Newsletter 8th April 2011 - Emerald Secondary College

Emerald Secondary College is a Learning Community
Principal- Wayne Burgess
College Council President- Greg Ritchie
Assistant Principals- Andrew Batchelor & Kylie Wenzel
Business Manager- Chris Woodhouse
Term 1: Issue 5
8th April 2011
Term 2: 27 April - 1 July
Term 3: 18 July - 23 Sept
Term 4: 10 October -22 Dec
IMPORTANT DATES:
APRIL :
Fri 8th: last day of Term 1- 2.30 finish
Wed 27th: School Resumes
EARLY NOTIFICATION:
MAY:
Mon 2nd: Semester 1 Parent-
Student-Teacher Interview Night
12noon - 8pm
IN THIS ISSUE:
• Student Learning
• Principal’s Comments
• From the Assistant Principal
• Attendance Olympics
• Sustainability - Aiden Hudson-
Davies
• Valedictory Dinner 2011 Date
Change
• Staff Development Report
• B12 - Integration Department
Report
• Women’s Mentoring Breakfast -
Lauren Northe
Layla Hellriegel
Kerrie Lamble and Kellie Tait
• Girl Guides Mentor Breakfast
Report by Franca Mosca
• Draft Gembrook Township
Strategy on Public Exhibition
• Naplan 2011
• Coles Sports for Schools Program
• Students of the Week -Miranda
Diprose and Danielle Sheppard
• Staff Profile Brett Jorna
•
Tracey Heldoorn
• Science Report
• Careers at ESC
• Eating Disorder Seminar
• Body Image Seminar
• Growing Great Kids
STUDENT LEARNING:
Student Learning – Shannyn Strong
11F and Peter Jeffree 11F:
“Shannyn and Peter are in Mr
Watson’s PE/Health class. We have
been learning a lot about bones and
muscles in the past few weeks. We
have learnt about it in class with work
sheets stating different facts about
the body. We have also done a “prac”
about it.
Mr Watson has also provided us with
a booklet with more information that
would help us now and later in life.
We have also had class discussions
about bones and muscles.
We have enjoyed working together
and the different ways Mr Watson has
taught us”.
Principal’s Comments:
Integration:
I want to devote the main part of my
comments to the importance of the
Integration Department to the school
community. At the present time we
have 20 students funded as part of our
Integration Program and another 35
receiving support from our Integration
team of 12 Integration Aides. I am
aware that schools can have a range
of ‘unofficial’ views about Integration
students. Some schools welcome them
and others try and discourage them
from enrolling. Emerald Secondary
College views our Integration students
as important members of the school
community and we are conscious of our
responsibility to help them reach their
potential.
Every one of our Integration students is
an individual with their own particular
strengths and special needs. While we
have a number of students with some
form of Autism, including Aspergers,
they are all different. Some can be
high functioning in a particular subject,
they will often have an area of special
interest but what appeals to one may
have no interest for another, some may
struggle to cope academically and
many lack some awareness of social
interaction, body language or other
people’s emotions.
I consider myself fortunate to have
been able to gain some understanding
of the needs of our Integration students.
A great many people have assisted my
understanding including the Integration
students themselves, their parents,
members of our Integration team,
Professional Development and my wife
who has been an Integration Aide for
over 12 years.
I thought that the school should
take this opportunity to highlight
and celebrate the contribution and
achievement of our Integration
students. They are important members
of our student population and play
a key role in the overall education
provided at Emerald Secondary
College. They help us realise that,
every student is special and that, in fact,
“Every Child Matters’. They help raise
our awareness of individual differences
and hopefully increase our level of
understanding and tolerance of others.
There have been a number of times
when I have found myself thinking that
I can learn from their positive outlook
on life and their willingness to take
people at face value.
We value our Integration students and
are incredibly proud of what they have
been able to achieve, sometimes in
spite of great personal difficulties. An
example of this is the You Tube Clip
that Kirra Dixon produced -‘My Life,
My Story’ which has a courageous

and powerful message. I felt inspired
as a result of how she has overcome a
serious medical condition and what she
has managed to do in her 19 years.
I also admire the strength, determination
and love that the families of these
students have demonstrated. Raising
children, and teenagers in particular,
can be challenging but it is even more
so with children with special needs. I
do recognise that our Integration Room
(B12) isn’t the most attractive building.
I would certainly like a more modern
and inviting building but our funding
does not make this possible.
However while facilities do count,
what is of far more importance is the
quality and commitment of members
of our Integration Team. I have not
come across a more compassionate,
dedicated or capable Integration Team.
On numerous occasions, I have referred
to them as the “Integration Angels”
because they are incredibly supportive
and always willing to do everything
within their means to give the students
in their care every opportunity to
succeed.
The school is indeed fortunate to have
such a dedicated team so ably led by
Colleen Jackson and Katrina Benoiton.
One of the initiatives of the team was
to introduce an extended Transition
Program last year for our new group of
Year 7 students as well as for several
students who were in Grade 5. This
really assisted their transition from
Primary School. It is even more
important that we provide a high quality
Transition Program for our Integration
students, as they often struggle with a
change of routine.
The Integration Program has been a
strength of Emerald Secondary College
for many years. Two of our College
objectives are: Achieving your Potential
and Catering for Individual Differences
and our Integration Program enables us
to practice what we preach.
Student Forums:
This year the school will be organising
regular Student Forums. These Student
Forums will involve between 8-10
students who are broadly representative
of their year level meeting with their
Year Level Coordinator plus either an
Assistant Principal or myself.
The aim of these Student Forums is to
ask students for their views on a range
of issues. We want to know what is
working well; what can we do better
and what makes an effective teacher?
We also asked them about the year level
data from the 2010 Attitudes to School
Survey.
Student Feedback Surveys:
Another initiative is that each teacher
will be surveying at least one of
their classes each semester about
their performance as a classroom
teacher. There are several reasons for
introducing these surveys. Firstly, the
Attitudes to School Survey which every
government school student completes,
usually in May asks them a series of
questions about their teachers.
This survey has value as an overall
measure of how the school is going
and the effectiveness of the teachers
in general. However, it really does
not give the teachers specific personal
feedback as the question refers to
“my teachers”. This can range from
5 to 10 teachers for specific year
levels and the data is then aggregated.
While the information provides us
with general trends it does not give
us data that enables specific actions.
For instance, students have said that
when commenting on “My Teachers”
they sometimes think of the average
teacher, one they like, one they don’t
get on so well with or the teacher
they had for their most recent class.
Secondly, individual teachers need
specific feedback about themselves
including what they are doing well
as well as identifying areas where
they can do better if they are going to
be truly effective. Staff will receive
this information in pie graphs that
summarise the class responses to each
individual question. We believe that
this information will be very valuable.
Wayne Burgess Principal
VALEDICTORY DINNER 2011
DATE CHANGE
Due to clashes with exams and “schoolies” week,
the Valedictory Dinner will now be held on
Thursday 8th December at the Karralyka Centre.
Please make a note of this change in your diaries.
Bri Holder - Senior School Leader
From the Assistant Principal:
The Attendance Olympics:
We are currently into the Yr 7 and Yr
12 Grand Finals with the following
key match-ups:
Year 7
11E – Mr Snow v 11G – Ms Stephens
Year 12
06E Mr MacLellan v 06F Ms Edwards
These groups will fight it out for the
best level of attendance to determine
who will be the premiers and be
awarded The Attendance Olympics
Cup and receive a special free lunch!
Sustainability:
The Sustainability Group is running
again in 2011 and welcomes all new
and returning members. The Senior
Sustainability Leader for 2011 is
Aiden Hudson-Davies, who has been
outstanding in his efforts thus far.
His main focus has been on getting
the group together to promote a
“sustainable future.”
Some of Aiden’s plans for the group
include:
• to better the local community
along with the school.
• increase school productivity via
solar cells.
• increase the number of recycle
bins within the school community.
• tree planting,.
• investigation into a school
vegetable patch.
• run fundraisers
• and a “frog bog”.
•
Thanks for your efforts Aiden and the
rest of the group, let’s keep up with the
fantastic ideas!
Andrew Batchelor Assistant Principal

Staff Development:
As I begin to gather my thoughts and reflect on the
terms work in Staff Development I can’t believe
how quickly this term has gone and how hard we
have all worked.
The start of 2011 saw the introduction of
Professional Development Team Plans for the
staff of Emerald Secondary College. The Emerald
model of Performance Development is based on
a teams approach and incorporates the concept
of peer support, feedback analysis and review.
It is intended that the process should be nonjudgemental
and encourages staff to reflect on
their current practice as well as seek constructive
feedback from colleagues.
All staff including the Principal team, were required
to develop Performance and Development plans
consisting of three goals. At least one of which
has a whole school improvement focus based on
our Annual Implementation Plan. Another of the
goals is based on building effectiveness as a teacher
using the Principles of Learning and Teaching. The
third goal allows Teachers to focus on their own
individual professional growth and development.
Performance and Development Plans include a
description of the goals and targets, as well as an
outline of the strategies that will be used in order
to achieve each goal. Plans will also be used by
myself in consultation with the Strategic Planning
Team to develop a Professional Learning program
for the College. The aim of this program is to give
teachers the support they need in order to achieve
their goals.
Each staff member is expected to utilise a set of
indicators that can be used to gauge the success
of the strategies used in achieving their goals and
targets. This can include school based data or
individual feedback such as student surveys, student
feedback, peer observation, pre and post testing and
student results
All teachers at Emerald Secondary College will
be using student learning data and differentiating
their curriculum accordingly to meet the needs of
their students. Staff are continuing to develop and
use documented sequenced curriculum, a process
begun in 2010 by Mike Jaremczuk as Teaching
and Learning Leader. College expectations will
be consistently implemented for a quality learning
culture.
As I gather staff Performance and Development
Plans and see individual teachers working on their
goals, I am constantly reminded of what a fantastic
staff we have at Emerald Secondary College. Staff
have put a lot of time and energy into ensuring that
their goals have your children in mind. There is a
real desire to improve student outcomes through the
development of an engaging, targeted and reflective
curriculum. This is important to me not only as a
teacher at the college but also as a parent of a child
in Year 7. Franca Mosca Staff Development
Leader.
NEWS FROM B12 - THE INTEGRATION
DEPARTMENT:
A very busy beginning to the year. Lots of new students
and staff who have to become familiar with the College
but are already settling in well. The Year 7 camp went
extemely well with most of our students having a very
memorable time, as did our accompanying staff.
An upcoming excursion to Casey HPV is in its early
planning stages and scheduled to occur early next term.
The ‘Transistion from Primary School to Secondary
College’ program will commence Thursday 21st July
from 9.15 until 11.30am. This program has proven to
be beneficial and we urge those interested to contact our
Team Leader Colleen Jackson to make an appointment
before the program commences.
Colleen Jackson and Katrina Benoiton
Integration Coordinators

WOMENS MENTORING
Last Thursday 24 th March, four Yr
11 girls were selected to attend the
15 th Girl Guides Mentor Breakfast.
Lauren Northe, Layla Helliregel,
Kerrie Lamble and myself, Kellie
Tait, were lucky enough to participate
in such an inspiring morning. It was
a chance for students in the Shire
ofCasey across the region to receive
guidance from successful women who
had been successful both in their
careers and within the community.
We were lucky enough to be able to
listen to the successful designer, Jenny
Hoo who spoke about how she reached
her dream career after numerous
setbacks and husbands!!
In the morning, we were able to speak
and ask many questions which helped
us to further decide what career path
would suit us best. It also allowed
us to understand the positives and
negatives of choosing a certain career
whether they be social, family or
recreational consequences or rewards.
As a result of this breakfast, we left
knowing that we, as women, can
do anything if we believe and put
intense effort towards what we set out
to achieve as well as the freedom to
pursue whatever comes along in the
future.
Lauren Northe & Kellie Tait.
( Layla Hellriegel and Kerrie Lamble
are on the Central Australia trip).
Macclesfield Netball Club
Wants You...
Offering Scholarships to U13
Players – born in either
1998/99.
Interested in the opportunity to
try the sensational, team sport
of netball at no cost.
Call Sam 0438680032
GIRL GUIDES MENTOR
BREAKFAST:
On Thursday 24th March I had the
privilege of driving 4 Year 11 girls to
the annual Shire of Casey, Girl Guides
Mentor Breakfast . Lauren Northe,
Layla Hellriegel, Kerrie Lamble and
Kellie Tait.
The girls were outstanding in the
way they represented the College and
mixed with people on their table with
confidence and maturity. It was a
pleasure to be involved in the breakfast
with this group of girls.
Emerald Secondary College has been
selected to attend this breakfast on an
annual basis and I have been asked to
mentor a group of girls from a variety
of schools in 2012 who are interested in
pursuing a career in education. We are
fortunate as a College to have access to
such programs and I would like to thank
Mark Ogden in his role as Programs
Leader for enabling us to access such
events. Franca Mosca
Staff Development Leader
Draft Gembrook Township
Strategy on Public Exhibition:
The draft Gembrook Township Strategy
is currently on public exhibition.
Council is holding an Open House at
the Gembrook Community Centre on
Sunday 10 April from 10:00am –
3:00pm and all community members
are invited to come along to find out
more about the strategy and provide
feedback.
Council’s MYBus will be in attendance
along with YMCA who will be
facilitating a free skate and scooter
workshop from 10:00am – 2:00pm.
Come down and tune your skills on
your skate board or scooter and show
your best trick for your chance to win
some great prizes.
There will be a sausage sizzle on
the day with all proceeds going to
the Gembrook Pre School. A short
presentation from Council on the draft
strategy will be given every hour till
2pm.
Council’s Draft Gembrook township
strategy is available online at www.
cardinia.vic.gov.au or in hard copy from
Council Offices, Henty Way, Pakenham.
The CD copies are also available from
the Gembrook Post Office.
NAPLAN 2011:
The National Assessment Program -
Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
tests for Year 7 & 9 students only
will be held from Tuesday 10th May
through to Thursday 12th May.
Writing materials are supplied by the
school however students are required
to bring with them a calculator when
completing the Maths component of
the testing on Thursday 12th.
This testing is a crucial part of a
school being able to offer a curriculum
that meets the needs of each individual
student and we would encourage
all parents to discuss with their son/
daughter the importance of taking
the tests seriously. The college
will ensure that students are clear
on understanding the behaviour
expectations whilst NAPLAN is on.
Mike Jaremczuk
Teaching & Learning Leader
COLES SPORTS FOR SCHOOLS
PROGRAM
Emerald has received all the
equipment from the Coles Sports for
Schools Program, including:
• 5 basketballs
• 3 discuses
• Set of whistles
• High jump bar and
horizontal stand
This is a great effort, if we had bought
all this gear it would have cost $500
plus, so a big thank you goes out to all
the families who collected vouchers.
Students of the Week – Miranda
Diprose 07A and Danielle
Sheppard 07D
Congratulations to Miranda and
Danielle who are the joint winners
of student of the week. Both girls
have been nominated by their Food
Technology teacher, Ms Cross-Gunn,
for their consistent effort and overall
food production skills. Miranda
and Danielle have displayed great
organisation and time management
skills throughout classes. Well done
and keep up the great work girls!

Staff profile – Brett Jorna
Brett has just taken over the role as the head of ESC IT Technicians. His team
maintains and develops the network infrastructure and teachers’ notebooks
throughout the school.
Prior to his new appointment as head of ESC IT Technician, Brett was working
as a TSSP within the Eastern Metro Region for a year and a half. Before that
he worked for Citibank and Diners Club for 8 years in help desk, development
and support. Previously he was an Engineer in the Australian Army, working
as part of the anti-terrorist task force for the Sydney Olympics.
Brett is married with 3 boys under 6, so that currently drives a lot of his “free”
time. However when he does have time, Brett likes to play golf, read books, see
movies and catch up with friends over any type of sports coverage.
Tracey loves working in the Library
Welcome Brett to ESC
Staff profile –Tracey Heldoorn
Tracey joined our staff in 2010 and is playing a key role as a Library Assistant
for 3 days a week. Her role includes working on orders and invoicing for library
books and resources, maintaining library books overdue list and assisting
students generally in the Library.
Before joining us Tracey had been working in schools for 23 years. Prior to that
she was a legal receptionist, and after travelling overseas began working in the
Education Department.
Tracey’s interests include reading, movies, camping with family and friends. She
also enjoys country music and attending music festivals. Welcome from the ESC
community Tracey.
SCIENCE REPORT:
This term in Science our faculty has been extremely
busy. Students have been engaged in a range of learning
experiences about a variety of different science concepts
like Chemistry, Forensic Science, Biology and Geology
to name a few.
All the Year 7’s have been working tirelessly to learn
all the safety procedures in the dry laboratories and
recognising all the new Science equipment. Bunsen
Burners have been obtained which has led to a range
of exciting experiments and finding out about scientific
methods. Some classes were also lucky enough to
create very realistic looking Laboratory safety posters
with the aid of fake blood!
This term the wafting scent of burnt toast and plastic
indicated the
Year 8’s were in the Science department. 10D and
10F have had an opportunity to dabble in a number of
experiments involving chemical reactions and burning
various objects to determine if they have Carbon. 10A,
10B and 10C have also been using large learning spaces
and team learning in Integrated Health/Science. The
SEAL group, 10G, are currently trying to solve the
murder of Mr Batchelor in the Forensic Science Unit.
Who did kill Mr Batchelor? Was it Ms. Frith, Ms.
Mauger, Mr. Pinches or Mr. Gough?
Our Year 9’s had time this term to reflect on the ethics
in Science as well as put their practical skills to good
use in their Chemistry unit, whilst Year 10 students
have been kept up to date in class with the world’s
current events. Fukishima Nuclear Plant’s instability
led to a very interesting presentation of the Science and
Chemistry behind the disaster and great discussion of
student’s opinions and concerns on this tragedy.
School Assessed Coursework, excursions and practise
exams have taken up the VCE Science student’s time
with all classes working towards a common goal of
improvement in Science results. Year 11 Chemistry
students had an experiment that ran over 4 days! Year 12
Biology students have also been busy growing seeds to
observe the different factors that affect Photosynthesis.
We have also welcomed our new Science staff
Catherine Kirby, Jonathan MacLellan and Janine
McMahon adding to our teaching and learning expertise
in Biology, Chemistry and Psychology. We are all
looking forward to Term 2 where we will be doing
bigger and better things! Rebecca Frith
Science Coordinator
Year 11 Chemistry students
Year 7 students experimenting with dry ice

CAREERS AT ESC:
Career and Pathways Education is a
vital component of the overall program
provided at ESC. Although there
are activities and exploration across
the curriculum and year levels, there
is an intended focus on this area of
development as students move into the
senior sub-school at the commencement
of Year 10. Following is an outline of
some of the programs and experiences
that students will have over the first
semester at ESC.
MIPS:
All students in Years 10-12 will have a
Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs)
interview during the first semester.
During this meeting students are
assisted through a process of reflecting
on their studies, personal attributes and
areas of interest. In addition students
begin to plan a possible pathway
towards further education, training or
employment. This process, for the first
time, is fully electronic with students
able to access this information on
school network computers, update it,
print off sample resumes and pathways
plans. Students are also provided with
a copy of the notes from the session
that may consist of information as well
as recommendations to follow up or
discuss further with family.
Work Expeprience:
Year 10 students will begin preparing
for Work Experience during this
semester. All students will be involved
in Occupational Health and Safety
Commununity Awareness
Evening
Eating Disorders Victoria
Cardinia Council presents
An evening on positive body
image and healthy eating
When: Tuesday 7th June
Where: Pakenham Regional
Tennis Centre
11 Webster Way
Time: 6.30pm - 8.pm
Cost: Free
Bookings essential on
www.eatingdisorders.org.au/
events.html or phone 9885-6563
classes that will prepare them for a
safe and rewarding learning experience
during their time in the workplace.
Families should have received a letter in
the mail recently providing information
on how you can provide encouragement
and assistance to your son/daughter
during this process.
Uni /TAFE Visits:
Year 10’s will be bused free of charge
to Deakin University on the 23rd May
for a whole day excursion. During
the day students will be involved in a
number of exploration and information
sessions as well as select to go on a tour
based on an area of interest.
As a prelude to this excursion, all Year
9 and 10 students and their families are
invited to the college for a Pathways
to University session on Tuesday 17th
May, 7:15-8pm. This will provide
information, the opportunity to ask
questions and hopefully instigate
conversations at home about future
options.
All Year 9 students will also get to
experience a day of tertiary education
and training, when the year level
will visit Swinburne Institute of
Technology, Wantirna campus on
Monday 6th June, for a TAFE Taster
day. The day will be free of charge for
students and provide the opportunity
to have a hands on experience of what
vocational education at TAFE has to
offer. It will also highlight the ability
to use particular TAFE courses as
South East Youth Connections
Girls on the Go Program
Girls aged 13-15yrs
Activities and discussions including
Body Image/Self Esteem
Assertiveness/Personal Safety
When:13th & 20th April
Where: 6B Henry St
Pakenham (Near Skate Park)
Time: 11am - 2pm
Cost: Free
Phone/email:
Caroline Augustin: 0458303703
carolinea@taskforce.org.au
Sally Rumble: 0431709454
sallyr@taskforce.org.au
a pathway to higher education, and
opportunities to become involved in
vocational education and training whilst
still at Emerald Secondary College.
Year 11 students will be attending
The Age, VCE and Careers Expo at
Caulfield Racecourse on Monday 6th
May. On the day over 140 institutions
and industries will be represented
providing a one stop shop for students
to access and collect information,
ask questions and even participate in
some activities that are of interest in
relation to potential careers and further
education and training.
Careers Newsletter:
Finally, each fortnight a Career
Newsletter is produced. All Year 12
students receive a copy of this. For
students in other year levels, a copy is
posted on the Careers notice board in S
Block. This newsletter provides a lot
of information about different careers,
opportunities to visit institutions and
industry to collect information and have
first hand experiences that will help
when making those important future
decisions regarding career and/or further
education and training. It also lists
important dates for course applications,
Open Days and more. I am more than
happy to print off additional copies of
this upon student request.
Please feel free to contact me at
school should you have any questions
regarding careers and further education.
Jason Nicholas – Pathways Leader
Growing Great Kids
Parents Building Solutions
Staying connected to your child
Who: Mums and Dads and carers
of children 2-12
When: Wed. 18th&25th May
and 1st/8th/15th/22nd June
Where: Upper Beaconsfield
Community Centre
10 Salisbury Road
Time: 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Cost: Free - Booking essential
Contact Helena at Parentzone
5991-2225 or 0488550490