End of Term 2
We find ourselves at the end of another semester. The school holidays are upon us so on behalf of the staff at Rosehill I wish all our families a safe, relaxing, and happy term break. I strongly recommend that our VCE students take the time during the break to summarise notes to help consolidate understanding. Many will be in attendance during Week 1 to complete Unit 3 trial exams on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th June.
Farewell
I would like to acknowledge Ms Hayes who is finishing up this term and will be pursuing other opportunities. She has been at Rosehill for over 12 years and has been a key member of our food technology and performing arts teams.
I also take this opportunity to wish Mr Pavlidis all the best in his future endeavours. He has decided to hang up his boots after almost 38 years in the teaching profession. George has been a permanent fixture at Rosehill and has established himself as a teacher who is always there to help and assist - nothing is too much trouble. Mr Pavlidis will be missed by the English and Humanities faculties and his logical and calm demeanour will be hard to replace. His work with our neurodiverse learners and the Learning Support Team has been invaluable for a very long time and no doubt his absence will be felt and he will be difficult to replace. I am also certain that the library staff will miss his constant presence and daily support. Thank you for your contribution, Mr Pavlidis, and from the Rosehill school community, best wishes with your new endeavours!
Semester 1 Reports
Semester reports will be available shortly, please keep an eye out for a COMPASS notification. As always, I encourage parents/guardians to spend at least 15-20 minutes with their child reviewing and reflecting on the semester report. It is important to celebrate successes and to look for areas of improvement. The work habits section of reports is of particular importance. The correlation between very good behaviour, effort, organisation, and academic performance is no coincidence.
Semester 2
I remind families to check the new timetable on COMPASS for changes over the holiday period. Students in Year 7-10 will commence new electives when Term 3 starts on Monday, 10th July.
Year 10 Work Experience
It has been pleasing to see our Year 10 students attend work experience during the final two weeks of term. This is a valuable opportunity to experience the workforce and for many of our students this may well be their first experience in a work environment. It never surprises me to see many children successfully secure part time/casual work from such an opportunity. Well done to the Careers team, to the families and to the students for securing some terrific work experience placements.
GAT
Last week our Year 12 students and Year 11 students completing a Unit 3 and 4 subject participated in the GAT. This is an important assessment and is used to ensure minimum standards of literacy and numeracy are attained. In addition, students seeking to secure an ATAR completed additional testing, which is used to moderate results and derive a score, if needed. By all reports, all students displayed an excellent commitment and attitude throughout the testing. Well done to all involved.
Scaffolded Numeracy Program
After a small trial during the second part of 2022, the College embarked on a research-based numeracy program. This semester, half the students in Year 7 numeracy have been working on a Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years program (SNMY), which was developed by RMIT University in conjunction with the Victorian Department of Education.
An initial assessment identified any potential gaps in student learning. Students then worked collaboratively through a series of numeracy tasks that were designed to address their specific learning needs. We have been able to assess the learning growth of these students and are pleased to report that preliminary data indicates their learning growth has been significant. We are very excited by this data and look forward to delivering this program to the remaining Year 7 cohort in Semester 2. Additionally, the college has committed to continue with this program into 2024 for our Year 7 and 8 students.
Facilities Update
The steel scaffolding for the new auditorium is almost complete and the building has now revealed its presence – a most imposing and impressive structure. At this stage the project is on track for completion in early 2024, and at that time we will begin work on the refurbishment of A Wing.
I can also report that Q Constructions have been awarded the work for the upgrade to the Gym foyer and toilets. This is due to commence early next term. We had our start up meeting this week and it is anticipated these works will be finalised by the end of Term 3.
Thank You to Staff
I wish to acknowledge and thank all our staff who have worked tirelessly during the first semester to ensure Rosehill students are given every opportunity to succeed and develop into well rounded young adults. The day-to-day work of teaching can be emotionally very tiring. It is a job that requires teachers to be ‘on’ all the time, even when they are not feeling well, or are having their own personal issues, such as sick children, helping or looking after elderly parents or having to say no to their own children and teenagers for being naughty or petulant. Despite all these life moments, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing our students try their best, achieve great results, and display our values of Respect, Initiative and Learning. When you can, I ask that you take a moment or the opportunity to say thank you to our staff.
A Final Word………
Finally, a quick reminder about the benefits of reading.
One minute of reading per day – 8000 words per year.
Five minutes per day – 280,000 words per year.
Twenty minutes per day – 1,800,000 words per year.
The reading program that has been established in the college provides at least 20 minutes of reading multiple times per week for students in Years 7 - 9. This should also be encouraged and complemented at home, where possible. As adults, by modelling this behaviour, we encourage our children to read. Fortunately, the school librarians have provided me with several recommendations of late. I recently finished reading a quirky easy read called, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman, and have just commenced reading Exiles, by Jane Harper. With the term break upon us, I look forward to some quiet time in front of the fireplace with my book.
Arthur Soumalias
PRINCIPAL
