Sub-School Principal`s Report

Sub-School Principal’s Report
Dear Parents / Guardians,
The dynamic start to our year continues at
Mount Ridley College! The Principal team have
enjoyed walking around the neighbourhoods all
across the school and seeing the fantastic work
that students are doing. Classes are already
making their spaces their own with samples of
work on the walls and hanging from ceilings.
The Animating Principle, ‘Create Your Future’
features heavily in the neighbourhoods with students regularly discussing how their learning
relates to their future opportunities. Classroom
routines are well established and students are
enjoying the level of responsibility that is
expected of them in the neighbourhood
environment.
Our first reporting cycle for the year has
concluded with progress reports now available
on the Parent Portal. This is an ideal
opportunity for families to discuss progress and
strategies to improve student outcomes. We
encourage caregivers to make contact with the
relevant teachers should they have any
questions regarding the reports and discuss the
ways in which we can work together to support
student progress.
In the Junior School, the Read 2 Succeed
program continues, with students enjoying the
world that reading a ‘good fit book’ opens up.
This is complemented by the Spelling and
Numeracy Program. There is excitement ‘a plenty’ as our Juniors’ prepare for their Junior School
Athletics Day on 14th March. We are sure there
will be no shortage of eager participants as
students compete for their houses and enjoy
the colour and fun of the day. We are eagerly
awaiting the outcome of the staff relay!
In the Middle School, there were some very tired
Year 7’s last week as they took part in their two
day activity program. Thursday’s trip to MSAC
was a huge success with students taking part in
a water activity program that included diving,
inflatable obstacle course, wave pool and water
slide. They also participated in a mixed sports
round robin challenge where they played basketball, soccer, badminton and table tennis. On
Friday the College was visited by Fitness Worx.
The students completed an activity program that
included a mini ‘boot camp’, Frisbee, Body Beat,
Minute to Win It challenge and a Circus activity.
Our Year 8’s have been involved with our Year
10 students in the Global High Resolves
Program. This is an outstanding moral and
ethics-based awareness program focused upon
student growth and action in our community.
Students undertook work on units of Global
Justice and Identity as a start to developing a
better awareness of the world around them and
their place in it as future leaders.
In Senior School, the curriculum programs are
well underway with many VCE students
completing the first of their School Assessed
Coursework (SAC) tasks. It has been a pleasure
to see the commitment of our Senior Students
as they are working earnestly in partnership with
their teachers to achieve their very best.
Our annual Swimming Carnival was an exciting
Term 1, Issue 4 day with students from Years 5 to 11 enjoying the
spirit of healthy competition. Students participated in a
number of events, including novelty events and even a
teachers’ relay! It was wonderful to see students
getting into the spirit of the day, wearing house
colours and cheering on their teammates. Well done
to all. The results are as follows:
Aitken- 996
Hampton- 903
Cleveland- 898
Highbury- 865
Watch this space as our Athletics Carnival takes off on
14th March!
We would also like to draw your attention to the
‘Create Your Future’ newsletter posted on the Parent
Portal last week by our hardworking Pathways team.
This is an invaluable resource to all of our students
and their families as it provides a wealth of information
about Careers options and training.
New Student Engagement and Inclusion Guidance
has been developed for all Victoria Government
schools by the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development (DEECD). These processes
came into effect on March 1, 2014. Central to this is
the government’s commitment to provide principals
with wider discretionary authority aimed at making
schools safe , supportive and inclusive places.
Embedded in the guidelines, is the principal’s right to
suspend and expel students at his/her own discretion.
Families are also provided a range of new support
mechanisms.
You may also be aware, through recent media
releases, that DEECD has introduced new
procedures in relation to student attendance at school.
These guidelines reiterate the importance of
uninterrupted attendance at school. They also outline
new processes for students at school. They also
outline new processes for students with poor and nonattendance issues, along with the role of Regional
School Attendance Officers and the circumstances in
which fines (infringement Notices) can be issued to
parents. For full details regarding these departmental
updates, please access the following:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/
participation/Pages/attendance.aspx
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/
participation/Pages/studentengagementguidance.aspx
Finally, a reminder to families that when dropping off
or picking up students please exercise extreme caution. Schools are very busy places at these times and
we must have student safety in our minds at all times.
To ensure your child’s safety please speak to them
about using the School Crossings and the
traffic
lights when accessing the bus stop. Victoria Police will
be patrolling at these times in an effort to ensure the
children’s safety.
Regards,
Linda Blakis
Acting Middle Sub School Principal
Channel 7’s ‘Beauty and the Geek’ visits our College Bre d’Avoine, the 2013 Winner of ‘Beauty and the Geek’ took me out from his hec c schedule to visit our students this week. Bre shared stories ‐ humorous and interes ng about his me on the show, the triumphs and the struggles. All were entertained and we thank Bre for his generosity and sense of fun. Global High Resolves Comes to Mount Ridley Last week the team from Global High Resolves worked with our en re Year 8 cohort over two days. Our College has entered a Northern Region partnership with our Year 8’s learning about the idea of ‘Collec ve Iden ty’ – who we are as a group, how we can support each other with high morals and ethical principles. Students learned about the damaging effects of name‐calling stereo‐types and many other important ideas to assist them in becoming outstanding global ci zens. In August, the theme will be ‘Jus ce’. The Year 8’s will graduate into a Year 9 school‐based community project next year and therea er will be ready to em‐
bark on some exci ng out‐reach programs in our local community.
Swimming Carnival It’s Aiken – but only by a nose! This year the Swimming Carnival Cup has been won by the ever athle c Aitken House, but compe on was fierce. Aitken managed 996 points, Hampton were runners up with 903, followed by Cleveland with 898 and Highbury with 865 points. The theme of the day was par cipa on and it was wonderful to witness the colour and spectacle of a fantas c Swimming Carnival. This year the out of pool ac vi es extended to student music performances, sports trivia quiz, special guest appearances as well as the volleyball and a host of other ac vi es. We now look forward to the Athle cs and all houses are preparing to go all out for the coveted Athle cs Cup. Aitken Sports Captains Thomas Rossi, Brandon McLarty, Ishil Yontar and Zach McCasker proudly celebrated the cup win with their fellow students. Year 10 Peer Leaders A Hit with our Younger Students
This years’ Year 10 Peer Leaders have hit the ground running with their valuable
support of the Global High Resolves Program. The 20 Year 10’s, fresh from their
Peer Leadership training with STRIDE INC. worked beautifully with our Year 8’s this
week, helping them to concentrate and develop their
ideas about ‘Collective
Identity’. Training was well-supported by the AFL at High Gate arena where the
training was held.
On 24th February, the Junior School celebrated the launch of the Be er Buddies Program at MRC. The Be er Buddies Program is an ini a ve of the Alanah and Madeline Founda on and encourages students to look out for each other and avoid bullying behaviours. All Year 3/4 students and all Prep students par cipate in the program throughout the year. Senior Buddies are partnered up with a Li le Buddy and they spend one hour a fortnight together, learning about resilience, respect, friendship and bullying. Max Woodsford and Kumali Karunaratne were the MCs for the launch and proudly presented a cer ficate of apprecia on to the Parents and Friends Associa on for their kind fundraising in support of the Buddy Bears. Thanks to the Parents and Friends, each Prep has a small plush purple Buddy Bear to take home. More informa on about the Be er Buddies Program can be found at h p://
www.be erbuddies.org.au/ or even be er please come and talk to some of our Senior Buddies. Sports Update
Intermediate Volleyball
Girls
This year the girls volleyball team was represented by a group of exceptionally motivated girls who had high hopes for a day of
competition. The girls certainly got their wish, winning 2 games against Roxburgh Park and Sirius College. Unfortunately Hume
Central girls were too strong going through to the final and took the title in the Woodlands district. Congratulations to Daisy
Leuga for coaching and leading the girls in the day of competition.
Boys
With a small team of 4, the intermediate boys were first intimidated with the competition, but turned around and their competitive streak really shone, winning against Aitken College and drawing against Sirius College. Unfortunately it came down to
percentage and the boys just missed out on the final. An outstanding performance by Josh Faato-Tuafuti, taking out man of
the match for the day.
Intermediate Boys Cricket
On Monday 17th February, our Intermediate boys cricket team set out to Donnybrook Reserve in pursuit of cricketing glory. The
sun was shining, the grass was green and the conditions were perfect for cricket. The results were as follows:
Game 1
Mount Ridley: 8/65 off 14 overs. Standout batting: Aaron Tsafcas 23 runs.
Roxburgh Park: 2/86. Standout bowling: Thomas Baker 1/1. Brandon McClarty 1/8.
Game 2
Aitken College: 4/80. Standout bowling: Tye Browning 2/8. Thomas Baker 1/14.
Mount Ridley College: 9/57. Standout batting: Thomas Baker 18 runs. Aaron Tsafcas 18 runs.
Special mention for toughness go to Aaron Tsafcas for copping a thunderbolt to the ribs from a 6’5 giant from Aitken College
and Jack Noonan for managing to get struck in the back of the leg from the same bowler! Also, a special mention goes to
‘Barney’ Elliot for consistency - 2 ducks from two hits. The boys were great sports all day, enjoyed themselves and are already
training for bigger and better things next time round!
Intermediate and Senior Tennis
On Monday, 17th February, eight boys from Years 9, 10 and 11 represented Mount Ridley College at School Sport held at
Gladstone Park Tennis Club. Our opposition schools for both rounds were Aitken College and Craigieburn South respectively.
In the intermediate boys, each boy played a singles match, and then combined with a partner for doubles. The senior boys
each played two singles matches and then two doubles. Kale Nairn was a standout on the day winning both his single and
doubles matches.
Throughout the day, the boys umpired their own games and displayed positive sportsmanship when representing the College.
They showed their support by watching each other play and constantly encouraged one another.
Intermediate team
Senior team:
COLLEGE COUNCIL 2014-15
At the close of nominations for members of the 2014-2015 College Council, the following were received:
PARENT CATEGORY—Amanda Billington, Traci Coe, Kristy Polley and Shyla Reddy
DEECD CATEGORY—Linda Blakis, Con Stamatelatos and Fiona Vale
As the number of nominations is the same as the number of vacancies, all of the
above are duly elected. We thank them for taking on this important role and look
forward to having them commence their term of office this April.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Noosha Haleem for her service on
College Council. Noosha’s term officially ceases at the end of Term 1.
Lino Pagano
College Principal
MOUNT RIDLEY COLLEGE 1:1 DEVICES
JAPANESE SISTER SCHOOL VISIT
The College remains committed to providing students with
enhanced opportunities to effectively utilise ICT tools and
programs that will play a major role in their current and
uture learning. The College’s 1:1 device program has been
devised to enhance their learning opportunities.
From 22nd March until 30th March we are
very pleased and proud to welcome back for
the second year in a row students and staff
from Akatsuki, our sister school in Japan.
As per our correspondence late last year, all devices
purchased through our selected suppliers will not attract an
additional cost to be connected to our network as they
have been uploaded with the required operating system.
Families who have selected to purchase the required
device from another supplier will be required to pay a once
off fee of $50 per device. (Please note that devices will be
connected once the fee is paid). This covers the cost of
installing software that allows the device to be connected to
the College’s wireless and operating infrastructure. Basic
technical support will also be provided by our technicians.
Insurance
Parents are strongly encouraged to take out insurances of
these devices.
If families have contents insurance on their home, adding a
device is usually a very small fee with their insurer.
Security
Students in Years 5—11 are advised not to bring devices unless they have a locker.
Seventeen students will arrive and stay with
families from the College and two members
of staff. Throughout the week Akatsuki
students along with their buddies will take
part in a tailor made program where they will
improve on their English skills, do cooking
classes, play Australian sport and participate
in Japanese classes.
We look forward to showcasing our
programs, our students and the Australian
culture. It's a fantastic opportunity for the
school and students to learn more about
Japan.
Marika Convey
Director of Languages and International
Programs.
The Annual College Athletics Carnival is taking place on Friday 14th March at Meadowglen Athletics
Stadium. Students received a notification letter of the event together with information regarding the
swimming Carnival. For more information and additional forms please see the Main Administration
Office.
Parents please note that this is a College wide event and students are expected to attend the day’s
festivities. Students will be encouraged to earn points for their “House” by participating in the volleyball competition, the Dance off battle, music performances, novelty events and teachers vs. Student
races, along side the traditional track and field events.
Students have had the opportunity to sign up for the running events this week and field events sign
ups will take place on the day. Students are encouraged to dress up in their house colour provided
they wear appropriate footwear (no thongs, canvas shoes etc).
House colours are Hampton- Yellow, Cleveland- Blue, Highbury- White and Aitken- Black
Attendance for the day only requires the ‘Permission for attendance form’ to be completed; which
90% of students have completed. If you are unsure, please don’t hesitate to contact the Main Administration Office.
Every student from Prep to Year 4 will be given the opportunity to participate in an event. The
carnival will take place on the Junior School oval from 10am until 2:30pm. All students should wear
their sport uniform and are encouraged to add their house colour.
Students should leave their iPads at home and pack their lunch in a plastic bag to bring on Friday.
House colours are Hampton- Yellow, Cleveland- Blue, Highbury- White and Aitken- Black
Parents are welcome to attend.
Please contact Ms Morecroft, Ms Swingler or Ms Galea if you have any queries.
2014 has started with a real bang thanks to our new Animating Principle.
Animating what, we hear you say?
Well, basically an Animating Principle is a fancy name for a school mantra; a mantra that is written in
student friendly language and is motivating and inspiring. We have thought long and hard about our Animating Principle. In fact most of last term, 2013 was spent discussing with student leaders, student focus groups, teachers and the school Leadership Team what our Animating Principle may look like for
2014. Hundreds of votes, conversations and debates later we were proud to announce our Animating
Principle for 2014 in our Start Up Program!
Ok, ok, just tell us what it is………
Our Animating Principle for 2014 is “Create Your Future”.
We believe this mantra encapsulates the reasons every staff member and student comes through the
Mount Ridley gates every morning, to create theirs and others futures.
Every day we strive to build the futures of the young people you entrust in our care. We do this in a myriad of ways including:

Rich and innovative learning

Excursions

Team Teaching

Incursions

Ability Groupings

Inter School Sport

One-to-one learning with ipads and tab- 
lets

Pathways support

House Competitions

Wellbeing Support

Create Your Future Expo

Student Leadership Programs

Community Days
Athletics and Swimming Carnivals
We are not ones for resting on our laurels and we are always open to new and exciting ways to further
support the dreams and aspirations of our students. Please let us know your ideas and areas of expertise!
You will see our “Create Your Future” message displayed in our Offices, Neighbourhoods, Learning Resource Centres and communal spaces. Please chat to your children about “Create Your Future” and
spread the message at home!
For more information on “Create Your Future” please have a look at the presentation to the staff at the
beginning of the year at the following link
http://prezi.com/yyuuabtyh_2h/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
OFFICE HOURS
The Main Administration Office
is open
Monday to Thursday:
8.15am to 5.00pm
Friday: 8:15am to 4:30pm
ESSENTIAL EDUCATION ITEMS
Many thanks to the large number of families who have paid the Essential Education Items. These
Items are now overdue. Prompt payment to the Main Administration Office would be greatly
appreciated. Funds collected allow us to resource student programs that without this money we would
not be able to do.
Payment for elective subjects undertaken by Senior School students is overdue. Please contact the
Main Administration Office immediately to organise payment.
Essential Education Items can be paid by cash, cheque or card at the Main Administration Office.
card payments must be over $20.
All
CANTEEN LUNCH ORDERS
Lunch order system operates as follows:
Junior School (Prep—Year 4)
Lunch orders need to be placed in the lunch order
box in your child’s classroom. Please do not take
lunch orders directly to the canteen. Lunches are
then collected through the class teacher.
Middle School (Years 5—8)
Lunch orders are to be directly placed with the
canteen by no later than the end of recess. Students collect their lunch from the express line at
the canteen.
Senior School (Years 9—11)
Lunch orders are to be directly placed with the
canteen by no later than the end of recess. Students collect their lunch from the express line at
the canteen.
We are very excited to announce that Mount Ridley College has received funding to trial an app for
schools. The State Government has put funding into a trial that will involve 50 schools across the
state. When given the chance to take part in this trial we jumped at the opportunity because we see
communication with the College community as an integral part of the education process.
Konnective is a mobile app solution that will allow us to communicate with students and parents
straight to your smartphone. We will be sending news, events, photos and more so that you can be
kept up to date with the latest from the school. Using the Konnective app, you can add events directly
to your phone's calendar, set reminders for things you need to do and receive important alerts
(similar to a text message) as soon as they are released.
Download the Konnective app from the App Store or Google Play, register and you're up and
running. You can then go to connections and search for Mount Ridley P-12 College and select the
year levels that are relevant to you. The app is completely free and is currently available for iPhone
and Android with a web version available for other phone types or users without a smartphone.
Via the app, we can send communication to specific year levels, so you will receive information specific to you as well as general news, events and updates that will go to everyone. This will extend and
enhance our existing communications.
DATES TO REMEMBER
7th March
Inter-School Sport for Years 5/6
10th March
Labour Day Public Holiday—Students are not required at school on
this day
12th March
Bridging Worx Parents and Families Evening 6pm-7:30pm
14th March
Years 5—11 Athletics Carnival
Junior Athletics Carnival
17th March
Intermediate Sport
20th March
Melbourne City Experience and The Great Race (9A,9B, &9C)
Inter-School Sports for Years 5/6
25th March
Immunisations for Year 7 and 9 boys and all Year 10 students
25th March
College Council 6pm
27th March
Harmony Day
26th and 27th March Discovery and Investigation Incursion for Years 1 and 2
4th April
Term 1 concludes—Students will be dismissed at 2:30pm
ALL WELCOME TO THE PFA ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING ON THURSDAY
20TH MARCH 2014 @ 2PM IN THE
MAIN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING.