RSC News - Ringwood Secondary College

Newsletter Number 2 March 4, 2011
ines.
Often “the Australians” as we were called, attended English classes
in Bitche, helping the other students with their English speaking
skills, while at the same time learning valuable French that would
not have been possible to learn in Australia.
We are so grateful for the amazing experience that Madame Devereux
and Madame Hoellinger, the corresponding teacher from
France, have been able to create for us, and it would not have been
possible without their commitment and dedication to this homestay.
Madame Devereux has managed to create a life long memory for
each of us, and many new friendships, not only with our host families,
but also with others that we met in France, and we would like to
thank her immensely for giving us the opportunity of a lifetime.
This wonderful trip has opened up so many opportunities for the
future for every single one of us, and it has been the most beneficial
thing that could have happened to improve our French speaking
skills. Now, we not only have a home in Australia, but we each have
a French home and family just waiting for us.
The trip to France was one that each of us will remember forever,
and when the day came for us to leave, nobody wanted to.
Each of us plans to return to Bitche to visit our host families soon,
and we eagerly await the arrival of our host sisters, when they will
attend Ringwood Secondary College in July and early August. They
arrive on July 11th 2011.
Paige Sytema
Year 11, 2011
International and Exchange Report
Our International students have had a great start to the year and
our new students have settled into school life very quickly. Our International
Prefect this year is Eleanor Pine and along with Sophie
we celebrated their eighteenth birthdays this week. I look forward
to working with Eleanor this year, we should have a lot fun especially
organizing our social events which we have several times during
term.
VISIT FROM MONTFORT COLLEGE - THAILAND
We are expecting the arrival of four students from Montfort College
at the beginning of second term. They will be coming for English
immersion and be in class every day. There will be two boys and
two girls around 16 years old. They will be here from the 23rd April
until the 20th May. We are looking for families who would like to
provide a homestay. Each student will pay the $100.00 per week.
Please contact me at school if you are interested.
Year 7 - iPad Update
It has been an exciting, yet hectic few weeks for Year 7. Thank you
to all
students who listened patiently and followed instructions, during
their iPad induction session. As with any emerging technology, we
have
experienced some issues. However, we are working our way
through these and visiting each class to ensure every iPad is functioning
correctly.
REMINDERS
Students have been given the list of both ‘free’ and ‘paid’ applications
that they are to ‘purchase’. From time to time throughout the
year, teachers may ask students to ‘purchase’ other ‘free’ applications,
but no teacher will ask student to ‘purchase’ a ‘paid’ application.
The only time students should purchase any other ‘paid’ applications
with their school gift card, is if this is directed by Ms Rafferty.
This would then be an application all students would need to purchase,
using the remainder of the gift card they were given.
It is vital that students first download the school-identified applications.
We are aware that some students have downloaded other
applications: this isn’t a problem, but there are a few conditions for
students and parents to keep in mind. The school applications must
be downloaded first; the school gift card money cannot be used on
other applications; and non-school applications must not be used
during school hours. It is also important to remember that some applications
which are ‘free’ to download have paid components or ‘in
app purchases’ once they have been downloaded. These are usually
only games, and are an easy trap to fall into. The only school application
on the list, where there is a need for an ‘in app purchase’, is
‘Puppet Pals’, this cost has been factored into the school gift cards.
THAILAND TRIP – 2011
We are still looking for students who would like to join our group
on our trip to Chiang Mai in Thailand. We will be leaving on the 27th
June and returning the 14th July. Students in Years 9-11 are invited
along to this exciting tour of Northern Thailand, highlights include
visiting Temples, Elephant riding in the jungle, white water rafting.
We will stay with homestay families provided by Montfort College
(our sister school). On our way home we will spend 3 nights in Singapore
and will breakfast with Orangutans in the Singapore Zoo
as the main highlight. If you are interested please see the flyer at
the end of the Newsletter and pay your deposit as soon as possible
as we are finalizing numbers soon. For further information you can
contact me on lcody@ringwoodsc.vic.edu.au
Lynda Cody
International Coordinator
It is important that students keep their iTunes gift card safe at
home, as they were instructed at the iPad induction. That way, if
any issues arise due to iTunes accounts, we have the card details to
contact Apple with.
Finally, please remember that there must be no ‘Passcode Lock’
placed on any student iPad (this can be found in Settings under
‘General’). This can create significant problems for both the student
and the Tech team, as, if the password is lost or forgotten, the iPad
will need to be restored to factory settings, wiping all applications
and work.
TECHINCAL TIPS
Technical support assistants are working their way through each
Year 7 class to assist every student. This is a time consuming but vital
process. They are also currently creating several Help Guides, so
students can resolve some of the minor issues themselves. Further
to this, we have included some basic troubleshooting tips below:
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