected groups to the new group relevant to your son/daughter. To do
this:
Firstly open your Tiqbiz App. It will show a list of the groups you are currently in.
Click on the ‘UnTick’ tab at the bottom. You will get a list of groups you are currently in.
On the right hand side, you will see a green tick. Click on the tick that you no longer want to be in.
Click on ‘Find’ tab and click on ‘Search’.
Type in white field “Somerville Secondary’ and scroll down to green box ’Find’. Click ‘Find’. This will
bring up the complete list of groups in our school.
From here you then click on the tick at the right hand side of the group you wish to belong to.
From here you can the click the back button then ‘Inbox’. You will then see the groups you currently belong to.
If you have any difficulties with this, please phone Tiqbiz on 9800 1489 or the College Admin Office on
5973 1000.
Page 5
Year 7 Sport - Term 1
On Thursday 5th March, we sent out four Year 7 sports teams to compete in Interschool Sport. Our students
competed against other schools in Tennis, Softball, Cricket and Volleyball. We sent over 50 students out on
the day, the biggest group of students Somerville has ever sent to compete. Both the staff and students enjoyed the day, despite a scare of rain in the morning, and we are very proud of how well they represented our
school! We hope to send an even bigger group out in term two!
Page 6
Workplace Safety in the Real World
Recently our Intermediate and Senior VCAL students were lucky enough to spend a day exploring safety in the
workplace at the Port of Melbourne, working alongside the Port of Melbourne Authority. Having examined topics in
the classroom such as safety signage, hazards and risks and the dangers faced especially by young people in the
workplace, it was an amazing experience to audit the port and see safety in action. Our students were able to apply
their theory learning to real world experiences and certainly were not afraid to pose the hard questions to the Port
staff.
The ‘behind the scenes’ tour allowed our students opportunities not normally available to the public and they soon
gained a new-found appreciation of how important safety is both at the docks and in their own workplaces. Our
students were also able to explore a variety of potential career paths previously undiscovered and marvelled at the
fact that it is someone’s full time job to drive those fancy imported cars on and off ships travelling all over the world.
A big thanks to Mrs Arnold and Mrs Owens for providing such a rich learning opportunity for our vocationally
focused senior students.
Page 7
Swim Fest 2015!
From our bright and colourful Year 7 students
To our bright and colourful Senior students!
Everyone agrees that 2015 was the best Swim Carnival ever. Great team spirit!
Congratulations to Coolart for their overall win.
Page 8
Swim Fest 2015!
Page 9
Student Wellbeing
ONLINE SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
EHEADSPACE: www.eheadspace.org.au
1800 650 890
Online and telephone support service that helps young people who don’t feel ready to attend a center or who prefer
to talk about their problems via online chat, email or on the phone.
BITE BACK: www.biteback.org.au
An ever-changing space where young people can discover ways to amplify the good stuff in life, share real and personal stories with others, check out videos, blogs and interviews of interesting people, check and track their mental
fitness, and get their teeth stuck in to a bunch of activities.
ITSALLRIGHT: www.itsallright.org
1800 18 7263
Dealing with a mental health condition in a family can be hard. Read or listen to fact sheets, podcasts and the diaries
of four teenagers, based on real stories, for clear facts and information.
SOMAZONE: www.somazone.com.au
A safe space for young people to ask questions, share stories and get help for mental health issues, sexual health,
relationships, abuse, body image, and drug use.
Page 10
Community Announcements
OVERSEAS STUDY TOUR OPPORTUNITY - 2016
Somerville Secondary College is planning a study tour to Indonesia next year in September and we are seeking
expressions of interest.
Students who will be in Year 9 to 12 Indonesian in 2016 will be given first preference, however other students will
also be considered if there are places available.
We will hold an information evening in Term Two to answer questions and present you with an itinerary packed
full of exciting activities.
If you wish to find out more about this wonderful opportunity, please send your expression of interest via email to
Jacquelyn Kirk at [email protected] with your child’s name and form. Notices are also available from
the front office and from Jacquelyn Kirk and Helena Anggraeni to register your interest.
Page 11
Advertisements
Thank you to Baker’s Delight,
Somerville Rotary Club and
St Andrew’s Church for supporting
our Breakfast Club in 2014 and for
2015. Our kids really appreciate
your generosity!
SOMERVILLE MARKET
At ST ANDREW'S CHURCH
Every 2nd Saturday of the
month
8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Support your local stallholders
Inquiries: 59776980 (Graeme)