Newsletter- Week 6 2024

Community Partnerships, Feeder Schools & Information Evening

Over the course of the last fortnight, I have had the privilege of visiting our local feeder schools. For those of you who are wondering, we have six feeder schools that directly align with enrolments to Newcomb Secondary College, those being Leopold Primary School, Moolap Primary School, Whittington Primary School, Newcomb Primary School, Geelong East Primary School and Tate Street Primary School. Each of these school settings have a great relationship with Newcomb Secondary College. Our partnerships are built on mutual respect, support, and collaboration. As many of our students would know, Newcomb Secondary College runs several Primary school programs such as-

• Primary school experience visits (food, technology, STEM, Art etc.)
• Primary & Secondary teacher collaboration events
• Extended transition Programs
• Primary School Sport Carnival supports.
• Resource sharing (STEM equipment)
• Hire of facilities (Hall, Auditorium etc.)
• Professional Learning opportunities

In 2024, we will be offering further opportunities to collaborate with our feeder schools, given our desire to build the capacity of all within our great community and ensure our connections as a community are strong and supportive. We encourage Newcomb Secondary College students, and those in our feeder schools to keep an eye out for the following events and opportunities planned for this year-

• Leadership Day
• Koorie Connection events
• Numeracy Challenge
• Literacy Program activities
• Sport events & supports.

A further opportunity that we are very excited about is our college Information Evening and Parent Tours. Newcomb Secondary College values our community relationships and we look for many opportunities to welcome our community into the college to participate in our events and our programs. We encourage those who have yet to visit to hear, see and experience our wonderful college to ‘come and see for yourself’. Our college Information Evening is a great starting point- this year it is held on Monday March 25. Further to this, we will conduct two School Day Tours in the week of March 18- 22. Details on how you can reserve a spot will be circulated shortly. Finally, we are more than happy to schedule a personal tour- to arrange one, please contact the Administration office.

College Athletics Carnival

Last Thursday we staged a very successful Athletics Carnival at Landy Field. It was fantastic to see the amount of enthusiasm, participation, colour, and success that was experienced on the day by all in attendance. The weather gods were kind on the day, and it was great to see so many parents, carers, family friends and supports join with us in admiring the speed, strength, and endurance of our students. I know they appreciated the cheers and support from the sidelines. We will soon hold an assembly to reflect the day, announce the champion house teams, recognise our student achievements, and thank those who facilitated the day. Before then, I must acknowledge and thank Mr Bell for his leadership in preparing for and organising the day, whilst also giving a shout-out to all Newcomb Secondary College staff who ran the events and facilitated the day itself- a great team effort!

Year 10 Camp- Malmsbury

On Monday out Year 10 students set off on their three-day camp adventure at Doxa Campsite - Malmsbury. The camp's focus is to provide an opportunity for students to relax, refresh and connect as a cohort. This is a cross-curricular excursion where students can develop new skills and experiences outside a classroom setting, including leadership, teamwork, and resilience. Doxa's Malmsbury Camp is in Central Victoria on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. It offers children and young people the opportunity to be immersed in Australian bushland and enjoy the outdoors. From all reports, the students are having a wonderful experience and I certainly look forward to hearing all about it upon their return to school on Wednesday afternoon.

Feedback- Personal Learning Qualities (PLQ’s)

As you are aware, Newcomb Secondary College conducts a five-week feedback cycle for students and parents/ carers. Last week, as part of Feedback week, all students, parents, and carers received the Term 1 Personal Learning Qualities (PLQ’s) feedback from all class teachers. This feedback is designed to provide information to you and your student on the approach made towards learning thus far. Our PLQ’s are designed to be easy to read and allow for trends to be visible throughout the year. We encourage you and your student to reflect on the information, celebrate the successes and determine supported growth opportunities moving forward. Whilst having this discussion with your student, it might be a timely opportunity to review their assigned learning tasks and associated feedback on Compass. We will continue to share ongoing feedback to our students and community as we strive to maximise all student outcomes and enable students to realise their full potential.

Vehicle Access and Safety at Newcomb Secondary College

Can I ask that all members of our community exercise care when moving around the college site. Schools are a vibrant, and busy environments, and the thus safety of all who co-exist in, or visit our school setting must be paramount. Safety on the school site is the responsibility of all Newcomb Secondary College community members- staff, students, parents/ carers, and all other key stakeholders. It is important, for the safety of all, to ensure that-

• When entering the school grounds, students must walk their chosen mode of transport.
• Students are expected to wear all protective equipment when travelling to and from school (helmets etc.)
• All community members should exercise care at school vehicle entries, the bus pick-up and drop-off, when moving through the Woolworths carpark or passing by its entrances, and when crossing or walking along the Bellarine Hwy.
• Vehicles drop-off and pick-up students outside of the school boundaries
• Those visiting the college should park in the designated parking bays outside, or alongside the Administration office.
• Visitors to the college should not pass through the school grounds in their vehicle- that is visitors must not pass from the front to the back of the college grounds in their vehicle.

All these measures are for the safety of our community- something we all care about. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Have a great week!

Regards,

Scott McLeod

Principal

Newcomb Secondary College

81-85 Bellarine Highway | Newcomb 3219

T: (03) 5248 1400 | F: (03) 5248352

Creating Positive Futures

Newcomb Secondary College School Tours (March 19 & 20)- ‘Come see for yourself!’

On Tuesday March 19 and Wednesday March 20, Newcomb Secondary College will be offering parents, carers, and prospective Year 7 students the opportunity to tour the college to witness our wonderful school facilities, and in particular, the fantastic school learning programs and environment that we offer students. The tours commence at 1.45pm on March 19 and 11.00am on March 20, and we cordially invite all prospective 2025 Year 7 students and their families to come along. We anticipate the experience will total around 90min. To secure your tour spot, please register at https://forms.gle/GdaJProURcDN4XAv5 or contact the school on (03) 5248 1400.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to another exciting year at Newcomb Secondary College, and to our new community members, welcome!

I hope the holiday break was a positive time for you all.

We love our families to be involved in our school community and a significant part of this involves maintaining regular communication by way of phone or email, particularly regarding attendance.

Attendance remains a major focus for us at Newcomb Secondary College. For us to ensure the best outcomes are accomplished for our students’ growth in all areas and to reach our set end of year target, we will continue to maintain high expectations for daily attendance for all students.

Both staff and parents have an important role to play in supporting our students to attend school every day, on time and ready to learn. If your student must be absent, please contact the school as soon as possible to prevent unexplained absences that may hinder your student’s progress. If a reason is not provided for your student’s absence, the school is required to contact you on the same day. This is to ensure the safety of your student and maintain open communication to ensure you and your student are supported and successful in our school community.

At Newcomb Secondary College we strive for high attendance to maximise student learning, and behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement for all students, and we endeavour to work with and support all families in our community.

If you have any questions regarding attendance or require any support or assistance, please contact the school on 5248 1400.

Warm regards,

Ms Demopoulos
(Attendance Officer)

Recently Year 9 and 10 Textiles have been upcycling square scarves from the op-shop into backpacks. Students chose a scarf from the ones we have been collecting for some years and chose coordinating straps to create their bag. This is a great way of thinking about upcycling items so that we are being sustainable as well as improving basic machine skills. The photos are of some completed ones.

Ms McArthur

Newcomb Secondary College

Media and English Teacher/Historical Archives

Dear extended NSC community,

I run the On2Wh subject at school.

In this program, all students work on their own personal bike project – a complete strip down and re-build of a geared bike.

So, I am asking for our community to look into the “darkest depths of their family sheds”, or “just out the back beside the water tank” and look out any unused, or ‘not likely to be used again’ bikes and donate them to the school. You don’t even need to dust them off! We’ll do that. Any condition, any brand. If you have extended family or friends that may have a bike or 2, mention this to them. If you see one sitting out for hard rubbish collection, maybe wheel it into your front yard and give the school a call!

Sometimes bikes that are ‘too good’ to pull apart find a home with the bikes we use for Bike tour, or with a student who might be in need of a bike.

Thanks in advance! – Can’t wait to see what comes out of the woodwork.

Kind Regards

Mr Glenn Unmack – On2Wheels teacher

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.

Jane can either be reached by contacting the school office, or via email at jane.osborne@education.vic.gov.au

Jane Osborne

Newcomb Secondary College

Student Wellbeing & Engagement

Ph: 5248 1400 | M: 0409 960 129

E: Jane.Osborne@education.vic.gov.au

Interschool Swimming was held on Friday the 1st of March. It was great to see the following student Savannah, Jasper, Lachie, Ashlyn, Connor and Kody. All students represented the college well, and displayed our Positive Futures Framework!

A big thank you to the support by parents who came down to support, and also Lisa Dyer for her efforts marshalling.

Cheers

Mr Bell.

Dear families of our Years 8 – 11 Indonesian students,

We are extremely fortunate that our sister school, SMANSA from Lombok, are sending some of their students over on a cultural exchange in from April 26th through to May 2nd, 2024 (end of Week Two, Term Two to the end of Week Three).

Newcomb Secondary College has a proud history with our sister school and are pleased that we are able begin our cultural exchange trips again.

For this exchange, we are partnering up with Matthew Flinders and Surf Coast Secondary.
Newcomb Secondary College are seeking 5 families to host a student from SMANSA.

Due to cultural difference, we prefer to partner our host students with an NSC student of the same gender. Host families will receive an information pack on how to best cater for their host student. If we receive more than 5 interested families, further discussions will occur.

If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Mrs. Sarah Stoneley at sarah.stoneley@education.vic.gov.au

Terima kasih banyak, semua!

(Thank you very much, everyone!)

Where You Can Eat

Where You Can Eat provides an up-to-date guide on all the food relief agencies across the Geelong region.

Please click on the logo below to access a downloadable resource providing you with information on when, where, how, and what food relief services are available near you. This document is also attached as a PDF for your convenience.

Fantastic levels of participation at the annual Athletic Sports Carnival last Thursday 29th February. Perfect calm sunny weather for the whole day at Landy Field! Well done to all of our students who attended, participated joyfully and cheered their classmates on. Thank you, Mr Bell, for arranging another great Carnival.

Jordyn is a Newcomb Secondary Year 11 VCE VM student who has just started an exciting journey in a Head Start school-based Early Childhood Education and Care traineeship.

After completing a five day work trial over the Christmas school holiday break, Jordyn now works at the centre two days a week, attends secondary school three days a week and studies the theory component of her traineeship in her timetabled spares.

Taking advantage of a school-based traineeship means Jordyn will gain workplace skills that future employers value, all while completing her senior schooling.

To find out more about the Head Start program, speak to Newcomb Secondary's Senior Pathways Coordinator Megan Fell located in the Language Centre.

https://www.vic.gov.au/head-start-apprenticeships-and-traineeships

Mr Glenn Robertson

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. 

Mr Curnick

We know access to high-speed broadband is a necessity in the 21^st Century. Yet sadly many families and school students are still unable to access the internet at home and that this can place students at a significant disadvantage.

The Albanese Government is providing up to 30,000 families with free broadband for one year, as part of their plan for a better National Broadband Network (NBN). Already, 1,000 families now have home internet thanks to the School Student Broadband Initiative.

This helps ensure that students can reach their full potential, by helping them to stay connected at home so they don’t fall behind.

To check your eligibility please refer to the contact details below: