Newcomb Secondary College Newsletter

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TUESDAY 10th February 2015 ISSUE: 2

Coming Events

Wednesday, 11th February

School photos.

Thursday, 12th February

Year 12 Orientation, Deakin University.

Year Level Assemblies, 10.30am.

Friday, 13th February

Year 12 Orientation, Deakin University.

Monday, 16th February

Swimming Sports - compulsory school

day.

Tuesday, 17th February

School photos catch up.

Thursday, 19th February

Whole College Assembly.

Thursday, 26th February

Year 7 and 10 Immunisations.

Connect Assemblies.

Friday, 27th February

Year 11 Orientation.

Regional Swimming/Diving.

Thursday, 5th March

Year Level Assemblies.

Friday, 6th March

Year 8 EASE Geelong Excursion.

Senior Sport: Volleyball/Tennis/Softball/

Baseball/Cricket.

GROW at Gordon.

STUDENT SUPPORT LEADERS To better assist the students in their learning, organisation and wellbeing, we

have developed a staffing structure to assist student development at each year level.

In the first instance parents will be referred to the Student Support Person. Each

year level has a Student Support Person and a Team Leader as outlined below:

YEAR 12 ORIENTATION – DEAKIN UNIVERSITY On Thursday and Friday of this week the Year 12 students will be participating in

their formal orientation at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus. The focus of this program is on equipping the students with the skills needed to successfully

complete their final year of study, as well as providing advice and support with the identification of continued professional learning pathways beyond secondary

school. On both days students will travel to and from school on a bus – neat casual clothing is permitted. A more detailed account of this will be provided in

the following week’s newsletter.

Mr Phil Honeywell, Principal

Mr Shane Elevato, Assistant Principal

Mrs Liz McNamara, Assistant Principal

College Council: Student Leaders: Student Leaders: President: Vidas Kymantas Mitchell Allen Toby France

Vice President: Yvette Ramsay Amanda Clydesdale Bailee Jones

Exec. Officer: Phil Honeywell

81-85 Bellarine Highway Newcomb VIC 3219 Phone: 03 5248 1400 Fax: 03 5248 3523

Email: newcomb.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au Website: www.newcombsc.vic.edu.au SMS student absences: 0434 728 159

Year Level Student Support

Person

Team Leader

7 Ms Rowena Goldsmith Mr Rowan Klingberg

8 Mr Glenn Unmack Mr Rowan Klingberg

9 Mr Andrew McCurry Ms Sue Hedley

10 Mr Peter Currie Ms Sue Hedley

11 Mr Jeremy Sinclair Mr James Murphy

12 Mr Jeremy Sinclair Mr James Murphy

CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE 2015 (TRAVEL ALLOWANCE)

To be eligible to receive a Conveyance Allowance, applicants must reside more than 4.8km by the shortest

practicable route from their nearest school. Parents are responsible for the initial payment of the bus pass but will

be reimbursed in July and December in the current year by the College.

To apply for reimbursement students are required to complete two forms and return them to the school office.

1. Public Transport Travel Student Conveyance Allowance Application 2015.

2. 2015 Victorian Public Transport Student Concession Card and Student Pass Application Form (these forms are not available until early 2015 and can be obtained from the College General Office or V/Line

Stations).

Please note that these forms have to be completed at the start of each school year for continued

funding. Any queries please contact Michelle Sharp at the College on 5248 1400.

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHS All students will be photographed on Wednesday,

11th February 2015, with a catch up day on Tuesday

17th, February 2015.

There is no charge to be photographed and all students

will receive an Identification Card at no cost. The card

will enable students to borrow books and use the

photocopier. Replacement cards and students receiving

cards later will incur a charge of $5.

Students must be in correct school uniform (not sports

uniform) and comply with the Uniform Policy to be

photographed as each image will be used to produce

class photos.

PLEASE NOTE all money and forms to be handed

in on the day to Arthur Reed Photos.

SWIMMING SPORTS Monday, 16th February will see the Newcomb

Secondary College sporting year kick off with the

House Swimming Sports.

The sports will be held at Kardinia Swimming Pool.

Students are not required to be in school uniform

and should dress up in their respective house

colours to show support for the team.

They should also ensure they have appropriate

protection from the sun. Students can bring their

own lunch or food can be purchased from the pool

canteen.

As the sports are a whole school compulsory

activity there will be no classes operating on this

day.

ICT UPDATE As mentioned in previous newsletters we are moving forward with our ICT provision and expectations for 2015. We

have updated our JB Computers purchase portal to show the latest devices and it is pleasing to see these devices starting to be made use of in classes. All students were issued with a notice outlining computer options for 2015. If you have not seen this or want another copy please see the Computers page on our website. New JB orders can

continue to be placed throughout the year. We do not recommend purchasing iPads for use at school, however if you already own one it may be able to be set up for limited use in classes. Other computer devices will need to be

individually checked by our IT support team before they can be set up for school use. Application forms for this are available at Mr Bath’s office.

We have also begun the process of mailing out confidential Usernames and Passwords for parents to be able to log on to Xuno, our new student data portal. Existing students should already be able to use this with their new 2015 school

password, so we hope parents can have a look at the wealth of information available using the student log on. Xuno log on is available from the Logon button on our school website. We plan to hold information sessions to assist

parents using Xuno after all families have received their information.

Another new initiative for this year is the Newcomb Secondary College smart phone App. This will be a great way to

keep in touch with us and greatly improve the way parents can communicate with the school. More details will be out soon but this will be a free App download for all phone types.

If you have any comments or concerns please let us know so we can better meet your needs and continue improving our ICT facilities.

Stephen Bath Information and Communications Technology Leader

STUDENT INSURANCE

School Injuries and Insurance Parents and guardians are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any

transport costs. Most medical costs will be refundable by Medicare. If you are a member of an ambulance or health insurance

fund, you may also be able to claim transport or other expenses from the fund.

Personal property is often brought to school by students, staff and visitors. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys,

sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. The Department of Education and Training does not hold insurance

for personal property brought to school, does not hold accident insurance for school students and it has no capacity to pay for

any loss or damage to such property.

Is other insurance cover available? Yes.

The Department is aware of two insurers, JUA Underwriting Agency Pty Ltd and Willis Australia Ltd, that provide accident

insurance policies for students. These policies provide specific benefits for students who are injured in accidents for a

reasonably low cost. Other insurers may also provide a similar policy.

Help your kids manage their asthma Checklist for Parents

Does your child have an up to date Asthma Action Plan (Asthma Care Plan)? The Asthma Care/Action Plan tells the school how to manage your child’s asthma and what to do if their asthma gets worse. This should be updated & signed by the doctor on an annual basis.

Does your child carry their reliever puffer and spacer with them at all times? Or is it readily available to their Carers? Medication needs to be available wherever your child may be (school, child care, sporting field, home)

Are you and your child aware of their asthma trig-gers? Do you take steps to avoid these triggers? Are the Teachers aware of these triggers?

Do you listen to what your child says? They will be aware of their asthma symptoms and should be able to tell you when they need their medication.

Does your child take their asthma medication correct-ly? Good technique allows more medication to get into the lungs where it is needed. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you would like to check your device technique.

IN MY CLASSES

Year 7 Instrumental Music Tryouts

Cheryl Stabryla

Music Co-ordinator

MESSAGE FROM CITY OF GREATER GEELONG

PICKING UP & DROPPING OFF CHILDREN AROUND SCHOOLS

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 and 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 alright at this time, ensure that they wait until you are safely and legally parked.

If you breach a parking regulation the Parking and 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.

SCHOOL EXCURSIONS AND REMINDERS

Students who don’t attend an excursion are expected to attend school as normal.

Parents are asked to not keep students at home.

Year/Group Excursion Date Cost Permission Slips &

Payment Due

7-12 House Swimming Carnival Monday, 16th February $5 11th February

REMINDER TO PLEASE NAME ALL

ITEMS OF UNIFORM

NEW COLLEGE UNIFORM

With the introduction of the new College uniform in 2013 there was a two year period of grace, during which time

students could wear new, old or combination of uniform items. We have now completed that two year transition

period and it is timely to remind all families that students are expected to be wearing the new College uniform in 2015.

Most of our students are wearing correct College uniform with pride and look terrific – we thank parents for

supporting our uniform policy. Teachers and the Student Support teams provide constant reminders of our

expectation that all students will be in full and correct College uniform.

Students are required to get a uniform pass when they do not have correct items of uniform and parents will be

contacted when students are persistently out of uniform. If your child does not have an item of uniform, please provide

a signed note of explanation - this will enable them to get a uniform pass for the day.

Uniform can be purchased from Beleza store located at 107 Ryrie Street – it is open from 9.00am to

4.30pm Monday to Friday.

STUDENT ABSENCES Parents and Guardians are required to provide an

explanation for their child’s absences.

This can be done by:

Telephone the College on 5248 1400

Send an SMS text message or reply to our absence

line 0434 728 159. Please put Student Name, Home

Group and Reason for Absence in the text message.

Write a note in the Student Organiser or a separate

note to present the next morning to the PASS Booth.

Records can then be amended.

In all instances the College requires the following

information:

Child’s name.

Home Group or Year level.

Date absent.

Reason for absence.

Parent/guardian signature (when written).

PUNCTUALITY AND UNIFORM

Students are to report to the College Office for

PASSOUTS for:

Late Arrival.

Leave Early.

Out of Uniform or Without Diary.

The PASSOUTS Desk is located in the rear foyer of the

Admin Building – enter through quadrangle. This is

available from 8.30am each morning. After 10.00am

students will need to report to College Reception.

LATE ARRIVAL

When a student is going to arrive late to school for any

reason please let the school know by phone or write a

note. Those who arrive to class after 8.45am must

receive a Late Pass. If the student has no note, they will

need to go through the same procedure. Students who

regularly arrive late without an explanation will be

referred to their Team Leader.

LEAVE EARLY

If it is unavoidable that a student needs to leave for an

appointment, the student is required to provide a signed

note of explanation to the College office before school.

The student will in turn be issued with a Leave Pass from

the PASSOUTS Desk. This is to be handed to their

teacher at the arranged time of departure. Appointments,

where possible, should be made outside school hours or

on Wednesday afternoons when students are dismissed

early.

OUT OF UNIFORM

If a student is out of uniform they must provide a signed

note of explanation to the PASSOUTS Desk before

classes to be issued a Uniform Pass. Students who are

regularly out of uniform will be referred to Team Leaders.

WITHOUT DIARY

If a student has forgotten or lost their diary they will need

to report to the PASSOUTS Desk. Lost diaries will need

to be replaced.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Are you wanting to buy or sell second hand

uniforms for your student?

Join the new 'Newcomb Secondary

College Second Hand Uniforms' group on

Facebook.

Newcomb Secondary College

LAMINATING

SERVICE

$6 per metre trimmed

$4 per metre untrimmed

Lamination up to 800mm wide and

unlimited length

Contact: Jean at Newcomb

Secondary

College for more information

5248 1400.

CENTREPAY

If you are in receipt of Centrelink

payments, Newcomb Secondary

College has the facility to accept

Centrepay payments.

This may assist you to pay your

family account.

Please contact the Administration

Office on 5248 1400 for more

information.

ADVERTISING SPACE AVAILABLE

CONTACT THE SCHOOL OFFICE IF

YOU ARE INTERESTED IN

ADVERTISING IN OUR

NEWSLETTER.

PHONE 03 5248 1400

TERM DATES

Term 1 28th January (Teachers Start) to 27th March

Term 2 13th April to 26th Jun

Term 3 13th July to 18th September

Term 4 5th October to 18th December