I’ll start by acknowledging the fathers within our community. I hope you had a wonderful day on Sunday with your families. It is always important to recognise those special people in lives as they make many sacrifices to provide supports to their loved ones to ensure that they remain happy and can flourish.
It should also be noted that it is the time of year where many sporting finals and best-and-fairest vote counts and awards are held. Last weekend was the local football and netball grand finals for teams up to under 16’s, held at North Geelong. It is always such a great atmosphere and experience being involved, one that stays with you for life. It is great to see Newcomb Secondary College students participating in the Grand Finals, playing for a number of teams. I know it was a memorable time for each and every one of you no matter the result- well done and congratulations. Sporting finals are awesome, and spring is certainly in the air. Good luck to those of you still involved in the upcoming under 18 and senior grade finals in the coming weeks- I look forward to cheering you on!
As I write this newsletter article, I do so from the Geelong Tech School. It is here that I am supporting students in Year 75 complete their ‘Backed up to the Future’ two-day excursion experience. What is all that about you say? Well, this program is designed for students to work in small groups to problem solve a real-world challenge- in this case designing and programming a small robot that can venture deep underground through pipes to explore, assess, and remove obstacles that may prevent water passing through. This is especially important for communities and households whereas such a blockage could cause significant disruption to how we live our lives. To learn more about this, and other Geelong Tech school programs that Newcomb SC students from Year 7- 10 in GROW participate in, see the following link. It is a great experience.
Speaking of great experiences, last Friday we welcomed back our Ski Trip students from their week adventure on the slopes. Fortunately, the group managed to experience the snow prior to the ski season closing over the weekend just gone. Thanks to Mr Goward and Ms Hill for supporting the students.
We deeply appreciate the efforts of our parents who consistently support their children in attending school and engaging with their education. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in helping us create a positive and productive learning environment for all our students, ensuring the best possible outcomes for your children and for our school community. Your commitment makes a significant difference!
If you have any questions regarding attendance or require any support or assistance, please contact the school on 5248 1400.
Newcomb Secondary College is fortunate enough to have a Doctors in Schools Program running 2 days a week.
We have both a GP, and Mental Health Nurse that attend onsite to run a clinic on a Tuesday and Wednesday. This clinic is for any student in Years 7-12. The appointments are bulk billed, meaning that there is no cost to families.
Appointments can be made by either contacting the schools Wellbeing Team or calling Bellarine Community Health on 5253 0400.
Students may access this service to address any of the following:
Physical pain or issues
Health lifestyle (sleep, diet, nutrition, exercise)
Mental health
Sexual health and contraception
Sexuality and gender identity
Body image
Scripts
If you would like to know more, please contact Jane Osborne in our Wellbeing Team.
This health content is brought to you by Doctors in Secondary School.
Please find the selected resources from your healthcare team below. These resources offer a trusted source of relevant health information. We hope you find them helpful and informative.
This week's focus is a guide to dealing with teenagers and alcohol.
This guide to safe drinking is designed for younger people and provides tips for having a good time, describes the risks of mixing alcohol and other drugs, tells you how to look out for yourself and your friends and what to watch out for if you think your drinking is becoming a problem.
To learn more, visit the webpage by, clicking here.
Last week on Wednesday morning the weather was ideal for the 81 Maths class to do the Walk the Plank lesson outdoors on the painted grids in the playground courtyard.
Before we went out, we split into 3 groups of pirates. The scenario was explained that each group had their own pirate ship sailing to the Caribbean and had already made a few of the crew walk the plank for breaking the ships rules and were thus running out of sailors. The captain had decided that for any future plank walking there would be an even chance of survival to help conserve crew numbers.
We then moved outside where each group drew a Boat at the right-hand end of their grid and Sharks at the left-hand end.
The student walking the plank would begin on the middle square marked with M, the captain would roll a cubic die with 3 Ss and 3 Bs on it. The person on the plank then faced either the boat (B) or the sharks (S). Next the ship’s bosun rolled a second die marked with F1, F2, F3 and B1, B2, B3 the person on the plank then walked forward (F) or back (B) the number of squares indicated. i.e. B3 is back 3 places.
Fate then played a part so that after some back and forth, either the plank walker was eaten by sharks or safely pardoned back on the boat. Everyone had multiple turns each, sharing the fun with some students talking like pirates!
Once back inside we completed a worksheet relating the B / S and forward F / B (a certain amount) to Directed Numbers – the addition and subtraction of Integers.
Soon we transitioned to calculating equations such as: -2 – (-3) =
On the 30th of August we caught the train bright and early from Geelong train station, all excited for our day out to see the Banksy exhibition "Without Limits", which was the highlight of our Term 2 “Street Art” unit. The promise of free lunch from our favourite teachers had us sold from the very beginning.
We started with a lovely hike through the Docklands, enjoying the glorious sunshine. Mr. Colbert, however, had some trouble with the directions, so we ended up walking in circles for a few minutes. But eventually, we arrived, and I have to say it was the most impactful art experience I've ever had. Most students were able to relate to the paintings. One example was a bathroom scene that showed the challenges of quarantine, showing rats counting down the days in a messy, chaotic style. Banksy's work is deeply political, and he is known for crossing boundaries, which made it fascinating to see the difference between graffiti and street art.
We then headed to a fancy restaurant called Cargo along the Docklands waterfront, where the sun's rays were shining in. We were able to socialize over a lovely wood-fired pizza lunch, made possible by Mr. Colbert and Miss Jolly.
Thanks for this amazing opportunity, Y12 VCE-VM CLASS.
The Big Sort begins! Books will be donated to our local primary schools, kindergartens and retirement homes, we are sorting them into boxes and getting them ready for delivery. Thank you for dropping off your books into the school library! We collected a total of 714 books and the leaderboard for collections is as follows:
DRYSDALE 336 BOOKS = 34 HOUSE POINTS + 5 HOUSE POINTS extra for winners = 39 points TOTAL
On Monday 5th of August our Year 7 and 8 Instrumental Music students attended our 3-day Music camp, staying at Angahook Holiday Camp.
All students made fantastic progress on learning some new challenging band pieces; it was great to see the confidence of the Year 7 musicians grow over the three days with the support and encouragement of the Year 8 students in the joint band rehearsals.
The students also got to participate in many of the camps outdoor adventure activities such as the Giant Swing, Rock Wall and Zip line, ably supported by Mr Relouw.
A big thank you also to Mr Curnick for coming down on Tuesday night with his awesome dance music for Party night – a great atmosphere was created with disco lights, pumping tunes as well as getting to play some fun dancing games and competitions.
All bands are now working towards our Annual School Concert in Term 4, with the Year 8 Intermediate Band also planning a performance tour of local Primary Schools.
Year 10 student Eli wanted to know more about what a career in butchery is like, so with the help of his Newcomb Secondary Head Start Coordinator Glenn Robertson, he approached well respected Highton butchers What's For Dinner to ask for some work experience.
After a chat with ‘Alan the Butcher’ and some signatures on the very important Work Experience paperwork, Eli got to spend 5 days working behind the counter in the butcher shop.
Eli is pictured making sausages with "Snags" aka Nick on one of his placement days. If you would like to participate in work-based learning at Newcomb Secondary College please get in contact with Careers and Pathways Coordinator Megan Fell whose office is located in the Language Centre, or email megan.fell@education.vic.gov.au
Many thanks to What's For Dinner in Highton for giving Eli a hands-on butchery experience!
Eli with Nick from 'What's for dinner' butchers, Highton
Congratulations to all participants and competition entrants for our recent Book Week Book Bag Design competition. We had 32 entrants to our competition who worked diligently for 10 days to create their artworks with calico bags and fabric markers. All competition entrants got small prizes and our winners got a range of special prizes ranging from pinatas to canteen vouchers! Thank you everyone for your great creativity and sharing of resources. A special thank you to Mr Ben Davis, our competition judge.
LIBRARY CLUBS
*Mondays (New): Chess Club - Student managed by Tye Turnewitsch - starting 9/9 (chess can be played every lunch time but this is our dedicated multi-board Chess Club)
* Tuesdays (Weekly): Games Club - Board games, movies, karaoke and popcorn!
Ms Noor Al-Assafi and Vanessa (COGG)
Joining in and having fun is central to the success of Games Club. Run by Vanessa (City of Greater Geelong) and Ms Noor Al-Assafi (our Newcomb Secondary College Social Worker), we have an outstanding turnout of students enjoying the warmth, friendship and fun in the school library every Tuesday lunchtime. Students love having access to the VR Xbox, Nintendo switch, board and card games! There will also be special craft activities and theme days!
* Wednesdays (Fortnightly): Geelong Regional Library Corporation (Newcomb Branch) with Ms Laura Farrington and Mr Cam Wilson!!!!
Manga, mysteries, magic, trivia games and craft are on the table when Laura is visiting from Geelong Regional Library Corporation. Newcomb Secondary students particularly enjoy using their badge maker machine and special activities like Easter, Halloween, Christmas and Idahobit Day crafts. We are very fortunate to be right next door to Newcomb Library and to have the company of the specialist Children's and Youth Services Team there!
Our Term 3 2024 schedule of remaining visits are as follows:
Wed 18 Sept – Trivia Quiz
* Thursdays (Weekly): Craft Club with Miss Marshall: Term 4 sign up begins today 03/09 for Polymer clay jewellery & Paper Magiclay fantastical beasts making. We will have an exhibition of works in Week 4 of Term 4.
2025 Geelong Youth Council - Nominations Open NOW!
Are you aged between 12-17 and interested in having a say, making a difference, and learning more about local government decision-making?
The City of Greater Geelong is looking for 11 passionate new members from the Geelong region to join the 2025 Youth Council Advisory Committee.
Youth Council is an opportunity to share your ideas, discuss issues affecting young people, provide advice to Council, develop an understanding of local government, build your leadership skills, and make heaps of new friends!
If you are interested in this amazing opportunity, make sure you submit an application for the 2025 Youth Council program.
Nominations are open from 12 August - 13 September so head over to our socials @GeelongYouthCouncil or head to the Geelong Webpage
If you have any questions or require more information jump on to the Youth Council Instagram page- @GeelongYouthCouncil and DM us, or email Youthcouncil@geelongcity.vic.gov.au
The After School Homework Club is in Room B2 every day except Thursdays. Students are welcome to attend to catch up on classwork, complete homework, receive individual tutoring or to work with classmates on a group project. They may attend for 15 minutes to sort out just one problem or they may attend right up to 5pm to accomplish a greater amount of learning. Those who attend will be awarded a positive learning chronicle (with reward token) and will be offered food and hot chocolates!!
