From the Principal - Mr Chris Caldow Vol 14

College Captains
I am pleased to be able to announce Angus Drenen and Jordan Gioskos as our 2022 College Captains and Siala Maelasi and Melwin Edwin as our 2022 College Vice-Captains. Thanks to Liz Perkin for all of her work with these students and running the election process for our College Captains. The Transfer of Leadership will take place at our final College Assembly on Monday 18 October.

GAT rescheduled and Lockdown extended
The General Achievement Test (GAT) was scheduled for Thursday 9 September and has now been rescheduled to Tuesday 5 October. Year 12 VCE students and Year 11 students studying at Units 3 and 4 level will be given priority access to vaccines in the lead up to this day. I encourage all of our senior students to prioritise getting vaccinated as soon as possible. Premier Daniel Andrews also confirmed face-to-face learning would not return for Term 3, with a “detailed plan” for what Term 4 will look like to be delivered next week.

Information from MACS regarding Vaccines

Students eligible for vaccination
As part of the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, more Victorian school students are now eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. All students aged 16 and older can now book a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at state vaccination centres. The Victorian Government aims to vaccinate all final year students by the time they sit their end-of-year exams. Final year students are therefore urged to immediately make an appointment to receive a vaccine by following the instructions under the heading ‘How to book an appointment’ below.

The state vaccination centres have recently had their capacity increased to support Victoria’s drive to administer 1 million doses of the vaccine by 19 September. Students will be supported in every way possible to be vaccinated before the examinations begin. Students completing their final year are particularly asked to book an appointment as soon as possible to support the safe conduct of examinations. As their parent/guardian, I encourage you to help them to book and if needed, support them to attend their appointment.

Final year students are asked to consider getting their first vaccine before the GAT on Tuesday 5 October. In addition, it’s recommended not to get the vaccine on the day of an exam, or the day before an exam to avoid feeling common but mild side effects such as tiredness, headache, muscle pain, fever and chills and/or joint pain during your exam.

Consent
Students can book their own appointment and consent to vaccination themselves if the health professional assesses them to be a mature minor.

How to book an appointment
To book an appointment, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au or contact the Coronavirus Hotline by phoning 1800 675 398. To find a vaccination centre and opening times, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

From 30 August, people aged 16-39 can get their COVID-19 vaccine at a doctor’s clinic, pharmacy or community health service through the Australian Government Eligibility Checker. You can book your appointment online or by calling the vaccine provider nearest to you.

What to bring
Bring these things, if you have them;

  • A face mask
  • Any emails about your vaccination appointment (on your phone or printed)
  • Photo identification, if you have one, such as a passport or driver’s licence
  • A Medicare card or Individual Healthcare Identifier number

For more information about eligibility, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au or use the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine eligibility checker.

For further assistance, contact:

  • The Department of Health Coronavirus hotline: 1800 675 398
  • The National Coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccine helpline: 1800 020 080.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions.

Year 12 Trial Exams
Given the extended lockdown we have made the decision to postpone Year 12 Trial Exams that were scheduled for the second week of the upcoming holidays. At this stage many staff are yet to complete Unit 4 content and it would be unfair to attempt the trial exams until all of the coursework has been taught. In all likelihood, we will utilise this time for either final assessments or additional classes depending on the conditions at the time. The trial exams will be conducted in the first few weeks of Term 4 in the current double lessons in each class when we are hopefully back to face to face learning.

Year 12 Graduation
In light of current COVID-19 restrictions it seems quite unlikely that 1000 people are going to be able to gather collectively to celebrate our Graduation Mass and Graduation Dinner. As such we have come up with alternatives so that we can formally recognise this significant milestone for our current Year 12 students. In essence we are planning to conduct some form of liturgy and graduation ceremony for each homeroom which will be livestreamed to enable peers, staff and our wider community to be involved in the process. Obviously, it will be in line with any restrictions that are in place at that particular time to ensure the safety of all involved. We have several different plans depending upon the restrictions that are in place.

Wellbeing Day- Wednesday 1 September
Wednesday 1 September was Student Free day and a Wellbeing Day for both staff and students. This day was already in the calendar as a student-free day, but we decided to have a Wellbeing Day to give both staff and students a reprieve from screens. This mid-term break allowed staff, students, and families time to reflect on what they have achieved to date and prepare for what lies ahead. We hope the day provided you with an opportunity to spend quality time resting and time to relax.

Year 7 Enrolments 2023
A reminder to all of our existing families that Year 7 enrolments for 2023 closed on Friday 20 August. A number of families applied after the close of enrolment last year and it makes it very difficult to accurately plan for the following year, so I ask that you submit your enrolment as soon as possible. Often families assume that we know that there is a younger sibling, but I would be very disappointed if one of our existing families missed out on an enrolment due to not submitting their enrolment in a timely manner.

Year 11 & 12 Practical Assessments (Students coming onsite)
Performing Arts studies have been prioritised due to performance examination starting on Monday 4 October, 2021.

Permitted Essential Assessment for attendance onsite from Monday 30 August, 2021 in Performing Arts studies at Unit 3/4 level only;

  • Dance
  • Dance (VCE VET)
  • Drama
  • Music Performance
  • Music Investigation
  • Music Performance (VCE VET)
  • Theatre Studies

Attendance onsite is restricted strictly to those participating in essential assessments for these studies where they cannot be conducted remotely.

The VCAA are aware of the significant challenges and acknowledge the practical requirements in other studies, and plan to progressively add studies with practical assessment requirements that can only be completed onsite as soon as possible. This will be determined on the advice of the Chief Health Officer.
Other studies considered a priority include Science studies with practical components, Visual Arts, Design and Technologies as well as VCE and VCAL students enrolled in VET programs that require significant practical learning and assessment.

Due to the number of mystery cases in the community and the large number of young people impacted in this outbreak, additional public health measures for Victorian students undergoing onsite assessments this week will be in place.

The Health Controls include;

  • For assessments on site on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday the preference is for students to have a COVID-19 test prior to attending onsite, if possible. If this is not possible, students must be tested immediately after being onsite (and no later than 48 hours after).
  • For students with assessments onsite from Thursday/Friday this week, must be tested in the 72 hours before attending onsite for assessments.
  • Evidence of a negative test result is not required before the assessment but must be provided to the school on request. Students can attend the assessment with their test result still pending but must advise the school immediately if they subsequently receive a positive result. This asymptomatic, surveillance testing approach is one currently used during outbreak periods and as such, students are not required to isolate after they get tested while they wait for their result.
  • All Permitted Essential Assessments to be conducted onsite are capped at a maximum of 10 participants per session.

Students will report to Reception upon arrival at the Broadmeadows Campus where they will sign in. The current schedule is listed below but, is likely to change if Arts, Technology, Science and VET subjects are approved to be onsite.

Subject

Day

Date

Time

Room

Teacher

Music (Practice)

Wednesday

8 September

11.00am– 1.00pm

PAC002

Ms Tania Hatherell

Music (Practice)

Thursday

9 September

1.30pm– 3.00pm

PAC002

Ms Tania Hatherell

Music (SAC)

Friday

10 September

12.00pm-

1.00pm

PAC002

Ms Tania Hatherell

Music (SAC)

Wednesday

15 September

11.00am– 1.00pm

PAC002

Ms Tania Hatherell

Music (SAC)

Friday

17 September

12.00pm– 1.00pm

PAC002

Ms Tania Hatherell

Father’s Day Mass
Tomorrow morning, Friday 3 September, we will be livestreaming our annual Fathers’ Day Mass. This will take place during Friday’s Period 1 Pastoral Period (8.53am to 9.43am). I invite fathers to view the Mass with their children. Ms Daniela Bombardieri-Szabo will publish the link on MyPenola prior to this time in readiness for everyone to join.

Father’s Day
In our setting – a coeducational school in Melbourne’s Northern suburbs, we are ever conscious of the impact we, as adults have on our young people. The influence that parents have on shaping their children is paramount and the second greatest influence usually comes from the teachers that young people have during their schooling. The opportunity to bring Dads and their children together is something which the College values enormously.

The evidence suggests that as Dads, we must ensure that we do find time to be with our sons and daughters and to take an active and genuinely interested role in their lives. I hope that all our Dads and families will enjoy the upcoming Fathers’ Day this Sunday.

I have been fortunate to have my father be a strong and positive influence throughout my entire life. My father is from the era where men were seen as the provider and nurturing children was seen as the mother’s role. My father, whilst an extremely intelligent man, left school at the age of 15 to begin an apprenticeship as a butcher. Unfortunately, he lost both of his parents within a 6 month period whilst he was still aged 14. As a result, Dad always found it difficult to express his emotions particularly love. That is not to say that he didn’t love me or my siblings he just wouldn’t say it. He demonstrated his love on a regular basis to all within the family but found it difficult to say. Fortunately, with the addition of grandchildren, he has become much better at verbally expressing his love. This is something that I am conscious of with both my son and daughter, and I try to express my love to them daily. Sometimes too regularly if you ask them!

I have included a reflection given by a staff member previously as there is a truth within the reflection that resonated with me.

MY FATHER WHEN I WAS…

When I was 4 years old, I thought, “My Daddy can do anything.”

When I was 5 years old, I told my friends, “My Daddy knows a whole lot.”

When I was 6 years old, I told my best friend, “My Dad is smarter than your Dad.”

When I was 8 years old, I thought, “My Dad doesn’t know exactly everything.”

When I was 10 years old, I thought, “In the olden days when my Dad grew up, things were sure different.”

When I was 12 years old, I told myself, “Well, naturally, Dad doesn’t know anything about that. He is too old to remember his childhood.”

When I was 14 years old, I told my friends, “Don’t pay any attention to my Father. He is so old fashioned.”

When I was 21 years old, I said of my father, “Him? My Lord, he’s hopelessly out of date.”

When I was 25 years old, I thought, “Dad knows a little bit about it, but he should he has been around for so long.”

When I was 30 years old, I said to my friends, “Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks. After all he has had a lot of experience.”

When I was 40 years old my mantra was: “I’m not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.”

When I was 50 years old, I would ask myself, “I wonder how Dad would handle this? He is so wise and has a world of experience.”

When I was 60 years old, I said to myself, “I’d give anything if Dad were here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn’t appreciate how smart he was. I could have learnt a lot from him.”

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