Principal's Pen
Welcome to Term 4!
The rain has been a very welcome addition to the new term, with the exception of the students transitioning between the science labs and yellow block today who found themselves in the middle of a downpour. It is wonderful to see the grass greening up and the water flowing into the dam again. Thank you to our students who have been mindful of the mess that black mud can make, and have made decisions about where to walk, play and clean their shoes accordingly. I trust our farmers are enjoying the week!
Australian Council for Education Leaders (ACEL) National Conference
During the last week of the holidays, our College Leadership Team of Mr Hobson, Mrs Brennan, Mr Gillespie and I attended the ACEL National Conference in Melbourne. What an experience! The speaker line-up included the pinnacle of worldwide educators and researchers who outlined the educational practices that are revolutionising education in Australia, Finland, Ontario (Canada), US, and New Zealand. We also heard from our own Wimbledon winner, Evonne Cawley and the leaders of education systems in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Of greatest value to our team were the conversations regarding Experiential Learning Theory by David and Alice Kolb, Clarity to precision in practice by Lynn Sharratt, Curiosity by Bryan Goodwin, and Leading from the Middle by Andy Hargreaves. John Hattie’s keynote was entitled Scaling up success: The implementation dilemma in schools and certainly gave our leaders insight into ways we can work going forward to make the biggest impact on improved learning experiences for our students, leading to deeper, stronger and longer learning. We also attended many sessions giving us insight into student well-being and how schools have implemented systemic change for greatest impact in student learning and our work toward planning for next year is certainly centred around this.
1 to 1 devices in Years 7-12, 2019
We are currently receiving quotes to meet our specifications for the roll-out of 1 to 1 laptops in Years 7-12 next year. It has been a well thought out process ensuring that the devices will cater for every subject and all software that is offered as part of learning at OLSCC. Our staff are currently enrolled in courses to train in our online Learning Management System (Canvas) which will mean that students will have access to their notes, problems, homework, assignments and other items all day, every day. In turn, this enables Mastery Learning which is when students understand, explain and can apply their knowledge and understanding in unfamiliar situations. It also allows students to have access to the technology they require at all times, in contrast to current times where the software they need is held only on College computers.
It is important to clarify that this is not a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) platform where students choose what device they bring to the College. It is also important to note that all students in Years 7-12 will be required to have a College laptop, and yes, it does come with an additional cost of between $240 and $300 per year. This is between 66 and 83 cents per day and will be billed with term fees and no concessions will apply to the College laptops. All students in Years 7-12 will receive a new laptop in 2019, and all students in Years 7 and 10 will receive new laptops from 2020. This ensures that students have current devices which are capable of performing to the standard required for their studies. Details of payout figures for those who wish the devices after their completion of Year 12 will be included in subsequent information sent to all high school students for 2019.
Attendance
Every day counts.
Every lesson missed is missed, and teachers can’t repeat them.
93% is the lowest attendance rate we can expect before an impact on learning occurs.
Less than 93% and students will have gaps in their learning.
If your child’s attendance is under 80% they will struggle to pass anything.
Even on birthdays – every day counts!