School Tours Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to take prospective groups of parents on tours of the school whilst the classes have been in operation. This is an opportunity that is always offered as a follow up to our Open Night, which is held at the end of Term 1. The feedback that I have consistently received from the parents, has been how impressed they are with the positive and settled learning environment across the school. They also regularly comment on the positive relationships that they observe between the staff members and the students that they are teaching. Both the settled classroom and the positive interactions are key components in student learning being maximised. Research has demonstrated, that schools with students who are content in their learning environment are more likely to take risks and extend themselves in their learning, resulting in improved outcomes. As a school we have achieved some outstanding results both academically and socially for the students that have attended the school over the past few years. This has been recognised by the Department of Education who are currently working with key personnel in the school to identify specific strategies that have had the biggest impact on the school achieving these results. As a school we are proud of the results that have been achieved but continue to analyse results, reflecting on practices in order to further improve the teaching and learning within the school. Staffing Changes There have been a couple of changes to our staffing for Term 2, due to resignations of Mr Rhys Mawson and Mrs Jocelyn Fincher. I would like to welcome new staff members Mr Tom Ovens and Ms Judith Harbour to Oberon. Ms Harbour has replaced Mrs Jocelyn Fincher teaching Indonesian. While Mr Ovens has replaced Mr Rhys Mawson teaching English and Mathematics. Year 8/9 Central Australia Camp Fifty eight students from Years 8 & 9 and five staff members will be heading to Central Australia on Friday 18th May and returning on Friday 25th May. I am sure that all involved will have a wonderful trip and look forward to hearing of your experiences on your return. NAPLAN Testing NAPLAN testing will take place for Years 7 & 9 students in literacy and numeracy from Tuesday 15th until Thursday 17th May. Volunteers We currently have a number of volunteers in the school sourced through Ed Connect. The volunteers are a combination of recently retired teachers or young people currently studying education. The volunteers will be either working in mainstream classes supporting students or offering some tutoring for interested students. The volunteers will be working with students supporting them in Mathematics and German language.

School Council Student Representatives In 2018 a mandated change for School Council will be implemented, resulting in two students being elected to represent the Student Body. Students will begin their tenure on School Council from the beginning of Term 3. One student will be elected for a two year tenure period and a second student for a one year tenure period. The students elected by the student body, will have full voting rights in line with the Parent, DET and community representatives. If a student is interested in becoming a Council member, they will need to see me for a nomination form which is due back to me by Friday 25th May. If we have more students interested than the two vacancies, a Council election will be held amongst the student body to determine the elected representatives.

See the associated timeline with this Newsletter. School Uniform A reminder to parents that ALL students are expected to wear the correct school uniform at all times. With the weather being a lot colder in the morning it is important that students have an appropriate Oberon High School top to wear to keep them warm. After feedback from students and parents, School Council made the decision to introduce a school puffer jacket as part of the 2018 school uniform. Many parents and students have taken the opportunity to purchase one of these. If you missed the first order and you still wish to purchase a puffer jacket, the order needs to be placed with the General Office. The cost of the puffer jackets is dependent on the order placed, if less than 100 orders the cost is $75 and more than 100 orders the cost is $68. Your support with this is most appreciated. Tim McMahon

JUNE Tues 5th Junior Girls Football and Junior/Intermediate Boys Netball Thurs 7th All Yr 11 Course Requirements due in by 4pm Music Performance Evening Frid 8th Ocean Grove Primary School visit Frid 8th - Frid 15th Year 11 Exams Mon 11th QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY - SCHOOL IS CLOSED Wed 13th REPORT WRITING DAY - STUDENT FREE DAY

EXCEPT FOR STUDENTS UNDERTAKING A UNIT 3 & 4 SUBJECT WHO WILL BE SITTING THE GAT

General Achievement Test (GAT) Thurs 14th Girls Go Extreme Group Thurs 14th - Frid 16th Year 10 Special Program Frid 15th World of Maths - Year 7 Numeracy P1-4 Library Tues 19th Year 11 Outdoor Ed Rockclimbing Excursion P1-6 Thurs 21st Legacy Public Speaking Competition Western Metropolitan Region - Cross Country Girls Go Extreme Group Frid 22nd UN Model Conference - VCE German

MAY

Mon 14th Year 11 Geelong Careers Expo - Periods 5 & 6 Tues 15th Senior Boys and Girls Football Year 11 Outdoor Ed Excursion - You Yangs P3 - 6 Tues 15th - Wed 16th Yr 8 Compass Exploration - Overnight Trek -

Cumberland River Tues 15th - Thurs 17th NAPLAN - Years 7 & 9 students Thurs 17th House Cross Country - Period 3 - 6 - Eastern Gardens Girls Go Extreme Group Frid 18th - Friday 25th Yr 8 & 9 Central Australia Tour Mon 21st Exploration at Point Addis - 7A & 7B Tues 22nd Yr 8 Boys Football, Yr 8 Girls Netball & Badminton and

Yr 7 Soccer Thurs 24th Yr 7 Boys Football, Yr 7 Girls Netball & Badminton and

Year 8 Soccer Girls Go Extreme Group Frid 25th VCAL Fundraiser - Casual Dress Day, Business

Management Food Stalls Mon 28th Geelong Cross Country Run Thurs 31st Girls Go Extreme Group

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

12 Pickett Crescent, Belmont, 3216 Ph: 5243 4444 Fax: 5244 2005 Web: www.oberonhs.vic.edu.au Email: oberon.hs@edumail.vic.gov.au

Absence Hotline - 0439 326 767 Issue 5 - Friday 27th April, 2018

STUDENT FREE DAYS 2018

The following days have been approved by the Oberon High School - School Council as student free for 2018

Wednesday 13th June - Report Writing Day

Thursday 9th August - Staff Professional Development Day

Please mark these dates in your diary.

Oberon High School 2018 School Council Student Election Timetable

Notice of Election and Call for Nominations An election is to be conducted for Student Representatives Members of the School Council of Oberon High School Nominations forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by 4.00pm on Friday 25th May 2018. Following the closing of nominations a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school. The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.

Tim McMahon Principal

Event Date

Notice of Election and call for nominations

Friday 11th May

Closing date for nominations Friday 25th May

Date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be displayed

Tuesday 29th May

Date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed

Thursday 31st May

Close of Ballot Thursday 14th June

Membership Category Term of office Number of positions

Student member 2 years 1

Student member 1 year 1

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Casual Dress Day – Friday May 25th

PYJAMAS (PJ’s) or SPORTING HEROES

Gold Coin Donation

Lunchtime: Student Shelter – Food/Drink Stalls

Year 12 VCAL class: Sausage Sizzle (including Vegie Burgers) & Soft Drinks: all $2.00 each

Year 11 Business Management class: Hot Drinks, Baked

Goods, Donuts, Noodles, Pizza, Hot Chips, Lollies (and more……)

Monies raised from Year 12 VCAL food/drinks & profits

made from Year 11 Business Management class stalls will support Jirrahlinga Koala & Wildlife Sanctuary:

Barwon Heads)

Responsible Serving of Alcohol On Curriculum Day, twenty-four Year 12 students undertook the RSA session which was run at school. With a dynamic and a highly trained presenter with 25 years in the hospitality trade, students were given a highly relevant and engaging session. Gaining their RSA qualification enables students to work in a variety of areas, supporting either their part-time, GAP year or future pathway options. 2018 Geelong Careers and Pathways Expo-Monday 14th May 3-6pm On Monday all Year 11 students will be attending the Geelong Careers and Pathways Expo at Deakin University’s Waterfront campus during periods 5 & 6. This timely event will also launch Year 11s Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs) interviews. During these interviews, which will occur during Block A, students will continue exploring pathway options available to them. Students in Years 10 and 12 are encouraged to attend the EXPO after school to visit the stalls of providers like Australian Defence Force, Emergency Services, VET and SBAT providers, TAFEs and Universities. The EXPO is open until 6pm

GLAM- Girls Leading in Advanced Manufacturing Two Year 10 students - Maxi Armistead and Ruby Winter, have been selected to participate in the Geelong Manufacturing Council’s GLAM program. The girls will visit sites like VIVA ENERGY, Powercor, CSIRO, Cadet and QUICKSTEP over the next few months.

It is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience hands-on activities, mentoring and insights into STEM and manufacturing related industries.

CAREERS IN THE SPOT LIGHT!

Indee Shines at the Special Olympics!

During the first week of Term 2, one of our Year 8 students, Indee Sparkman, a passionate gymnast, competed in the Special Olympics in Adelaide. The Special Olympics is a national event, with over 1000 competitors across 11 games. We are so proud of Indee and pleased for her, as she has enjoyed great triumphs in her events: 4th place for the beam, 4th place for the vault, a silver medal for bars, a second silver medal for her floor routine, and the medal Indee has said she is proudest of – a bronze medal overall for gymnastics! To boot, Indee has told us that she had great fun among fellow competitors between her events, and made some great friends. Indee is such an inspiration to us all in showing what practising our skills, persevering and keeping a positive, determined attitude can help us to accomplish. We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Indee on her fine achievements and wish her every success as she continues to develop her gymnastic skills.

PICKING UP AND DROPPING OFF CHILDREN AROUND SCHOOLS

AN IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGE FROM THE CITY OF GREATER GEELONG

For the safety of children, parents are reminded to take care and obey parking signs when picking up or dropping off children around schools. Council’s Parking & Information Officers regularly patrol school areas during start and finish times and motorists detected breaching parking regulations risk being issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice. Remember, as soon as you stop to let your children in or out of the car, you are deemed to be parked. You do not have to leave your car or turn the engine off to be fined, so please ensure you are parked in a legal parking area.

At children’s crossings, you must remain stationary at the stop line while any person (including an adult or the supervisor) is on the crossing or the stop sign is displayed. Do not let your child alight at this time, ensure that they wait until you are safely and legally parked.

If you breach a parking regulation the Parking & Information Officer assigned to monitor the crossing will usually record your registration number and details, and the Penalty Infringement Notice will be posted to you within the next three days.

Students need to be responsible for bringing their lunch each day. They need regular fuel for energy. This means a healthy lunch and snack every day at school. This may be lunch from home or purchased from the Canteen which provides a healthy selection.

If your son or daughter forgets their lunch they can come to the office before school or at the start of lunch or Recess to call a parent to bring some lunch or money up to school. As the Canteen is an independent business it is not possible for them to issue lunch passes. Please note that the office can no longer lend money to students for lunches. We hope this will encourage your sons and daughters to be more responsible for their own wellbeing.

LUNCH

German Sister School Exchange to Marburg Eleven students from Oberon will take part in this next round of exchange. Their German partners will be in Australia from Grand Final Day (29 September) until the 25th October. The Australian students travel to Germany next year in March/April. Students can now find out who their partner is by seeing Frau Ray in Staffroom 1.

Enterprise German – Unternehmen Deutsch Year 10 German students are enrolled in this Goethe-Institute project. They are working collaboratively between schools teaching German in Australia and German and Australian companies to complete three modules. The modules are: The Economic Area; The Partner Company: The Business Idea. We have nearly finished Module 1. Students from other schools have started to reply to our entries on the website!

LANGUAGES NEWS

LANGUAGES CORNER

DAYS HARI die Tage しゅう shuu

Monday hari Senin Montag げつようび getsuyoobi

Tuesday hari Selasa Dienstag かようび kayoobi

Wednesday hari Rabu Mittwoch すいようび suiyoobi

Thursday hari Kamis Donnerstag もくようび mokuyoobi

Friday hari Jumat Freitag きんようび kinyoobi

Saturday hari Sabtu Samstag どようび doyoobi

Sunday hari Minggu Sonntag にちようび nichiyoobi

week minggu die Woche しゅう shuu

weekend akhir minggu das Wochenende しゅうまつ shuumatsu

Could all parents talk with their students about any medical needs that they may have. Please note the following:

Students should always carry Ventolin Puffers, Epi-Pens, Diabetic Requirements with them on outings – often classes go to sporting or other activities out of the classroom or school. Sporting bags are locked in the change rooms during class time and are not always accessible. If your student has newly diagnosed or changed medical conditions it is vital that the school is notified of this information.

Any students with anaphalaxis are required to have epi-pens (current date) as follows:

One to be kept with the student’s Action Plan at Sick Bay at all times, to be labelled with student’s name. (Staff members will take this one when student is out of school on an excursion, on camp or at sport)

Their own personal named pen to be kept with the student at all times.

Any changes to their Action Plan must be provided to the school. If your student no longer has an allergy we require this information in writing from your Doctor.

If your student requires antihistamines for hayfever or cramp medication etc. they are able to carry one single dose of their medication with them or parents can send written instructions (name, dosage etc) and give the medication to Office staff who will lock it securely away in Sick Bay. Students are forbidden to offer any medication to another student. Please check that your students medications are in date, this is a vital requirement for Epi-Pens. If you receive a letter from the school reminding you of this need to update, please respond as soon as possible to ensure the safety of your child.

Please advise your son/daughter that emergency supplies of medications such as Ventolin and sanitary products are available in sickbay if they see Office Staff. During the warmer weather please remind your child to drink plenty of water during the day. Students are permitted to take water bottles into class.

These guidelines are in place to ensure the health and safety of all our students. Thank you for your assistance.

MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS

VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL AN IMPORTANT NOTICE

A reminder that Parents/Guardians and other visitors must report to the General Office when they enter the school grounds for a meeting, to pick up your child from Sick Bay, for an appointment or for any other reason. Your assistance in this matter is appreciated.

LOST PROPERTY

A large variety of lost property, including un-named uniform items is on the table in the Sick Bay awaiting collection. Parents please remind your students to check the Sick Bay if they have lost any belongings. The Sick Bay will be open on Parent/Teacher/Student Conference Day on Thursday 19th April and parents are welcome to check the table on that day. Any items not claimed will, in the near future, be either donated to families in need or disposed of.

DANGER - OBERON HIGH SCHOOL CAR PARK

The staff car park is NOT a drop off zone and we continue to experience frequent near misses as parents manoeuvre in the tight central space of the car park. This is a very busy space and the unpredictable behaviour of students makes traffic in this area dangerous. Please do not drive into the staff car park unless you are dropping off a student with limited mobility.

Could parents please use the designated drop-off zones which are along Kidman Avenue rather than surrounding streets to avoid congestion of local traffic. Also please be aware that Pickett Crescent has No Parking signs during drop off and pick up times.

Could parents also please remind your sons and daughters to take care when walking or riding to school, particularly when entering through the staff car park. Please also remind your children of the danger of listening to music on headphones whilst crossing roads.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER TO PARENTS

MONDAY 12TH OF JUNE IS THE QUEENS BIRTHDAY SCHOOL IS CLOSED

WEDNESDAY 14TH OF JUNE IS

REPORT WRITING DAY NO STUDENTS AT SCHOOL

EXCEPT FOR STUDENTS UNDERTAKING A UNIT 3 & 4 SUBJECT WHO WILL BE SITTING THE GAT ON THIS DAY

STUDENT ABSENCES

A reminder to all Parents/Guardian of the importance of phoning in absences early on the day of your child’s absence. For your

convenience you can leave a message on our absence number 0439 326 767.

Our SMS system will send a message out each day after 12 pm to those parents whose child is absent from class without notification.

Parents can text or phone the absence number on 0439 326 767 and state the date, student’s full name and reason for absence.

LATE PASSES

If your child arrives late to school they must first report to the Assistant Principal’s Office with a note signed by a Parent or Guardian or they

can state that a parent has phoned the school.

EARLY LEAVE PASSES

If your child needs to leave school for an appointment during the day they must report to the General Office with a note signed by a Parent

or Guardian. If no note is provided the Office Staff will check if a parent has phoned the school. For your convenience you can leave a message on our absence line 0439 326 767. Alternatively if you prefer you can phone the school number 5243 4444 to advise that your child

needs to leave school early. To assist Office staff please phone as early as possible to allow plenty of time to pass the message to your

son or daughter.

LOST PROPERTY

A variety of lost property is on the table in the Sick Bay waiting to be claimed. Some of the items include Oberon uniform - rugby tops, spray jackets and polo tops (new and second hand items). Other non-uniform items include beach towels, hoodies, lunch containers, swimming gear, jewellery, etc. If your son or daughter have lost any belongings please ask them to check the table in Sick Bay.