Newsletter
ST GEORGE’S ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Edition Eight 5 June 2020
Contents From the Principal ......................................................................................................... 1 From the Head of Curriculum ................................................................................... 3 From the Head of Pastoral ......................................................................................... 5 From the Head of English ........................................................................................... 7 From the Humanities Department ........................................................................... 8 From the Head of Year 7 ............................................................................................. 9 From the Business Manager ........................................................................................ 12 School News ................................................................................................................. 13
St George’s Anglican Grammar School; an exciting, innovative co-educational secondary school based in a high-rise building in the Perth CBD. The School caters for local and international students in Years 7-12, and is a proud member of the Anglican Schools Commission network of schools in Western Australia. We are committed to child safety and protection, and expect all staff, volunteers, visitors to the School and contractors to respect and abide by all policies, procedures and practices developed and put in place by the Anglican Schools Commission (ASC) and/or the School in this regard.
From the Principal Mr Gary Racey
Whilst completing research this year on leading education in a global context, I am encouraged to know that our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan places St George’s in a strong position to adapt to the needs of the new generation of learner. This includes supporting our approach through flexible and engaging learning spaces to adjust content delivery in a way that encourages what are commonly thought of as 21st Century Skills.
With this in mind, St George’s AGS is forming a working party of influencers to identify new opportunities for our school to evolve and flourish. By capitalising on such a collective and collaborative group, we aim to add to the richness of our community and draw on the skills, experience and connections of our parent body. The Progressive Community Engagement Group (PCEG) will aim to:
Strengthen relationships within the school community. Develop connections with CBD business and the corporate world. Brainstorm possibilities for the School to One of the by-products of Covid-19 for many maximise its location and opportunities schools is a heightened level of operational within the CBD and beyond. focus, but it is important that our families Develop and implement a Parent Ambassador know that we have continued to be vigilant in Program. terms of ensuring our strategic focus has not Help St George’s to grow our reputation and waivered. think outside the square. Two strategic elements I will introduce in this newsletter is the ‘Progressive Community Engagement Group’ and ‘Round Square’. Please read on to find out more about these two exciting projects. Progressive Community Engagement Group A key element that came to the fore in conversations with the parent body during the development of the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, was the desire of many of our parents to be involved and engaged more actively with the School. The feedback from the community was that such a parent group should promote the capacity and skill-set available and strategically utilise this for the benefit of Please register your interest HERE before our school. Friday 19 June 2020. 1
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter
Round Square Some of you may recall that I raised the goal of membership to Round Square in August 2019, as we announced the introduction of Outdoor Education into our 2020 timetable of options as one element to support our future application. Round Square membership is now an integral part of the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. Round Square is an international network of schools in 50 countries that connect and collaborate to offer world class programs and experiences that develop global competence. Round Square schools collaborate, creating meaningful, real-world opportunities for students to develop global competence, character and understanding. The program is based on a set of IDEALS, which is an acronym for: - Internationalism - Democracy - Environmental Stewardship - Adventure - Leadership - Service I am sure our community is well aware of the value of being part of such a global community, as we seek to consider education from a more global perspective. Not only will it connect the School to the wider world, it will also tie all that we do together, moving away from silo’ type subjects and programs to become more collaborative and directed in their nature. This ensures we are all working in the same direction to achieve the same goals – a very powerful thing! It may take a number of years to attain membership to this organisation, but we will constantly be working in the background to achieve this. The benefits of this process is that it will force the School to consider the Round
Square ‘IDEALS’ ongoing, celebrating those aspects we do well and focusing on those we could do better in. This will mean we will constantly evolve and improve the service and experience we provide to our young people so they are ready to be global citizens. Enrolments As always, St George’s significantly relies on word of mouth to market our school. I again request family support in spreading the word to friends, families, neighbours and colleagues. The impact of COVID-19 has created a handful of positions in both Year 7 and Year 10 in 2020 and 2021, so please encourage others to take the opportunity to join our incredible school. Financial support A further reminder to families who may be experiencing financial difficulty as a direct result of COVID-19, including loss of employment/business or reduction of work hours, that the School is committed to support you. This support extends beyond Term 2, so please contact the Business office to get a COVID-19 bursary application form, if required. COVID-19 Update The School is continuing to be vigilant regarding implementing the strategies previously presented to create a safe environment for all who attend our school, both staff, students and visitors. With this in mind, I again remind families to please keep children home if they are unwell, have a cough, fever or display any of the symptoms of COVID-19. Please note that the School will be further extending our daily cleaning regime for the remainder of Term 2. Blessings
Gary Racey Principal
2 Edition 8 2020
From the Head of Curriculum Ms Victoria Kelleher
Homework Homework is intended to be a beneficial experience that encourages students to learn. Teachers assign homework to help their students review, apply, and integrate what has been learned in class; to extend them in their understanding and exploration of topics more fully than lesson time permits; and to help them prepare for their next lesson. Teachers assign homework to help their students: Acquire effective habits of study and time management. Develop initiative and learn to work independently. Gain a sense of personal responsibility for learning. Develop research and inquiry skills. Research studies on the benefit of homework show a strong correlation between the completion of homework and student achievement. Some studies suggest that, on average, students who spend more time on homework do better in school and that the academic benefits increase as students move through secondary school.
content required for assessments. To support our students, St George’s has introduced MyEd Online as a means of delivering differentiated, individualised, and personalised learning. MyEd Online is part of SEQTA. It has several powerful applications. It can transform teaching resources into engaging multi-media rich learning experiences. It provides our teachers with a tool to track the progress of their students and check what each student has completed. It provides a way of consolidating content covered during a lesson. More importantly however, it allows our teachers to tailor homework to individual learning needs and provide valuable feedback. With MyEd Online, our students are challenged at their level of ability and moves them from being dependent to independent learners. Year 11 2021 Information Evening Staff have been busy recording a subject selection presentation for our Year 10 students, to provide them with course information and subjects on offer in 2021. This presentation will accompany the Year 11 2021 Course Guide.
Homework is a powerful form of formative learning, as it supports our students as their learning is forming. Tasks completed through homework often compliment the skills and
On Friday 5 June and Wednesday 10 June, Year 10 students will be provided with a copy of the subject presentation and the course guide. The link to both, will also be sent home to our families. It is important
3
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter
that you take time to go through these with your child. A reminder that the Parent Information Evening for Year 11 2021 will be held on Wednesday 24 June at between 6:00 pm and 7.30 pm. Due to government restrictions on venue numbers, we ask that only one parent/ guardian per family attend this evening. Please RSVP to vkelleher@stgeorges.wa.edu.au
group of students and they have worked hard, they will succeed. As the examinations get closer, it is important to that look after themselves and others, get a good night’s sleep and take a deep breath.
Student Declaration and Permission Online Students in Year 12 will be asked to complete the Year 12 Student Declaration and Permission Online during PCG in Week 8 of this term. A letter regarding this process has been sent to our parents/ Predicted ATAR guardians on Wednesday 3 June to explain Last week, a communication was sent to the process and the requirements of each of our Year 12 students and families who were our Year 12 students. If you have not interested in receiving their predicted ATAR received this communication, please let me based on their Semester Two,Year 11 results. know as soon as possible. That offer remains and any student who requires a copy of their predicted ATAR All Students must (if under 18 years of age) should email vkelleher@stgeorges.wa.edu.au have discussed their responses with their to request one. This letter has already been parents/guardians before submitting them provided to some students on request and online. It is strongly advised that students they can utilise these predictions for early complete the online process at home, where offer university applications. they can clarify any details with their parents/guardians. By providing our families I hope that our students remember that the with the information this week, we are able predicted ATAR is only an estimate based on to complete the process at school and protheir performance in Year 11. As our vide our students with the opportunity to students continue to work hard and discuss their responses with their parents/ improve, they will have the opportunity to guardians before the responses are increase their marks and, therefore, may submitted online to the Authority. increase their estimate. Therefore, it is important that our students continue to work to the best of their ability and set challenging goals for the remainder of Year 12. Examinations Our Year 12 Examinations commence on Friday 5 June and Year 11 Examinations on Friday 12 June, and we wish you all the best of luck. Despite the uncertainty they faced at the end of last term, they are a resilient
Victoria Kelleher Curriculum Coordinator
From the Head of Pastoral Mr Hilton Hardman
Personal Responsibility One of the great lessons we always hope to impart to our students and that we hope they leave St George’s with, is the importance of personal responsibility. The impact our actions have on others is important, and we understand this better when we take responsibility for our actions.
you feel? And do you really want to be responsible for making someone else feel that way? The bottom line is that we can’t make ourselves feel better by making someone else feel bad, and that requires us to make a different choice. To choose not to retaliate. And what of “it was just a joke”? Similarly, the question would be, what value is there in making fun of someone to entertain ourselves. If our words or actions amuse or make ourselves better by making fun of someone, what does that say about us? One of the big questions I ask young people is what type of person do you want to be? Each individual needs to define that for themselves. Do you want to feel good about yourself because you work to make others feel good? Personal responsibility is so important in the development of our young people. They need to be making decisions about the type of person they want to be. They need to be supporting that desire through their words and their actions. They need to take responsibility for the consequences of those decisions and the associated words and actions.
In schools, it is not unusual to hear “they did it first” or “it was just a joke, I didn’t mean it” when we speak to a young person about their actions. But realistically, we all have to ask ourselves, does this make it okay? “They did it first” has no end. Retaliation for a misdeed ends up resulting in a never ending cycle. I often ask students in this situation a couple of critical things; how did 5 Edition 8 2020
Our primary focus is supporting those less fortunate than us and giving back to our community.
Supporting Anglicare’s Street Connect Initiative Last year the Student Mentors ran a hygiene collection to create Hygiene packs that were handed over to Street Connect. We were blown away by our school communities support with 934 items being donated. Street Connect is a program that aims to make connections with marginalised young people who gather regularly in public places and engage them in positive life changes. The service is provided by a team of Youth Workers who provide daily outreach via the Mobile Youth Resource Centre (the Street Connect Outreach Bus). This year our Mentors will be running the same initiative and will convert one of the ground floor notice boards into a leader board for PCG’s. This will allow them to track the number of items their group has donated. After two weeks, we will announce awinning PCG from each Year group as well as the overall winner. Our goal is to reach 1000 items this year with that equating to 3 items per student. I ask that all donations are brought straight to Head of Pastorals office at the start of the day to be dropped in the donation box. Please leave these in a bag with your Name and PCG on it. 6
Hilton Hardman Head of Pastoral
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter
From the Head of English Mrs Susan Lazenby
Knitting Club is back! A group of Year 10 students are using their lunch times to knit squares which will be sewn into blankets and knee rugs for those in need. The champions of the art have been teaching those who have never knitted before and the speed at which new knitters are learning is astonishing! If you would like to contribute, we have run out of 5mm knitting needles and 8 ply wool. You can also join in by knitting squares: cast on 40 stitches and knitting until your work is square. When we have enough squares we would appreciate volunteers to sew the squares together.
Susan Lazenby Head of English
7 Edition 8 2020
From the Humanities Department Ms Courtney Evans
This week Reconciliation Week has been recognised nationally. It began on 27 May with a recognition of National Sorry Day and ended on 3 June which is a day that recognises the landmark High Court decision of Mabo vs Queensland (1992). It is incredibly sad that we can not participate in the 20th Anniversary of the Walk for Reconciliation. Below is a photo from last year.
During PCG on Wednesday PCG teachers were asked to show In My Blood It Runs. It is 54 minutes long and we have a licence to run it through the entire school. To end the week, students wore black, red, yellow or purple to show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and acknowledgement of the need to continue to fight for Reconciliation. Pastoral Care Groups reflected on the film and discussed issues. With older years drawing parallels to the Black Lives Matter Protests currently occurring in the United States.
Courtney Evans Humanities Department
From the Head of Year 7 Mrs Gaile Racey
When WA Channel 9 received the distress call from Scotty Cam (Creator of The Block) saying he required the aid of a progressive, forward thinking school to take on the challenges of “The Block 2020”, St George’s was the only school that came to mind. Due to Interstate border travel restrictions, Scotty Cam couldn’t be here, therefore Project Manager Racey stepped in to assist.
Gaile Racey Head of Year 7
All students (having extensive knowledge now in measurement concepts) eagerly took up the challenge to create “draftsman” quality blueprints of their dream units to build at the new prestigious housing estate located at Elizabeth Quay. Blueprints were all drawn to scale and complied to strict building codes relating to height, perimeter, and area of their unit. Budgeting and costing were also thrown at the student contestants who all rose to the challenge calculating the costs for interior painting (surface area), air conditioning (volume), carpeting (area) and skirting boards (perimeter). All 56 units blueprints and budgeting plans have now been submitted to the Perth City Council and we are now awaiting building approval. Stay tuned for further developments of the new St Georges Estate when these amazing units go under the hammer at auction. 9 Edition 8 2020
From the Business Manager Ms Nicole Sangrigoli
Secondary Assistance Scheme The Secondary Assistance Scheme provided by the Department of Education is available to parents or independent secondary students who hold eligible concession cards. We are pleased to advise that the Secondary Assistance Scheme has been extended until the end of Term 2, 2020 with a new closure date of Friday, 3 July 2020. As such, the current concession card eligibility is also extended until 3 July 2020 Salvation Army Digital Doorknock (previously the concession card had to be eligi- This year because of COVID19 restrictions ble in Term 1). the Salvos didn’t have their annual house to house doorknock or collections in shops and It comprises: other places over the past weekend. a $115 Clothing Allowance paid to parents/ guardians The need however is very great and the funds are very low… and the Salvos are concerned a $235 Education Program Allowance which is that more people will be coming to them paid to the school some who have never needed support before – in the next few months.
Applications close: Friday, 3 July 2020 Application forms are available from the School or by emailing student.allowances@ education.wa.edu.au
We don’t normally like to send out emails asking for donations to causes etc as we think that usually everyone has their own charities and fundraisers to support. But (you heard the but coming didn’t you!)… The Salvos may be one organisation that you do put some money in their tin at the shops or give to when they knock on your door. So we are asking that if this is something that you usually do – could you do it on our fundraising page? - the link is below… https://digitaldoorknock.salvationarmy.org.au/ brucenamandahttps://digitaldoorknock.salvationarmy.org.au
12 Edition 8 2020
School News Student Term Dates - 2020 Term 1 30 January - 9 April New Student Orientation 29 January Students Mid Term Break, Friday 28 February Term 2 30 April - 3 July Students Mid Term Break, Friday 29 May Term 3 27 July - 25 September New Student Orientation 24 July Students Mid Term Break, Friday 21 August Term 4 13 October - 9 December Enrolments The School Enrolment Policy requires one full term’s notice in writing prior to the withdrawal of a student from the School. Where such notice is not received, the School will charge an amount equal to the tuition fees for that current term. To avoid fees in lieu being charged, notice of a student’s withdrawal must be received by the School before the first day of the School Term preceding the Term of the student’s departure. If this does not occur, families will be charged the remainder of the current Term, plus an additional Terms fee in lieu.
If the account has been paid in full and a refund is due, payment will be processed for the full refund due within seven days of exit. SEQTA The St George’s Anglican Grammar School SEQTA account is not a monitored platform. Please contact the staff member directly to ensure prompt action to your message. Battery Recycling Used batteries are being collected in the IT Manager’s office. Please take advantage of this free facility. What batteries can be collected? Dry cell batteries include AA, AAA (single use or rechargeable), C, D, button batteries, 9V, 6V and cordless power tools.
What batteries cannot be collected? Lead acid batteries, such as car batteries, and mobile phone batteries cannot be collected. Please contact your local council for details of how to dispose of these batteries.
More information can be found here: Upon withdrawal of a student from the School, https://www.mrc.wa.gov.au/School-community/ all fees and charges incurred for that student Battery-programs/School are payable to the School in full within seven days of exit. 13
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter