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Celebration Assembly – this year we had our celebration assembly on 16 February to recognise the achievements of the class of 2015. Many thanks to Vanessa Wickens, Miriam Birkmann ‐Little and Sally Govett for organising this event.
Thanks also
to
Mark
Vennard,
Gary
Poulton
and
Ron
Pratt
for
organising
the
photo
of
the
Merit
students from 2015. Their achievements will be proudly on display in A Block foyer.
College Numbers – this year again sees our student numbers well over 720. I do not believe we can comfortably increase this in the future. We have several demountable classrooms on site and in operation, and the trade school is now fully operational.
In 2016, the college has welcomed the following staff members: Trudie Say – Support Teacher, Alan Treton – Support Teacher and Anthony Depaulo – TAS Teacher.
For Term 1, 2016 Deb Dunn is relieving as Head Teacher VET, whilst Danny Oxford is on long service leave.
The following staff will be delivering lessons to our students. They currently have the majority of their lessons at our junior campuses. They are Shelley Asgar – Modern History, Bill Sexton – Japanese, Kim Clemson – Visual Arts, Melhem Daghel – Maths, Bronwyn Tweeddale – English and Amanda Tong ‐Music. A warm welcome to these staff members as well.
Focus Areas for 2016 – During this year we will again focus on student engagement and motivation, connecting with learning and high expectations. Our philosophy at Wyndham is that all subjects are equally important and deserve our full attention in both teaching and resourcing. I believe our students have a fantastic opportunity for success through what we provide. This year I (along with the senior executive) am intending to interview all Year 12 students, to monitor their progress. These interviews will begin soon. Ultimately, success depends on hard work so, in closing, might I say to all parents and caregivers, that hard work from the beginning of the year is the key. All students should be establishing a good routine. For Year 12, they are already nearly a third of the way through their courses with exams in a couple of weeks. For Year 11, although it is obvious that their courses have just commenced, please encourage them not to “get behind”.
2016 ‐ the second year of our new management plan – our strategic directions are:
1. Consistent high standard of educational practice 2. Staff and students leading, learning and connecting 3. Holistic development of students as resilient, independent citizens
I hope the community works with us to ensure these priorities continue to be met.
Let me begin by saying welcome to all Year 11 students and to their families and friends who will support them on their new journey here at Wyndham College. As the Deputy Principal responsible for Year 11, I look forward to taking this journey
with you
and
experiencing
all
the
highs
and
lows
along
the
way.
Believe
me,
it
will
be
exciting and it will be a little daunting at times as well, especially exam times, but nothing is so unsurmountable or so great that we can’t get through it together. Let’s face the future with the belief that you can do whatever you set our minds to and your journey will be one very exhilarating, thrilling, and rewarding ride!
Uniform It has been a very smooth start to the year and most students appear to have made themselves very much at home since they arrived just over 2 weeks ago. The uniform looks fantastic on everyone and while a few are still acquiring individual pieces of the uniform (black leather shoes in particular!), generally we present as a fine collective of school students. Well done.
Study Habits The school yard is buzzing again with lots of noise and socialising since Year 11 arrived. Unlike some other schools, territorial areas do not exist here at Wyndham. Year 12 does not have any separate
areas to Year 11 in the school grounds and as a community there is harmony and acceptance. Year 11 students are still familiarising themselves with the structures and routines of the College. While some students are enrolled in TAFE courses that take place elsewhere and at other times, there’s no such thing as a ‘free’ period here at Wyndham! All students who are not in a timetabled lesson are expected to use that time to the best of their advantage. Assessment tasks are beginning to be issued and it is vital that students complete all tasks on time
and to the best of their ability. The library is a wonderfully bright and stimulating environment and the librarian is eager to see students utilise the facilities offered there. I encourage students to explore the library and see what it offers.
I look forward to a rewarding time with this new cohort.
SRE Seminar Our next SRE Seminar is on Monday 29 th February 2016. We have a guest speaker from ‘Word of Life Australia’ who will present a seminar entitled ‘Who Cares’.
This seminar addresses a question that many young people ask themselves on a daily basis: “Who cares?” Here we aim to draw attention to the Biblical message that there is a God who loves us and genuinely cares for each of us. It will be interactive, with multimedia and personal testimonies, including one from Jon Mannah on video (former prop for Parramatta Eels and Cronulla Sharks).
The seminar is for all Year 11 and Year 12 students. Students who do not wish to attend will need to bring a note from a parent/guardian, outlining reasons for non ‐attendance, so that other arrangements can be made for these students.
“No Career/Course Shortlist?” or “Parental HSC Survival 101”
In most chats I have with students, I ask them the question: “Where do you see yourself in two years’ time?” Occasionally I am impressed to hear some well‐thought ‐out responses. Usually though, the response is silence, “I don’t know yet” or a non ‐committal grunt.
In my experience, students without goals do not do as well because they have nothing to aim for. And then when the light bulb does go on, they often find that their results are not sufficient.
Advice #1: Work out a shortlist of jobs or courses even if it changes over time. i.e. Make Goals.
Parents: Like all of us on the senior executive at Wyndham, I know from personal experience the challenges and stress involved in getting my children, sometimes kicking and screaming, to get the best possible HSC results. We feel your pain! We have travelled that path.
For Year 12 students, keep cajoling and encouraging them and don’t leave it any longer! It is much more painful if left closer to the first HSC exam in October. We want them to succeed as much as you do.
For Year 11 students, they have 604 days to go until THEIR H.S.C. but that time passes so quickly. Year 12 have just 239 days.
When my own son was at Wyndham a few years ago, I discovered that when he finally and quite
belatedly came up with a shortlist of jobs he was passionate about, THAT was when the battle to get him to study became less stressful.
Many students without such a shortlist take life easy at school. Some fail and never receive an HSC. Many receive results that do not match their ability. How many times have you seen the report or heard the parent ‐teacher night comment “He/she can do better.” Even students who work hard could work even harder if they had a shortlist of goals. Some students can tell me what course they want to do but have no idea what job opportunities that course provides. So their goal still lacks focus.
How do we get them to come up with a shortlist of careers and/or courses?
Have ongoing chats about careers; encourage friends, neighbours, family and acquaintances to talk about their jobs.
Encourage your child to investigate work experience. There is no such thing as a bad work experience because they will come out of it either joyfully adding that career to their shortlist or deleting it if it didn’t meet their expectations.
Have them talk to the Careers Adviser.
Everywhere they go, they are surrounded by careers. Encourage them to open their eyes and actively
Get them to Google jobs or courses to find out more. How much does it pay? What is involved in a typical day on the job? What training is involved? What subjects do I need?
Talk about what they are good at. I tell students not to choose jobs based on pay. Choose based on your passion. Identify your passion, your skills, what you are good at and then find a job that pays you
to do it.
As parents, like me, you want your children to succeed. Like me, you may feel that you care more about the future than they do. I strongly believe that if you can assist them in constructing their personal shortlist for the future, your stress levels will recede and their future will look much more positive.
Good luck! (And may the Force be with you)
Robert Bredin
–Deputy
Principal
Year 11 students who are keen & meet Application Criteria will be invited to apply for the Western Sydney University (WSU) Access Program. This amazing opportunity enables 14 Year 11 students to
study 1 University subject through WSU. Should they gain a distinction or high distinction in that course, they will receive early entry to UWS & a $20,000 scholarship plus $500 study grant. Information will be given out in Term 1 on assembly & in Connect.
Natasha Scott ‐Coordinator
TRANSPORT NEWS
According to NSW Transport Year 11 Opal Cards have now been issued to home addresses. If there are any problems with school Opal cards, you will need to contact NSW Transport on 131 500 or visit www.transportnsw.info/school ‐students
If any Year 12 student had a travel pass last year, there will be an Opal card at the front office for collection. If this is not collected by Friday 4 March, they will be returned to NSW Transport.
ADVANCE NOTICE – WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY (WSU)ACCESS PROGRAM
On behalf of the SAS staff I would like to convey a warm welcome to our new Year 11 students and their families and also our returning Year 12 students and families.
For all those new to the college I would like to stress that the office staff are more than happy to attend to any enquiries from students and parents / caregivers. We would like to encourage students who are making enquiries or payments etc to do so, as much as possible, before school, at recess and lunch times.
Invoices will be sent home in the near future for your information to enable you to pay for subject contributions, resources digital / text and general school contributions. Don’t forget our incentive payment scheme. If you pay both the general contribution and the resources digital / text contribution before the end of Term 1 we will give you a discount of $35.00, therefore making the payment for both contributions only $100.00.
With regard to subject contributions, we are happy to accept payment by instalments. We understand the financial pressures that some families face and hope by providing this facility it will be of some relief.
I hope this information is of assistance to you and please do not hesitate to contact the office for any enquiries you may have.
Wendy Birrell – School Administration Manager
OFFICE PROCEDURES
Student Early Leavers
If you require your child to leave school before the end of the day, please send them with a signed note stating their name, date, time and reason you would like them to leave. This should be brought to the front office upon arrival at school, then an early leaver’s pass will be issued, allowing the student to leave the classroom at the correct time.
If this procedure is not followed, the student may not be allowed to leave the classroom.
Absences If your child is absent from school or you know they will be absent on a certain day please contact the front office by phoning 9208 7100 .