Thank you for taking the time to read our Term 3 Newsletter.
This edition will show you that this term has certainly been very busy with events and activities including; Term 3 Parent Forum, planning for our Year 9 Program, Learning Growth Awards, Student Personal Growth and Wellness Day, 100 Days Celebrations, Primary School Transition Events and much more!
STAFF APPRECIATION
This term our wonderful school council organised a morning tea and some gifts donated and prepared by some of our parents, Belinda Collins and Rebecca Cooper, as their way of thanking staff for their hard work in establishing a successful school that the community can be proud of.
The establishment of a new school is not a solo job and it has seen an impressive level of dedication from our staff supported by our generous families and community.
SUPPORT USING COMPASS
Thank you to all of our families for their connection and engagement with learning at Greenvale Secondary College. In our continued efforts I wanted to raise awareness of the assistance available to access and navigate Compass.
It is important that all families are regularly logging in, reading notifications and celebrating the learning growth of their child. Sometimes we recognise that navigating or accessing technology may require a little support, so recommend that families:
- Drop into the Administration Office and ask for assistance
- Check out the online Parent and Family Guide for Compass
- Login to Compass or our Website and view the help guides under School Documentation
STAGE 1A PROGRESS
Many families will be aware of the ongoing challenges in establishing our grassed playing fields which has been hampered by the wet weather. The College has been working closely with the Victorian School Building Authority who oversee the works and we are trying to ensure that this much needed open space is available before the end of the year.
STUDENT TOILETS
As our families will be aware, the Victorian School Building Authority delivers all new schools with Unisex Toilets which is the same as any new government building such as a hospital. There has been plenty of publicity about Unisex toilets in schools and workplaces including this article in the Age from 2021 and in the Building Quality Standards Handbook about how decisions on facilities in new builds are reached.
Our current unisex facilities are not the old style toilet blocks found still in many schools. Rather – each toilet is in its own individual room behind a locked full size door with its own basin and mirror.
After receiving feedback from families and our community, School Council have reviewed this situation and have now approved a change so that each building has a combination of unisex as well as gender specific male and female toilets. This will ensure that we balance the expectations of our local community and the requirements of the Department of Education and Training to create an safe an inclusive environment for LGBTIQ+ students. These changes will come into effect before the end of Term 3.
We continue to encourage any or all families and members of our community to speak directly with the College on these matters.
COVID – A BIG THANKS
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank parents and students for continuing to keep us informed of COVID cases in their families. Unfortunately Greenvale Secondary College, like many places in the state, have had a further uptick in cases during Term 3. This has contributed to the difficulties we have had in staffing the school, but thankfully we have been able to keep almost all classes, excursions and events running as in pre-COVID times. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their efforts at this challenging time.
YEAR 7 2023
Our offers for Year 7 2023 have been confirmed via the primary schools and we have now welcomed our new families to Greenvale Secondary College. In 2023, we will have an additional class of year 7 students to cater for the demand however have not been able to place over 100 families.
As a result of a high demand for enrolments, the College has been placed under an Enrolment Management Plan which now further restricts enrolment to only those who live within the enrolment zone.
TERM 4 PARENT FORUM
Each term parents are provided with detailed information that will assist them to best support their child at Greenvale Secondary College. This takes place in regular Parent Forums.
In Term 4 our Parent Forum is on Tuesday 18 October at 5:30pm.
Parent Forums run each term and have a different focus or set of topics. Topics to be covered in Term 4 include Academic and Social Resilience
Bookings are made via www.eventbrite.com.au/o/greenvale-secondary-college-38054468573
