KURNAI COLLEGE - MORWELL CAMPUS PO Box 3411 MORWELL MC 3841 Ph 5165 0600 Absences Ph 5165 0602 Email:[email protected]

PARENT BULLETIN 9 th March 2012

COMING EVENTS Monday, 12th March………………………………………………………………… Labour Day (No School) Friday, 16th March…………………………………………………SRC Crazy Hair Day (Gold coin donation) Monday, 19th March – 30th March…………………………………………………… Yr 10 Work Experience Tuesday, 20th March………………………………………………………….……….Yr 8 Inverloch Excursion Friday, 23rd March – 25th March ….……………………………………………………...... Yr 9 HPV Camp Friday, 30th March …… …………………………………………………………………….. .Last Day Term 1 Monday, 16th April………………………………………………………………………….Term 2 commences

SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS: 8.00 am – 4.00 pm SCHOOL HOURS: 8.25 am – 2.50 pm students are supervised between 8.10 am and 3.00 pm CAMPUS PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Hello everyone, Kurnai College believes it is important that you are kept up-to-date with your child’s progress. Twice a term you will receive a formal report from the school. Of course, if there is a more pressing issue you will be contacted about this directly.

Last week you should have received the first report for the year. Please take the time to read this to see how your child has started the new school year. If you have any concerns or questions please make sure you contact the school and discuss the matter with the teacher, your child’s year level leaders or one of the campus principals. In my experience it is much better to ask a question and have the issue dealt with promptly than to allow it to become a problem.

If you have not received a report contact the school immediately and this will be followed up.

ID cards will be issued to all students when we have taken the photographs of students who were away when the campus photos were taken. Please make it clear to your child that replacement cards will cost $5 so it is important that they do not lose or deface it.

Morwell Campus has done a lot of work over the past few years to address the issue of bullying. As part of this program all students will be asked to complete an anonymous bullying survey in the next few weeks which helps us identify the places in the school where bullying occurs, the sorts of behaviour which are most common and the people who are most often involved in bullying.

Recently there have been a number of instances of Facebook bullying either through direct threats and comments made through Facebook, or the use of Facebook to create a false page. Students and parents should be aware that under new legislation the use of Facebook for these purposes is illegal and that there can be quite serious consequences for people who are found guilty of using the site for this purpose. Throw away comments which might have very little impact when made verbally can take on a life of their own when they appear on Facebook or other social media. Please be aware of this, talk about it with your child and make sure that sites such as Facebook are used properly.

Geoff Block CAMPUS PRINCIPAL COLLEGE COUNCIL ELECTIONS Congratulations to the following parents on their successful election to the College Council. We hope your time as councillor will be enjoyable and productive. * Stephen Van Rooy * Meredith Downes-Smith * Penny Solomon * Michael Radford We are also delighted to be able to announce that Karen Anders from the Morwell Campus and Adam Hogan from the Churchill Campus have been declared the DEECD Representatives. A big thank you to all elected councillors for being prepared to take on this important role.

STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE Parents are reminded that the Department does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents and guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. These costs may be recoverable where an injury is caused by the negligence (carelessness) of the Department, a school council or their employees or volunteers. Student accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers. These cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT ((PBS) Every week teachers are asked to consider which students have demonstrated stand-out behaviour in the area of our school pillars – Relationships, Engagement, Work Ethic and Excellence. A postcard is sent home to let families know about their student’s positive behaviour. Congratulations to the following students for receiving a postcard recognising their achievements and demonstrating one of our four pillars:

Relationships Work Ethic Excellence Engagement

Brooklyn Bennett Stephen Lewis Katie Foster Jake Heathcote Eric Andreazzi Allison Newton Chelsea Radford Jamie Mareska Taya Kennedy-Matheson Sam Tormey Caiden Gill Rachael Rigby Amy Radford Jacodi Dunstan Angela Knersch Tahlia Webber Brendan Tompsett Millie Helmuth Nathan Radford Jade Bunker Emily Ohlson Sarah Darling Jeremy Brewer Nyabhan Jiath Luke Buuman Sarah Mayo Hade Howell Alec Welsh Nathan Taylor

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Increase your fitness, earn some cash and play football/netball in the MGFL. The LV Umpires Association has 12 positions for young people to become Boundary Umpires in the 2012 Green Shirt program. Training is on Tuesday and Thursday at 5.30pm at the Maryvale Recreation Reserve, Morwell. Phone 0421 063 840 or email [email protected] for further information.

HPV So far HPV has nearly restored our racing vehicle and it is almost finished. This is a photo of the bike as of 7th February which has been worked on by Sam Solomon, Ryan Peter, Michaela Fry, Bradley Aitken, Bradley Rogers, Lucinda Beecher, Steven Hanning, James McKean, Leigh Vajler, Tom Gibson, Cameron Skinner, Jason Ferguson, Lochlan Boyes, Blake Martin, Raymond Malcolm, Tahnee Paynter, Michael McNeill, Thomas Mazae, Jeclat Jikow and Michelle Hurrell. We are at the fundraising stage and we are going to do an out of uniform day, BBQ at Bunnings, and are waiting for replies from sponsors. By Lochlan Boyes

YEAR 9 Last week during Team Time, Year 9 students attended a presentation by WEP - World Education Program. WEP is a not for profit organisation which arranges Student Exchanges with countries all over the world. Many students were excited at the prospect of studying overseas and experiencing life in another country! If you would like more information on the program visit www.wep.org.au

YEAR 10 2012 CHINA TRIP Again this year, Year 10 students will have the opportunity to travel and discover the delights of China. The school will be undertaking a study tour of China during September 2012. The three week tour will visit Kou’an (our sister school in China) where students will stay with a Chinese family and attend some classes at Kou’an Middle School. Some of the other places the tour plans to visit will include Beijing, the Great Wall, Shanghai and Hong Kong. This is an excellent opportunity for students to discover the wonders of China. During next term we will have a family information session to update families on the details of the trip and give parents and students an opportunity to find out more information. Later this year there will be some classes run by the Language Centre to teach students and/or families the basics of the Chinese language. Knowing some basic Chinese will be greatly useful on the tour. All students in China learn English at school, but many older people in China don’t speak English. The full cost of the tour will be around $3,000 and there will be some financial support available for some families. Costs will be confirmed later as itineraries are set. All students will need to have a passport, so there will also be this extra expense for some families. So if you are interested in travelling, start saving now. If you need more information or have any queries you can contact Darren Hodgson on 5132 3836 or email [email protected].

If you are interested in taking part of this study tour, please complete the expression of interest below:

I ______(student name) are expressing an interest of being involved in the Kurnai Study Tour of China in September 2012. Signed: ______Parent/Guardian Name: ______Parent/Guardian Signed: ______Please return this form to your campus office by 30th March (last day of Term 1) College Music

There are a number of initiatives currently taking place in preparation for a number of student performances and recycling fundraising ventures.

Fundraising Drink cans – being collected. Bag of cans can be dropped off at Morwell Campus on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Vehicle Battery drive : Morwell Campus: Last week of term 1 (Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th March) Drop-off point at rear of school (Technology side) – see Music Trailer. Drop-off times are from 7:45 am until 12 noon

For All Students! Kurnai Idol Auditions: Get those vocal cords warmed up because it is audition time. Auditions will occur in the Music Room (E2) during recess on Wednesday and Thursday - first week of Term 2. Part of song only required without accompaniment. If successful, competitors will participate in knockout heats during Term 2. You must be in it to win it. Sign-up sheets in the Music Room (room open Wednesday/Thursday/Friday).

Only Instrument classes available are: Trombone x 3; Trumpet x 2; French Horn x 1; Saxophone/Clarinet x 3. Get an Expression of Interest form from the office if interested. Can commence lessons on the above instruments ASAP.

Public Performances Gippsland Multicultural Schools Concert @ Kernot Hall, Morwell on Thursday 15th March – College Big Band performing;

Rhythm and Roses Festival @ Rose Garden, Morwell On Sunday 25th March, Starts 1:30 pm Featuring Latrobe City Brass Band (Morwell), South Gippsland Brass Band (Leongatha) and Kurnai College Big Band

Generations In Jazz Festival @ Mt Gambier, South Australia Friday 4th May until Monday 7th May College Big Band performing

Cancellation: Music Classes on Thursday 15th March with Mr Bonnici are cancelled.