N E W S L E T T E R 29 April 2016 Volume 18 Issue 6 College Mission . Building on a foundation of Christian values, the mission of Aitken College is to enable students to become informed and compassionate members of the wider community by inspiring academic achievement and creativity, nurturing self worth, encouraging environmental responsibility and committing to service with and for others. Important Diary Dates for 2016 Mon 13 Jun Queen’s Birthday Holiday Tue 14 Jun Report Writing Day (student free) Term Dates for 2016 Fri 24 Jun Term 2 concludes Term 2 11 April to 24 June Mon 18 Jul Term 3 commences Term 3 18 July to 16 September Tue 9 Aug Parent Teacher Interviews (Prep–12) Term 4 3 October to 9 December Thu 18 Aug Parent Teacher Interviews (Prep–12) Fri 19 Aug Professional Learning Day (student free) Fri 16 Sep Term 3 concludes Mon 03 Oct Term 4 commences Reminder CSEF forms still accepted Mon 31 Oct Mid Term Break Tue 01 Nov Melbourne Cup Day Holiday Fri 18 Nov Report Writing Day (student free) Wed 07 Dec Presentation Night (Years 3 to 12) Thought: “I’ve learnt that people will forget what you said, people Fri 09 Dec Term 4 concludes will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou From the Principal ANZAC Day we commemorated those people who sacrificed so much in times of war. It is hoped that we could move toward living in a world where conflict can be resolved through peaceful means respecting each other and their traditions. This year College Captain, Matthew White, led a reflection on the impact of war on young soldiers. It is important that as a community we gather together to commemorate, and it was wonderful to see some parents join us for the service held in the plaza outside the senior school building. Congratulations to the following students who are achieving at high levels in their chosen sports: Mikayla Plant has made the Victorian gymnastics team for the Australian championships and U14 Boys Swimming Freestyle relay team consisting of Antonio Cavallo, Blake Crowley, Phong Pham and Derek Wells who came 3rd in the State Championships just recently. The Parents and Friends Association are busy organising the Mothers Day Breakfast and the Mothers Day Stall to be held on Thursday 5 May. I encourage students to bring their Mothers along for breakfast in the Dining Area of the Food Technology Centre; Egg and Bacon rolls and delicious coffee and hot chocolate will be on sale. Mrs Josie Crisara Principal From the Deputy Principal Craigieburn Central Promotion: Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre is running a promotion from Wednesday 20 April to Wednesday 8 June. For every dollar you spend at Craigieburn Central, the receipt returned to the School will earn points that could win the School between $1,000 and $10,000. Customers can also enter a competition to win one of seven $100 Craigieburn Central gift cards. Receipts can be presented to the Customer Service desk near Big W or throughout Craigieburn Central or can be returned to Reception here at school. Allergies and Anaphylaxis: Nearly forty students at Aitken College are at risk of Anaphylaxis and for many of these a major risk factor is nuts. Heads of Schools have recently reminded students in assemblies of the need to “look after your mates” by not sharing food and being considerate of friends with food allergies. Parents are requested to not give children nuts to bring to school and where possible avoid nut products. Authorised and Printed by: Mrs Josie Crisara, Principal, Aitken College, 1010 Mickleham Road, Greenvale 3059 Phone: 9333 1866 www.aitkencollege.edu.au Fax: 9333 4795 Parent access to My Aitken: My Aitken is the new learning management system in use by all students with iPads from Years 6 to 12, but also accessible by all parents, including those with children in the Junior School or Preparatory School. Parents who have not accessed My Aitken yet should activate their account by clicking on the My Aitken link on the Aitken website and creating their account by using the email address that the College has as your contact email. Mr Kim Forward Deputy Principal Parents and Friends Association News Welcome to Term 2. I do not know about you but we think this year is absolutely flying. Community Business Directory: Thank you to all businesses that have advertised in our Community Business Directory over the past years. It is not too late to start advertising, so get in quick. If you have not looked recently please see the end of the newsletter or look online at www.aitkencollege.edu.au as there are many new and exciting advertisers. If you have any queries regarding the Business Directory please email us at: [email protected]. Trivia Night: Thank you to all who supported our annual Trivia Night that was held on Friday 15 April. We would like to congratulate the ‘Yellow Team’ on their victory. Once again, a special mention goes out to the wonderful Michael Cooper for all of his assistance in preparing for and hosting the evening. Trivia Night is one of our major events of the year and is open to both the College and wider community. With a year until the next one, there is plenty of time to arrange a table and brush up on your trivia knowledge and maybe you will be the 2017 Aitken College Trivia Champions. Mothers Day Breakfast: This will be held on Thursday 5 May. To help celebrate, please join us for a Mothers Day Breakfast with bacon and egg rolls (YUM!!) for the bargain price of $5.00 and also on sale will be coffee and drinks. Everyone is welcome, both mums and dads, grandparents and families. Mothers Day Stall: This will be held following the breakfast. Children will be given the opportunity to purchase a gift for the special lady in their life. Gifts are to the maximum value of $10.00 and gift cards and bags will also be available to purchase. Between you and me, the gifts are great and I already have my eye on a few. We would like to wish all of our wonderful mothers, grandmothers, aunts, carers and women in our lives a very Happy Mothers Day. Donations: Throughout the year, we hold multiple events which we require donations for and we request support from our wonderful school and local community. If you are able to assist us in donating (big or small), we would love to hear from you at [email protected]. Parents & Friends would love to hear from you! We are planning our events for next year, so if you have any questions, comments or ideas please email us at: [email protected] or comment on our Facebook page. Mrs Belinda Klaric Aitken College Parents & Friends Association Brookhill School Notices Year 11 Presentation Ball: Dance lessons will start on Monday 16 May, in preparation for the annual Year 11 Presentation Ball, to be held on Saturday 27 August. Students will once again be under the guidance of dance teacher, Mr Sebastian Riscica and will have ten lessons and a full day rehearsal at Moonee Valley on Thursday 25 August. There will be three dance practice time slots: Mondays 3.30pm to 4.40pm; Wednesdays 2.10pm to 3.10pm and Wednesdays 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Participating students will receive notification shortly of which session they are allocated to. Invitations for families to attend the Ball will be mailed to families towards the end of term. Tickets will be purchased through Trybooking online booking; detailed instructions of booking procedure will also be mailed to families. Mid-Year Exams: Mid-year exams are approaching. Year 10 and Year 11 exams will take place from Monday 6 June to Friday 10 June. The GAT for all students studying a Unit 3-4 subject is on Tuesday 7 June. It is very important that all students make mid-year exams their highest priority over this period of time. The exam timetable is quite tight and students will have more than one exam on a day on some occasions. This means that Year 10 and 11 students will have to prioritise study over the next few weeks. Organisational skills and forward planning will be important; study cannot be left to the night before an exam, particularly if there are two exams on a particular day. I strongly encourage all parents to talk to their children about their preparation for the upcoming exams. At this stressful time, students need loving support and gentle encouragement from their families; parents should focus on helping children to achieve their own personal best performance. The following advice from Elevate Education, who provide Study Skills education to Aitken College is pertinent. Authorised and Printed by: Mrs Josie Crisara, Principal, Aitken College, 1010 Mickleham Road, Greenvale 3059 Phone: 9333 1866 www.aitkencollege.edu.au Fax: 9333 4795 Notes should be complete at least 2 weeks before the exam. You need good notes for final preparation, but making notes in the last couple of weeks is less effective. Elevate recommends the following process for effective use of notes: 1. Write notes. 2. Review notes within minutes of completing them. 3. Review the same notes after 24 hours. 4. Review the same notes twice in that week. Use colour in your notes and use key trigger words to aid memory recall. Do not try and memorise large chunks of notes, but develop recall techniques around trigger words and phrases and colour.