Can you believe that there is a little over two weeks of school remaining in Term 1! Where did that time go? 

It has been such a great start to the academic school year and we are all looking forward to the remaining days of Term 1 continuing to be a positive learning and social experience for staff and students at Newcomb Secondary College.

Information Evening, School Tours and Rone 

During the course of the next fortnight, we turn our attention to celebration and strangely 2024! Starting with the latter first. Our preparations for 2024 commence with our always amazing Information Evening (Monday April 3) where we welcome our prospective Year 7’s for 2024. It is always a fantastic evening, one we know we do very well,  showcasing our school values, learning programs, facilities, wonderful staff, student leaders and everything that is great about Newcomb Secondary College! It is always a pleasure to open the College doors and welcome our community into the school, with some attending on the night for the very first time. 

We encourage you to spread the word and invite as many prospective students and their families to join us on the evening, as we know that rather than form an opinion of Newcomb Secondary College from the commentary of others, experiencing Newcomb Secondary College first hand always sees our visitors depart with an overwhelming positive impression. We say- ‘come and see for yourself!’ In addition to the Information Evening on April 3 (see flyer below), we also will be offering a formal tours during the school day on Tuesday March 28 at either 11.30am or 1.30pm. Each tour will take around 1 hour and offer the opportunity to witness a school day at Newcomb Secondary College as it happens- visiting classrooms, moving through the grounds, seeing staff in action. Please contact the office to register your interest. Now, returning to the celebration feature of the next fortnight, and it doesn’t come much better than the unveiling of the art work piece completed by Newcomb Secondary College students and Rone. 

Rone

On Tuesday March 28, we will be holding an event to formally unveil the finished art work piece and recognise the efforts of not only our friends at the Geelong Gallery and VicHealth, but importantly Tyrone Wright (Rone) and every one of our students who contributed to the feature. We have been so privileged to have been able to experience this opportunity and very much look forward to seeing the finished product and celebrating with all who have been involved! 

Getting enough Sleep? 

Last Friday, March 17, was World Sleep Day. Whilst this may seem like a ‘snore’ (sorry about the bad pun!), sleep plays a vital role in the energy levels and cognitive ability of us all, especially our young people. There is clear research and evidence of the harm to learning and relationships associated with lack of sleep and as we wind down to the end of Term 1, we encourage you and your student to reflect sleep patterns to ensure that rest is prioritised as it should. 

To support your discussions, and to complement our messages in Home Group, I have shared this link (https://worldsleepday.org/) with some resources on it that you may like to check out, and offered further information in this edition of the Newsletter. 

School Council- AGM 

On Thursday this week, we will be holding our School Council AGM. Thank you to those who participated in the election process and offered nominations to join the 2023 School Council. We appreciate and value your input and look forward to a successful Council year! 

Have a great week!

Mr McLeod

________________________________________________________________

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

While we know sleep is essential for good health, research shows that many children and young people are not getting enough sleep on school nights. This can affect thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood.

Research shows about 12% of primary school-aged children, a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds and half of 16- to 17-year-olds don’t get enough sleep on school nights. The recommended amount of time to sleep for primary school-aged children is 9 to 11 hours. For teenagers, it’s 8 to 10 hours.

Signs that your child is not getting enough sleep can include:

• low mood and irritability during social interactions
• reluctance or arguing about getting off devices and going to bed
• falling asleep during the day
• difficulties waking up for school and sleeping in late on weekends to catch up
• changes to communicating or interacting at home.

You can help your child to improve their sleep by:

• establishing a regular sleep pattern and consistent bedtime routine
• supporting them to avoid using electronic devices such as smartphones before going to bed and in bed
• encouraging your child to exercise and spend time outside in daylight, steering clear of vigorous activity in the hour before sleep
• encouraging them to wind down and relax before going to bed.

If your child is still having trouble sleeping, has persistent problems with low mood, excessive daytime sleepiness, restlessness in bed, severe snoring or wakening unrefreshed, despite getting adequate length sleep, they should see a doctor.

For more information on sleep health, you can refer to:

Sleep tips for children and Facts about sleep for parents and school staff, from the Sleep Health Foundation

Why sleep is so important, from the Kids Helpline’s

Sleep explained, from the Better Health Channel.

Mr McLeod

Acting Principal Newcomb Secondary College

On Tuesday, 28th of February, Year 9 students had a Melbourne Zoo experience as a part of their Science program. They got up close and personal with snakes, lions, butterflies, gorillas, all sorts of reptiles, seals, tigers, lions, snow leopards, giraffes and even teachers. 

They were also involved in a Melbourne Zoo education program inspired by Newcomb Secondary College. In particular, they explored skeletal remains to learn about the evolutionary adaptions of big cats.

Mr Walker

The SLAM team are hopping around the school to spread the word about our upcoming casual dress day and Easter Egg raffle!

WHEN: Thursday 30^th March

WHAT: Crazy Hat/Hair day

WHY: Ocean Mind https://www.oceanmind.org.au/

HOW: Gold Coin Donation

The Easter Egg raffle will run during the last week with the winner announced on the final day of Term 1.

Tickets will be available at recess and lunchtime near the Library.

$1 per ticket or 3 for $2.

Ms Wray

Music Students Visit to Feeder Primary Schools

In Week 9 – Seven Year 8 instrumental music students along with the music staff will visit feeder Primary Schools as an introduction to our Year 7 Information Evening.

Senior Concert Band - Performance at Year 7 Information Evening

The Senior Concert Band will be performing on Monday April 3rd, 2023 in the band room. We would like all band members at school, in the band room between 6.00pm to 6.15pm. We will start playing at 6.30pm.

The Senior Concert Band will perform in their band uniform - long black pants (not jeans, not leggings), long sleeve white shirts, all black shoes, black socks, school jumper or jacket and Senior Concert Band Tie (can be purchased from Mrs Stabryla – cost $20.00).

Senior Concert Band Tour

The Senior Concert Band tour has been finalised for Term 3. They will visit Bendigo and surrounding areas from Monday August 21st to Friday 25th. We will be staying at Camp Getaway in Axedale. Cost $340.00 each inclusive apart from personal spending money.

Junior Music Camp

The Year 7 and 8 instrumental music students will be given the opportunity to participate in our Junior Music Camp that will be held at Airey’s Inlet for three days from Monday August 7^th to Wednesday August 9^th. Expressions of interest from students who wish to attend will be taken early Term 2. Cost $200.00.

Classroom Music Program

Please enjoy the photos of our Year 7 classroom music students playing a very competitive game to help them remember the names of the music notes on the music stave. Classroom music is a lot of fun where students have the opportunity to learn the keyboard, be creative with their musical instruments and other sounds, use a computer music program called sound trap to write their own compositions, study the theory of music and develop their listening skills.

Year 7 Band Programs

The Year 7 Band program will commence towards the end of Term 1 where all Year 7 instrumental music students will start playing and rehearsing together in bigger groups. Currently Year 7 instrumental music students are undertaking lessons with Mrs Stabryla and Mr Crowther.

If you have any queries regarding the music program, please email me.

Mrs Stabryla

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Newcomb Secondary College is excited to be participating. The Premiers' Reading Challenge application offers a range of exciting features including:

• access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
• a modern user-friendly interface
• rewarding students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
• the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 8 September 2023.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge

Mrs McKiernan

Librarian

Senior Volleyball

Senior Volleyball was held on the 17^th of March at Corio Leisure Time and saw Newcomb entering both a Senior Boys and Senior Girls Team. Competition was tough early, with Newcomb only marginally going down in their first games to Matthew Flinders and Grovedale.

After that it was smooth sailing, with the teams winning both of there fixtured match ups. We did unfortunately see an injury to Maddux Clarke, and we wish him all the best with his recovery.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all students involved and Mr Klingberg and Mr Unmack for their work. The team was well organised with four training sessions held by both Mr Unmack and Mr Klingberg, which allowed us to be as well prepared on the day!

Intermediate Volleyball

On the 10^th of March, Miss Hill lead her group of intermediate netballers to Corio Leisuretime Centre to compete in the Intermediate Volleyball competition. They only narrowly lost their first set and continued to win their next two rounds to finish the score 2-1. Emily Dunn and Zoey Davis were noted for their accurate serving. Please check our social media for our Seahorses Chant which was fantastically executed. A big thank you to Miss Hill and the team for a great day and representing the College.

Athletics Update

On the 9^th of March, Newcomb Secondary College completed it's Annual Athletics Carnival. It was fantastic to see students participating in many events for their Houses to gain as many points as possible. We also saw amazing costumes and decorations, and even saw a dinosaur!

It was great to see all of our staff getting involved in relays and events, and really made for a successful day for everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff involved, as without them the day would not have been able to run. Stay tuned to our next assembly to see the winners for our Carnival.

Go Seahorses!

Mr Bell

Newcomb Secondary College Sport Coordinator

To view please click on the link below:

2023 Term 2 Regional Parenting Calendar

Justin Coulson forum A4 poster A GUIDE TO RAISING A CHILD WITH ADHD 2023

Justin Coulson forum A4 poster Sex Consent and Staying Safe 2023

Mother's Day Event Day Volunteering Guide