The first week of Term 3 was action packed. Nothing like getting back into the swing of things straight away! 

In conjunction with the resumption of core subjects (Maths, English etc.), many students commenced their new electives or new units. 

Students Out and About

The week comprised of Senior School Sport (Basketball), Wadawurrung Incursion for Year 8’s, the Year 10 Retreat Camp over three days and on Friday we had Senior students travel to Melbourne for the Careers Expo. The Year 9 students visited The Gordon, undertaking the Geelong Tertiary Futures Program (GTFP). 

I am very pleased to report that on each occasion, Newcomb Secondary College students were commended for their behaviour, positive engagement and overall involvement. Well done! I would also like to acknowledge the commitment of our wonderful staff at Newcomb Secondary College who make such opportunities possible for students. 

Welcome to our new Business Manager

I have the pleasure of introducing and welcoming Jenny Peters to Newcomb Secondary College. Jenny is joining the College as our Business Manager following Tansy Young moving to Drysdale Primary School. We are very lucky to have Jenny join our community. 

Pathways

This Thursday, we are conducting our Pathways meeting featuring important information about Senior student courses. 

Year 9 Leadership Camp

It should be noted that we have a select number of students attending the Year 9 Leadership Camp (Gnurad Gundidj) in Glenormiston (near Camperdown) for the next 9 weeks. We look forward to sharing more about this experience with you all in the coming Newsletter editions.

There is a lot on the horizon in the next few weeks, so I will leave this report as it is for now.

Have a great week!

Regards,

Mr McLeod

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School Operations Updates

• Pathways Information Evening: This Thursday, 20 July at 7.00pm in Auditorium. An evening event to help students and parents understand their pathway, particularly the transition from Year 10 into Year 11 for the future Year 11s of 2024.
• Year 10 into 11 Course Counselling will be 1 - 3 August. Year 10 classes will still run on these dates, students will just come out of classes for a 10-minute course counselling session. A schedule will be shared prior to the commencement of the sessions.
• Year 12 PTSC Thursday, 27 July in the Lang Centre from 4:30 – 6:30pm. Compass bookings are open now. This is a great way for Year 12s and their families to set them up for success in the upcoming final assessments.

Mr Sinclair

Mr Scott McLeod, Acting Principal
Mr James Murphy, Assistant Principal
Mr Jeremy Sinclair, Acting Assistant Principal

I am very excited to be joining the Newcomb Secondary College community. During Term 2, I taught many students at your lovely school whilst visiting as a relief teacher and have absolutely loved my time here!

Straight after finishing secondary school, I completed a science degree, but it wasn’t until I had children of my own that I knew teaching was for me. I completed a Master of Teaching at Deakin University so that I could teach in Primary and Secondary schools, however my first teaching role was as an Early Childhood teacher at World of Learning in Leopold – and yes, I actually taught some of the Year 8 students from this very school when they were in kindergarten! I then moved on to enjoy many appointments at schools such as, relief teacher at East Geelong Primary School, Christian College, Science teacher at Northern Bay and Numeracy Specialist at Bell Park North. I am now looking forward to sharing many great teaching experiences and memorable learning moments with the wonderful students and staff at Newcomb Secondary College.

My hobbies include horse riding, shooting hoops with my son and kicking the footy with my daughter. My husband, two teenage kids and I own 10 goats, 3 sheep, a dog and a cat which keep us entertained and very busy on the weekends.

Thank you very much to the staff, students and families of Newcomb Secondary College for their warm welcome and support. I look forward to working with you all.

Ms Stuart

Greetings!

My name is Ingrid Marshall. It is a joy to return to Newcomb Secondary College as a staff member. I completed VCE at Newcomb Secondary College and Matthew Flinders Girls College on the Bellarine Shared Campus back in 1991. Newcomb Secondary College was my first school in Australia when my family and I emigrated from Ireland in 1986.

Since finishing VCE, I went on to study at University, librarianship and teaching, and I love to teach wider reading programs and research skills at Primary and Secondary levels. Over my 30-year career, I’ve been a Librarian at Geelong Regional Library Corporation, Christian College Senior
Campus, St Aloysius Catholic Primary School, Wesley College, Matthew Flinders Girls, Geelong College, Lutheran College P-12 and Geelong Grammar School. Importantly, that career started behind the library desk at Newcomb Secondary College helping out at lunchtimes!

I love library events like Book Week and National Simultaneous Storytime and look forward to linking up with Geelong Regional Library staff to bring lots of lunchtime clubs, author and illustrator visits and reading and writing competitions to Newcomb Secondary College.

Outside of school, I love gardening, cooking, travelling and hosting exchange students from Japan (where I lived for 5 years teaching English). I can often be found walking my black cocker spaniel dog, Louis along the beach at Ocean Grove or buying new plants at Van Loons Nursery in Wallington with my mum Jacqui.

Ms Marshall

During the first week of Term 3, our students headed to DOXA Camp, Malmsbury for the Year 10 Retreat. Excitement levels were high as we patiently sat through the 2-hour bus ride, but once we arrived, students were able to direct their energy towards an array of awesome activities. These included-

Leap of Faith – Students climbed up a 15-metre-high climbing pole whilst wearing a harness. Once at the top, they leapt off the pole and were caught by their harness.

Nature photography – Our students trekked through bushland whilst taking photos of the native flora and fauna they passed. Along the way, photos were captured of Kangaroos, rare fluorescent mushrooms, and a number of different species of birds.

Giant swing – Students free fell from the skies whilst being harnessed to a bungy cord. The giant swing was definitely a crowd favourite and required a great deal of courage to participate.

Archery – A change of pace from the other activities, students participated in an archery workshop. This activity proved popular, with several bullseyes even being hit across the camp.

In our downtime, there were plenty of things to keep us entertained. Some students settled in for a movie night in the warmth of the theatre room, whilst the trampolines also proved extremely popular.

All of our students represented the school in a fantastic manner, with camp staff commending the manners and participation of the group. After a massive couple of days, I’m sure our students were glad to return to their own beds and I’m sure slept well that night.

Below are some comments from students who attended the Retreat:

The activities were amazing. The camp leaders were helping everyone smile and laugh.

It was great hanging out with friends and doing activities together. Definitely a great experience.

The Giant Swing was awesome.

The food was great and the activities were fun.

Mr Colbert

Making and creating, discussing ideas, connecting with community and our Arts institutions are things that we like to do here at Newcomb Secondary College.

Last week marked the start of a series of workshops inspired by the work of Kate Beynon. In class we discussed Kate Beynon's use of lucky charms, amulets and iconography in her work with our friend/teacher, Ella Charger from the Geelong Gallery. In class, we made individual soft sculptures that will culminate in a collaborative, hanging sculpture.

Students doing Year 7 Art, Year 9/10 Ceramics/Glass, and Year 9/10 Art Making and exhibiting will all be contributing to this sculptural work that will be part of an exhibition.

The students were engaged, proud and excited about their individual pieces and they are looking forward to seeing the finished, hanging art piece.

Thanks Ella and the Geelong Gallery.

Newcomb Secondary School College Arts Team

All Year 10 students are due to receive their Meningococcal vaccine on the 10th August 2023.

Consent Cards were sent home with your student yesterday and are due back to the office no later than Monday 17th July. If your student hasn’t received a card, please contact the office for a replacement.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Mrs Kaberry

Week 1 Term 3 was our first full Year 7 Concert Band rehearsal with students from 71, 72, 73 and 74. Congratulations to all students who are participating in the Year 7 band. Well done!

Homework Club is on every afternoon except Thursday. It's been going for more than 10 years.

Mr Curnick encourages everyone to join in and catch up on their work. We get to eat noodles, hang out with some friends, catch up with some of our teachers and have Mr Curnick help and inspire us. We are also lucky to be sponsored by the Smith Family who kindly supply us with the yummy food to keep us going.

All are welcome! 

'For our Elders'

Last week, we had a fun, enriching and informative session with Ash Skinner from the Wathawurrung Traditional Owners Corporation. A big thank you to Ms Roberts who organised this incursion as a joint GROW and Humanities experience.

Ash helped us expand our connection to country and spoke about traditional cultural practices, sustainability, local stories, history, about building pride, strength and understanding of our First Nations people.

On behalf of our Year 8 students and staff, we'd like to thank you for having an open and inspiring dialogue with us and we look forward to welcoming you back to Newcomb Secondary College.

Ms Honeywell

Daily attendance is important for all students to succeed in education and to ensure that they do not fall behind, socially and academically. Both schools and parents have an important role to play in supporting students to attend school every day and to be at school on time and ready to learn.

When students arrive late, they miss important introductions to the school day, impacting on how they settle into the routines of school and further impacting socially and academically. Our students are committed to attending school every day, arriving on time to each class, and are prepared to learn. Our students are encouraged to approach a teacher and seek assistance if there are any issues that are affecting their attendance or lateness in the mornings. If you would like to speak to someone regarding your student’s attendance or lateness, we are here to help. Please contact the school office on 5248 1400.

Ms Demopoulos

Please click to view PDFs

2023 Term 3 Regional Parenting Calendar