BSC News No1 V4.pdf - Brunswick Secondary College

No 1 10th FebruaryImportant DatesTues 22nd FebruaryYear 7 and 8 Swim CarnivalThurs 10th MarchZone Swim CarnivalThurs 24th FebruaryTransition for Parents Evening(Year 7 Parents)Wed 2nd MarchUniform Free DayWed 9th MarchSchool PhotosMon 14th MarchLabour Day HolidayAdministrationPrincipalMs Vivienne TellefsonAssistant Principal Year 7-9Ms Heather SecombAssistant Principals Year 10-12Mr Graeme McKinnonMs Alison SanzaStudent Engagement &Wellbeing LeaderMr Craig O’BreeStudent Welfare CounsellorMs Katie ArchibaldCareers CounsellorMs Catherine JonesInternational StudentCoordinatorMs Lauren FlanneryBusiness ManagerMr Chris SalmondPrincipal’s ReportPrincipal ReportAs students milled around their lockerslast Friday then settled into their firstclasses for the 2011 school year, themood was positive and enthusiastic.When asked as they walked through thegate in the morning if they had missedschool and felt ready to return, moststudents answered with a smiling ‘yes.’While the extra week of holidays mayhave been a factor, we feel the mainreason was the genuine sense ofexpectation and excitement that comeswith progressing to the next year leveland stage of schooling. The move fromprimary school to the larger, new andmore complex world of secondary schoolis the most major transition of the schoolyear. Every Year 7 student should knowthat teachers and other students willalways be happy to help and they shouldnot hesitate to ask any question thatthey have. I often say to students, youonly have one chance to make a firstimpression and I am pleased that our2011 Year 7 students have made a veryimpressive and settled start to theyear. I extend a very warm welcomeboth to them and to the new studentswho have commenced in other yearlevels.New Year 7 students get off to a goodstartTo Year 12 students andyour families, best wishesfor the important final yearof school. You will find that itwill fly by quickly. Althoughyou will work extremelyhard, we know from pastexperience that there ismuch to enjoy in Year 12.Yes, there is the longawaited Formal and a suiteof Graduation activities, butthere is also the uniquenessof the relationships that youwill develop with yourteachers and the otherstudents in your level. YouOur first VCAL class Year 11will be surprised by howmuch you will come to meanto one another this year. To Year 11 students, my best advice is to remember thatthe Victorian Certificate of Education and Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning

worked as an accountant and am still completing myCPA course. I feel very involved at BSC and lookforward to working with teachers and students. I amexcited about sharing my teaching passion with all of Good luck for our 2011 debaters!you and looking forward to work at BSC.Lillian ZhouKanela GiannakakisDebating Co-ordinatorI’ve just recently come down fromSydney where I was teachingEconomics and Maths. Before Iwas teaching I worked inmarketing as an AssistantMarketing Manager for Amex. Ienjoy most sports, but will haveto learn the finer points of football(AFL). So far everyone’s beenreally friendly and I’m lookingforward to developing theEconomics and Maths curriculumat Brunswick Secondary.Peter MossemenearPeter MossemenearSenior Debating 2011 (Years 8 – 12)Ever wanted to learn how to win all of your arguments?Persuade your parents? Work in a team to win in aninterschool competition? Brunswick Secondary Collegeis looking forward to continuing our successful debatingprogram in 2011, and we want you for our team!! TheSenior Debating program is open to all students inyears 9-12. For the first time this year, the Seniorprogram will also be open to year 8 students whoparticipated in our junior debating program last year.Please see me (Kanela Giannakakis) or leave a note inmy pigeon hole if you are in Years 8-12 and areinterested in joining an interschool debating team.Please note that you need to be available on thecompetition dates below and also on Wednesdays afterschool for training. This year, debating workshops(training) will be held on Wednesdays after school inF19 from 3:15pm – 4:15pm beginning in Week 3,Wednesday 16 February.This year’s dates for the Senior Interschool Debatingcompetition (Years 8-12) are:Round 1: Wed 9 March (term 1)Round 2: Wed 30 MarchRound 3: Wed 25 May (term 2)Round 4: Wed 27 July (term 3)Round 5: Wed 10 AugustAll debates are held at Mercy College, Coburgbetween 6pm – 9pm (times will be advised dependingon what year level you are in).Junior Debating 2011For other students in years 7 and 8, the JuniorDebating Program commences in August, so look outfor notices in the newsletter and Daily Bulletin towardsthe end of term 2. All debates and training in the JuniorCompetition will take place at Brunswick SecondaryCollege.Any other queries about debating at BSC should beemailed to me –Giannakakis.kanela.k@edumail.vic.gov.au. Studentsshould feel free to drop in to my office to talk to me ifthey have any questions – I am in F-Block opposite theF19 computer room.Teacher professional development @ BSCThe first dayback at schoolfor teacherswas spent onprofessionaldevelopmentpresented by DrRamonLewis. Dr Lewis,AssociateProfessor LaTrobe UniversityInstitute forEducation, has Karlee Baker, One of 10 teachers to sharean internationalher strategies for giving effective feedbackreputation forhis research with young people and their engagementwith school, specialising in the areas of classroommanagement and adolescent coping.Dr Lewis discussed ways to encourage both individualand communal responsibility in students, so that theytake actions not just to ‘do the right thing’ themselves,but also encourage and support their friends to do thesame. Dr Lewis provided teachers with a framework forbetter understanding adolescent behavior, andstrategies to optimise communication with ourstudents, helping them to think about theirresponsibility for their own learning and the learning ofothers.Dr Lewis’ highly interactive presentation struck a chordwith the teachers present and has prompted a greatdeal of useful discussion and planning to ensure theideas that were encountered are enacted in theclassroom throughout the year.Karen Ferguson, Curriculum LeaderBrunswick SC Chinese study tour 2011The LOTE faculty and I are pleased to advise that theBSC inaugural Chinese Study Tour will take place at theend of Term 1 this year. 11 students and 2 teachers willgo to China from Saturday 2nd April to Wednesday13th April. This is our first study tour to China. We willgo to Beijing and Xi?an to visit the Great Wall andTerracotta Warriors. We will also go to Shanghai- theeconomic centre of China.Jiwei Xu,Teacher of Chinese

Be part of our growing Global CommunityAs a school Community we thoroughly enjoy thedifferent experiences and perspectives that ourInternational Students bring to the school. We wouldlove to expand our program but in order to do so weneed to find more Home Stay Providers. Home stayproviders play a very important role in the InternationalStudents lives and we are looking for people who eitherwant to welcome an International Student into theirfamily or provide temporary emergency care. Sharingyour home and community with International Studentsis a great way tointroduce yourfamily into awider globalfamily.Sharing yourhome with anInternationalStudent will giveyou the chanceto:Learn anotherLanguageLearn and shareyour differentcultures andtraditionsExpand youroverseasfriendship circlesShare the thingsyou love aboutyour City,International StudentKhyennab TharchyinCountry and Culture with an enthusiastic young personSupport the brave journey of an ambitious youngperson whom is far from homeThe students pay a fee to cover their living costs and inreturn you will support the students with their schoolcommitments as well as assist in Integrating thestudent into the Australian culture and the MelbourneCommunity. If you are interested in becoming a longterm, short term, temporary or emergency Home Stayprovider please contact the International StudentProgram Coordinator, Lauren Flannery, by making anenquiry through the school website or emailing onflannery.lauren.l@edumail.vic.gov.auLauren FlanneryInternational Student Co-ordinatorInstrumental Music ProgramBrunswick Secondary College offers a comprehensiveinstrumental Music Program. A number of visitingInstrumental Music Teachers come to the College eachweek to give lessons on flute, clarinet, saxophone,trumpet, trombone, tuba, voice, guitar, electric bass,violin, viola, cello, double bass, keyboard, piano, drumsand percussion:Wayne Simmons – Guitar and electric bass: Mondays,Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays amLyndal MacLean- Flute and clarinet: MondaysBen Carter – Saxophone: TuesdaysNick Adams - Drumkit/Percussion: Tuesdays,WednesdaysRebecca Moore - Voice: ThursdaysHailey Cramer – Voice: MondaysSophie Dunn - Strings: TuesdaysMarc Matthews – Brass: MondaysMichiko Morita- Piano/Keyboard: FridaysLessons are held weekly with students withdrawn fromregular classes on a rotating basis so that the samesubject is not missed each week. Assessment andreporting is completed as in other subjects.Students are also expected to attend weekly practice inan ensemble such as Stage Band, Concert Band, StringEnsemble, Percussion Ensemble, Greek Band, Choir etc.in preparation for performances. These ensemblepractices are compulsory for all Instrumental Musicstudents and take place outside of class time (eg beforeschool, lunchtime, after school).The yearly tuition levy is $350. A number ofinstruments are available for hire from the College for$275 per year.If you are keen for your child to learn an instrument/voice, please feel free to contact me at the College.There are still some vacancies and instrumentsavailable for hire. Students who learn privately areencouraged to participate in the College InstrumentalMusic Ensemble Program for an annual fee of $50.00.We look forward to seeing our students take part insome of the exciting musical performances and eventsplanned for this year.Please note – Yr 7 students who filled in theInstrument preference form late last year will have tryoutlessons for the first two weeks and will be collectedfrom class by their Instrumental Music Teacher. Oncelessons and timetables are finalized, students will thenbe expected to turn up to lessons as timetabled.The Music Program kicks off the year with the StageBand performing at the Big Band Sunsets Festival onSaturday 19 th February 2.30pm at Hazel Pierce Park inMordialloc.Suzanne KurickHead of Learning: Music

Work Experience Placements NeededWe are interested to hear from those parents who maybe in a position to offer a work experience placement tosome of our students.Our Yr 10 students do a 1-week work experienceplacement between 23 and 27 May 2011.Our Yr 11 VCAL students do a 1 day per week (Friday)work placement for the year.If you are able to assist, please provide details asfollows;Your Name,The name of your child (who attends BSC),Your occupation,Your company nameYour phone numberand return by email to:jones.catherine.c1@edumail.vic.gov.au(Careers and Work Education Co-ordinator)Many thanks,Alison Sanza,Yr 10-12 Assistant PrincipalEMERGENCY CONTACTS !!Could all parents ensure we have accurate contactnumbers both for themselves and for other availableemergency contact persons (other than themselves).Student Medical ConditionsCould parents of students who have anaphylaxis orother serious medical conditions please hand in acompleted action plan for your child to the front office.If your child has a medical condition that the schoolneeds to be aware of, please contact the levelcoordinator or Jeremy (school nurse).BSC Office hours are between 8.30am and 4.30pmMonday to Friday. Phone calls and office enquiresoutside these hours will be recorded by the answeringmachine.NB: If you are contacting the school to let us knowyour child is going to be absent, you can also e-mailthe school on Brunswick.sc@edumail.vic.gov.auBrunswick Secondary College47 Dawson Street Brunswick 3056Telephone 9387 6133Facsimile 9387 0061Email Brunswick.sc@edumail.vic.gov.auWeb www.brunswick.vic.edu.au

COMMUNICATING WITH THE SCHOOLThe following information has been written to help parents, particularly those of you who are new to Brunswick SC,communicate your concerns, questions, ideas or other information to the school. If you have a child at secondary school for thefirst time, you will notice that there are many more staff closely involved with your child than there were at primary school.This sheet lists Year Level Coordinators, pastoral teachers and other staff parents may wish to contact. Please keep it to referto in the future.PositionYear Level CoordinatorsNameYear 7 Coordinator Nadia Cavallin Year 10 Coordinator Warren EvertYear 7 Assistant CoordinatorAnnie Tsernjavski Year 10 Assistant Peter RuntingYear 8 Coordinator Karlee Baker Year 11 Coordinator Michael BartleyYear 8 AssistantKerrin Whiting Year 11 Assistant Alexandra PierceCoordinatorYear 9 Coordinator Lynne Kyle Year 12 Coordinator Craig O’BreeYear 9 Assistant CoordinatorSally Goss Year 12 Assistant Stephanie CanalePastoral Teachers7B Tim James 10B Pam Duncan7C Liina Sepp 10K Cathie Cowcher7K Fiona Smith 10N Brona Murray7N Steven Kolber 10R Angela Ballas7R Margaret Mouratidis 10S Oki Gardner7S Marilyn Hardy 10U Susan Kurick7U Annie Tsernjavski 10W Tony Lawrence8B Liam O’Grady 11B Vernon Clarke8C Anurdha Tandon 11K Andrea Faubel8K Chris De Grandi 11N Firuze Hosseini8N Kerrin Whiting 11R Peter Mossemenear8R Noni Simitzis 11S Abdulmoeed Arayne8S Helen Wills 11U Jack Torosidis8U Bekhani Sibanda 11W Alexandra Pierce8W Julie Gould 12C Vivienne Tellefson9B Clare Kavanagh 12N Alison Sanza9C Kanela Giannakakis 12R Lorraine Lockhart9K Shannon Widdeson 12S Phillip Spiller9N Sally Goss 12U Craig O’Bree9S Noorhana Abdullah BTU Kerry Young9U9WWendy KenbeekLorraine LockhartStudent Well Being Enrolment CoordinatorsStudent Services & Craig O’BreeSEALP & Transition Marilyn HardySupportCoordinatorStudent Welfare CounsellorKatie Archibald Year 8-12 Craig O’BreeCareers Counsellor Catherine Jones International Students Lauren FlanneryCurriculum and EnrichmentCurriculum Coordinator Karen Ferguson Science Anna MaddenEnglish Pauline Pearson Humanities Katherine HoustonMaths Helen Wills Debating Kanela GiannakakisMusic Suzanne Kurick Sport Brent PawleyArts/Tech Tim James SRC Clare KavanaghLOTE Pina Mazzeo Rock Eisteddfod Katherine Weatherhead

Welcome to the Brunswick Secondary College Parent PortalWhat is the Parent Portal?The Parent Portal allows you to access relevant information from the College Intranet. It is your means to interactivelycommunicate with your child’s teachers and to keep up to date with important aspects of your child’s schooling. It is away to help you be more involved with the progress of your child at school. This includes accessing your child’stimetable, important school dates and useful articles and links. In the near future parents will also have access to theUltranet.How do I access the Parent Portal?Go to the schools home page http://www.brunswick.vic.edu.auClick on parentsWhen you get to a page similar to the one above, click login on the top right of the pageType in your supplied username and password and click loginIf you are having problems logging in, or have forgotten your password, you can contact the office on(03) 9387 6133.Please understand that for security reasons, passwords will not be issued or reset over the phone or viaemail.College Intranet Parent Portal – Guidelines for UseIt can be very convenient for both parents and teachers to exchange short messages.However, we ask parents to be mindful that:Teachers on average have over 100 students.If it is a sensitive topic or one that requires discussion, a phone call or meeting is more appropriate and the messagefunction should only be used to make an appointment timeParents can use the message function to notify a Level Coordinator about an absence. As with any other type ofcommunication, the Level Coordinator may need to verify this with you. The Level Coordinator will then have the dateand reason for the absence recorded in the system. You may also wish to send copies to your child’s teachers;however, in any case, you must always notify the Level Coordinator of an absence.We are mindful that some parents do not have easy access to computers and will print notices and newsletters forthem.

CONTACTING THE SCHOOLMost of your contact will be with your child's pastoral teacher or year level coordinator. Where theyear level coordinator is not available, ask to speak to the relevant Assistant Principal – HeatherSecomb for Years 7-9 or Graeme McKinnon and Alison Sanza for Years 10-12.ABSENCESIf your child is absent from school, please inform the school by phone on the day, in writing on theday he/she returns to school or direct to the Coordinator via the Parent Portal. Please addressabsence notes to the pastoral teacher. If you leave a message with the office, ask that it be passedon to your child's pastoral teacher. It is much easier for the office staff if you know the pastoralteacher's name.PERMISSION NOTES, RETURN SLIPS AND MONEYPermission notes for excursions, camps, activities and other return slips should be returned to theschool as soon as possible after you receive them. If there is money involved, return the permissionslip and money in a clearly marked envelope to the office. Make sure it includes the teacher’s name,the students pastoral group and the name of the excursion or activity. The school will not ask formoney for an activity or transport without a notice. If you pay for an excursion or camp by cheque,make it payable to Brunswick Secondary College.If there is no money involved, the permission note needs to be returned to the teacher who hasorganised the excursion, competition or other event. His/her name will appear on the bottom of theexcursion form.YEAR LEVEL COORDINATORSThe Year Level Coordinator will be the main contact with the school. He/she will call you if there areany concerns and will usually be the staff member you speak to when you contact the school. Ifthere are issues at home that are having an impact on your child at school, it is important that theYear Level Coordinator is informed.Some of the issues you may wish to contact the Year level Coordinator about include your child's:• academic progress• well being and happiness at school• attitude to the school• behaviour• making friends• attendanceNEW YEAR 7 STUDENTSWe understand that having a child at secondary school is a transition for parents as well as students.Particularly in the first few weeks of school, a phone call or appointment could save unnecessaryworry and we encourage you to call. In addition to the Year 7 Coordinator, Nadia Cavillan, AssistantAnnie Tsernjavski, you can contact the Transition Coordinator, Marilyn Hardy, or the AssistantPrincipal responsible for Transition, Heather Secomb.

EDUCATIONAL MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCEEMA forms are attached to this edition of the Newsletter. Parents need to fill out the form and returnit to the school office, if they hold a current Health Care Card.Questions about EMA should be directed to Caroline Peachey or Trudy Kennedy in the School Officeon 9387 6133.CURRICULUMContact the Curriculum Coordinator, Karen Ferguson, if you have questions about the curriculum, orhave suggestions about new programs or activities. She will respond to your question or refer you tothe relevant Head of Department as appropriate.NEWSLETTERS and NOTICESBSC Newsletters are given out alternate Thursdays. The newsletter is emailed to parents. There arepaper copies at the office if you would like your child to bring one home. Parents are encouraged tocontribute to the BSC Newsletter.Notices about Curriculum Days and school events are distributed in pastoral at least a week beforethe event. Often they are attached to the BSC Newsletter.STUDENT WELFARE COUNSELLORThe SWC provides counselling to assist students with their problems and is able to arrange forspecialist support and counselling services.PARENT INVOLVEMENTThe school welcomes parent input and suggestions. Many parents are very actively involved inprimary schools and we would like to maintain a similar level of interest in the secondary years.Many of the improvements the school has made have been in response to parent suggestions.Contact the principals or relevant coordinator if you have suggestions to make.VCE INQUIRIESInquiries regarding VCE Course guidelines, consideration of disadvantage, and rules and regulationsshould be addressed to Craig O’Bree or Alison Sanza and Graeme McKinnon. Questions aboutsubjects needed to do particular course and careers should be directed to the Careers Coordinator,Catherine Jones.EMAILThe school's email address is brunswick.sc@edumail.vic.gov.auE-mail is checked daily and distributed to relevant staff.

PARENT CALENDAR 2011TERM 1 (4 February – 8 April)4 Feb First day of school for students 201122 Feb Year 7 & 8 Swim Carnival24 Feb Transition for Parents Evening (Year 7 Parents)2 March Uniform Free Day9 March School Photos14 March Labour Day holiday16-18 March Year 7 Camp22 March Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews25 March Year 7 & 10 Immunisations30 March Parent Information Evening – Year 7 20126-8 April Year 9 Camp8 April Last Day Term 1TERM 2 (27April – 1 July)27 April First Day Term 24 May Year 7 & 8 Athletics Carnival10 May Year 7 Images of Greatness evening10-12 May NAPLAN Year 911-13 May Year 8 Camp17-19 May NAPLAN Year 723-27 May Year 10 Work Experience31 May Immunisations – Year 7 Girls only1 June Uniform Free Day6 June Chamber Concert13 June Queen’s Birthday holiday14-16 June Year 12 External Exams17 June Correction & Report Writing Day – No students20- 24 June Year 10, 11 & 12 Internal Exams28 June Rock Bands night1 July Last Day Term 2TERM 3 (18 July – 23 September)18 July First Day Term 33 August Year 12 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews16 August Junior Music Soiree31 August Uniform Free Day15 Sept Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews (Years 7-11)22 Sept Clocktower Concert23 Sep Last Day Term 3TERM 4 (10 October – 22 December)10 October First Day Term 420 October Year 7 Immunisations28 October Last day Year 12 & Graduation1 Nov Cup Day Holiday3 – 23 Nov Year 12 Exams21 – 25 Nov Year 10 & 11 Exams28Nov – 2Dec VCE Orientation2 Dec Last day Years 10 & 115 Dec Chamber Concert22 Dec Last Day Term 4