From the Principal

As we begin 2022, on behalf of all the staff at Rosehill Secondary College we wish our students and families a very warm welcome. We hope you have a successful and engaging 2022 full of new opportunities and learnings. To our new students and families, we welcome you to our community and look forward to building a strong relationship during your time with us.

We welcome a number of new and returning staff for 2022. Suzanne Riquelme (Junior School Leader), Ewan Campbell (Timetable and Operations), David Rose (English/Humanities), Larry De Cata (Systems Technology), Geoff Dean (Mathematics/Science), Ling Billett (Technology Materials), Bethany Allen (Food Technology/Science), Hannah Prior (Visual Communication and Design/Art), John Tetradis (Mathematics/Science), Chenyao Yuan (Mathematics/Science), Jessica Deprost (English), Ash Stewart (Literacy Tutor) and Joseph Catalano (Numeracy Tutor). We also welcome back to Chelsea Giannino and Danielle Beechey from parental leave.

After many years of service, we pass on our best wishes to long term staff who have moved on at the end of 2022. We thank you for your contribution to our College and public education, and wish you all the best for 2022 and beyond - Simon Benedetti, Robert Houghton, Beverley McLean, Anna Vida, Grant Martens and Dora Famulari. Richard Bader’georgievski (has accepted a new position for one year). In addition, Clare Hayes, Vikki Liakakos and Peter Furneaux who are on long term leave.

Our School Vision

At Rosehill Secondary College the learner and learning outcomes are central.

Our students are inspired to achieve success through stimulating and positive learning environments, and innovative and diverse teaching strategies. This is complemented by respect, co-operation and commitment by all members of the college community. New skills, new knowledge and new understandings will give our learners the confidence to face the future.

Our Vision is underpinned by the college values.

Respect, Initiative and Learning (RIL)

Key Personnel for 2022

Principal – Arthur Soumalias

Assistant Principal Senior School – Kerry McKay

Assistant Principal Middle School – Christopher Cogan

Assistant Principal Junior School – Frances Snow

Senior School Leader – Daniel Wallace

Middle School Leader – Matthew Hosking

Junior School Leader – Suzanne Riquelme

Excellence in Teaching and Learning – Melissa Chapman

Student Agency and Leadership – William Stubbings

Timetabler and Operations – Ewan Campbell

English Leader – Sirocha Bruckard

Mathematics Leader – Andy Patch

Specialist Instructional Leader and Data – Bradley Ross

Specialist Literacy – Katarina Ivas

Specialist Enhancement – Stephanie Wasif

Specialist Learning Support – Sophie Bevinetto

Heads of Faculty

Head of Languages – Taka Hayakawa

Head of Visual Arts – Elisa Errichiello

Head of Health and Physical Education – Gab Sarpa

Head of Performing Arts – Annette Ellis

Head of Technology Materials – Leesa Wilson

Head of Technology Non-Materials – Annette Therik

Head of Humanities – Danielle Murray

Year 9 Interdisciplinary – Maria Viglione/Joe Bertoli

Year 10 Interdisciplinary – Danielle Murray

Numeracy Coordinator – Natalie Fitzgerald

EAL Coordinator – Jane Geerling

There has been a structural change to the college sub school system. The school now operates with three sub schools. This has been introduced to further enhance our student management and wellbeing programs and aligns with the Priorities Goal set by the Department of Education.

Our sub school structure is now: Junior (Years 7/8), Middle (Years 9/10) and Senior (Years 11/12).

Student Management Team

Senior School Leader – Daniel Wallace

Year 12 Coordinator – Fiona Morabito

Year 12 Assistant Coordinator – Valerie Zivcic

Year 11 Coordinator – Daniel Wallace

Year 11 Assistant Coordinator – Laura Jago

Middle School Leader – Matthew Hosking

Year 10 Coordinator – Matthew Hosking

Year 10 Assistant Coordinator – Bethany Allen

Year 9 Coordinator – Bethany Cook

Year 9 Assistant Coordinator – Sonia Mortensen

Junior School Leader – Suzanne Riquelme

Year 8 Coordinator – Suzanne Riquelme

Year 8 Assistant Coordinator – Madalynne Herbert

Year 7 Coordinator – Ben Derks

Year 7 Assistant Coordinator – Teagan Boadle

Despite the challenges that COVID brings, the year has commenced on time and for the majority of students, they have been able to establish the necessary routines needed for a successful year. To staff and students that have had a disrupted beginning, we hope to see the disruption dissipate throughout this term.

Our 3 key goals for the year are:

Goal 1 Priorities Goal: Some of our students have thrived in the remote learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some need extra learning and wellbeing support despite the best efforts of their teachers and families. In 2022 we will continue to focus on student learning - with an increased focus on numeracy and student wellbeing through the 2022 Priorities Goal. We will teach and support each student at their point of need and in line with FISO (Framework for Improving Student Outcomes).

Goal 2: To improve the learning growth of every student in literacy and numeracy.

Goal 3: To improve student engagement, motivation and connectedness.

The college continues to provide significant learning support to assist the learning of all our children. Five literacy tutors, two numeracy tutors (a further numeracy tutor next term), in addition to the five teachers working with our Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support team (MYLNS) will ensure students across all levels will receive additional support thought this year.

In addition to the support opportunities, we once again provide enrichment programs for many of our students. In mathematics additional enrichment is offered through the RAMP program. The English enhancement program is REAP, and both programs complement the long-standing STEP program at Years 7-9. The Victorian High Ability Program (VHAP) is also continuing. Please contact Stephanie Wasif for more information regarding any of our enhancement programs.

The Year 11 and 12 supervised study periods are compulsory for students that must remain onsite. Supervised study sessions should be used to complete classwork, homework, summarise notes or to seek assistance from available staff. No food or drink is permitted in these areas during this time. I also remind parents, that students may come to school late if they do not have a scheduled morning class, and may leave early if they do not have class after lunch (students must sign out if they leave for the day).

School Council Elections: Call for Nominations

Parents/guardians - we have three parent vacancies available for a two-year term. If your child is enrolled at the College then you are eligible to stand for election as a parent member of Council (so long as the parent is not employed by DET at the College).

Further information is available in this edition of the newsletter.

Collecting students early/dropping off items

I take this opportunity to remind parents/guardians that if you have an appointment for your child during school hours that you log it on compass/or provide a note in your child’s diary so that the classroom teacher can dismiss them on time.

Announcements calling for students over the PA cannot be made during class time as it is extremely disruptive to students learning. Classrooms do not have phones, which means staff need to leave their posts and physically attend the classroom to retrieve students or drop off items. This is time consuming for our already busy Administration staff and disruptive for teachers and students. Please plan ahead to avoid waiting for your child unnecessarily.


To the senior class of 2021, who endured significant lockdowns for the final two years of their schooling – congratulations! They did a tremendous job in keeping positive, showing resilience and supporting one another during these difficult times. I have no doubt that this experience will hold them in good stead throughout the challenges of life. It was very pleasing to see continued improvement in our VCE results despite the second year of lockdown.

12% of our students achieved an ATAR above 90, 28% above 80 and 43% obtained an ATAR greater than 70. A breakdown of offers to the tertiary institutions is below.

  • RMIT University– 38%
  • La Trobe University – 17%
  • Victoria University – 15%
  • Monash University – 10%
  • Melbourne University – 9%
  • Australian Catholic University – 4%
  • Deakin University – 3%
  • Victorian Institute of Technology – 2%
  • JMC Academy – 1%
  • Australian College of the Arts – 1%


Arthur Soumalias

PRINCIPAL

School Council Elections

All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a School Council may directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Parents on School Councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills and a range of experiences and knowledge that can help inform and shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a School Council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

For more information, please refer to the attachments below:

School Council Elections Information to Parents 2022 002

School Council Elections Call for Nominations 2022

School Council Elections Parent Nomination Form 2022

Privacy Collection Notice

Privacy Collection Notice

Information for students, parents and carers

The Department of Education and Training (the Department) values your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal and health information that schools collect.

All school staff must comply with Victorian privacy law and the Schools’ Privacy Policy. This notice explains how the Department, including Victorian government schools (schools), handles personal and health information. On occasion, specific consent will be sought for the collection and use of information, for example, for a student to receive a health service. Our schools are also required by legislation, such as the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, to collect some of this information.

Throughout this notice, ‘staff’ includes principals, teachers, student support service officers, youth workers, social workers, nurses and any other allied health practitioners, and all other employees, contractors, volunteers and service providers of the school and the Department.

On enrolment, and during the ordinary course of a student’s attendance at a school, schools will collect information about students and their families for the following purposes:

  • educating students
  • supporting students’ social and emotional wellbeing, and health
  • fulfilling legal obligations, including duty of care, anti-discrimination law and occupational health and safety law
  • communicating and engaging with parents
  • student administration
  • school management

supporting policy in relation to student education and wellbeing.

If this information is not collected, schools may be unable to provide optimal education or support to students or fulfil legal obligations.

For example, our schools rely on parents to provide health information about any medical condition or disability that their child has, medication their child may take while at school, any known allergies and contact details of their child’s doctor. If parents do not provide all relevant health information, this may put their child’s health at risk.

Our schools also require current, relevant information about all parents and carers so that schools can take account of safety concerns that affect their children. Parents should provide schools with copies of all current parenting plans and court orders about or that affect their children and provide updated copies when they change.

When parents enrol their child in primary school, they will be asked to provide personal and health information in several ways, including via the Enrolment Form, the School Entrance Health Questionnaire (SEHQ) and the Early Childhood Intervention Service (ECIS) Transition Form.

The Enrolment Form is used to collect information that is essential for the purposes listed above, and requests information such as:

  • Emergency contacts – Individuals parents nominate for a school to contact during an emergency. Parents should ensure that their nominated emergency contact agrees to their contact details being provided to the school and that they understand their details may be disclosed by the Department if lawful, e.g. in the case of emergency communications relating to bush fires or floods.
  • Student background information – Information about country of birth, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, language spoken at home and parent occupation. This information enables the Department to allocate appropriate resources to schools. The Department also uses this information to plan for future educational needs in Victoria and shares some information with the Commonwealth government to monitor, plan and allocate resources.
  • Immunisation statusThis assists schools to manage health risks and legal obligations. The Department may also provide this information to the Department of Health and Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to assess immunisation rates in Victoria, but not in a way which identifies students.
  • Visa status – This is required to process a student’s enrolment.

All schools may use departmental systems and online tools such as apps and other software to effectively collect and manage information about students and families for the purposes listed above.

When schools use these online tools, they take steps to ensure that student information is secure. If parents or carers have any concerns about the use of these online tools, please contact the school.

School staff will only share student and family information with other school staff who need to know to enable them to educate or support the student as described above. Information will only be shared outside the school (and outside the Department) as required or authorised by law, including where sharing is required to meet duty of care, anti-discrimination, occupational health and safety, and child wellbeing and safety obligations. The information collected will not be disclosed beyond the school and Department without parent consent unless such disclosure is lawful.

When a student transfers to another school (including Catholic, independent and interstate), personal and/or health information about that student may be transferred to the next school. Transferring this information is in the best interests of the student and assists the next school to provide the best possible education and support to the student. For further detail about how and what level of information is provided to the next school, refer to the: Enrolment: Student transfers between schools

Schools only provide school reports and ordinary school communications to students, parents, carers or others who have a legal right to that information. Requests for access to other student information or by others must be made by lodging a Freedom of Information (FOI) application.

To update student or family information, parents should contact their school.

For more information about how schools and the Department collect and manage personal and health information, or how to access personal and health information held by a school about you or your child, refer to the: Schools’ Privacy Policy


Last updated 24 Nov. 21

College Calendar

Monday 14th February 2022Year 10 Elevate Session
(time management)
Tuesday 22nd February 2022VCE Parent Information Evening

(virtual)

Monday 28th February 2022School Council Meeting
Friday 4th March 2022Swimming Carnival

Library

Roadworks Disruptions

We have been advised of the following roadworks during Term 1, which may cause disruptions to traffic flow.


Water main renewal works on Ida Street and Albert Street, Niddrie

Works will begin soon and may continue throughout Term 1. At this stage we are advised by Greater Western Water that some impact may be felt on school pick-up and drop-off processes, but safe sufficient access will remain along the streets. We will continue to keep families updated. Parents who collect their children by car along Ida or Albert Street may wish to arrange a different pick-up place to avoid disruptions. Greater Western Water has set up a community hotline for further information: 13 44 99.

Closure of Mickleham Road and Craigieburn Road intersection.

Roadworks will be in place from 13th February through to 11th April. Bus travel times (note that morning departure times will be earlier than usual) and routes are affected during this time. Students travelling from this direction have been provided with information about these changes and parents have also been emailed. Please ask your child and/or check your email for all details.


    Frances Snow

    Assistant Principal

    Tuition at Rosehill Secondary College 2022

    Students, parents and teachers are all welcome to participate in a very important enhancement program of our college throughout 2022.

    On Tuesdays: Whole school tuition program in the library or alternatively, sub-library from 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

    Students will be able to receive the assistance they require in the completion of their work each Tuesday afternoon consistently across the year.

    Tuition will be commencing in Week 3 of Term 1 on Tuesday 8th February at 3.30 pm.

    This enhancement and enrichment program has proven to be very successful in assisting students of all year levels in completing their homework and classwork. The improvement of literacy and numeracy skills has been an important priority for students attending, as well as the development of their study techniques in preparation for class assessments and exams.

    Teachers from key learning areas and senior students who have volunteered their time and assistance, will be available to cater to students’ needs on a weekly basis. This program is easily accessible to students, has no cost incurred and is effective in improving study skills, results and the confidence in students to work independently.

    For further information regarding these enhancement programs please contact Ms De Goederen on 9337 2488 or email: nina.degoederen@education.vic.gov.au

    Year 12 Camp

    From 2nd February to 4th February, the Year 12 cohort attended a Study Camp.
    Wednesday morning we made a 2-hour drive to Phillip Island Adventure Resort in which we would be staying for the duration of the camp.


    On the first day, we participated in fun activities that ranged from canoeing, raft building to the giant swing and the flying fox. Despite the cold weather, we were able to spend more time with our friends and create even more memories together. At the end of the day we were able to visit the Penguin Exhibit as we learnt more about the initiative to protect them and other wildlife.

    On the second day, we dived into the ‘study’ part of the camp. We were visited by ‘Elevate Education’ and Darren from ‘Success Integrated’ who provided us with tips, research and personal experiences to improve our mindset and our exam preparations. After the seminars students were split into groups who wanted to surf, attend the maze, and participate in surprisingly fun yoga and Zumba sessions.

    On our last day it is quite reasonable to say that our teachers had drained us despite only two days of camp. We attended a final seminar regarding the importance of mental health as we acknowledged our last year of school. Finally, we were rewarded with a dope BBQ to finish off our fun, but a semi-tiring couple of days.

    We would like to thank the staff members who joined us and basically looked after our chaotic cohort and put up with us, especially Ms Morabito and Ms Zivcic for putting in the time and effort to organise the camp. Special shout-out to Mr Wallace for dealing with our annoying questions.



    Anoosha Thambi and Danielle Choo-Koon

    Year 12 Students



    Community Page

    College Newsletter, Issue One - 11 Feb 2022