26 MARCH 2021 Term 1, Week 9 Meeting the Educational Needs of Girls
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Mackellar Girls Campus Newsletter 26 MARCH 2021 Term 1, Week 9 Meeting the educational needs of girls P&C Meeting - Wednesday 5 May 2021 EMAILING THE SCHOOL - Please use ONLY the [email protected] email address for correspondence. DEDICATED SMS NUMBER—Please text 0427 459 133 before 9am to advise late or absent students PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE - Science Laboratories Upgrade Two more of Mackellar’s 50 years old laboratories in E Block will soon undergo a complete refurbishment through a joint funding venture between the Department of Education and the school. This is very exciting news for the school. It is expected that the project will begin by the end of Term 2. The old toilet block in D block will also be refurbished next term through special state funding. Parent-Teacher Evenings These evenings scheduled for March - May 2021 will be postponed. Due to Covid restrictions particularly related to physical distancing of adults and visitors into the school, we cannot conduct these event at this time. If you would like to ring you daughter’s teachers to have a phone meeting to gain a progress report, you are most welcome. You would need to know your daughter’s classes and her teachers to be able to be directed to speak with them. I suggest calling before school or at lunchtime or immediately after school to maximise your chance of connecting with the teachers. School Visitors As a school we have a duty of care of our students. As such, all visitors to the school must firstly go the office, and if their visit is appropriate beyond the foyer area, sign in as a visitor and be given a visitor’s badge to wear for the duration of their stay in the school. This applies to parents who come to the school to see a teacher or student. It is not appropriate for parents to email any staff directly. Staff will not respond to any email they receive directly from a parent. Parents are welcome to either write a letter or send an email to the school email address, where it will then be forwarded to the teacher, Deputy Principal or Principal. Design Make Innovate Our Year 9 Design and Technology students have been mentors working with two of our partner primary schools, Manly Vale and Curl Curl North Public Schools, in Design Make Innovate, a rich project-based learning. The students engaged in a design process to ‘shrink our footprint’. This learning experience encapsulates 21st century learning capabilities that we desire in our teaching and learning – student choice, student voice, collaboration, team work, communication, problem solving, creativity, curriculum inter-connectedness and risk taking in learning. Project Penguin For the 14th year, Taronga Zoo, in conjunction with the Northern Beaches Secondary College and several of its schools, is planning a learning rich task called Project Penguin. The project will involve students from Years 10 and 4 or 5 from Balgowlah Heights and Harbord Primary Schools working together to help preserve a local endangered species, the Little Penguin. 120 of our Year 10 girls will be trained by zoo and teaching staff in the relevant science, research methods, geography and mentoring for the project, to lead the primary school teams. It is a fantastic opportunity for our students. Technology The rapid pace of developments in technology has provided access to information and new communications that have benefited us enormously. With the privilege of access to technology in schools comes responsibility. Any breach of our school’s code of conduct with technology will result in that student’s computer device being Director General’s Award for Turning Potential into Performance Freshwater Community Bank is Director General’s Award for Excellence in Girls Education the proud Community Sponsor Director General’s Award for Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education of Mackellar Girls Campus Director General’s Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Programs Manly Vale Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Pacific Islander Programs confiscated and disciplinary action, in accordance with the Student User Charter that the student and parent have signed. The following indicates computer use that is not acceptable at school: using the device to access inappropriate applications and websites for school use using someone else’s account or providing your password and account for another to use using a proxy to access sites blocked by the Department of Education bringing to school, or using, a USB that contains inappropriate material senior students using computers in their study periods for activities that are not directly related to their HSC courses. Mobile phones must be switched off whenever a student is in class or between classes or participating in a school activity. Photographs, videos or audio recordings made with a mobile phone may not be taken or made without the permission of those being photographed or recorded and may not be publicly distributed. Please discuss this information with your child/ children to ensure that both you and your child/ children understand what is inappropriate use of computers and mobile phones at school. Student Punctuality Lateness to school is an issue with a small number of our students. I ask parents to do what they can to instil in their children the importance of being on time, getting to school by 8.40 am and being prepared to start the day in a positive frame of mind. Repeated lateness is a serious misdemeanour and affects students’ progress. The number of days a student is late appears on their school report – a notable number here would not be attractive to a prospective employer, even for part-time jobs. Scoliosis Scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, can result in significant health problems, and is most prevalent in teenage girls. To detect scoliosis, all parents of girls are strongly advised to download the self-detection brochure from the Spine Society of Australia’s website (www.scoliosis-australia.org). It is particularly important for girls 11 – 13 yrs of age, as this is the age range when scoliosis first appears. Congratulations for high achievement to: Jesse (Y12) and Stefanie (Y11) for their 2nd in the ACT Open Beach Volleyball Championships Emily (Y11) for her selection for the Olympic Swimming Trials for 100m backstroke Pipi (Y7) for her success in the NSW Nippers Surf Lifesaving Championships – 1st in U13 Swim Team and Board Relay, 2nd in the U13 Ironwoman and Swim, 4th in Board Octavia (Y8) for her selection into the NSW Basketball Talented Athlete Program Matilda (Y8) for her selection in the NSW Juniors Athletics Team and a 3rd in 100m in the NSW Junior Championships, Fleur (Y8) for her 1st in U15 800m and Luana (Y8) for her 6th in U15 Long Jump Elani (Y9) for her 2nd in the Surf Lifesaving NSW U15 First Aid Competition and qualifying for the Australian Championships Sophie and Tia (Y12) and Hilton (Y9) for their selection in the NSW CHS Girls U18 Tennis team School Captains Hanako and Milla for their Parliament of NSW and Government House Leadership Program April (Y9) for her competing in the NSW CHS Individual Triathlon the Open Water Polo Team for being runner up in the CHS Regional Knockout Championships Regional Swimmers: Lauren, Hanako, Layla (Y12), Amelia, Emily (Y11), Milla, Creel, Ella (Y10), Millie, Rachel, Annika, Abby, Amber, Rachel (Y9), Sielo, Carys, Coco, Octavia (Y8), Elyse, Katy, Rylee, Sarah, Abigail, Blake, Eryn, Pipi (Y7) Zone Swimming Champions: 14 yrs – Abby; 16 yrs – Emily; 17yrs – Lauren Zone Swimmers: Jada (Y8) , Chloe, Georgie (Y7) Christine Del Gallo, Principal P&C NEWS - Dear Parents and Carers, The P&C held their AGM on Wednesday 10 March. Thank you to all those who attended. The Mackellar Canteen is in need of volunteers next term. This is a valuable and practical way to contribute to the school community. Please contact Annette Ryan, the Canteen Manager, [email protected] if you can help. Yours Sincerely Cristina Anderson—P&C Regional Representative 2 W@M Report YEAR 7- As we approach the end of Term 1, it is pleasing to see so many Year 7 students embracing our value of Participation. All students took part in a fabulous workshop to help them learn some skills and strategies to support their social-emotional wellbeing. The URSTRONG workshop was presented by Dana Kerford who spoke to the girls about friendship facts, recognising healthy and unhealthy friendships as well as taking the girls through some steps to help them put out their Friendship Fires. Ask your daughter about the strategies she learned to help her stand up for herself when someone is being mean on purpose. One of Dana’s most important points was to accept that the only person you can control is you. You can help your daughter develop her self- efficacy by reminding her of this. Having a locker is a novelty to most Year 7’s and so they like using them quite often. If your daughter has a locker it is important she only access it at the allocated times which can be found at the top of page xi in her school diary. We were so thrilled with the way that Year 7 conducted themselves at the Year 7 Camp and we hope that they made new friends and learned some new skills. Ms Horton & Ms Jones - Year 7 Advisers YEAR 8 - Term 1 has been a successful and busy one for our Year 8 cohort. They have been working hard, and embraced our value of the term Kindness, with many girls being nominated by their peers to receive certificates. Term 2 will present a number of exciting opportunities for Year 8 students at Mackellar.