Welcome Back

It was great to see our students back on site yesterday. We all hope that 2022 is a year where education is not as affected by Covid as has been the case over 2020 and 2021. The first 2 lessons of the day were spent orientating the students to the 2022 program as well as a whole school online welcome. The students then commenced their normal timetable classes in lesson 3.

Welcome New Staff

Mr Torrie Pugliese (Wellbeing & NET)

Mr Michael Monahan (Technology)

Mr Martin Krawcynszyn (Maths & Science)

Mr Sebastian Relouw (Maths & Science)

Mr Joe Lewis (Wellbeing)

It is great to welcome the following new and returning staff to Newcomb SC. All are extremely excited to be part of the NSC community and are looking forward to supporting the learning outcomes and wellbeing of students. Over the course of coming Newsletters, we will profile the new staff members, so you too can learn more about who they are.

Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs)

Our rapid antigen tests (RATs) have now arrived and were handed out to all students in Years 7, 11 and 12 who were in attendance during period 6 on Monday. Years 8, 9 and 10 will receive their RATs period 6 today. The tests come in packets of five and should last each student for two weeks. Instructions on how to use the RATs are contained in the box. We recommended that each student do two tests per week on a Sunday and Wednesday night in readiness for the next school day.

If you get a positive result for Covid 19. You need to:

• Step 1: Focus on your health and get help if you need it
• Step 2: Report your result and immediately isolate for 7 days

If students receive a positive test result at any time, they must report this through the Department of Health system Rapid antigen test-Coronavirus Victoria or via the coronavirus hotline at 1800 675 398.

Students (or their parents) must also report a positive result to their school, by phone or written notification; this is so the school can support them, record that they will be absent while in 7-day isolation, and let the rest of the school community know there has been a positive case onsite and that they should monitor for symptoms.

• Step 3: Tell your household contacts - they must isolate for 7 days
• Step 4: Tell your ‘social contacts’ to get tested if they have symptoms
• Step 5: Tell your workplace and/or education facility

If you do not have symptoms and you are not a contact, and you test positive on a rapid antigen test, we recommend you get a PCR test to confirm that result. We do not recommend this if you have symptoms or you are a contact.
If your symptoms worsen, call your doctor. If you need emergency care, call Triple Zero 000.

General health messages and responses in relation to Covid.

The general health messages in relation to Covid 19 remain the same. Please stay home when unwell. Covid symptoms include: fever, chills or sweats, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, loss or change in sense of smell or taste. Some people may also experience headache, muscle soreness, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
If you have any of these symptoms, however mild, you should seek advice and get tested. To get further advice, call the 24-hour Coronavirus Hotline 1800 675 398 or your doctor.
Social distancing remains important and receiving your vaccinations is encouraged.

Phil Honeywell, Principal
Scott McLeod, Assistant Principal
James Murphy, Assistant Principal

Year 7 Orientation Day 

Orientation Day held on the 7th December 2021 was a great success. Students began the day meeting their new classmates. The Assistant Principal Mr Murphy greeted students in an assembly in our new Auditorium. Following the assembly students met their homeroom teachers and had the opportunity to make new friends within their class and have a class photo taken. This was also the time that the Year 7 Student Support co-ordinator Mr Bamford, Wellbeing staff and Learning Mentors greeted the students.

There were four classroom sessions that students rotated between throughout the day. These were Art, Food, PE and STEM/Science. During recess and lunch students explored the school and enjoyed the playground, canteen and even participated in our renowned Dance Club with Mr Curnick.

Our busy day culminated with an icy pole and the students reflected on their fun day in homegroups.

In order to best access student software and Internet resources in 2022 students are asked to provide their own Chromebook or Laptop device for use in classes and at home.

Newcomb Secondary College students will have access to a free of charge software suite of educational titles including MS Office, Virus Protection and a variety of other subject related apps and software. This software will be installed free of charge and will be updated via our school network when logged on as a student.

While at school student devices will access the school network via a wireless connection, requiring a security certificate to be installed by the school. Home network and Internet access is the responsibility of the student and their family.

There are a couple of options for families – you can purchase your own device from a retailer making sure it meets the specifications listed below or use the Learning with Technologies portal (link below).

Minimum Windows Laptop Specifications

• Recommended minimum Processor Celeron (preferably under 4 years old)
• Recommended minimum 4GB of RAM or higher
• Recommended minimum of 120GB SSD (hard drive) or higher

Some cheaper devices have a Hard Drive of less than 70GB and are intended for use with Cloud-based storage so are unsuitable as they unable to have school software installed.

CHROME BOOKS are also accepted devices. There are no minimum specifications for Chrome Books.

Learning with Technologies Portal There are several options of Windows devices or Chromebooks to choose from, just follow the link below

https://newcombsc.orderportal....

NILS (No interest Loan Scheme) Good Shepherd offer a No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) a community focused initiative of Good Shepherd.
To apply for a (NILS) No Interest Loan go to: https://nils.com.au/ for more details.

CSEF Eligibility

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:

• school camps or trips
• swimming and school-organised sport programs
• outdoor education programs
• excursions and incursions.
  

Who can apply

Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A Special Consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families over term one and two.

Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school.

Eligible means tested cards

Means-tested concession cards must now be valid on either:

• the first day of Term 1 (Monday 31 January 2022)
• the first day of Term 2 (Tuesday 26 April 2022)
  
  

See link below to CSEF application

https://www.education.vic.gov....

SCHOOLS TURN MOBILE PHONES OFF

TO TURN LEARNING ON

Mobile Phone Policy 2022

– A brief summary

“In June 2019, Education Minister James Merlino announced that as of the 2020 school year, mobile phones would not be allowed to be accessed by students during school hours.

Newcomb Secondary College, like all state schools, will be following this policy and implementing it within our own student management structures.

Students are advised not to bring mobile phones to school. If a student brings a phone to school they must lock it safely away within the school provided secure storage before school and may then retrieve it at the end of the day. “

Every Day Counts

Secondary School Attendance.
Going to school every day is the single most important part of your teenager’s education.
Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.
School is better when your teenager is there.

Why it’s important

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

Students develop good habits by going to school every day – habits that are necessary to succeed after school, whether in the workplace or in further study.

Missing school can have a big impact on students academically and socially. It can affect their test results, including VCE & VCAL, and, just as importantly, it can affect their relationships with other students, and lead to social isolation.

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

Each missed day is associated with falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks, and lead to fewer subject choices and may impact on achievement in years 11 and 12 and post-school pathways.

Getting in early

It’s never too late to improve attendance. Even in the middle years, when school can seem the most challenging for students and when attendance rates can be at their lowest, going to school more often can make a big difference. Every day counts.

Schools are there to help – if you’re having attendance issues with your child, speak to your school about ways to address those issues.

In Victoria school is compulsory for children and young people aged 6 – 17 years

Student Absences

The main reasons for absence are:

Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference.

Family holidays - It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term. If you are planning to go on holiday during term time, make sure that you talk to your school in advance, and work with them to develop an absence learning plan.

“Day off” – Think twice before letting your teenager have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.

Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission or skip out of school during the day. There can be many reasons for truancy; the best way to address this is for schools and parents to work together.

While all absences can effect academic performance, DET’s statistics show that unexcused absences are a much stronger indicator of lower reading and maths achievement.

School refusal - School refusing children experience significant emotional distress not only when going to school but also at the thought of going to school; they may be absent from school for weeks or even months at a time. School refusal differs from truancy as children generally stay home with the knowledge of the parents and despite their best efforts to encourage their child to go to school. 

Being away from school for 1 day a fortnight equals missing 1.5 years over 13 years of school

Remember, every day counts. If your teenager must miss school, call the school on 5248 1400 or enter the details on Compass.

Openly communicating with your teenager’s school about all absences is a good way to prevent attendance issues being escalated to a School Attendance Officer. A School Attendance Officer is a Department of Education and Training Regional Director who has authority to follow up attendance issues. Chronic or ongoing attendance issues that are escalated can lead to an Infringement Notice being issued to parent/s.

If you’re having attendance issues with your teenager, please let the year level coordinator, wellbeing coordinator, principal or other relevant staff member know so you can work together to get your teen to school every day.

Top attendance tips for parents

• Schools want to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting your child’s school and asking for advice and support
• Remember that every day counts
• There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness
• Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day
• Open and prompt communication with your child’s school about all absences is a good idea
• Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term
• Seek help from your school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing. Schools want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing.