DSC Newsletter – 13th May 2024

DSC Newsletter – 13th May 2024

Edition 112

PRINCIPAL TEAM REPORT

Elizabeth Godwin

Marc Fleming

Natasha Glaister

Leokardia Lilikakis

Carlie Case

Welcome to the new look DSCN newsletter.

As we near the middle of Term 2, it is a fitting moment to reflect on the remarkable achievements attained by our students. Throughout this term, the dedication and commitment of our staff, students, and their families, have remained unwavering, resulting in continued academic excellence.

We have continued to upgrade the school environment for all students to enjoy. The landscaping at the side of the oval has seen synthetic turf and additional seating installed, while the exterior painting of all buildings is well underway. The furniture in classrooms has also begun to be updated and this will continue with many classrooms being fitted with new chairs and tables.

Our commitment to fostering a safe and conducive learning environment for all members of our community is underpinned by shared expectations for student behaviour and aligned with our vision and core values of Achievement, Respect, Commitment, and Community. During our end of term one whole school assembly, we took the opportunity to recognize and honour students who exemplify these values in their daily conduct. We also awarded students with the newly created Principals Pride Awards, the criterion for this award includes:

• Presented in the College uniform and wearing it with pride.
• Performing at an excellent standard.
• Portraying a high level of community spirit.
• Positive influence on peers.
• Prepared for learning.
• Students with attendance over 95%.

Congratulations to all students who received awards at this assembly.

Emphasis has been placed on the consistent wearing of school uniform this year, aimed at fostering a sense of belonging and inclusivity within our school community. It is expected that all students adhere to the correct uniform guidelines both when traveling to and from school and throughout the school day. Items such as hoodies, track pants, or any non-uniform clothing are not permitted. The new college puffer jackets and vests have added an additional item which is warmer than the previous jackets. It is very pleasing to see many students have already purchased and are wearing these jackets.

On April 24th we held our College ANZAC Day assembly, where we welcomed representatives from the Drouin RSL, Rod McNab and Robert Cunningham to support this important calendar event to commemorate the service of all Australians who have served or are currently serving. Our college captains led this assembly as well as the Drouin service on ANZAC Day. Congratulations to our captains for their outstanding leadership of these events. Thank you to the Drouin RSL for their ongoing support of the college.

Currently our students are completing the annual Attitude to Schools Survey in class and as a college we are looking forward to receiving the outcome of this survey. Over the past months we have been working with student cohorts and focus groups to gain feedback on last year’s results and implementing a range of modifications if needed to support all our community.

On Monday 22nd April and Friday 3rd May, we were privileged to have our Department of Education school reviewers revisit the college to view the progress of the college in its implementation of the December 2022 review’s recommendations. Thank you to the families, staff and students who contributed to these conversations; the outcome was overwhelmingly positive. It was acknowledged that as a college we have completed, or are currently underway, on implementing each recommendation.

On 2nd May, we hosted prospective 2025 Year 7 students and their families at the annual Year 6 Information Day and Evening. We welcomed a large group of excited Year 6 students for an information day and many families attended the information evening on the same day. In the afternoon, the students enjoyed the first full presentation of this year’s production. The Information Evening commenced with a tour of the College’s many subject areas followed by a presentation by the transition team.

The college would like to extend a thank you to the staff who left the school during term one: Vijay Ramachandran, Robyn Hickey and Jamal Jamoos. In Term 2, we welcomed Carmen Daldry and Liam Heurtau to the college staff to fill these vacancies. We are continuing to advertise to fill the positions still vacant and we are in constant contact with the Department of Education, who are supporting us in filling these vacancies. Thank you for your ongoing support as we endeavour to gain more staff for our college.

The start of Term 2 has been very busy and we look forward to the many exciting opportunities ahead for our community. Thank you again to all our staff, students and families for your support of the college.

Liz Godwin, Principal

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Table of Contents

MEET YOUR LEARNING CULTURE TEAMS

Year 7 LCC

The Year 7s have made a fantastic start to the year. Students have already learned an enormous amount – our school values of Achievement, Respect, Commitment and Community; as well as Compass, timetables, different classrooms, new teachers, lockers, laptops, the High Five, ARCC awards, LGs, the LCC and more.
Your student’s Learning Group (LG) Leader is your first point of contact at the College. Our team of LG leaders have already built great relationships with their students, pairing high support with high expectations as our Year 7s find their feet at the College. In 2024 the Year 7 Learning Culture Team consists of Olivia Cross (7A), David Hughes (7B), Bianca De Haan (7C), Jaydyn King (7D), Fei (Alice) Teng (7E), Tamika Clancy (7F), Louise Jones (7G), LJ Dehavilland (7H) and is led by LJ Dehavilland (Year 7 Learning Culture Leader) with Natasha Glaister (Assistant Principal), assisted by Maureen Hickman (Administration).

Year 7 Camp was a highlight of Term 1. Students participated in a variety of activities designed to build teamwork, community, and self-confidence in the lovely surrounds of Waratah Bay and Wilsons Prom. 

Thank you for your support in sending your students to school in uniform, with their equipment and ready to learn.

LJ Dehavilland – Year 7 Learning Culture Leader

LJ Dehavilland Year 7 Learning Culture Leader

Olivia Cross 7A

David Hughes 7B

Bianca De Haan 7C

Jaydyn King 7D

Fei Teng 7E

Tamika Clancy 7F

Louise Jones 7G

Maureen Hickman Year 7 LCC Administration Assistant

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Year 8 LCC

Hello Year 8 students, parents and carers,

Welcome to Term 2!  My name is Amy Forbes and I am the Year 8 Learning Culture Leader for 2024. After hearing wonderful things about our Year 8s from the Year 7 team, I am looking forward to working with all of you as students and parents/carers this year. With such a great start to high school in Year 7, I am sure we will continue to have a productive year full of learning and opportunities.

Already we have enjoyed the Live for Life Launch excursion and several Year 8 Celebration Assemblies! I am keen to help all students reach their goals as they work towards completing their second year of secondary schooling and achieving their best. 

For all of our Year 8 students and families, your Level Coordinator is your first point of contact if you have a concern or a question about anything at all. 8A is overseen by myself, Amy Forbes. The Year 8 Coordinators (with their LGs) are: Beth Dodgson (8C & 8I); Erinn Starkey (8B & 8D); Rachel Davies (8E & 8F); Meaghan Winter (8G, 8H). 

Melissa Tyrrell is our Year 8 Admin Assistant, and you can also call on myself as the Year 8 Learning Culture Leader.

Amy Forbes – Year 8 Learning Culture Leader

Amy Forbes
Year 8 Learning Culture Leader

Rachel Davies
Year 8 Coordinator

Bethany Dodgson
Year 8 Coordinator

Erinn Starkey
Year 8 Coordinator

Meaghan Winter
Year 8 Coordinator

Melissa Tyrrell
Year 8 LCC Adminstration Assistant

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Year 9 LCC

We’ve already had a brilliant beginning to 2024 in Year 9, with students showing Drouin Secondary College’s Values of Achievement, Respect, Commitment and Community by collectively receiving 869 ARCC Awards to date and students.

As you may be aware, the Year 9 team structure is different to previous years. In Years 7 and 8, your student’s LG Leader oversaw both the LG curriculum and looking after the pastoral care of your child while at school. This year, their LG teacher is only responsible for delivering the curriculum of the class. There are now Year 9 Level Coordinators along with me as Level Leader who will assist your students with any issues they may be facing. The Year 9 team consists of: Marc Fleming (Assistant Principal); Scott Hasley (Year 9 Level Leader); Year 9 Level Coordinators Christine Backman, Brian Griffin and Thomas Morrall; and Sharon Page (Year 9 LCC Administrative Assistant).

The goals we have for this year are to: build positive connections with each other and with DSC staff, follow classroom routines, coming to school 95% of the time, show the Drouin Secondary College values of Achievement, Respect, Commitment and Community, get involved in co-curricular activities and become more aware of what future pathways students may want to pursue. This year students will participate in a variety of activities such as: NAPLAN, Morrisby Career Profiling Interviews, Lardner Park Job Skills Expo and the Year 9 Melbourne City Experience Camp.

The Year 9 team is excited to be working with you and your student this year, if you ever have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.

Scott Hasley – Year 9 Learning Culture Leader

Scott Hasley Year 9 Learning Culture Leader

Christine Backman Year 9 Coordinator

Brian Griffin Year 9 Coordinator

Thomas Morrall Year 9 Coordinator

Sharon Page Year 9 LCC Administration Assistant

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Year 10 LCC

Similar to the Year 9 structure, the Year 10 Learning Culture Centre includes the Year 10 Learning Culture Leader, Tyler Ryan, Year 10 Coordinators Whitney Churchill and Samuel Widdowson and Year 10 to 12 Administration Assistant Courtney Simmons.

Our team has had a fantastic start to 2024. Students have returned to regular classes, VET programs and AVP opportunities, all while organising their work placements for term 2. Students have also been fortunate, with Leadership Development and Elevate guest speakers visiting to help guide them on managing their senior school journey.

Students have embraced their new leadership roles in the school by rising to the challenge of higher academic expectations and appropriate behaviours, while also upholding school values.

The Year 10 LCC look forward to a positive 2024 and to working with you to help the Year 10 cohort reach success.

Tyler Ryan – Year 10 Learning Culture Leader

Tyler Ryan Year 10 Learning Culture Leader

Whitney Churchill Year 10 Coordinator

Sam Widdowson Year 10 Coordinator

Courtney Simmons Year 10-12 LCC Administration Assistant

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Senior LCC

The Senior team has had a positive start to the year with the Year 11 and Year 12 students returning to their VCE and VCE VM and VPC studies and pathways.

For ALL Senior students there are greater expectations on their approach and commitment to study, attendance, appropriate behaviours and demonstrating maturity and leadership.

All Senior students have been asked:

• Have you thought about how you will take up opportunities in 2024?
• Have you thought about how you will work to get the most out of 2024?
• Have you thought about the pathways for you to achieve your goal?

To assist our Senior students, we have had presentations from Elevate Education (Study Sensei) and Emma Mickle (VIS Para Athlete and Spinal Cure Ambassador) to guide them, provide encouragement and support them through these final years.

Andrew Walsh – Year 11 & 12 Learning Culture Leader

Andrew Walsh
Year 11 & 12 Learning Culture Leader

Angela Patten
Year 11 Coordinator

Harley Powell
Year 11 Coordinator

Alycia Marchant
Year 11 Coordinator

Courtney Simmons Year 10-12 LCC Administration Assistant

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DEBATING NEWS

As of 2024, DSC has two junior debating teams and one senior team. We are ALWAYS looking for new members, and encourage people to give debating a shot, no matter their year level. You do not need to have any past experience and people who are still not certain are free to drop by Lunchtime meets and give it a shot. If you have any questions feel free to contact Mrs. Backman, our Debating Coordinator (christine.backman@education.vic.gov.au).

Towards the end of Term 4 in 2023, Mrs Backman took 13 brave Year 7s and 8s to Trafalgar High School to compete against Catholic College and Traf High School in debates. 

In late November we went for an Introduction Day to learn all about debating and have a go; then in December we competed. 

Despite everyone being super nervous our teams managed to pull off a win against teams who were both older and more experienced. Many of our students also managed to achieve best speaker awards. 

Almost all the students who competed had little to no experience but managed to do an amazing job. 

Congratulations to: Ash B, Callum G, Millie C, Bella B, Amaya R, Abby P, Mak W, Flynn W, Lacey M, Gabby P, Charlee R, Lilli A, Zaylee F, Adriana D, Manaia D, Holly D, Alyssa F, Ruby K, Mitchell M.

Thank you to Mrs Backman for organising the Debate Days and Ms Pecovnik for attending on both days.
By Ash Bottom 8A

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SINGFEST ‘24

In the last week of Term 1, six students from our College singing program joined in with over 200 students from 13 other government schools in SEVR’s SingFest ‘24. This one-day workshop, hosted by Sandringham College, was led by the acclaimed Guest Conductor, Drew Downing who taught the group two new pieces of music written for three voices (soprano, alto and baritone). The songs were Wake Me Up, by Avicii, and Shape of My Heart, by The Backstreet Boys. After the fun and work of learning the songs, both were recorded with a live band for a keepsake of the day.

Students said they really enjoyed the energy of Drew Downing, learning to read music notation, and were surprised at how many students there were. Our students also said that while it was difficult learning two new songs, they enjoyed learning the harmony parts.

Special thanks to Pete Brown, Instrumental Music Coordinator for overseeing the excursion, and Pete Russell, Supervising Teacher and Driver for the day.

Libby Willems
Singing/Voice Tutor

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SCHOOL STUDENT BROADBAND INITIATIVE

Support Your Child’s Education With 12 Months Free Internet at Home

The Australian Government has established the School Student Broadband Initiative to provide free home internet for one year for up to 30,000 eligible families with school-aged students.

The initiative aims to boost education opportunities. NBN Co is leading the rollout of this initiative across the country.

How the School Student Broadband Initiative can help your child

Children who can access online learning at home as part of their education are more likely to engage in classroom activities.

Access to fast internet at home can also support children to build their digital skills, learn how to safely use the internet and take part in a world that is more reliant on digital technology.

Eligibility

To be eligible, families must:

• have a child living at home enrolled in an Australian school in 2023
• not have an active National Broadband Network internet service at their home* (having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility)
• live in a premises that can access the National Broadband Network through a standard connection. NBN Co will check this for you after you apply
• register interest with your school and complete a consent form to be assessed for eligibility.

*If an address has been disconnected within 14 days prior to an eligibility check – the address will be classified as ineligible. There may be cases where exceptions can be made, please contact the School Student Broadband Initiative team at SSBI@education.vic.gov.au to discuss further.

How the School Student Broadband Initiative works

If you are eligible, your home internet service will be provided at no cost for one year with a participating internet provider over the National Broadband Network. Each internet provider has its own step-by-step process to get you connected, which may involve you providing identification.

Once you sign up, the internet provider will help you set up your connection. The initiative does not include devices such as a computer or tablet. Other members of your household can use the internet service provided through this initiative.

The one-year period will start from the day your service is activated with your chosen provider. At the end of the one-year period, you will not be placed onto a paid service by your internet provider without your consent. The Australian Government is considering options beyond the one-year free period.

How to apply

• Ask your school for a copy of the School Student Broadband Initiative consent form.
• Complete the consent form and return to the school.
• NBN Co will use student address details on the consent form to confirm eligibility.
• If you are eligible, NBN Co will issue a voucher for your family to use to sign up with a participating internet provider. This will be provided to you by your school.

Please note: NBN Co will review the home address for eligibility. No personal information other than your main home address will be shared with NBN Co. Please see the consent form for details about how personal information will be used.

Find out more

For more information about the School Student Broadband Initiative, visit https://www.infrastructure.gov.au

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COMMUNITY

DATES TO REMEMBER

Week 5
Monday, 13 May 2024	SCHOOL PHOTOS DAY 1 Attitudes to School Survey
Tuesday, 14 May 2024	SCHOOL PHOTOS DAY 2 Attitudes to School Survey Year 9 Morrisby Profiling Presentation Ball Dance Lessons 3.45-5.15pm (Stadium)
Wednesday, 15 May 2024	Year 7 French Incursion (The Francophonie in Africa) Year 9 Teen Mental Health First Aid Year 12 Tertiary Information Session Excursion 1pm – 3.15pm
Thursday, 16 May 2024	Year 11 Teen Mental Health First Aid
Friday, 17 May 2024	STUDENT FREE DAY- WHOLE STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY Girls in Trade
Week 6
Monday, 20 May 2024	SCHOOL PHOTO CATCH UP SSV WG Division Cross Country
Tuesday, 21 May 2024	Year 9 Morrisby Profiling Year 11 VM PD Incursion Kinder Visit Presentation Ball Dance Lessons 3.45-5.15pm (Stadium)
Wednesday, 22 May 2024	Inspiring Careers in Health Camp
Thursday, 23 May 2024	Inspiring Careers in Health Camp Year 11 Teen Mental Health First Aid Year 9 to 12 Dance & Music Performance Evening 6-8pm
Friday, 24 May 2024	Engineering Ahead 10AVP Program Presentation Ball Night 1
Saturday, 25 May 2024	Presentation Ball Night 2
Week 7
Monday, 27 May 2024	Year 10 OES Indoor Rock-climbing Excursion Year 12 RSA Training
Tuesday, 28 May 2024	Year 11 VM PD Incursion Kinder Visit Year 9 Morrisby Profiling Year 12 RSA Training
Thursday, 30 May 2024	Year 11 Teen Mental Health First Aid Baw Baw Early Childhood Careers Expo Year 12 RSA Training LAST DAY SEMESTER ONE – YEARS 10/11
Friday, 31 May 2024	Exams Commence YEARS 10/11
Week 8
Monday, 3 June 2024	Year 10 Holocaust Museum
Tuesday, 4 June 2024	Inspiring Careers in Health Camp Gippsland Pride Speaker lunchtime Parent Liaison Group 11am
Thursday, 6 June 2024	LAST DAY OF SEMESTER 1- Years 7/8/9/12 Years 10/11 Exams Conclude
Friday, 7 June 2024	PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DAY – Students not required Girls in Trade Engineering Ahead 10AVP
Week 9
Monday, 10 June 2024	King’s Birthday Public Holiday
Tuesday, 11 June 2024	SEMESTER TWO COMMENCES
Week 10
Monday, 17 June 2024	Year 10 Immunisations
Tuesday, 18 June 2024	GAT 2024
Week 11
Monday, 24 June 2024	Year 10 Work Experience starts Year 11 Queensland Camp departs
Friday, 28 June 2024	Last Day Term 2 Year 10 Work Experience concludes Year 11 Queensland Camp returns

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