NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER

Educating For Success

975 Karadoc Avenue Irymple Vic 3498 Ph 03 5024 5407 Fax 03 5024 6631 Website www.irysec.vic.edu.au Parent Portal https://psportal.irysec.vic.edu.au/ Twitter https://twitter.com/irymplesc Facebook www.facebook.com/IrympleSC/

Thurs 16th August 2018

IMPORTANT DATES

Weds 22nd Aug – Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm) Tues 4th Sept – Athletics Day Weds 5th Sept – The Beat th Thurs 6 Sept – Course Selection for year 8s going into year 9 in 2019 (6-7pm) Thurs 6th Sept – Course Selection for year 9s going into year 10 in 2019 (7-8pm) Thurs 13th and Fri 14th Sept – Pupil Free Days/Staff Curriculum Day Fri 21st Sept – Spring Carnival/Color Run and Last Day of Term 3 Principals Report PARENT, TEACHER AND STUDENT INTERVIEWS These are on next Wednesday evening from 4.00-7.00pm. We encourage parents to book appointments on the XUNO Portal and attend with their students. The progress reports will be uploaded on the XUNO Portal Friday afternoon so please check these out prior to the interviews. Please note the purpose of this event is to discuss the current progress of your child for this semesters subjects and so that we can put plans and targets in place for students to be successful for the remainder of the year. BUILDING PROJECT Is progressing well and we anticipate to be in the Admin wing by mid September which we are really looking forward to moving into the new spaces. Mrs Jo McQuinn Principal Assistant Principal’s Report Education Support Staff Week This past week has been an opportunity for our staff and students to recognize the wonderful contributions of our ES staff at ISC. Monday we held a morning tea and throughout the week our SRC students have given out cards of appreciation to our staff. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of ES staff who go that extra bit to help the students, parents and staff at our school! Koorie Transition Day at MSC Last week we attended a combined transition day with students from a number of district schools at MSC to further learn about Clontarf, the Koorie Girls' Academy, subject selections and pathways choices. It was great to see some of our exstudents who spoke to our group on the day. MSC Yr 10 Transition Program Next week we have MSC staff coming out to our school to meet with each Yr 10 student to go over their subject selections. All Yr 10 students should have taken their subject selection forms home and had them signed by the parents/guardians, and brought back to their pathways teacher for Monday 20th August. Any inquiries should be directed towards Mr Andrews, Pathways Coordinator, Pathways/Form teachers, Yr 10 Coordinators or myself. MSC will be coming back for a further follow up session.


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Doctors in Schools Program This week our new school nurse, Bev Thomson, Rachel, Dr Keleichi, nurse Mel and I attended a training day. Next week on Tuesday 21st August we have the official opening of our Drs in School building and program. Our FLO Coordinator Sally Corless, capably supported by her students will be running a sausage sizzle and completing a mural, whilst we will have a big raffle prize and other fun giveaways. This will be happening at recess. Remember our clinic is open every Tuesday from 9.00am-1.15pm and that appointments can be made at the front office, or drop in to the clinic, or see a wellbeing staff member or leadership. 10,000 Step Challenge Well done to our staff at ISC who are participating in the MRCC 10,000 Step Challenge. We have 5 teams (nearly the whole staff) who are competing in the Education Sector section of the competition and actively committed to this August challenge of healthy living and getting fitter. Big congratulations to the leading walkers of the 5 different teams after Week 2: Beth Menhennett, Kylie Graham, Steve Morrish, Rod Matheson and Ali Callahan. 2019 Subject Selections Students in Year 7, 8 and 9 currently will be making decisions about their subject selections in early September. For students currently in Year 8 and Year 9, please save the date: Thursday September 6th for our course information evening at ISC. This will occur from 6.00pm-7.00pm for current Year 8 into Year 9 students, whilst at 7.00pm-8.00pm information and the opportunity to talk to external providers, subject teachers and careers advisers will occur for current Year 9 students going into year 10 in 2019. Stay tuned to more information being distributed closer to the date! Mrs Anne Symes Assistant Principal 2018 Parent Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK! Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst a sample of randomly selected parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. Thanks to all the parents who have taken the time to complete the survey already. There is still time to complete it and we encourage everyone who received a link to have their say by completing the survey. All responses are anonymous. This year the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 23rd July to Sunday 26th August. The survey is conducted online, only takes 10-15 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.


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FLO On Thursday 9th August our FLO students, along with Heidi and Viktor from Bunnings, planted up some new garden beds in front of our new JHUB and Doctor’s in Schools building. The plants and corrugated planter boxes were donated to us by Bunnings and we would like to thank them for their kind donation that will help brighten up our school grounds. We look forward to seeing the crepe myrtles come to life in the coming months providing a beautiful display of pink and white flowers as well as the pansies that were planted in the planter boxes in front of the new Doctor’s in Schools building. More plants will be planted in the coming months as we focus on ‘greening’ our school grounds and creating some beautiful spaces for students to enjoy.

SRC@ISC Update Casual Dress Day last term for Backboards $265 was raised on our last day of term when the SRC held a casual dress day to help raise funds for new basketball backboards – something our students community has been asking for. The backboards are in the process of being installed and are already being used by students at lunchtime and in PE.

Upcoming events Footy Colours Day – this will be held in early September and funds raised will be donated to the Fight Cancer Foundation to support research to help prevent and cure cancer, a disease that affects so many in our community. Watch this space for more info.


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Spring Carnival and Colour Run – 21st September, last day of Term 3. This year we are combining our Spring Carnival and Colour Run with all funds raised to go towards new furniture for our new classrooms. We are aiming to raise $10,000. More info will be coming home soon about how to register for online fundraising for the Colour Run.

SRC School Improvement Project Update Each year our SRC chooses a project to help improve school outcomes. Last year we were recognized by the MRCC for our project to increase student participation in PE. This year our focus is on improving teacher feedback so students understand it better and then act on the advice. Our working group is working on their presentation and will be meeting with teachers soon around this. Student Achievement – Sarah Watts CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah Watts, who was announced as the winner of this year’s FReeZA Youth Art Prize. There were more than 70 entries received for the competition, all of which are now on exhibition at the Mildura Visitor Information and Booking Centre.

School for Student Leadership Update – Samantha Marr Hello my name is Samantha Marr and I am from Irymple Secondary College and am currently attending The School for Student Leadership (SSL) at Snowy River Campus for 9 weeks during Term 3. It is now week four and all of the Irymple team (Mikayla Kerslake, Jaxson Horsfall, Kacey Forbes, Zac Watson, Haylie Mackintosh and myself) have been having a blast. The reason I came to SSL was because I didn’t just want to be a better leader, I wanted to be a better person. I have always been shy, not confident and in the shadows, but I want to be able to step up and be a leader to not only others, but myself. These past few weeks have been busy and amazing, with activities such as Surfing, Expeditions, Bridge Building, Team Building, Challenges and more. Highlights for me would be Bridge Building as I stepped up and helped build tripods and often helped up on the bridge. I also loved Expo, even though it was a challenge for me, I managed to step up into the Team Organizer role and lead the team for the whole second day of the hike. I also loved Marlo Challenge as we ran around Marlo taking photos and having heaps of fun! Here at SSL, things work a little differently from your average school. Firstly, you live with all your classmates 24/7 and have overnight staff and teachers staying at night as well. Secondly, every day is run by two students, or Student Leaders and they are responsible for running Headcounts (rollcall) and DEARR (Drop Everything and Read / Reflect) as well as telling us the daily news and bulletin. Thirdly, we each have duties that we have to complete daily, like common room duty (sweeping, wiping tables), kitchen duty (washing dishes) and chook duty (feed chooks, check for eggs). We also have the pleasure of having evening classes, yes you read that right. We have a class after dinner every night, some being things from movies, to karaoke nights. We also have committees that we can join, 5 meals a day (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner) outdoor activities and a roommate! This program is a life changer and I encourage everyone to apply for it when you can, you won’t regret it. Cheers from Snowy! Sammy


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Year 9 & 10 Girls Football The year 9 & 10 girls football team attended Swan Hill last week to compete in the LMR competition. The girls travelled to Swan Hill early Wednesday morning to compete in two games against Bendigo South-East College and St Josephs Echuca. Unfortunately, our side was a bit depleted since the local inter school competition, due to some students attending Alpine School and others making themselves unavailable, this meaning we only had 17 players available to take the field. The first game saw ISC up against St Josephs Echuca, who had lost their previous game to Bendigo. The girls started the first half on fire with Shae Fitzgibbon slotting a nice goal from the right pocket. Echuca kicked back with two straight goals, to lead the half by 5 points. Unfortunately, the ISC girls were unable to convert inside 50’s into scoring opportunities and Echuca the opposite, scoring another two goals in the second half. In the second game, ISC took on Bendigo who were looking like the favourites for the days competition. Our defence stood strong in the first half, keeping the opposition goalless and only trailing by 1 point at the break. The girls battled bravely and continued to rebound from defence, until a late goal went the way of Bendigo to seal the match. All the girls who attended the LMR competition are to be commended on their efforts and sportsmanship throughout the day. We certainly have some very skilled and quality female footballers here at ISC! Thanks also to our umpires who attended and officiated on the day. Results ISC 1.1 (7) def by St Jospehs Echuca 4.0 (24) ISC 0.1 (1) def by Bendigo South East 1.2 (8) Best Players: Brooke Hards, Shae Fitzgibbon, Chloe Barker, Trinity Harcoan, Latara Trigg, Chloe Helms


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YEAR 10 SNOW TRIP to FALLS CREEK – July 23rd to 27th 2018 On the 23rd of July, the Year 10’s left for snow camp. Upon arrival we unpacked our stuff and got our snow gear fitted. The next day we drove up the mountain to Falls Creek and finally saw snow. Everyone was so excited to see snow for the first time. Snow was not like I thought though, I thought it would be much softer. Then we put on our gear, the snow boots are much heavier than expected, and then we went to our lesson and tried skiing for the first time. Skiing was much harder than I thought. It is very challenging and everyone was out of their comfort zone. On the second day we had a lesson to begin with, but after lunch we were on our own without lessons. It was a bit scary being by yourselves, but we all helped each other. Going down the different slopes was fun, exciting and a little bit scary. On the 26th our last day at the snow we didn’t have any lessons at all and we were able to go off by ourself or with our friends. Snow camp was full of lot of falls, laughs and joy. I would really recommend snow camp to anyone and everyone who wants to go on it - it was a great new experience. Taurie Bishop Snow camp was great. I made many new friends and have lots of great memories. Skiing down the mountain was fun and I got the hang of it really easily. The food at the Bright Chalet was very good and the accommodation was very comfortable and nice. Trinity Harcoan Loved the skiing. Hated the shoes - they really hurt my shins. But the trip was amazing especially since it was the first time I have seen snow. Hannah Benson Year 10 Snow Camp was so much fun, we made so many long lasting memories! Skiing would have to be the best, there was so many stacks and funny moments. I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone who is thinking about going in the coming years! Louisa Stevens This snow camp was definitely an experience worth all the time put into it. Going down the mountain again and again each time trying new things always gave a rush of adrenaline and pushed to try more skillful tricks. It was also great fun to go down the slopes with someone of your skill level and feel the wind in your face as you sped down. The view was also quite a sight to see. Whenever the clouds cleared up with the wind, you were able to see over the landscape and look at the crystal clear lakes. Definitely an experience worth going on. James Prictor


Thank you to the staff that accompanied our students for the week – Leigh Penna, Rohan Eddie, Emily Williams, Lee Rayner, Mikayla Meyer, Erin Walsh and Gavin Ninnes. Loretta Clyne and Kel Horkings YEAR 10 COORDINATORS

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Author visit: Archie Fusillo Last week our Year 7s were lucky enough to meet and listen to the inspiring Archie Fusillo. Archie is author of the novels ‘Sparring with Shadows’, ‘The Dons’ and ‘Bruises’, along with many short stories and magazine articles. In his presentation, Archie inspired our Year 7 students with stories from his life and extracts from his novels. He proved to be a very funny and entertaining presenter, encouraging students to get creative with their own writing and to use their own experiences as inspiration. A skilled presenter and educator, Archie had students connecting with his central message: write about what you know. The final word, perhaps, is best left to one of our students. On being asked if the presentation was good, she replied: “It was better than good!”

Maths News Congratulations to Lachlan Adolph of Year 7C who received a credit for the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians. Lachie had three weeks to answer six questions covering a range of topics. Character strengths of perseverance and stamina were demonstrated.

Getting On Country Last week we took 19 indigenous students out to Tapio Station to engage in our “Getting On Country” program. The purpose of the trip was to introduce our students to the Mallee Bushland on Tapio Station and develop connections between people, culture, science and the environment. Our students learnt how to use the Tapio Cybertracker App to record and monitor native species for an ongoing environmental science investigation. The investigation aims to monitor the impact that grazing has had on native species in the area. The pics below show our boys tracking the condition of Bitter Quandong Trees. This species is used in traditional medicine to relieve headache pain. The girls are shown monitoring the Lomandra bush, which is traditionally used for basket weaving. Bottom left shows scientist Noel Haywood pointing out the impact of grazing on the Mallee.


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