Alba Newsletter – July 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome back to Term 3. Whilst it certainly has not been the start we were hoping for, it was lovely to have everyone back from most of the first week. And hopefully, we will have some good news this week about a return to onsite schooling.

Like everyone else, we are becoming used to postponing or adapting events in line with the requirements and challenges of lockdown – an important skill and mindset to have at any time, but particularly in the current circumstances. At the same time, we appreciate how deflating this is for our students and staff, especially when so much time and energy have been invested in planning for these events. The MAC 50 Years celebration, the Year 10 Parent Information evening and this week’s Curriculum Day and Year 10 Course Counselling are just a few of many examples.

But what is evident throughout this is the commitment of all of our teaching and education support staff to ensure that, in spite of these challenges, our students do not miss out on the opportunities and support they need and deserve to be successful. They have worked tirelessly to provide a quality teaching and learning program (we know that many of you have seen first-hand evidence of this each day in your own homes!) and to maintain continuity in the extra curricular and wellbeing programs.

Remote learning and working is very tough on everyone in different ways. We are extremely proud of the combined efforts of our staff, students and families in making this as successful as possible.

A special welcome….

To the new members of staff who have joined St Albans Secondary College this term:

Jaquim (Jake) Duggan is taking Rosemary Sirianni’s English classes. It is wonderful to welcome Jake back as a former student. Tina Phan, also a former student, joins the Office team as a receptionist and first aid officer, and Leanne Stelle is the new Sub School Assistant in the Senior Sub School office.

We wish each of them all the very best for their time at St Albans. We also welcome back Cameron Beale and Lizzy Fitzgerald from leave.

2021 Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and Training (previously known as the Parent Opinion Survey).  We want to know what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement, and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

We invite all families to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. The 2021 Survey is open from now until Friday 3 September. All parents have been sent a link to complete the survey.  Although not compulsory, the more parents who respond the better. 

The survey is being conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed online at any convenient time up until 22 August. The survey is available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.  You can find the translated survey information on the Compass post titled Parent Opinion Survey.

The survey results will be communicated to parents/caregivers/guardians through annual reporting, to School Council, and via the newsletter.  Last year we had an increase in parent uptake and we are hoping that this will be increased again this year.  We use the information to enable us to better support students and families, and to ensure that the parent perspective is reflected in our planning for 2022. Please speak to your child’s Year Level Coordinator if you would like more information.

Course Counselling and Year 10 Parent Information sessions

Despite the recent lockdown, Course Counselling for Year 11 moving into Year 12 and Year 10 moving into Year 11 for 2022 was able to take place over the past two weeks. This included Year 10 pre course selection information sessions run remotely by our Careers/Pathways Team with the support of the Year 10 teaching staff. During these sessions and interviews, students received information to assist them make informed decisions about subjects they should study aligned with their interests, course and career aspirations. 

The Year 10 Parent Information sessions for VCAL and VCE ran on Tuesday 20 July also by being moved to an online live format. These sessions provided an overview of the subject selection process and the opportunity for parents and students to ask questions. The frequently asked question document circulated prior to the event further streamlined the questions asked and provides a great reference for students and parents as they work through the course selection process.

It is a credit to the Careers/Pathways, Middle and Senior School Teams that changes to the implementation of these programs could occur seamlessly in this rapidly changing environment, particularly with the uncertainty about when we would be onsite. The intensive work this involves is done with passion and integrity by all staff who support and assist students to make these decisions, in the knowledge they will have the support of all those at the school to achieve success.

At this stage, we have successfully completed the Year 10 and 11 interviews with individual students.  Any student who was unable to attend their interview can reschedule by contacting the Careers Office or speaking with their Year Level Coordinator.

The Course Counselling interview sessions for Year 9 moving into Year 10 will be held on Tuesday 3 August. Year 9 are required to attend for their interview time only, and there are no scheduled Year 9 classes on this day. Should lockdown be extended, these interviews will go to an online format and students will be provided with instructions.

We wish all our students well with selecting their courses and thank all the staff and parents involved for their support in this process.

Semester 1 Reports

Semester One reports for Years 7 to 11 and progress reports for Year 12 VCAL and VCE Unit 3 subjects are now available on Compass. Year Level Coordinators will be contacting parents directly where there are concerns about progress.

Please discuss these reports with your children, with a focus on how to improve in Semester 2.

If you have any questions relating to these reports, please contact your child’s Year Level Coordinator.

NAIDOC week

This year NAIDOC Week was celebrated across the country on the 4-11 of July. As this was during school holidays our school held our NAIDOC week celebrations during the first week of Term 3. The Theme of this year’s NAIDOC Week was: Heal Country. “Heal Country! – calls for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage.”

This year at the College we shared the themes and messages of NAIDOC week to students. We opened the week with an official Welcome to Country ceremony with local Wurundjeri Elder Julianne Axeford. She shared with us information about her history and the culture and the traditions of the Wurundjeri people. We also were very fortunate to have a dance performance and workshop at the College conducted by Djirri Djirri – a Wurundjeri women’s dance group. They led a workshop and performed Wurundjeri dances and songs.  

It was wonderful to see so many students and teachers get involved in what was a great week of celebration and learning about our nation’s first people.

And finally …..

More than ever, over the last year we have seen the importance of schools as places of connection and protection within their communities. They have been at the forefront of maintaining a sense of community in times of separation, and of providing essential wellbeing support.

Everyone belongs

This term our CPR theme is: Everyone belongs.
 
At our school, we believe that everyone should feel connected, protected and respected every day. We also want everyone to feel that St Albans Secondary College is their school. This means feeling proud of your school, your achievements, and also the achievements of others.
 
To continue to ensure our school is one where everyone feels like they belong, stop and take a moment to consider the role we all have to play.
 
So what can you do?

• Try to foster positive relationships with other students and staff. People won’t always remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. For example:
  • Support someone to feel included, make them feel part of the group.
  • Smile and cultivate positive experiences for others. It feels nice to be around people who have an optimistic outlook.
  • Show interest in others and what is happening in their world.
  • Treat others with kindness.
• Practice GEM (gratitude, empathy and mindfulness) – check out your diary for more information about this.
• Be an Upstander! Say no to discrimination and challenge bullying. For support, always see your coordinator, a teacher or a member of wellbeing.
• If you are having a problem or are not feeling great, talk it out. Your coordinator and the Wellbeing Team are always available to help. 

 
No matter what, remember YOU ARE AMAZING!

Dear St. Albans Secondary College Community,

My name is Tina, I am extremely excited and grateful to be joining St. Albans Secondary College and its community starting term 3 as part of the Education support team.  I have had extensive range of experience in administration and servicing customers, my previous roles include working at Westpac bank and at ICS Imaging an x-ray office.

St. Albans Secondary holds a special place in my heart, as I was a formal student here.  A lot of beautiful memories were created while I was a student and I hope to create new ones as I embark in my new role.

In my spare time I love to spend it with my family and friends. I love to listen to music and enjoys the simple things in life such as long walks to the park and bike riding. I am beyond excited and look forward to meeting and greeting you all in Term 3.

Hi my name is Leanne, I am new to the education system and feel very lucky to be working at St Albans SC as the Senior Sub School Assistant. I have come from a long background in Property Management (Shopping Centres) and I am very much looking forward to a new challenge.

I enjoy spending time with friends and family, I enjoy exercising and outdoor activities and I am extremely lucky to be the mother of 2 little twin boys.

I am looking forward to meeting and working with you all.

Welcome back to Term 3.  We hope our students are well rested and prepared for another busy term. All students should have received their reports by now. Students can access reports via Compass and parents can use their Portals to see the reports.  If you are having difficulty with this please contact the school. If you have any concerns about your child’s report, please contact the relevant coordinator to discuss.

Our first week back hit the ground running and then the students returned to Remote Learning. We are very proud of the way the students have attended their classes and adjusted quickly to the changes in the routine. They are working very well online and with the challenges they are facing. Classwork is of a very high standard still.

The Junior Sub School has organised many exciting events and programs for our students to participate in later this term.

Students from the Sub School are performing in the MAC School Production “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – Year 7 students will have the opportunity of a taster of the Performance in August. We are pleased to see so many keen junior performers with various talents participating in this big production.

Our Anti -Bullying program “Flipside” will occur in August for Year 7 and 8. This performance highlights the various types of Bullying and engages the students in how to respond to issues and how to seek support. This is a valuable program to support our students in dealing with ongoing issues they face with Cyber Bullying in particular.

‘Digital Thumbprint’ will be presented to students in Year 7 and 8 in September. The students will be involved in some workshops, teaching the advantages of a positive on line presence.

Through a series of fun activities these workshop bring to life the vital information students need to become discerning internet users. Concepts covered include information security, on line business models and terms and conditions.

We will be holding a Parent Information evening for Year 8 students on Tuesday 10 August and this will be to inform parents and students on Subject Selection processes for Year 9 Courses. Information will be sent out via Compass.

Please ensure your child has warm uniform for these cold winter days. Ensure you have labelled your child’s clothing. The uniform shop is open Monday and Thursday 12.15pm – 1.15pm.

If your child is absent, please submit a medical certificate upon their return and contact the Sub School on 9356 4066 to inform us of the absence.

Year 8 Camps have commenced and 8G have started the Term by attending Strathbogie. Although, freezing and wet, the students had a nice time together and building relationships.  Other homegroups will attend over the course of the next two terms.

‘Camp this year was actually fun despite Covid restrictions and the weather. Camp Strathbogie is all the way up in the mountains near the clouds and is very pretty at night-time. Day 1 was very wet and some of us slipped on the way to the main room. We unpacked and chilled in our cabins until dinner duty started. After dinner we had dessert and headed for the rec room. We played 8 pool, ping pong and card games. We were about to watch a movie but then we had too much fun playing games.

On day 2, we woke up early to go eat breakfast, cleaned up our rooms and headed off to bowling. For the people who like spicy Asian noodles you would have loved eating breakfast on day 2. There were also different varieties of different breakfasts too. After that we headed to bowling in Shepparton (if you’re lucky enough it’s possible to buy some food while you’re there) after bowling we had lunch and headed to Benalla pool. We got back to the camp around 3-4pm. In the evening, we hung out in the rec room for about a few hours and had Miss Morrison and Mr Micallef’s favourite dinner. We cleaned up our cabins after dinner and headed back for the rec room. Some of us watched a movie (the original Jumanji) and some of us played games. It was raining a little but wasn’t heavy rain just light rain.

Day 3 was quick due to the Covid lockdown, so we had a big breakfast and said goodbye to the campsite J

Overall camp was very fun, and we were still able to have our 3 days of camp.’ – Angelina 8G

If you require any type of assistance or support, please contact your child’s coordinator via email or phone.

Ms Lauren Honeycombe

Welcome back to Term 3. This term will be a busy one for students in both Year 9 and Year 10 with a focus on careers and pathways for 2022. 

Year 10 students continue their work on their course counselling assignments and are preparing for the course counselling day in Week 3. The VCE and VCAL information evenings were a great success, and we thank you all for your support and attendance in the Google Meet sessions.

Year 9s completed their pre-course counselling assignment at the end of Term 2, and Year Level Coordinators will spend time with their classes to explain the process of course selection.

Upcoming Events

Year 10 into 11 Course Counselling – Thursday 29 July

Year 9 into 10 Course Counselling – Tuesday 3 August

Students will receive an appointment time when they will meet with either their Year Level Coordinator or a member of the careers team.  During this time, students will discuss their subject choices for 2022.  There are no timetabled classes on these days, and students are only required to attend their scheduled appointment.  Appointment times will be posted on Compass and shared with students by their Year Level Coordinator.

Year 10 Speed Careering – Tuesday 17 August

This is an opportunity for Year 10 students to meet with members of the school’s business and community network as well as volunteers from a variety of job fields. Guests will meet with small groups of students to outline the requirements of their jobs, how they entered the field and provide advice to students on key employability skills.

Support for parents and students

The Middle School will continue to offer support to all students and their families with managing learning remotely as well as when students return to on site learning.  Please reach out to your Year Level Coordinator should you need help with any aspect of learning from home or if you have any questions about the upcoming careers days middle@stalbanssc.vic.edu.au

Ms Becky Annetts

Term 3 has commenced for all senior students on site.

Our Year 11 and 12 students came back to school Term 3. Some senior classes are still taught remotely and once again, our students have adapted really well.

Information from the State Government and the Education department.

Please take note of the following dates as they have now been finalised:

• VCAA – GAT (General Achievement Test): Thursday 12 August 2021. This is compulsory for any student studying a Unit 3/4 subject wanting to do the external exams
• VCAA External Exams : Wednesday 27 October to Wednesday 17 November

Our Year 12 students also did their Mid-year exams during the school holidays.

Their results are on the ‘End of Unit 3 Reports’. These reports will be available to families on Compass.

The Year 12 students will be doing Study Skills workshops with Equal ED during Week 6 and Week 9 this term.

They will be done one of their double Study periods. The program is provided to support students with study skills, time management and self-care.

Just reminding families that there is another exam period for all Year 12 students who completing VCE for an ATAR.  These Unit 3/4 Practice Exams will take place during the September holidays:

• Monday 27 September to Friday 1 October.

With all the assessments taking place so we can best prepare our students for their final exams, it is important that students and families are aware that marks may change due to statistical moderation, the GAT and individual student ranking. 

ABCN Focus has finally commenced again this year. It is a leadership program for girls. Twelve Year 11 girls have been selected and they will be working with a mentor from NBN. Again this is all going to be done remotely.

Year 11 students have just selected their subjects and courses for 2022. Some have also chosen to move from VCE to VCAL.  I just want to remind families that the is a ‘Promotion Policy’ from Year 11 into Year 12, regardless of the choices that students make. Please have a look at the ‘Senior Sub School handbook’ that was given to families during Term 1 as it explains the policy.

Coordinators will also be contacting families if their child is at risk of not meeting the Promotion Policy.

Again, we would like to thank parents who contact us when their child is absent for any reason. This is of great assistance to the Year Level Coordinators, as we call home regularly if there are any unexplained absences. The Case Management process continues to monitor closely the attendance, achievement and individual needs of all our students. Please contact us on 9366 2555 if you have any queries or concerns about your child. 

Ms Stav Bekiaris

Year 12 VCAL students entered a Diversity MS Paint/Airbrush Pictorial Representation & Explanation of your Artwork competition run by Sunshine Youth Space. Students had to draw a representation of what they saw Diversity as, and what it represented to them, then give an explanation of their artwork. Two of our student’s pieces won 1^st and 3^rd place. The recipients received prize money of $300 and $100 respectively. Congratulation to Lisa Diep and Aliyah Pido.

LISA DIEP 1st Place

Drawing explanation: I drew myself in the middle, holding country and sexuality flags and some elements of Australia floating around me. These represent diversity as it involves my love for people’s braveness in coming out, or their preferred identities, my respect for other cultures and the influence of Australian culture in my life as I’m Vietnamese person born in Australia. Throughout my years living in this country, I have experienced and witnessed the acceptance of others, whether it be their culture, their religion or practices as Australia is a friendly and accepting country. 

The background has the earth, which indicates all the countries in the world, where a lot of immigrants are from, leaving their country to now reside in Australia. The background colours is green and gold, which is Australia’s iconic colours.

ALIYAH PIDO 3rd Prize

To tour the virtual gallery where other SASC VCAL students works are on display using this link Artsteps

Ms Laura Gough

As part of their unit on ‘Food in Italy’, Year 8 Italian students from Ms Biondi and Mr Lasco’s classes had the opportunity this term to learn how to make authentic pasta dough in class and learn about the 350 different shapes of pasta and their accompanying sauces.

Students were also given the challenge to try making pasta at home and invent a unique pasta shape to enter into our yearly Pasta Shape Competition.

It is our pleasure to announce the following winners. Congratulations to Rahima Muradi of 8J, Sarah (DT) Cairns of 8A, Beatrice Brown of 8D and Edward La of 8G. These imaginative shapes included an Owl, Cobra snake, Star, and Pizza in a box.

These overall winners will receive class prizes and awards.

Congratulations to the other class winners, who also will received class prizes for their individual pasta shape runner-up creations.

Ms Piera Biondi                       

The Year 9 Advance class completed their Dukes Award Practice Journey by hiking for 10 kilometers in Riddells Creek, in preparation for their qualifying journey at the end of the year. The camp was filled with many great activities, which led to students having a great time with their classmates. This included cooking marshmallows by the campfire and playing many engaging outdoor volleyball games. Throughout the camp, the students were able to apply their bushwalking skills, set up tents, and experience cooking with a trangia.

Teachers that attended the camp were: Ms Jennifer Papagianopulos, Ms Simone Papagianopulos and Mr McIntyre. Thank you to these teachers for coming and helping us have such a great experience – Angela Lam 9B.

Student Camp Reflections

Amy 9E – Camp was definitely an overall positive experience. While the hike was tiring and the weather was not the best, it was very rewarding to experience this with all my classmates. Setting up tents, cooking on trangias and playing games with what we had, were all very rare experiences for me and others.

Angela 9B – For me, camp was very enjoyable and I definitely made some good memories there. The volleyball games and the s’mores were my favorite parts of the camp, but the hike was also fun as I got to talk to my friends and joke around with them as we walked. Though I was left tired after the camp, it was most definitely enjoyable and I got to leave with new achievements that I gained during the time I spent there.

Genevieve 9E – As a practice journey, the Advance class attended the Rowallan Scout Camp that took place between the 24 June to 25 June. The Advance class took part in activities such as bushwalking, setting up tents, cooking with trangias and engaging in recreational activities. On the 24th of June, the Advance class challenged themselves and had participated in a 10km bushwalk that lasted two and a half hours. Although everyone was tired, it was rewarding at the end as many had seen this walk as a challenge and exhausting.

We have been running family fono sessions once a term after school in consolidation with the wellbeing team and parents of Pacifica students at St Albans Secondary. To date it has been a successful event and we are proud to see the increase in numbers of attendees each session. 

At the family fono sessions, we aim to discuss achievements and concerns surrounding students in relation to school and ways to support students to attend and be successful in their schooling as well as building a strong and supported relationship between families, students and their school. 

This term, we discussed the idea of a committee which appeared to be well received and families are keen to be a part of input into having a voice in the school and the idea of a cultural presentation night. 

Ms Hayley Haugh

This term three Year nine students, Tyrese Tanoa, Elizabeth Tran and Cindy Vu, are attending the School for Student Leadership program at the Alpine School Campus in Dinner Plain. These students have started the program online and once the lockdown ends, they will live at the Alpine School for seven weeks with 40 other students from all around Victoria. The campus is situated at an altitude of 1600 metres and for part of the term the students will have the great and very new experience of walking through snow to their classes.

Cindy, Elizabeth and Tyrese have made the brave and very worthwhile decision to be involved in the program and to live away from home for seven weeks. At the Alpine School, they will have fantastic opportunities to make new friendships, to develop their problem-solving, group-work and leadership skills and to participate in a range of outdoor activities like cross-country and downhill skiing. On the program, the students will also work on a project to make a difference in the local community, which they will implement when they return to SASC in term 4.

We wish them the best of luck at the Alpine School and look forward to hearing about their experiences and the new skills they have learnt on the program.

Mr Ben Beagley

Until further notice, the following precautions outlined below are to prevent any potential spread and to keep members of our school community safe.
All enquires, should be made via the phone on 9366 2555 and not in person.

General Office Payments

Preferred method of payment at the General Office is by way of card. Payments to the General Office can be processed over the phone with a valid credit card or on-line using BPay. Please contact the General Office on 9366 2555 should you need further information. We ask that you restrict your visits to the school.

Signs of Cold or Flu

Your child should not attend school if they are displaying cold or flu like symptoms. If you or your child have symptoms, please contact your GP and see if they are offering testing or attend a local testing clinic to get tested.

Compass Access

Any important information will be sent to parents and families via the Compass News Feed. Parents are asked to ensure that they have access to Compass.

General Office Hours

8:15am to 4:15pm

ID Cards

Students are reminded that they require their ID cards with them when they present to the General Office.

Student Lunches at the General Office

Families are advised that the General Office is unable to accept lunches for student collection. Please discuss and prepare for a different course of action with your child, should they forget to bring their lunch to school.

Student Absence Line

Parents are reminded when leaving message on the student absence line to:

• wait for the beep before leaving a message
• state who you are, e.g: I am the parent of …….. and clearly state your child’s name and home group
• clearly state the reason for your child’s absence and how long they will be absent for
• please ensure that your message is audible (not on speaker phone) and there is no background noise.

State School Relief (SSR)

Should you have a valid HCC and a child in Year 7 in 2022, you may be eligible for the Year 7 Uniform Starter Pack. Please inquire at the General Office.

Did you know that you can now Consent & make a Payment on Compass for your child’s excursion

Your child will be attending excursions / events throughout the year. Log into Compass on the Parent Portal via the schools website for each excursion to approve the consent and make a payment (if applicable) online by the due dates. This saves your child time lining up at the general office.

Compass greatly assists parents with approval and payment requirements, and also assists the office staff and teachers by reducing the paperwork and Finance components. Parents
can easily access their child’s activities, keep the school up to date with important information, and complete the permission & payment process.

Compass Pay is available to you through the Parent Portal that you can access via the schools’ website with your individual username and password at https://stalbanssc.vic.edu.au/

To provide the consent/payment required, parents click on the notifcation which will appear on the home screen under “My News”. This will take you to the Events page, where you can see all events that require consent/payment, and those that may have already consented to/paid for.

Parents have the option of completing the consent/payment online, or of printing the consent form and handing it in to the once with payment.

By clicking the “Process Now (Online)” option, parents will be prompted to enter information regarding emergency contact details, as well as any relevant medical information.

You can access the Instruction Booklet on Compass under the School Documentation Tab and click on Parents Information or click here.

If you require any assistance, please contact the General Office on 9366 2555.

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF)

Parents/Guardians that are holders of a valid Health Care Card (HCC) are eligible to apply for a government payment to assist with the cost of events for your child.
To apply you must:

• Have a HCC that is valid on 28 January 2022.
• Have a HCC that displays your name and name/s of dependent/s you want to claim for
• Submit your application by 25 June 2021 (has been extended this year due to COVID)

You can find the application form by clicking here

A 2014 St Albans Secondary College graduate Steve Obeid appeared on Channel 9’s Millionaire Hot Seat winning an amazing $50,000 dollars. 

In Year 12, Steve completed VCAL and finished with a Certificate III and IV in Sport & Recreation. Steve then went on to enrolled at VU Polytechnic’s Diploma of Sport.

To read more to view the hot seat video, please google Steve Obeid