Roma Mitchell Secondary College Newsletter,Newsletter Volume 36 36, 2015 2015 In this Edition: Principal’s Report Diary Dates Curriculum Report 24/8 Co-Education Camp 8CA, CD, CG Principal’s Tour - Girls’ Education- 24/8—26/8 Campus - Commences 9.15am Aboriginal and Torres 11/9 Strait Islander Curriculum Committee 1:45 25/8 Showcase Art—Golden Grove 16/9 Final Year 8 Girls’ and Boys’ Recreational Centre 7.00pm Vaccination Special Education ASSOE Transition Day 31/8-2/9 17/9 Principal’s Tour - Special Education 31/8 Campus - Commences 9.15am Girls’ Education Campus Co-Education Camp 8BC, E & F Uniform Committee Meeting 18/9 Principal’s Tour—Co-Education Campus 2/9 Commences 9.15am Co-Education Senior Governing Council Meeting Years 3/9 Finance Advisory Meeting 24/9 STEM Presentation Evening Co-Education Middle Years 4/9 Pupil Free Day 25/9 Last Day of Term Early Dismissal at 2.15pm Sports News 7/9 School Closure Day 12/10 Term 4 commences Library News 9/9 Aboriginal Parent Meeting Shaping a better Principal’s Report future locally Welcome to our new students and families for Term 3. Already this term we have held successful parent / teacher interviews and our SACE / Pathways Information Evening. Thank you to the families who came along and contributed to these and globally events. RESPECT DIVERSITY EXCELLENCE 2 Newsletter 36, 2015 As you may be aware, the tenure of a Principal at a Maths Specialism for STEM Government school such as ours is usually about I am excited to announce that our school has been five years. My tenure as Principal of Roma Mitchell selected to develop a Maths Specialism for our Secondary College will finish at the end of this STEM Focus. We have received a grant to work year. The RMSC Principal’s position, to commence with UniSA, Adelaide University and RMIT in 2016, was advertised at the end of last term and University to develop teaching and learning I am delighted to announce that I have been programs which will support students to develop reappointed as Principal of RMSC for the next five their skills, knowledge and understandings to years. undertake and achieve in the higher level maths in the senior years. This will guarantee entry to a STEM Tertiary course. Mathematics is the basis of Farewell to Lauren Foote all STEM careers and essential for all high Lauren Foote, our Pastoral Care Worker for the performing creative and sustainable futures. Girls’ Campus, was farewelled at the end of last Students with tertiary qualifications in Maths and term. We thank Lauren for her dedication and STEM are better positioned to lead the emerging commitment to supporting our students and their high technology industries which will have long families over the last five years and wish her well in term economic benefits for the state. State, her new career as a Police Officer. Matt Neale is national and international skill and workforce working in her role until the end of Term 3. demands have identified shortages in STEM Lauren’s position is being advertised and the new related capabilities. Pastoral Care Worker will start in Term 4. Congratulations to Jamahl Liddle Science Technology Engineering and Maths Congratulations to Jamahl Liddle who has been (STEM) Year 6/7 Program Our STEM program for the Years 6/7 students from appointed to our school as an Aboriginal Nailsworth Primary School and Prospect North Secondary Education Transition Officer, Level 3, Primary School were so successful last term, we for the next two years. have decided to run another program for Year 6/7 students from our local feeder primary schools. Welcome to our new Italian Language Assistant Students from Blair Athol B-7, Enfield Primary, We welcome to our school John Ciarfuglia, who Hillcrest Primary, Klemzig Primary, Mawson Lakes has been assigned to our school as an Italian School and Northfield Primary School commenced Language Assistant by the Dante Alighieri Society this program last Wednesday. In Term 4 we will of SA. John will be working with our Year 8-10 offer an all girls Year 6/7 STEM program. Years 6/7 Italian Language classes every Monday during primary school female students across the state Term 3. He will be able to bring relevance to our will be able to apply. teaching programs and new insights into the students' knowledge of current life in Italy. First Place in the UniSA Innovation Challenge Congratulations to our UniSA Innovation Challenge team, Jacinta Jeffries, Kaitlin Newell, Hitarthi SA Excellence in Public Education Awards Pandya, Dhawni Patel, Hija Restor and Nathan Congratulations to Julia Calabrese, Christy Slater, Farmers, who have just won a trip to Washington Alison Pazios and Mel Lamb who were nominated DC. These senior students, with the support of a for an award. Nominees have the chance to win a number of their teachers, and in particular, Monika professional learning experience. We wish each Mangla and Stammy Overell, worked incredibly nominee good luck in the selection process . hard in their own time over 7 months to compete in six UniSA Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) challenges against six other secondary schools. Points were accrued for each challenge and the overall winner was announced 3 Newsletter 36, 2015 at the Mawson Centre last Wednesday. We are this term proved very popular with hundreds of very proud of this significant achievement of our families coming in to discuss their son or students and thank UniSA for their sponsorship of daughter`s progress. Increasingly we are having this amazing prize. Our students will travel in more parents coming in to our interview evenings October to Washington DC to visit the and we know this really helps students improve Smithsonian Museums, the world's largest their grades. Last week families of year 10 and 11 museum and research complex, with 19 museums students in the Girls and Co education campuses and 9 research centres. were also invited in to discuss course counselling for 2016 subjects. Special Education families are being invited in this week to do a similar process. Communication between teachers and parents is a powerful way to support young people and this week families in the Coeducation and Girls` campuses will also receive copies of our mid term Snapshot Grades which give families an indication of how their son or daughter is progressing in each subject. If the grades indicate a problem students and teachers have a few weeks to work together to improve the grade. Our teachers will spend the next week giving students specific feedback about how they can improve their grade. If you have any issues about your son or Kaitlin Newell, Jacinta Jeffries, daughter`s learning or wellbeing at school you can DhawniPatel, Hija Restor, Hitarthi Pandya, contact subject teachers or me on 81614600. If Nathan Farmers you would like an interpreter in any language to help communication with the school this can also be arranged. Parent Opinion Survey A parent opinion survey will be sent via email to all Parent Teacher interviews in Term 4 will be held families who have supplied an email address to on Wednesday 21 October. our school. This is a great opportunity to provide Karen Fitzpatrick feedback to the school. We will appreciate all of Deputy Principal your comments and use your recommendations to further improve our work with your children. This information will be used to report to our school community in our Annual Report. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Quiz Night During the school holidays in the first week of July, Our first Quiz night will be held on Friday 18 organisations and communities from around September 2015 at 6:30pm for a 7pm start and Australia celebrated NAIDOC week. NAIDOC finishing by 10pm. Tickets are $10 each and all week celebrates the history, culture and funds raised will go towards outdoor shade achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait structures and seating. If you are interested in Islander peoples. The week is a great opportunity purchasing tickets or making a donation, please for us to participate in a range of activities and to contact the school. support and celebrate our local Aboriginal and We look forward to seeing you on the night . Torres Strait Islander community. Each year there is a different theme and the theme from this year Sandy Richardson is ‘We all stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Principal Respect and Celebrate’. This year the theme highlights Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ strong spiritual and cultural connection to land and sea. It is an Curriculum Report opportunity to pay respects to country; honour Our parent / teacher interviews held in week two those who work tirelessly on preserving land, sea and culture and to share the stories of many sites 4 Newsletter 36, 2015 of significance or sacred places with the nation. used by teachers to inform individual curriculum As the oldest continuing culture on the planet, the planning. living culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Our most recent data from Semester One shows: Islander people is intrinsically linked with these sacred places. Sacred places can be a • 75% of our PECS student made significant geographical feature like a river or lake, a beach, progress through their personal program. ceremonial grounds, galleries of rock art or • 58% of students have already progressed engravings or places used for gathering for cultural through a complete level of the reading scheme. practices. • 91% of students have improved their sight word Our school is fortunate to have such a range of knowledge. staff and students from different cultural backgrounds. In the spirit of NAIDOC week we Whilst the results are promising we know there is would like to acknowledge and celebrate the still much work to be done as we seek to equip all diverse group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait students with a means to engage with their world Islander students we have at our school.