School Meetings

Mar Thursday 23rd School Council 7.30 pm May Thursday 25th Parents Club 10.30 am

Principal’s Report:

L ast Tuesday was a most momentous oc-casion here at the

school. Not only was it Mrs Heather Watson’s birthday but it was also her last day here at Rochester Secondary College after an incredible 44 years (now in her 45th year). This represents a truly outstanding contribution to state education and to the town of Rochester itself. On behalf of all the current and past staff, all the current and past students - of which there would be thousands, and the broader Rochester community overall I wish Heather all the very best in the future and thank her profoundly for her exceptional efforts. (A “No Fuss” farewell is planned in the near future). This morning we conducted a whole school evacuation drill. I am pleased to report that the process went very smoothly and can confidently say that we are well positioned should a genuine emergency occur. Many thanks to Mr Woodfine who oversaw a presentation by the VCE EDROLO team on Tuesday. I fully encourage students in Year 12 to make full use of this excellent resource if it is availa-ble for their subject. I also strongly encourage our Year 11 stu-dents to take advantage of the 10 week trial being offered to them. We are yet to make a decision as to whether we will offer Edrolo for Year 11’s. Please see a reminder on the back page of this newsletter about Home Based School Activities. As always many thanks for your ongoing support, it is much appreciated. Bernie Altmann Principal

The Rochester Review

Rochester Secondary College exists to provide quality learning for all in a challenging and nurturing environment.

Volume 580 Issue 1, Thursday 16th March, 2017 www.rochsec.vic.edu.au Phone: 54841 844

Fax 54842 348 rochester.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au

Important Dates

March 2017 23rd (Thurs) - Courage to Care Year 9 & 11’s 23rd (Thurs) - Zone Swimming 26th (Sun) - Indonesian Tour departs 28th (Tue) - Careers in Health 28th (Tue) - Interschool Tennis - Echuca/Kyabram 30th (Thurs) - Parent/Teacher Interviews 4 to 7 pm 31st (Fri) - Last day of Term 1 Dismissal 2.30 pm

April 2017

18th (Tue) - First day of Term 2 20th (Thurs) - Girls Football 25th (Tue) - ANZAC Day no school 28th (Fri) - RSC Athletics

May 2017 2nd-5th (Tue-Fri) - Year 12 Melbourne Trip 8th-12th (Mon-Fri) - Year 10 Work Experience 12th (Fri) - Year 11’s Holocaust Excursion Melb

Rochester Secondary College welcomed some of the Essendon Footballers to our school on Tuesday. They are

pictured with some very happy students.

Regional Final - Lions Youth

of the Year

O n Sunday 12th March, Olivia Dimovski represented Rochester Secondary College in the “Lions Youth of the Year” Regional Final. Five High Schools were vy-

ing for the coveted number one spot. Each contestant had to participate in an interview, answer impromptu questions and deliver a 5 minute speech. The competition was close. In the end, Olivia was declared the regional winner. As a result of her victory, she will now repre-sent our College at the Multi-District Final to be held in Shep-parton. We wish her all the very best!

VCAL - Good Friday Appeal

T he year 12 VCAL class are running a raffle to raise money for the Good Friday Appeal. We will be selling tickets, which will be available to buy at lunch times in

front of the school library. Prizes for 1st¸ 2nd and 3rd are ham-pers, which are full of a variety of products including Moama Bakery vouchers, movie tickets, beauty vouchers and sporting goods. Tickets will cost $2.00 for 1 ticket or $5.00 for 3. Tickets must be returned to school by Wednesday the 29th March for the raffle to be drawn on Thursday 30th of March. Students will also be selling tickets in the morning out the front of Majors IGA on Tuesday 21st. Thank you for your contribution to a worthy cause. Year 12 VCAL Class

Secondhand Book/Uniform

Sale - Money

I f you had items for sale in the Parents Club Secondhand sale, your money is available for collection from the Col-lege office. If you would like your student to collect the

money on your behalf please send in a signed note.

Biology Books

S tudent textbooks for Biology arrived early this term. They were not on the booklist, so an additional pay-ment is required. Students in Year 11 and 12 Biolo-

gy have been given an explanatory letter and payment envelope. As the students have received their book, payment is now due: Unit 1&2: $30 Unit 3&4: $90

Google Classroom

P arents of Year 7 students may soon receive an email inviting them to receive a weekly summary of the activity in the Google Classrooms in which their child

participates. Google Classroom is the online learning envi-ronment used at this school. These weekly summaries will show what the teacher posts and maybe if work is due or overdue. Google Classroom is new to many teachers, so there may be little information coming to you in the first few weeks. In time, if you want daily summaries you will need a Google account. Mr Borger can be contacted at the College about any ques-tions or concerns you may have.

Scholarship Cheques

D id you receive a Scholarship in 2016 and have you written your letter of “thanks” to your donor? If so you are able to collect your scholarship cheque from

the office.

Year 12 Legal Studies

L ast Thursday, Nick Gadd from the Victorian Law

Reform Commission came to the school and spoke with our Year 12 Legal Studies class. He went

through the work they do, which is investigating areas of law reform on behalf of the Victorian Government. In particular, he detailed the work they did in investigating the use of me-

dicinal cannabis, which has now been legalised in Victoria. There were lots of interesting issues discussed and it was a

valuable session.

Around the College

The picture above includes Nick Gadd form the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) and the Year 12 Legal Studies class.

Rochester Driving School

Brian Crockett Accredited Driver Trainer is offering driving lessons in a Manual & Automatic car in the Rochester and District Area.

For more information he can be contacted on 54842 182 or 0438 095 651 or

www.rochesterdrivingschool.com.au

Around the College ‘Shave for a Cure’

I n order to raise money for the Leukemia Foundation, tomorrow (Friday 16th) is our ‘Shave for a Cure’ day. It will be a

Blue Casual Dress day (gold coin donation) and at lunchtime Wil Hamilton and Darcy Thompson will be shaving their locks. Students are asked to dress in blue and bring a gold coin and extra money to donate to Wil and Darcy for this wor-

thy cause.

Essendon Footballs Visit RSC

O n Tuesday we were lucky enough to have a number of Essendon FC players visit. The players spent some time with our VCE Physical Education students, talking about training methods, nutrition and answering questions that relate to the work being undertaken by our students in PE.

They then ran a coaching session with all the Year 7 and Year 8 students, giving them some tips and training techniques to apply to their own games. It was an enjoyable experience for all involved and we greatly appreciate the time taken by the players to work with our students. The players that attended were Michael Hurley, Andrew McGrath, David Myers, Brent Stanton, Michael Hartley and Travis Colyer.

Rochester Deb Ball 2017 Expressions of interest are now being taken for girls who would like to participate in the September 2017 Rochester Deb Ball. Please contact Christine Hooppell at the Rochester Second-ary College Library or phone her 0409 842 225 by FRIDAY 31st March, 2017.

Community News

Home Based School Activities

“Raising the Bar” March 2017 – REMINDER

Dear Students, Years 7 – 10 Many students already complete on average one hour of homework per night Monday to Friday. The reason I am writing this letter is because it has come to my attention that many other students do very little or no homework and have come to think this is reasonable. Some students, especially senior students will do more than the average of five hours per week, but if you’re not doing at least on average five hours per week you really are diminishing your chances of reaching your potential. The two main reasons for completing homework are firstly to finish set work so that you can gain the best possible grades and secondly develop a homework pattern that you will definitely need in senior years. Homework doesn’t have to be just completing set work by the due date, it can also be taking the time to complete an assignment or project at home so that you have the time to gain an “A” rather than rushing through work in class, not providing detailed research or depth of answers and receiv-ing maybe a “C” or “D” grade. Another excellent form of homework is to check over the work you might have done in the day just to be sure you fully understand what has been taught, perhaps re-read a handout or practise a maths problem. Finally, simply reading a novel, magazine or newspa-per is developing your literacy skills which are so essential in senior years and of course throughout life. (Occasionally a certain TV show or YouTube could be very relevant to something that is going on at school). Nobody can really make you do homework, it should be something that you realise is going to be of great benefit for you in the end and therefore you will make a time each night to put an hour aside and get into a good routine (don’t fool yourself by pretending to do homework whilst on Facebook, playing games etc.) Some nights might be too full with sport, work and family commitment etc., so make it up on another night or on the weekend. If you’re thinking that you can’t possibly fit five hours homework into your week because you have so many other things on, then maybe you need to reconsider your priorities. Obviously I, and all your teachers, value education very much, otherwise we wouldn’t be teachers. We are very keen for each and every student to reach their full potential and not finish school, and a few years later be saying, “If only I had tried a little harder I could have gone on to do this TAFE course or that university course or passed that subject which would have helped me in gaining that apprenticeship”. If you are averaging five hours per week as a minimum you are giving yourself a chance at doing your best – if you are doing no homework you are reducing your chances of doing your best dramatically. So, I encourage you to make a plan at the beginning of the school year and really try to make the most of your education here at Rochester Secondary College. Good luck – Mr. Altmann, Principal Mrs McCarty, Assistant Principal