Nhill College Newsletter

Our School Values:

• Respect
• Honesty
• Teamwork
• Confidence
• Excellence
• Endeavour
  

The School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program is designed to bring together school communities to develop positive, safe and supportive learning cultures by helping to foster an environment that assists schools to improve social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for children.  As part of the SWPBS program, a rewards system has been developed to encourage students to always:

• Be Safe
• Be Respectful
• Be a Learner

Following yesterday's announcements, schools are now required to use the Service Victoria QR Codes for electronic record keeping to capture the details of all visitors accessing school buildings and indoor facilities.

QR codes will be required to be used by:

• all visitors, including contractors, external Department staff and building and maintenance staff
• all parents who enter buildings when on the school site

QR code check ins will not be required for staff or students, or parents who come onto school grounds for drop off or pick up, but do not enter buildings.

All building entry and exit points will now display QR code posters.

If you are required to enter buildings on school grounds, for whatever purpose, you are now required to use the provided QR code check-in.

If you are not able to check in using a smartphone or tablet, a Kiosk check-in service is available at the office.

Using the QR code system does not replace the existing requirement to also sign in at reception (for a specific purpose).

Thank you for your support and understanding of this important health direction.

Other advice remains as follows:.

• Stay home when unwell and get tested
• School staff and secondary school students aged 12 or older must carry a face mask at all times and wear a face mask indoors when at school, unless an exception applies.  Face masks are recommended to be worn outdoors at school where physical distancing of 1.5m cannot be maintained

• Children under 12 years of age and students at primary school are not required to wear face masks at school.

• For the purposes of communicating, teachers and education support staff are not required to wear face masks while teaching, but those who wish to do so, can.

• Visitors and parents must also observe face mask requirements.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any concerns. 

Students in Years 9-11 sat their mid-year exams this week.  These exams were pushed back a week following the recent lockdown in an effort to help students prepare.  Feedback from staff who supervised these assessments has been extremely positive, suggesting that most students prepared thoroughly and allocated their time effectively during the exam sessions.  Sitting for exams is a skill in itself, and often the experience is just as valuable to students as the outcome.  I would like to congratulate all students on the positive way they approached this exam period.  

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a school putting on a production in the COVID era will be determined to make it work, no matter what.  And such is certainly the case when it comes to the Nhill College secondary school production of "Pride and Prejudice", a play adapted by Jane Kendall from the Jane Austen novel.

The story follows the Bennett family, and their success (or otherwise) in obtaining suitable matches for each of the five daughters in the family.  Will the sweet Jane, independent Elizabeth, bookish Mary, fretful Kitty and flirtatious Lydia find husbands?  And will their mother ever stop in her frankly embarrassing attempts to match-make them all?!

The cast for this show have been working extremely hard since part-way through term one, and the show is looking fantastic.  Current COVID restrictions have made rehearsing a little more difficult, but the cast have shown they are extremely versatile and resilient.  Throughout the rehearsal period, many laughs have been had, and a few tears shed (mainly from one cast member over the romance between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy!), and we look forward to many more wonderful moments to come.

Tickets for this production are now on sale either at the Nhill College office or through TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/BRSIK 

Performances to take place at the Nhill Memorial Community Centre, Friday 30th July at 7:30pm, and Saturday 31st July at 2:00pm and 7:30pm.  $20 per adult, $15 per child/concession.

As part of our ICT upgrades around the school, the College has available older model desktop computers to give away.  These devices are approximately six to eight years old.  Being older machines, they are not capable of intensive computing work; however, they are still more than capable of running Microsoft Office and surfing the internet.  

If parents or guardians (or any members of the community) are interested in these old machines they need to email Mr Shrive at joshua.shrive@education.vic.gov.au to arrange collection by the end of Term 2.  Students will not be able to claim a device without permission from home.

These computers will be provided “as is”, without further technical support.  That said, if a device is found not to be working when it arrives home we will be happy to take it back and arrange a swap if other computers are still available.  Only desktop computers remain to be distributed as all available laptops have been allocated. 

Desktop Specs:

Windows 10

Core 2 Duo CPU

2GB or 3GB of RAM

120 GB HDD

Keyboard

Mouse

Monitor

With cooler weather conditions that come at this time of year it is timely to remind everyone of the current winter uniform options available to students.  With the recent addition of a Nhill College jacket, it was decided that students are permitted to wear that jacket - or the similar jackets of the Nhill Sporting Club and Yanac Hockey Club - during class time.  Students are permitted to wear other types of jackets to school, but they will be asked to remove them when they come to class.  Beanies are another item that can be popular with some students at this time of year.  As with all forms of headwear, students are expected to leave them in their lockers during class times.

Due to the colder weather, Breakfast and Social Club will be held in the canteen.  This will allow the College to continue to provide a safe, warm and social environment for students.  Positive relationships will be encouraged between peers, staff and volunteers. Breakfast and Social Club also provides informal learning around nutrition, table manners and other life skills.

Breakfast and Social Club will continue to held on Monday and Thursday mornings during school term.  All Nhill College students are invited to meet at the canteen to eat breakfast and / or socialise together.  Breakfast will be offered from 8.30am until the commencement of school, free of charge.

If you are interested in applying for work experience through the ADF please check out this link for more information. 

Defence Work Experience Program website - www.defence.gov.au/workexperience

Applications are to be made online.  There are several different opportunities available, all at set dates, determined by the ADF.  There will be different due dates for applications, depending on what experience you are applying for.  Please do not delay, places fill very quickly.

Before applying, please check with Mrs Sampson and your Year Level co-ordinator, to make sure it is suitable for you to be missing from school for the date allocated. 

Please see Mrs Sampson for more information.

Students from Year 9 and 10 will be involved in this day virtually from school. Students will be selecting a minimum of two seminars to attend throughout the day, supervised by Mrs Hedt and Mrs Sampson. We will be selecting the seminars on Friday to ensure that students select at least two sessions. VCE and VCAL students are able to attend any of these sessions, however, most sessions will be recorded so if they choose to they can watch it at a later time. Students must bring their own headphones as these cannot be shared.

If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to see Mrs Hedt or Mrs Sampson.

Our senior students are advised that Deakin University has some webinars coming up on various courses they offer.   If you are considering further study you may wish to look into what they have available. Please check out the following link: https://www.deakin.edu.au/student-life-and-services/events/future-student-events?cid=em|mkt|evnt|dide|na|na|pr|eml&mkt-unique=EEEMEN&mkt_tok=MjA5LUlOUS0zNjcAAAF8ceiMSwRy_1nHe4yU-LsrEl7ymW1VRRXKeskV30shzPBbdGhxzSGzhbgzwm-S8zeNmnQxk9CKxlnR3NzNTYCv11u571Y4-ehppJVh9pKJGISi_w#study

Mrs Natalie Sampson

Anyone interested in studying at La Trobe University should strongly consider applying for the Aspire Early Admissions Program.  Applications opened 19th April, and close 17th September. What can Aspire offer you?  Successful applicants can:

• Be rewarded for your involvement in community, leadership, and volunteering with an early conditional offer at La Trobe.  
• When you apply for Aspire, you’ll be automatically considered for one of 40 available Aspire scholarships.
• Receive an early offer for your course by October and know what your future holds.
• Smash your Year 12 goals with access to hundreds of free VCE and HSC study guides and revision lectures.

Please check out the following link for more information: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/study/aspire?cid=edm%3Aacs%3Anan%3Anan%3Ainf%3Anan%3Anan%3Anan%3Anan%3Anan%3Aall%3Abch%3Anan%3Anan&deliveryName=DM15688

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students and $225 for eligible secondary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.

If you would like to apply for the first time, please contact the school office on 5391 2111 and ask for an application form.

You can also download the form, and find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.

Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.

It is a Department of Education requirement that each enrolled student who has an action plan updates this each year.  Please see below the forms required, those students who currently have an action plan in place will be sent out a form to be completed by your Doctor or specialist.  If your child has recently been diagnosed with an Anaphylaxis, Asthma, Allergy or new medical condition please advise the general office.