From the Principal

I welcome all students and families back to the College for Term 3. I hope that you were able to enjoy a relaxed two weeks of holidays and are ready for the rigours of Semester 2.

Unfortunately, NAIDOC week is usually celebrated during the school holidays. However, we cannot let the opportunity to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people go unnoticed. Over the next week, we will belatedly mark NAIDOC week in a variety of ways.

The 2021 theme, Heal Country, is a strong and unambiguous statement. This theme calls for more significant and effective measures to recognise, protect and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island culture and heritage. Next week’s newsletter will highlight some of the ways the College is deepening student understanding of the culture of our first nations people.

Newsletter survey

Thank you to everyone who completed our Newsletter survey.

Overwhelmingly, responses indicated families would prefer to continue receiving the newsletter weekly.

Our website data shows we receive about 700 hits on our newsletter page each Tuesday. This speaks volumes about the value our community places on effective communication from the College.

Thank you to all those who engage and keep up to date. In the fast-paced world of mass media and communication, it is wonderful to know that our parents and guardians are keen to understand what is happening at the College.

Looking Ahead

View the full College Calendar

From the Deputy Principal Operations, Staffing and Strategic Intent

Welcome back to Term 3 and I hope all families had a restful break.

This term, the College starts its planning for 2022 with students required to make some important decisions about what to study next year.

The College places a great deal of emphasis on the need for students to make good choices as they move into next year.

There is a Domain Expo for our Year 9 and 10 students this Thursday (15 July) during Period 4. This will showcase the subjects on offer in both Year 10 and 11 next year. During this session, I will also go through how students can make their choices online.

On Thursday evening at 7pm we will also hold our Year 11 2022 Information Evening.

Next week, I will meet with Year 8 students about selecting their electives for 2022 and our current Year 11 students to go through their subject selection process.

Please remember there will be family interviews for all current Year 10 students from 4pm on Wednesday 28 July. During this interview, staff will discuss and advise your child on the subject selections they are about to make.

The Year 10 2022 Information Evening will be held on Wednesday 4 August at 7pm. VINCIT/VCAL interviews will take place from 4pm on Wednesday 4 August.

All final subject choices need to be made by Friday 6 August.

You will receive more information via our year level coordinators and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

From the Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching

At Catholic Regional College Melton we continually reflect on and work towards consistent and authentic delivery of the curriculum.

We want to value-add to the learning outcomes for our students.

High Impact Teaching Strategies is an evidence-based series of 10 strategies proven to improve student learning outcomes when implemented successfully.

Last year we began to explore Questioning. During our Professional Learning Day in the final week of Term 2, staff considered Learning Intentions and Success Criteria using SOLO Taxonomy (Briggs). We worked on embedding these into our teaching practice. The goal is that students understand and ask about their learning each lesson. Students will then take more responsibility and ownership of their learning over time.

Semester 1 reports

Semester 1 reports will be released this week. Taking time to discuss the reports with your child can be empowering for both parents and students. It shows your child you are invested in their learning and enables them to celebrate success or reset learning goals. As our students begin subject and pathway selection for 2022, the reports are invaluable for highlighting strengths and helping make good choices.

From the Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing

Welcome back for Term 3. It has been lovely listening to the buzz of happy conversations among students back at school for the start of the new semester.

Our year level assemblies yesterday introduced students to the new Student Engagement Framework and Core Wellbeing Values. We will focus on our core values of Community, Endeavour and Empathy throughout this semester.

Full school assembly

We have a whole school assembly on Monday 19 July. Please ensure your child is wearing their full school uniform. If they have PE, they will need to bring their sport uniform to change into on that day.

Photos

On Monday 16 August we have team photos and individual and family catch-up photos. Please email me cbullen@sfcc.vic.edu.au if you would like a family photo and missed out previously.

PAM Updates

There have been some recent updates to our Parent Portal, PAM.

School Activities

Parents and guardians can now change or update their permission consent response and answers to questions, up to and including the due date for the excursion permission request.

However, any updates to consent and answers must be completed by the original account that completed them.

Once the due date has passed, parents and guardians need to contact the College to change their response.

Notification Alert Request Reminder Screen

PAM has recently been updated so that if there are any requested actions required, a Notification Alert Request Reminder panel, which is fully interactive, will appear when a parent or guardian logs into PAM. The panel will include direct links for each request, which take the user directly to the location where the action is required.

This panel will only appear when there are active requests.

General Achievement Test

Students completing a Unit 3/4 subject will sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Thursday 29 July from 10am to 1.15pm. 

What is the GAT?

The GAT is a test of general knowledge and skills in these broad areas:

• written communication
• mathematics, science and technology
• humanities, the arts and social sciences.

GAT results:

• do not count directly towards a student’s VCE results
• help check that school-based and external assessments have been accurately assessed
• contribute to statistical moderation of school-based assessment results
• help calculate Derived Examination Scores
• determine scores in school-based assessment, external assessment and if a derived examination score is required due to illness, accident and trauma.

The GAT will be held in Padua and students should wear winter uniform on this day. Year 12 students will not have access to their lockers in Padua before the GAT.

All students must stay in the examination room until the completion of the GAT at 1.15pm, even if they finish early.

Students need to be at school no later than 9.15am and assemble in Siena building rooms before the exam.

No VCE Unit 3/4 classes will be scheduled on this day. Buses will run as normal.

Approved materials for the GAT include:

• A dictionary (but minus a thesaurus) – unmarked without notes
• Pencils (for multiple choice questions) – 2B or HB
• Pens (blue and/or black) for the two writing tasks
• Water bottle (label removed and no larger than 1500ml)

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please contact me via email at: clock@sfcc.vic.edu.au

College features in new promotional videos

Our students, staff and Trade Training Centre feature in a new series of videos produced by the Western Edge Cluster (WEC) outlining the courses available in 2022.

With subject selection underway, students and families are encouraged to watch the new videos produced by WEC covering several industries such as Health and Community Services, Early Childhood, Beauty, Fashion, Sport and Recreation, and Music. Trade programs in Horticulture, Automotive, Building and Construction, Engineering and Electrotechnology are also included.

Each of the 13 short videos features the trainers who outline course content and career options and students who reflect on their experiences.

The WEC provides quality Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs for secondary school students from Melton, Caroline Springs, Fraser Rise and Bacchus Marsh.

​The Cluster comprises nine government, independent and Catholic schools and aims to provide a wide breadth of learning opportunities for all senior secondary students.

There are 16 VET programs delivered at five schools. Four have industry-specific Trade Training Centres with state-of-the-art facilities to offer Building and Construction, Electrotechnology (Electrical), Engineering and Salon Assistant (Hairdressing).

All programs are completed over two years as part of a student’s VCE or VCAL and provide an additional formal Certificate II or Certificate III qualification. VET programs provide a direct pathway into work, an apprenticeship or further study in TAFE or University.

Ask An Expert - Pathways Coordinator Sasha Dickson

Our Year 9, 10 and 11 students are about to make some big decisions about their studies at the College and beyond.

Subject selection for 2022 begins in earnest this week and it can be a daunting task. There is a plethora of information and an enormous number of choices.

We asked CRC Melton Pathways Coordinator Mrs Sasha Dickson for her advice on how to navigate the many and varied options available and some insight on how she became a leader in career planning.

What has been your career journey?

After finishing VCE I deferred my university studies and worked full time in a chemist for a year. I completed my Bachelor of Psychology at Victoria University and then went into secondary teaching degree at Melbourne University. I taught Psychology and Humanities and was a Year 11 and Year 12 coordinator but was always passionate about where my students would go when they finished their secondary school years. I wanted them to be aware and confident enough to embrace all the opportunities that are out there. So, 11 years ago I completed my Graduate Certificate in Career Development and combined my teaching with careers coordinating.

What do you see as the biggest growth sectors (in terms of careers/jobs) in the next decade?

Health and social service is a huge growth area for employment. This is not limited to nursing - think of IT, technical support in hospitals, medical research, allied health and mental health.

How has pathways planning changed over the last 5 years?

Over the last five years, we have seen the pathways planning profile raised and a push for students to start thinking about work and careers from as young as Year 7.

There are so many more vocational (TAFE) options available to students now and as a result of 2020 a huge increase in online resources.

Universities and TAFE’s are constantly running information webinars, virtual and on-campus tours and open days, enabling students to make more informed choices.

You want your child to choose a tertiary institution in the same way you chose their primary and secondary schools – making sure it is the right fit for the individual.

What are you asked most frequently by students during subject selection?

What subjects do I need to get into my course? What are my options if I don’t get the required marks?

What advice would you give to parents and guardians whose child doesn’t know what senior secondary pathway to take?

Encourage your child to keep their options open and to choose pathways that align with their passions, interests and strengths.

What are CRC Melton’s strengths when it comes to successfully guiding students through this process? Do subject teachers play a role?

Subject teachers play a huge role in helping make appropriate choices. For example, in Maths we look at a student’s academic results across various topics and their work habits to determine which program they would be best suited to.

Our strength at CRC Melton lies in the fact that all staff are on the same page. We all want students to achieve their best, whether that be in VCAL, VET or VCE.

Top 5 tips for subject selection/career planning?

1. Listen, take in and follow the recommendations given by pathways staff, subject teachers, homeroom teachers and year level coordinators.
2. Choose subjects you have shown strength in and subjects that you enjoy – the senior years of secondary school are hard work. You want this to be enjoyable!
3. Don’t choose subjects because your friends choose them, to please your parents or, in VCE, because you think they will scale up. You will not go into the subject with the right motivation and foundation and can end up disliking it and performing poorly as a result.
4. Do your research – attend information events and open days and visit websites such as VTAC, My Future etc. Our weekly Careers Newsletter is also a great resource for careers information.
5. Have multiple options and plans - you never know what the future will hold.

NCCD Information For Parents and Guardians

An information sheet for parents and guardians about the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School Students with Disability is available below.

Community Notices

Kurunjang Community Hub

Term 3 2021 Programs and Events - View now

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