YARRA HILLS SECONDARY COLLEGE

PO BOX 42 MOOROOLBARK 3138 Mooroolbark Campus: Tel: 9839 8800 Mt Evelyn Campus : Tel: 9736 3650

28 February 2018 Monthly Bulletin Issue No. 1

Respect ♦ Endeavour ♦ Achievement ♦ Pride

From the College Principal Welcome back! I hope all students and their families took the time to have a relaxing and restful break over the holiday period. I’d also like to especially take this opportunity to welcome all the new families to our Yarra Hills Community. Not only have we had another large enrolment at Year 7 level, but we have also had many new families join the school at all other year levels. Thank you for choosing Yarra Hills and we look forward to your contribution to our community.

New Staff

With the increase in student numbers across the college, we are also pleased to welcome the following new staff to Yarra Hills for 2018:

KEY DATES

FEBRUARY

Wednesday 28-1 Year 10 OED Marine Smiths Beach Trip MB

MARCH

Thursday 1 - 2 Year 9 &10 OED Marine Overnight Trip ME

Monday 5 Year 9 OED Coastal Pool Session 12.05pm - 3.10pm ME

Tuesday 6 Year 10, 11&12 Top Acts Performance Excursion 8.00am - 5.00pm ME & MB

6 Yarra Group Swimming Carnival 9.00am-3.10pm / Croydon Outdoor Pool ME & MB

Monday 12 LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Tuesday 13 Intermediate Sport - Softball/Baseball/Tennis/Volleyball MB

Wed - Fri 14 - 16 Year 7 Orientation Camp - Somers ME & MB

Wednesday 14 Year 10 Keys Please ME & MB

Marieke Ballagh PE/Health Robbie Bechaz Art/Technology

Rachel Clare Art/Textiles Glen Impey (returning) Music

Rebecca Leahy English/Humanities Janine Lovett Integration Leader

Rob Lowe VCD/IT Leah Marchant PE/Health

Jenny Martin Integration Support Zoe Price English/Humanities

Stacey Redman Integration Support Leanne Richards Foods/Textiles

Simone Ritchie German/EAL Azra Saeed Maths/IT

Roz Teoh Maths Emma Turner English/Humanities

Year 7 Music Expo

If parents and students were not able to attend the Instrumental Music Expo, and your son or daughter is interested in learning to play a Musical Instrument, please contact Instrumental Music Director, Richard O’Toole for more information at:

otoole.richard.j@edumail.vic.gov.au

Leadership Positions 2018

College Principal - Darren Trippett Business Manager - Jane Kuipers Campus Principals - Greg Cowan (Mooroolbark) Robyn Dew (Mt Evelyn) Campus Aps - Rachel Lynch (Mooroolbark) Rebecca Dunn (Mt Evelyn)

Heads of School - Brenton Millott (Senior School) Erin Andrews (Junior School Mooroolbark) Shane Hart (Junior School Mt Evelyn)

Directors of Teaching & Learning - Christina Shaw (Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting) Steve Blackwell (Pedagogy & Innovation)

Director of Pathways - Debbie Deriboklou

Learning Specialists - Rebecca Fletcher (Literacy) Carly Joyce (Numeracy)

Wellbeing Leader - Cat Strempel

Integration Leader - Janine Lovett

Other college leadership and responsibility positions, including Year Level Coordinators and Key Learning Area Leaders, are available on our website: www.yarrahills.vic.edu.au

Restorative Practices

Over recent years Yarra Hills has been recognised for the use of ‘Restorative Practices’ within and outside the class-room. For those families now joining the college community, Yarra Hills has a partnership with Real Schools www.realshools.com.au led by educational expert Adam Voigt (Adam features regularly on Channel 10’s ’The Project’). Over the last three years, Adam has supported us to train all of our staff, as well as to create a plan for successful implementation of Restorative Practices College-wide.

What are Restorative Practices, you might ask?

Restorative practice is a way in which positive classroom relationships can be encouraged and conflict can be minimised. This is a proven and successful approach, which involves counselling and support when a conflict arises, rather than the traditional immediate punitive responses. Evidence shows that this approach reduces the incidence and severity of any repeat of the unwanted behaviour.

“If an adolescent gets a maths question wrong, we don’t just ‘punish’ them and tell them we expect them to get it right next time, we discuss what exactly they did wrong, talk them through why it was wrong, so they understand it and then provide strategies on how to get it right. It is a learning experience. Why do we then default to punishment when that same student gets their behaviour or relationships with others wrong?”

The long term benefits of having the students undertake and learn restorative practices can see them become better members of the community and develop positive long term relationships as they progress beyond school to adulthood. If you have any questions about Restorative Practices, please view the Real Schools website or contact the school.

School Council Elections

School Council is an important avenue through which parents can gain knowledge and input into the decision-making process that defines the direction each school takes. Each year a number of positions on school council become vacant and parents are encouraged to nominate for election into these roles. This year’s elections will be occurring soon and further information regarding the timeline and process is found later in this newsletter. Darren Trippett College Principal

CSEF NEW APPLICATIONS If your student was a new enrolment to Yarra Hills in second semester 2017, or this semester 2018, and you are a holder of a current Health Care Card, you may be eligible for CSEF for 2018. If you have not completed an application form please contact your campus office.

From the Mooroolbark Campus Principal

2018 has seen a positive start for all our students and teachers. A very big

welcome to our new Year 7 families and those that are beginning for the first time

in Years 8 – 12. Our Year 7s had a really positive start on Tuesday 30 January

with Ms Taryn Brook, the new Year 7 Coordinator, and many of the Year 7 team.

We are looking forward to their contribution to Year 7 this year and being part of

the Yarra Hills community for the next few years. We also welcome a number of

new staff who have joined us in 2018. We look forward to getting to know them

better as the year progresses and we look forward to their expertise and contribution to the college.

Ready to Learn

It was also really heartening to see so many of our Year 8 -10 parents and students coming to our Ready to Learn interviews. This sets a really positive tone for the year and the students see the support of their parents and the value you place as a family on their education. We hope they can work towards achieving the goals they have set.

Campus Assembly

On Wednesday 31 January we had our Welcome Assembly with all our students, with the exception of our VCAL students. We had the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our top achieving VCE students from 2017 and recognise their extraordinary efforts. The following students were presented with certificates of excellence from the college:

1. For 37+ scores in individual VCE studies:

This places them in the top 15% in the State in these studies.

2. Liela Peterson was awarded our Dux.

I would like to congratulate Liela & Tyler for their efforts.

We also presented our Student Leadership Team with their badges and formally introduced them to the college community. The student leadership team for 2018 are:

College Captains

Katherine Rolston (12)

Katherine Rosevear (12)

Tyler Kerridge (12)

Tyler Barton (12)

College Performing Arts Captain (Drama) Abbey Hunter (12)

College Performing Arts Captain (Music) Katherine Rosevear (12)

Sports Captains

Sports Captains

Rhys Wade (12)

Taylah Gerrard (12)

Sports Vice Captains

Melanie Huisken (11)

Lachlan Kilpatrick (11)

Visual Arts Captain Samantha Donazzon (12)

Junior School Captains – Year 10 Mooroolbark Campus

Captains

Emily Russo

Liam Maher

Deputy Captains

Matthew Davison

Dakota Horton

Darcy Willmott

Name Subject 37+

Tyler Kerridge (11) History – 38

Liela Peterson (12) Biology - 41 Legal Studies - 37

Over the next few weeks we will be electing our Student Representative Council (SRC) representatives in Year 7-11. Congratulations to all our leaders, and we look forward to your contribution to the college this year.

Congratulations to Nadjoua Youssouf one of Year 11 students who recently spoke to members of the Wandin Rotary Club. Nadjoua spoke about her experiences as a new arrival in Australia as a refugee from Chad as part of the Australia Day Celebrations. We want to thank the Montrose Rotary Club for supporting Nadjoua and giving her the opportunity to share her story. Yarra Hills is very proud of her all that she has achieved in such a very short time.

Want to contribute to the Yarra Hills School Community?

Consider being a member of the Parents and Friends Assocation (PFA). This fantastic group of parent and community volunteers support us at events that promote the college, as well as organise fund-raising efforts in support of the college. If you are interested contact:

President - Sheryn Holloway Secretary - Linda Martin

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is on Tuesday 6 March, at 7.00pm at the Mt Evelyn Campus. All new members are welcome.

Year 7 Camp & Instrumental Music Information Night

Thank you to our new Year 7 families that came along on Tuesday 13 February to find out about our Year 7 Camp and how to get involved in Instrumental Music. It was great to mingle with the new parents before hand and share a sausage in bread on such a lovely evening.

Sport

Congratulations to our Year 9/10 Girls Cricket Team who won through to the next round of competition. A big thanks to Steven Green, one of our parents who volunteers his time to coach the girls.

Year 12 Big Day Out & Big Day in

Over 2 days, Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 February, our Year 12 students took part in a range of activities designed to get them motivated and ready to tackle the rigours of their final year of schooling. The first day the students went to the High Ropes course in Belgrave. The second day, I was lucky enough to join our Year 12s as they undertook Study Skills sessions at RMIT, using the rooms and lecture theatre at their City Campus. This was great exposure for our students, and I hope has them motivated and determined to do their best this year.

Car Park, Traffic & Pedestrian Safety

As we begin the new year I would like to remind parents, both new and ‘old’, of the need to be safe with regards to our students, traffic congestion and our car-parking space. Unfortunately I have witnessed some students trying to navigate the car-park dangerously and not using crossings or cars that are driving too fast as they enter and exit the school. With limited parking space I do encourage families to make arrangements to pick up in nearby streets rather than in the school grounds. If you are picking up in the school please use the designated car-parking areas of the college and not on grassed areas or behind the Technology and Automotive wing (See Map Attached). There is additional parking on the gravel park behind the C-Building on top of the hill. This has easy access for students coming from the C-Building.

We also ask that you take extra care and be patient in your vehicles as you are entering or exiting the school premises on Reay Road, especially at peak times. It is a shared road with our St Peter Julian Eymard families and we all need to be mindful of taking extra care in and around the schools with so many of students. Please can you also be mindful of our neighbours and show courtesy by not parking in or across private driveways or property. The Pedestrian exit onto Cambridge Road (near the bus-stop before Hawthory Road) is for pedestrians ONLY. Please do not park in the entrance or along this path. Looking forward to another great year! Greg Cowan Mooroolbark Campus Principal

Junior School Music Captains (Year 10) Darcy Willmott Dakota Horton

Year 10 Peer Support Leaders Tiana Blackman Sung Biak Tha Sung Dakota Horton Sharlene Tripodi-Masalski Darcy Willmott Hannah Applebee Jasmyn Glenister Chloe Marcucci Emily Russo Jordan Stone Nathan Zooeff Matthew Davison Lauren Fischer Liam Maher

From the Mt Evelyn Campus principal Welcome back everyone!!! The start to any new year is always exciting. It’s the beginning of a new year and often a new beginning for many students. Whether it’s the start of their secondary school life or the start of year 10, it’s a chance of a new beginning for every student. No matter whether last year was good or bad, the chance to change habits, attitudes or outlook on life to be even better and improve on last year is always a positive start. I welcome new students to our school across all year levels.

Most students start the year with new books and a positive approach to organisation, however sadly this does not last. It takes commitment and consistent practice to be good at organisation. This is where parents are so valuable in helping their children to be better organised. Every student wants to be successful. Unfortunately their lack of organisation often leads to a deterioration in motivation because they don’t have the right book in class or they’ve forgotten their homework again. Parents, use your skills to teach your child basic organisation to assist them in keeping their books orderly and be on top of all work for class. This can only be achieved through a plan and PRACTICE! Teaching a child once and hoping they will learn a skill does not work. Through PRACTICE and encouragement of the effort they put into this will help students in their organisational skills as well as motivate them to try harder in class. Our recent Ready to Learn interviews, many staff spoke about this with parents. It was fantastic to see so many parents and students there.

It was interesting to listen to the latest report from Beyond Blue who believe that “wrapping children in cotton wool is not helpful to the mental wellbeing”. I was thrilled to hear this as I often hear about how children of today are much different to what they were a generation or two ago. Children will and do fall often which is an important part of learning. Parents who continually catch their children or try and save them are not really helping them. Whilst I can appreciate the intention behind this action, it is so important for young people to experience sadness, grief or frustration when perhaps they lose a match or they are dropped from the team. It is these emotions that help them to deal with loss and with support learn how to pick themselves up and move forward step by step. This is what builds resilience in our young people. Learning the skill of negotiation, overcoming disappointment or obstacles and not giving up is what builds strong adults of the future.

Juggling Masterclass by the expert!

Our Summer Program at the end of last year was a great opportunity to explore skills and fun activities across every

learning area. We were fortunate to have a guest entertain-er often known as ‘Gizmo’ (Collin) and his son Copper, both of whom have extraordinary circus skills. All

students were put through some training in exercises to prepare for a variety of circus skills. Then students were not only treated to many performances by Collin and Copper but also tried their hand at juggling, balancing sticks, spinning plates, balancing on beams and even riding unicycles. It was a great session and all students

enjoyed it. The finale was when Collin and Copper got all students to create a human pyramid!

Improvements continue at Mt Evelyn

Over the holiday break, Mt Evelyn continues to improve with more buildings being painted. There has also been a great deal of concreting as there were many uneven areas where trees have lifted paths. Unfortunately we also identified some dangerous trees which needed to be removed. These renovations and improvements will continue for some months.

Welcome year 7 students

It has been a lovely start for our year 7 students. They started the year having the school to themselves exploring the school on their own before the remaining campus joined them. Our Peer Support Leaders have begun introducing themselves to year 7 students and running activities to help them settle in. It has been lovely seeing the new friendships being formed amongst the students.

PFA continue to raise money

Last Saturday at Coles in Mooroolbark, our PFA members ran a barbeque. It was a great opportunity to raise valuable funds for Yarra Hills especially on a busy Saturday lunchtime. There were plenty of sausages and drinks for sale where our PFA members worked very hard to provide lunch for the passing trade.

Thank you so much to all PFA members, we appreciate your effort in raising money for our school!

SRC has begun!!

Our Student Representative Council have now been elected from each home group. We held our first meeting last Friday where students were presented with their badges and elected our Executive Committee which consists of:

President: Yuri Jupp Vice President: Cooper Doherty Secretary: Taylah Graham Treasurer: Amy Woodward Support Staff: Sandra Lombardi & Robyn Dew

The SRC members were very enthusiastic as to the changes they would like to see within our Campus as well as the activities they would like to get involved with. Our aim through this group is not only about getting involved and making changes but having a real voice in the school in regard to feedback and possibly decisions made for the student body.

We continue to learn more about Respectful Relationships

From the time children are born, they are very clear about the differences between boys and girls. They often believe that one gender is better than the other. At Yarra Hills we have learned that the way we speak to students and our attitudes can have a profound effect on whether boys and girls are treated equally. This has meant being very conscious of the activities we ask of boys and girls and working hard to change old habits like:

Asking girls to decorate boards or organise a group

Asking boys to move tables or other manual labour jobs

The truth is there is very little difference between boys and girls brains and it is really society and what children are exposed to determines their thoughts and attitudes on the differences between boys and girls. Even down to the activities, games and toys that children play with reinforces there is a difference between boys and girls. The tragic part of this attitude is that girls will often underestimate their ability believing that boys are better. Whilst boys will overestimate their ability. This can have a profound effect on their level of confidence as well as their ability to cope when they don’t achieve what they expect. Students also believe that some careers are geared for males whilst others are for females. We are fortunate that these beliefs are slowly being broken down with the popularity of women’s football and career choices of many men and women.

I recently watched on ABC, two fantastic programs about experiments trialled in an English school to try and create a gender free classroom. The links are below:

Watching No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? Episode 1 in iview http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/no-more-boys-and-girls-can-our-kids-go-gender-free/ZW1384A001S00

Watching No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? Episode 2 in iview http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/no-more-boys-and-girls-can-our-kids-go-gender-free/ZW1384A002S00

I encourage all parents to watch these shows as it gives a great perspective about yours and our role in helping our children reach their potential. Robyn Dew Mt Evelyn Campus Principal

G’Day USA Tour 2018 The emotions that I experienced in the lead up to the 2018 G’Day USA tour were a crazy blend of both excitement and nervousness, nevertheless I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in this amazing adventure.

Our group met early on New Years Eve at Melbourne Airport to prepare for the 14 hour flight across to America. We arrived at LAX airport at 6:30am on December 31 2017 (before our plane had even departed Melbourne due to the time difference), and from there on it was nothing but an action-packed trip.

If we weren’t spending entire days at theme parks – including Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland – we were touring the city streets of Hollywood, or eating out at

some amazing restaurants. We concluded our time in Los Angeles by visiting Universals Studio – where we spent the day touring the studio lot and Harry Potter World, before heading to my highlight of the tour – hosting!

I think this was the most daunting part of the tour honestly – living in strangers homes for ten days. However, after the awkward introductions subsided, we all soon warmed up to our families, demonstrating such kindness and generosity was given to us whilst in San Diego, and it soon felt as if we were a part of their families.

After touring San Diego during the day, we would spend each evenings with our host families while weekends were also free to spend with them. My family took me to a lovely reserve-like garden with public theatre areas, various museums/art

galleries and a botanical garden. Our last Friday with our hosts, we all attended and experienced what it is like to be in an American school. I felt that this was the best part of hosting for me, being able to see the resemblances and differences between our school lives. I was asked many questions about Australia there, and a teacher even got me to just speak to the class just so my accent could be heard.

The final part of our trip was a few days exploring and touring the best parts of San Francisco. We explored the Wharf, Pier 39, the City Centre, the famous tram cars and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.

This was an amazing experience and would highly recommend it. The next tour that our school will be participating in will occur in December 2019/January 2020.

From Samantha Donazzon

Teaching and Learning at Yarra Hills – Mentor Texts What is a mentor text and why use them in the classroom? Mentor texts can be presented in a multitude of mediums including written, visual, oral and aural. These texts can be revisited by students so that they can seek to imitate the example while they are completing the set task. Mentor texts help to support students by providing them with opportunities to grow and expand their skills by providing a structured model which seeks to help them achieve targeted skills. Mentor texts in the class Year 11 VCD exploring watercolour painting with the help of mentor texts.

Rebecca Fletcher

Coles Sports for Schools 2018 Dear Parents and Guardians The College is undertaking the Sports for Schools promotion via your local Coles Supermarkets (as advertised on TV), where you can receive a voucher for every $10 you spend. The vouchers add up and allow the school to purchase various items of sports equipment at the end of the promotion. If you wish to participate, please ask for these vouchers if not prompted, and have your student hand them in at your campus office during the promotion period. Participation is purely on a voluntary basis. Thank you in anticipation of your support. College Phys. Ed Department

FOSTER CARERS NEEDED If you have thought about foster care, please get in touch and ask the questions you have always wanted to.

Ring: Key Assets 1800 932 237 or 1800 WE CARE Email: info@keyassets.com.au Web: canifoster.com.au or keyassets.com.au What will happen: Interested families would receive a brochure, information and no pressure!

Mt Evelyn Campus

Mondays after school

held in the Library

Year 7 Music Expo It was wonderful to see so many year 7 students and parents at the recent Music Expo Evening. Year 7 students had already been introduced to the various musical instruments at their try-out day, and it was great to see students having so much fun playing the instruments at the Music Expo. Thank you to our senior music students who assisted at both the try-outs and on the Expo Evening. For those parents who were unable to attend the recent Music Expo Evening, it’s NOT TOO LATE to sign up your son/daughter for instrumental music lessons. If your child wishes to learn a musical instrument this year, please contact Richard O’Toole, Instrumental Music Director at Yarra Hills, at otoole.richard.j@edumail.vic.gov.au There are currently NO vacancies for Saxophone, Drums or Guitar/Bass Guitar, however, we are still looking for some students to learn CLARINET, TRUMPET, TROMBONE or EUPHONIUM.

Secondary School Vaccinations in 2018

The Secondary School Vaccine Program offers free

vaccines to Year 7 and 10 students. These vaccines

provide protection against:

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) –

one dose for year 7 students

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – two doses for year 7

students

Meningococcal A,C,W,Y – one dose for year 10

students

Parents/guardians of year 7 and 10 students should look

out for the vaccine consent card booklet coming home from

school with your child. You need to read the information,

complete and return the card regardless of whether your

child is being vaccinated at school.

The Yarra Ranges Council immunisation service may

contact you about the Secondary School Vaccine Program.

Schools are authorised to provide basic parent/guardian

contact details to local councils for this purpose. Contact

the school by 28 February 2018 if you do not want your

contact details given to the Yarra Ranges Council

immunisation service.

To learn more about the Secondary School Vaccine

Program, the vaccines, the diseases they protect against,

or how you can prepare your child for vaccination, go to

betterhealth.vic.gov.au

Additionally, the Commonwealth government is funding

vaccinations for all children under 20 years who missed

scheduled vaccines. If students have missed vaccines,

either in childhood or adolescence, and require catch-up

vaccines, they should speak with their immunisation

provider. (ie. local council or GP).

Bushfire At-Risk Register - Schools

School procedures for the bushfire season

Fire danger ratings and warnings are used in Victoria to provide clear direction on the safest options for preserving life.

Schools and children’s services listed on the DET Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) will be closed when a Code Red fire danger rating day is determined in their Bureau of Meteorology district. Our school has been identified as being one of those at high bushfire risk and is listed on the BARR.

Where possible, we will provide parents with up to four days notice of a potential Code Red day closure by letter, Compass contact and phone if necessary. Code Red day will be determined by the Emergency Management Commissioner no later than 1.00 pm the day before the potential closure. Once we are advised of the confirmation of the Code Red day we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day.

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast. This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child. It is also important to note that:

No staff will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Code Red day.

School camps will be cancelled if a Code Red fire danger rating day is determined for the Bureau of Meteorology district in which the camp is located.

As a bus co-ordinating school all bus routes will be cancelled.

On these Code Red days families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan – on such days children should never be left at home or in the care of older children.

For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the CFA advise that when Code Red days are forecast, the safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Code Red day. As part of preparing our school for potential hazards such as fire, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan.

What can parents do?

Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed.

Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers. Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, by checking our website: yarra.hills.sc.vic.edu.au and by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan. Other forms of social media will also include updated information

Most importantly at this time of year, if you’re planning a holiday or short stay in the bush or in a coastal area, you should check warnings in advance of travel and remain vigilant during your stay.

If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan. You can access more information about children’s services closures on the Department of

Education and Training website – see http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/pages/closures.aspx

For up-to-date information on this year’s fire season, visit the CFA website at www.cfa.vic.gov.au or call the 24-hour Victorian Bushfires Information Line on 1800 240 667.