Can you believe that we are already at week 5 of Term 4? Doesn’t time just fly by? Soon it will be Christmas!

Over the course of this week, staff will be conducting reflective discussions and activities with students, all with the aim of providing our learners with the opportunity for 360-degree feedback. Week five of each Term is Feedback week, and as you are aware, on Friday you will receive the latest round of our Positive Learning Qualities (PLQ’s). It has been said before, however it remains important that all members of the college community access the PLQ feedback on Compass this Friday and use the information to engage in reflective conversations.

We aim to support students in being welcoming of feedback and resilient to the constructive challenges that feedback sometimes presents us with. 360-degree feedback, as mentioned above, is defined as being comprehensive feedback that is provided from all angles. This includes from teachers, learning mentors and other Newcomb Secondary College staff (school feedback); from peers (feedback from fellow students), families, parents, carers (support team feedback) and from the student themselves (self-reflection).

Education is a team effort, and together we need to ensure that we support students in how to receive and constructively utilise feedback for goal setting, and to ultimately encourage growth. Below are some suggestions you could use when having a reflective conversation with your student. Equally, please let us know if we can provide you with any support in having these reflective discussions with your student- we are here to support you.

Consider the following feedback strategies when engaging in reflective discussions with students:

When interpreting the feedback received:

• Aim to ensure that the student understands the feedback and give them time and opportunity, time, and space to respond to it.
• Focus on feedback that encourages students to think through and improve their learning.
• Remain focused on what's important for the learner - product, process, and self-regulation.
• Remain focussed on what the learner can control.
• Set realistic goals & targets and provide specific suggestions for how to improve.
• Restrict comments to key strengths and areas for improvement that will make the most difference.

Use feedback sandwiches: 

Identify something that was done well and something that needs improvement by framing your discussion in the following way-

• 1.Start with a positive comment.
• 2. Offer constructive feedback on a specific area with explanation of how to improve.
• 3. Finish with a positive comment.

Use open-ended feedback statements such as ‘What I did well’ and ‘What I need to do to improve’.

Ask questions such as, “Can you note two highlights or successes of the last five weeks in your learning?” “Tell me more about why you consider those to be your highlights?” “How did it make you feel?” “How did you celebrate?”

Ensure the feedback provided was useful in helping the student progress in their learning.

Have a great week!

Regards,

Mr McLeod

Principal

Mobile Phones at School

We are seeing an increase in students having their mobile phones on them during the school day. This is evident in the rise in:

• lost and damaged phones
• phone notifications on Compass
• phones being used to pay in the canteen
• families arriving at school to support their student or being notified of events before school has had the opportunity to contact home e.g. when a child is unwell

Unfortunately, all of these incidents mean students are breaching the Ministerial policy* relating to students using mobile phones during school hours.

"Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours."

• If your child brings a phone to school, please discuss with them our expectation that it is switched off and locked away in either their locker (which should have a functional lock) or one of our phone lockers for the school day. Both of these options are considered secure storage.
• If your child has been using their phone to pay for their order in the Canteen, please organise a card or cash option. If your child finds themselves at school with no lunch and their phone as the only payment option, please ask them to see a member of the Principal Team or Student Support Team.
• If we need to contact families during the day, we will call you. If your child is unwell, this will occur quickly. Contact with families may be delayed following an incident to allow for information gathering or for teaching staff to teach classes and call when their face-to-face requirements have lessened.
• If your child needs to contact you, they will be able to call from either the front office or student support.

We thank you for your support in making sure we remain compliant with the Mobile Phone Ministerial Order.


Ms Montano
Assistant Principal

Note * formally issued by the Minister for Education under section 5.2.1(2)(b) of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)

Held in 1915, and in front of over 200 attendees, our Class of 2023 were sent off in great fashion in what was a night of celebration, dancing, good food and in the company of family, carers and friends. Many stories were told of the highlights and moments of challenge that featured as part of each student’s 13 years of schooling. It was pleasing to see this tight knit group of students enjoy the night together- it will be a night, and a phase of their young lives that they remember forever.

There were several staff members who contributed towards the planning and facilitating of the 2023 Graduation. Thank you to Mrs Leech, Mrs Reed, Mrs Dedini, Mrs Honeywell, Mrs McInnes, Mrs Boland, Mrs Hill, our college Administration team and staff who supported and attended on the night.

We hope you enjoy this gallery of our graduates, their teachers, families and friends. An event to remember.

Boys Years 7/8 cricket 2023

On Monday the 23^rd of October Mr Bell and Mr George took 14 students (including three Year Eleven students) out to Eastern Park Gardens to take part in the inter school cricket competition. We were all super hyped and excited to compete. We all had a great day out. Here are the game recaps...

Game 1: Geelong High School versus Newcomb Secondary College.

Newcomb Secondary College started the game batting. It was a nice starting partnership with Rueben Brady staying in for a while and Harry Wells starting off well to. Geelong High School had an answer for everything: they were catching well and bowling well too! By the end we had lost all our wickets and had to try and force a comeback. We had a lot of good bowling in the next hour with many fantastic catches by our wicket keeper Hamish Andrews and Jayden Morcos and some brilliant bowling by Harley Terril. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the win but all of us had a smile on our face and we were in a joyful mood.

Game 2: Bannockburn V.S Newcomb Secondary College.

Everyone wanted to finish the day on a win, so everyone was determined to make it happen. Newcomb Secondary College started off by bowling with a few early wickets from Yasir Saeed and Harry Wells and we had some good fielding from Jack McCallum leading to two good wickets. Going into the second hour we were feeling fired up. Lachlan Neoh and Harry Wells opened the batting (both retiring later in the game) and there were more strong batting performances from Rueben Brady and the other team members. All the hard work resulted in a win - it was a great day out thanks to Mr Bell, Mr George, Max, Jack Brough and Levi for making the day happen and run smoothly.

Contributed by Lachlan Neoh (74)

Be Bold Be Heard (BBBH) Program 2023

Throughout this year, we have had 9 wonderful female students from Years 9 and 10 involved in a fantastic program that builds the confidence, strengths and leadership skills of young women across the Geelong region – Be Bold Be Heard (BBBH).

Through their involvement with BBBH, our students needed to identify an issue or area of the school that they believe needed a positive change and improvement. After a lot of research, pouring over data and many discussions with staff and students, our BBBH girls noticed that there was a lack of knowledge and awareness regarding consent and sexual violence within our community.

Nency Patel, Dhyana Bhrambhatt, Lillie Butcher, Chloe Rowley, Jayda Warren, Ruby-Rose Braddock, Omra Akkas, Katelin Cobb and Em Carter have since put in a power of work across the past four terms to lead what is going to be a successful and positive change within our school, resulting in increased understandings and awareness of this complex issue.

Mr Murphy and Ms Montano were both able to join the students at the BBBH interschool event, at GMHBA Stadium on Friday, October 27^th, and were proud to witness firsthand how confident our young leaders are becoming with their skills in collaboration, communication and leadership. In particular, it has been commendable to see our young leaders committing to promoting increased awareness about such a pressing and complicated subject area.

On behalf of the school community, the Newcomb Secondary College Leadership Team would like to thank our BBBH leaders for their dedication to this goal, and also to Mrs Stonely, for her time in supporting the leaders across their journey to date.

Every second Friday a group of students trek down to Wallington Park Equestrian Centre to participate in a horse-riding class.  Throughout the course of the year, these students have gone from being timid to confident riders - able to successfully trot and canter on their horses unassisted. They have also learned how to care for, groom and command their horses - whilst being able to enjoy the serene farm lifestyle. These students have grown in confidence each session and have been wonderful representatives of the college, being courteous, respectful, willing to listen and give things a go!

The new young adult novel, Summer Change, written by Newcomb Secondary College English teacher Ms Melissa Wray was launched at the Leopold Library over the weekend. It was a wonderful celebration to launch this third young adult novel for Melissa. Congratulations from our school community Ms Wray, we hope that this book is a great success and that there are many more books to come.

Our Education Assistance Program assisting secondary students for 2024 will begin on the 24^th October 2023 and every Tuesday and Thursday until early December 2023. Telephone appointments can be made at our Grovedale site for eligible families (holders of health or concession cards) weekday MORNINGS between 9.20am until 11.40am. Phone 03 4210 1100.

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: