2024 Issue No.6

Ms. Rose
Office Administrator / First Aid Officer

How long have you worked at Emerald Secondary College?
l have been working at Emerald Secondary College for the last 11 months. In that time l have taken on the position of Administration and First Aid Officer.

What is your role at school?
In my role l have been looking after the sick bay, updating all the Asthma and Allergy Plans, creating new student plans, and making sure the medical side of things are up to date.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job would be working with an amazing group of people and looking after the children as they have been welcoming and l love taking care of them.

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
If l could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be Chocolate 😊

Mr. McRae
Year 9 Engagement Leader, History/Politics/English Teacher

Hi! I am Steve McRae.

I am one of the two year 9 Learning Engagement Leaders. I am into my second year at Emerald Secondary College, having completed a couple of years at South Oakleigh Secondary College previously.

I have come into teaching through a bunch of other experiences, both in my home in New Zealand and over here in Aus.

• Supervisor on a strawberry farm in the Sunshine Coast
• Sales merchandiser for Coca Cola in NZ
• Sales Merchandiser for Goodman Fielder
• Furniture removalist in Canberra
• Worked as a fitter and turner in Dandenong south for 5 years or so
• Worked as a cutter for a company that made these enormous vulcanised rubber mats for the mining industry

All walks of life, working with pretty much every version of people that exist and I think this is something that really helps me when it comes to building relationships in the school environment.

Building these relationships is critical to being a quality teacher, both in terms of delivering curriculum and in managing a successful classroom.

My major passion (other than my wife, kids and two dogs) is soccer (football). I am in my 33rd year of playing, and as I get older have started transitioning into senior coaching and am currently the senior coach at Monbulk Rangers. Sport has always been an important outlet for me, there is tough times that everyone goes through and I have not been immune to them – sport has always been something that helped me move through these times both with the hard physical work involved, and the social network that exists in strong team based sports.

I get a massive kick out of seeing students/players take on my feedback, clearly apply and see the look on their faces when it works – knowing I have helped growth in another person is pretty cool and something that is a big part of why I have embarked on this new career in education.

Now for a couple of the fun questions –

1. If I had to eat one meal for the rest of my life, what would it be? 100% bangers and mash
   
   
2. If I could be a superhero, what powers would I have? The ability to instantly calm down any tantruming child.

I love being a teacher – I am new to education and even newer to this school, but whilst parts of the job are difficult, the staff I work with every day make it a place that I look forward to going to on the daily.

Mrs. Haines
Reception / Administration

What is your role at the school?
I’m in Reception/Administration, which means I am usually the first stop for people contacting the College. I help with anything from emails to phone calls, administering band aids, creating newsletters, making PA announcements to selling chocolate. Being in reception keeps me very busy!

When you were little what did you aspire to be?
A meteorologist.

If I had to eat one meal for the rest of my life, what would it be?
This is shamefully simple- rice crackers with tomato, cheese and cracked pepper. 

If you were a superhero, what superpowers would you have?
Time turning. I would love the ability to re-do the last minute of any conversation at will.

What skill would you like to master?
I would like to be able to speak fluent Auslan. I learned baby sign when my children were babies but would love to be able to hold a conversation with someone in sign language.

Can you believe that we are one whole Unit down in (semester 1) of 2024?

Congratulations to all our students and staff for all your contributions throughout the semester. Thank you to all our families for their supports with study preparations, afterschool SAC pickups, a shoulder to lean on and of course the stabilisers of our students.

We often talk about healthy habits; a habit takes around 60 days for it to become routine and rigour. So academic success is not solely about hitting the books relentlessly. By prioritising sleep, nourishing your body, managing stress effectively, incorporating regular physical activity, and adopting healthy study habits. As you travel along your academic journey, remember that cultivating these healthy habits contributes not only to your academic achievements but also to your overall well-being. Striking this balance will empower you to thrive academically and lead a fulfilling student life.

Semester 2 VCE SAC calendar can be found on compass to support planning of students and their families.

Year 10

The year 10s adjusted well to senior school. They have been receiving a lot of information recently regarding their pathways for 2025 and beyond; What does their pathway look like VCE or VCE VM? On Tuesday the 16^{th of} July the cohort will have the opportunity to hear from domain leaders and attend the careers fair that will kickstart the conversations around their final years at ESC and planning for their future beyond VCE / VCE VM. Please encourage them to read over the information from Ms Kennedy.

In other news it was fantastic to see the number of students that managed to find work experience for this week. These students have been contacted over the phone or visited by staff members; we have received really positive feedback from the employees.

Thank you to Mr Tony Taylor and Mr Anthony Gale who continue to work closely with the year 10s as their Learning and Engagement Leaders.

Celebration Assembly Awards for term 2:

Barry Plant – Elizabeth Gault

Respect – Jack Lord

Harmony – Aidan Bailey

Resilience – April Gaze

Excellence – Brianna Wallace 

Year 11

I believe that the reality of VCE is starting to sink into our year 11 cohort who have navigated their way through this semester. We have worked on having positive mindsets and developing healthy habits when it comes to study and life balance all while maintaining academic emphasise. Unit 1 exams were held in week 7 to which we were very impressed how each of the students approached the week with motivation and positive work ethic.

The cohort has been led by Ms Grace Sleit who goes above and beyond for all the students in the cohort, she even performed (with the support of senior school members) a song in their celebration assembly. It was great to see so many lovely photos of the students who participated in the annual Rotary Debutant ball and now as I write this article, 36 students and 4 staff members are edging closer to the warmer weather in our beautiful backyard on the Central Australia camp. We look forward to hearing about their adventures.

Celebration Assembly Awards

Barry Plant- Taj Porter 

Respect- Darcy Warford 

Resilience – Alice Nielson 

Harmony – Michael Lorne 

Excellence – Bella Richardson 

Year 12

Wow! Year 12s are heading into their last ever term 3 at secondary school. With 12 weeks of classes to go in their secondary school life we continue to build our relationships, increase study rigour, and enjoy each day. This cohort has really shown their resilience over that past few years and we commend them on their connections.

Throughout our musters each week Yoni, Hamish and Maddi have been running our “Rosie” shout outs which has become a very popular time for the group. It is amazing to see the students acknowledging one another for all the big and little things.

Please take notes of the following dates:

• Friday 20^th October – last day of classes for year 12 VCE VM and unscored students
• Tuesday 22^nd October – Last day of classes for VCE students
• Wednesday 23^rd October – ALL year 12 students – Celebration breakfast and assembly.
• Tuesday 29^th October – VCAA exams begin with English.
• Thursday 21^st November – Year 12 2024 Valedictory. More details to come.

Celebration Assembly Awards

Barry Plant Good Choice award – Jessica Marshall

Respect – Christina Colic

Harmony – Jayden De Chalain May

Resilience – Erin Williams

Excellence – Lena Dellaert 

We look forward to seeing everyone in term 3. Wishing you all a happy and safe midyear break.

Emily Hay- Head of Senior School