Welcome to Term 3

I trust you all had a great break. The first week back from any holiday break is always filled with positive energy and a good vibe. This was certainly evident as I walked into classrooms and through the yard. As is expected, staff and students have returned refreshed and eager to share their holiday stories, reconnect with friends and recommence their learning. It is great to see.

For this newsletter article, I feel it is appropriate to share with our community the messages relayed to staff and students at our Welcome Back Assembly on Monday. The messages outline our collective purpose and the role we can all play in contributing to a positive learning environment and school experience. The speech was as follows-

Whole School Assembly Welcome Back Speech

Welcome back from your holiday break. It is so great to see you all back safe and well, ready and prepared for a positive semester of learning, growth, and achievement.  I trust you had a great time with family and friends during your break. I certainly look forward to hearing all about your holiday adventures over the coming days and weeks.

I also wish to especially welcome Ms Stuart, who will teach Maths and Science, Ms Marshall who will manage the Library and Ms Peters who is our new Business Manager. Please join me in welcoming those new staff to Newcomb Secondary College. I know that they are very excited to be part of the community.

Over the break, I hope you spent some time reflecting on Semester 1 and identifying your success stories and areas for improvement. I certainly did.

Your end of Semester reports, available on Compass, were full of information that would have assisted you with those reflections. I know so much as I read many of your reports over the break and I look forward in the coming weeks to passing out recognition letters to many of you for your learning achievements .

I ask each and every one of you to act responsibly with regards to the feedback and observations made about your learning. Consider the feedback constructively and determine realistic areas that you can set as goals in Semester 2. If not, that is if you refuse to accept or acknowledge the feedback, it renders the feedback pointless, and you will not be able to achieve any further positive growth. Positive growth, something all staff here at Newcomb Secondary College aim to assist you with, is in the title splashed on the front of the College (Creating Positive Futures) and it is contained in our collective purpose, a purpose you know as- The Positive Futures Framework. It is what we all aim for.

Together, as staff and students of Newcomb Secondary College, we strive to build highest order skills and attributes in all of the Positive Futures Framework capabilities.

With that in mind, Semester 2 is another opportunity for a new start. For many of you, you will have new elective subjects. For our Year 12 students,  it is an important time, your last semester of Secondary education. Further to this, Semester 2 will offer you all new and enriching excursions, different sport offerings, exciting camp adventures. You may have new teachers to learn from and learn with, new or different classmates, you may choose to participate in extra-curricular activities, such as Dance Club. All in all, Semester 2 offers you new opportunities and new experiences.

Whilst there is a lot of new activities in Semester 2, we must continue to maintain our high expectations of one another. To me, a highlight of Semester 1 here at Newcomb Secondary College was our collective focus and attention to ‘Good Order’. As you already know, our ‘Good Order’ focus is aimed to ensure that our school environment remains consistent with the Newcomb Secondary College school values and that we can all coexist positively and safely together as a school community. We all have the responsibility to contribute towards a safe and orderly school environment where positive relationships, growth and development can occur in both our classroom learning spaces and when interacting and enjoying unstructured time together in the yard.

It is especially important that Good Order continues to remain in place for each and every class - for each and every student.

Newcomb Secondary College Good Order

1. Line up outside classroom before each class with all learning materials
2. Enter room in an orderly manner, sit and remain seated, and keep devices shut until instructed to open by teacher
3. Respect the learning equipment. Leave room in a neat and tidy state
4. There will be opportunities in class for structured movement directed only by the teacher. At all other times, remain seated for learning
5. Students must not leave the classroom unless absolutely necessary and only if given permission by the teacher
6. Only one student will be permitted to leave the class at a time and must only do so with a 'Pass-out' card

So, just before we conclude this assembly and commence our learning for Term 3, I'd like to remind all students of our collective expectations of you as students of Newcomb Secondary College and why it is so important for us all to work towards.

The Newcomb Secondary College community has high expectations on you as students, parents/carers/community partners/industry partners etc. Your teachers have high expectations of you as learners and positive community members. Your peers have high expectations of you as respectful and supportive classmates and school members. I have high expectations of you in all those areas, as well as expectations of you being positive advocates and role models of Newcomb Secondary College.

As such, it is your challenge to start this Semester in a manner that ensures that your contributions towards your learning and the learning of others, as well as the broader school environment and community expectations is to the very highest standards.

You align with the Newcomb Secondary College values of Learning, Respect & Working Together

You continue to follow the ‘Good Order’ expectations at all times.

You present in correct school uniform always. No excuses.

You are respectful, responsible and act safely in the yard.

You support the learning of others and work in a positive way with teachers, learning mentors and wellbeing staff. All of whom are here to support you.

You are a leader and a positive role model.

Together, let us aim for a great Semester!

Have a great week!

Regards,

Mr McLeod

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