Newsletter

2-30 Hampton Street, Craigieburn, VIC 3064Tel: (03) 8338 3600 Fax: (03) 8338 3699 www.mountridleycollege.vic.edu.auEmail: mount.ridley.p12@edumail.vic.gov.au

College Principal: Mr Lino Pagano Assistant Principals: Ms Helen Casey, Mrs Kristina Heffernan, Mr Peter Mitsis, Dr Tony Mordini,Mr Con Stamatelatos

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Dear College Community,

All the very best to our Year 12s.This week we celebrated two special events – the Year 12 Formal and the Year 12 Graduation. Graduation was a significant milestone and we are all very proud of our Year 12s. Lots of work went into organising these events. A special mention must be made of the Senior School Team who oversaw proceedings and ensured their success. Our Year 12s will have many fond memories for years to come. As mentioned at graduation, the College Pathways Team is available to support students in the ensuing months with changes to preferences and options related to further education and employment.

Visit to Government House / Community Hub Project On Monday, Ms Casey and I attended a lunch at Government House. The event was an opportunity for a group of refugee and asylum seeker women from Hume schools to celebrate the end of a year-long project they have been undertaking in the Governor’s Peace and Prosperity Garden. Through their weekly gardening activities and social interactions with each other, the women have shared information about each other’s background and cultural traditions and learned a lot about the Australian way of life. On Monday, the women showcased some of their traditional dishes and treated the principals to lunch using some of the produce they had grown in the Peace and Prosperity Garden.

Step Up – Year 11 into Year 12, and Year 10 into Year 11Currently, our Senior School students are in Step Up. The Year 10s going into Year 11 have begun their Year 11 courses while the Year 11s going into Year 12 have begun their Year 12 courses. Step Up is a very important time that helps to set sound foundations for Stage 1 and Stage 2 VCE and for VCAL programs. As we can all appreciate, in Year 12 particularly, the amount of time available to prepare for final exams and assessments is tight, so any opportunity to get an understanding of the skills, knowledge and competencies required for the following year should be taken.

China Study Tour Dinner On Thursday, November 28, staff, students and parents associated with the recent China Study Tour came together for a celebration dinner. Thank you for all who organised the event. It was a wonderful way to reflect on the tour and for students to share some of their memories with their families.

Early Years ConcertLast Thursday we had a wonderful night in the Early Years with our annual summer concert. The children had so much fun entertaining their families with a range of upbeat, motivational songs from the past three decades. Thank you to the Performing Arts Staff for all their hard work. Thank you also to all the Early Years staff who gave up their time to supervise the students on the night. These events cannot occur without this generosity of spirit and time.

Middle Years and Year 7 ACED ExamsThis week our Middle Years and Year 7 ACED students are in exam mode. Students have been diligent and serious in their endeavours. Exam skills are vital in the senior years so these exams will provide a sound foundation and preparation for students as they move into the final years of their secondary education.

Fit2Drive Discovery Day The current Year 11s going into Year 12 in 2020 participated in a Discovery Day this week. The workshops were organised by the Fit2Drive Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to reducing road trauma. Thank you to the Year 11 Team who facilitated this very worthwhile event.

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New Bus Route 525 for Donnybrook and MicklehamA new bus route between Donnybrook, Mickleham and Craigieburn is set to start on December 22, 2019. The Route 525 service will connect students between Mickleham and Mount Ridley P-12 College on school days. • In the mornings, it will depart from Donnybrook Road/Harfield Avenue in Mickleham at 8.10 am and arrive at the school at 8.40 am• In the afternoons, it will depart the school at 3.30 pm and arrive at Donnybrook Road/St Georges Boulevard in Mickleham at 4 pm.The full route map and timetable will be available from December 6 at ptv.vic.gov.au, on the PTV app or by calling 1800 800 007.

Junior Years Mini School Re-structure – Years 5 and Years 6 will operate as separate classes in 2020After considerable discussions and consultations with students, a decision has been made to have these year levels taught as separate classes in 2020. This will reduce the disruptions caused to Year 6 students as a result of specific Year 5 activities such as NAPLAN and swimming lessons. It will also enable the College to design some more targeted programs for STEM, reduce the ability levels in classes and facilitate the transition from Year 6 into Year 7 without requiring the Year 5s to be in residual classes.

5/6 Humanities – Market Stall DayThis week our Junior Years Mini School hosted a Market Day. This Humanities activity provided students with an opportunity to participate in a ‘hands on’ group project requiring them to demonstrate planning, budgeting, marketing and sales skills. It was a great event. Students were incredibly engaged and got a lot out of it. Thank you to all the 5/6 staff and parents who got behind the project and were instrumental in its success.

ReportsReports will be available on Compass on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 18, 2019.

Arranging medical, dental and other appointmentsWe encourage you to please (wherever possible) arrange for these appointments to be outside of school hours to reduce the disruption and impact on your child’s learning. Furthermore, if your child has missed lessons they should be making every effort to speak to their teacher about the work they have missed.

Inclement weather – collecting students during the school day is disruptive. We are experiencing a growing number of parents arriving at the school to collect their children on extreme weather days. This is disruptive and creates workload for staff who have to collect students from classes. The College has policies in place to ensure students are well cared for in the event of extreme heat or wet weather. For example, the Prep - Year 4s will be kept inside on such days. Teachers will also remind children to stay hydrated, wear a hat and avoid situations that will expose them to extreme conditions.

Kind regards,

Dr Tony MordiniAssistant Principal: P-7 / College Operations / Information Systems / Transition

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December 4 ACED Awards Dinner, 6:30 pm (Highgate Recreation Reserve)

December 5 Last Day of School for Year 11 students December 6 Middle Years Completion CeremonyDecember 6 Last Day of School for Year 10 studentsDecember 7 Second Hand Book Sale, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

December 10 Year 7 2020 Orientation day (Current Year 8 Students not required at school)

December 11 Year 7 End of Year Celebration AssemblyDecember 12 Year 4 Graduation Ceremony and Disco, 2:10 - 5:30 pmDecember 12 PFA Meeting, 2:10 - 3:10 pm (Early Years)

December 13 Year 8 Triumph Day

December 13 Early Years Assembly – Early Years Gym, 2:10 - 3:10 pm (Parents welcome)

December 16 Years 8 & 9 End of Year Activities Celebration at FunfieldsDecember 17 Years 5/6 End of Year Activities Celebration at FunfieldsDecember 17 Year 12 High Achievers Celebration, 6:30 - 7:30 pmDecember 17 Prep Graduation – Early Years Gym, 1:30 pmDecember 17 College Council, 6 pmDecember 18 Year 7 End of Year Activities Celebration at Funfields

December 18 End of Year Assembly, Main Gym, (Prep - 9) 9:30 am (Parents welcome)

December 19 Parent Helpers Morning Tea 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (Early Years)

December 20 Last Day of 2019 (Students dismissed at 1.00 pm)

& Upcoming events

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Prep: https://2019mrcpreps.weebly.com/

Years 2/1: https://2019mrcgrade21s.weebly.com/

Years 3/4: http://2019mrc34.weebly.com/

Years 5/6: http://2019mrc56.weebly.com/

Year 7: https://2019mrc7s.weebly.com/

As you are aware, it is our goal at MRC to include parents and carers in the education process.

We are proud to provide you with a link to our new ‘Weebly’ sites.Weebly is a website where you will be able to access all things

curriculum related for students in Prep to Year 7. Compass is still the main portal for communication and

information about excursions and other important reminders, but Weebly will be useful if you want to know what

your child is learning and are after some useful links or hints to assist from home.

Please follow the following links to access the Weebly sites which have all been updated with Term 4 information:

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The Craigieburn Bluelight Committee would like to thank all the kids that have attended our Bluelight Discos this year.To all of you, thank you, for the way you have conducted yourselves. It has been our pleasure to put these discos on for you to enjoy. To all our grade 6s that that are leaving us, we wish you well as you start your secondary education.

Lastly we would not be able to hold the discos without the selfless continued support of our many volunteers:-The Craigieburn Police Members

Craigieburn CFACraigieburn SES

CERTStaff at Craigieburn Primary School.

So thank you to everyone that has volunteered or attended our discos and we will see you all next year. 13

COME & TRY CLASSES

WHEN: 25th Nov & 2nd Dec TIME: 5-6pm WHERE: Aitken Hill Community Centre. 20 WATERVIEW BLVD, CRAIGIEBURN Email or contact us through facebook to register or arrive early on the night.

paramountcalisthenicscollege@gmail.com 14

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INSIGHTSBuilding parent-school partnerships

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WORDS Michael Grose

© 2014 Michael Grose

Bullying is an issue to be discussed around the meal table, in the context of keeping kids safe. Talk to kids about their right to feel safe; how to

recognise if they feel unsafe and what to do if they experience or witness bullying.

Bully-proofing KIDS

Despite the fact schools are very pro-

active when it comes to making them safe

places for kids, bullying unfortunately, is

something that’s still with us. According

to the 2009 Australian Covert Bullying

Prevalence Study one in four kids from

Years 4 to 9 experiences some type of

bullying at school.

Frequent bullying is highest in Year 5 (32

per cent experiencing some bullying) and

Year 8 (29 per cent) so it is something that

parents and teachers need to understand.

Bullying is an insidious behaviour that

transgresses a child’s right to feel safe and

secure. It can adversely affect children’s

learning, further peer relations and their

emotional well-being.

Often children will tease, argue and sometimes fight, which shouldn’t be confused with bullying.

Bullying is selective and intentional. It’s

also repetitious rather than a one-off or

occasional event. It can be physical, verbal

or social exclusion. It also now happens

online, which means some kids no longer

feel safe at home. Kids generally feel

powerless when they experience bullying.

Bullying is an issue to be discussed

around the meal table, in the context

of keeping kids safe. Talk to kids about

their right to feel safe; how to know when

they feel unsafe and what to do if they

experience or witness bullying.

Knowing when kids are being bullied?

Some research suggests that around 20

per cent of bullying goes unreported so

it can be difficult spotting children who

experience bullying. However, kids will

usually show signs in three ways:

1 Acting out: outward signs such as

displays of unusual aggression at home,

talking about hating school and getting

into trouble more often.

2 Acting in: subtle behaviour changes

such as sullenness, withdrawing from usual

activities, being uncommunicative, feigned

illness, bed-wetting and altered sleep

patterns.

3 Telltale signs: more obvious physical

signs such as torn clothes, items missing,

altered school routes and physical injuries.

Children who are bullied usually display

a combination of signs. Children often find

it hard to communicate that they are being

bullied. Some don’t have the language

required. Many kids feel ashamed, or even

believe what bullies tell them. Sometimes

kids are also reluctant to tell adults about

bullying, as they fear that they will take the

matter out of their hands, so your approach

needs to be gentle and non-judgmental.

Here are six things to do if you suspect your child is being bullied:

1 Listen to their story

It really is important to stay calm and get

the real story. Kids need to be believed

when they are bullied, so make sure they

get the chance to talk.

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... Bully-proofing kids ...

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parentingideas.com.au

Stay one step ahead of your kids with great ideas & expert advice from Michael Grose. Join

Michael’s NEW Parentingideas Club today at parentingideasclub.com.au. You’ll be so glad you did.

INSIGHTS

Building parent-school partnerships

Michael Grose

2 Get the facts

Bullying behaviour usually follows patterns. An

accurate picture will help you determine your

next course of action, for example, whether you

need to give your child some avoidance or coping

strategies or gain assistance from your child’s

school.

3 Recognise & validate their feelings (anger, fear & sadness are common)

Bullying always elicits strong feelings so make sure

kids can share their thoughts and feelings with you.

4 Give them some common coping skills & defense mechanisms Look for some simple ways to help them handle

the bullying such as making sure they stay in pairs,

practising a comeback line or even walking and

talking confidently.

5 Get the school involved

If your child continues to struggle with bullying

contact your child’s school. Resist the temptation

to confront suspected bullies, or their families.

Teachers generally have very practical, tried and

true ways to tackle bullying.

6 Help build your child’s support networks & their self-confidence

Positive peer groups are great protective factors

for kids when they are bullied so do all you can to

encourage and build their friendship groups inside

and outside school.

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