Welcome to a new year and especially to our new students and parents.

Thanks for attending the Parent Information Night this week. Parents who were unable to attend are encouraged to email their child’s Pastoral Care teacher or even pop in after school one day as it’s of great benefit to a child’s academic progress to work together and communicate as needed.

Launchpads and camps

This week Year 7s and 9s have had their Launchpad day which is an opportunity for students to get to know each other and their teachers, set the tone for the year and help students to be inspired and vision their own learning journey. Year 8s will head off on their camp next week and this has a similar objective to the Launchpad.

Certificates

Congratulations to those students who received an Academic and/or Diligence certificate at this week’s Middle School assembly. These were in recognition from last year’s Semester 2 reporting cycle. We had a 30% increase in students receiving these compared to previous semesters! It’s encouraging to see how well our students are progressing. 

Calendar notes

The College website has a calendar listing all important dates and events. This is THE place to find the correct and most accurate information. If you have a Google Calendar you can also copy any pertinent dates to your own calendar and additional information can often be found by clicking on the calendar event.

Technology

As we start a new year I am sure there are many routines being set in your homes to assist your child for success. One of the ‘unchartered waters’ may be your routines around IT use. Laptops are the property of the school and therefore, GCC staff have full jurisdiction over these. If needed, we can check students’ laptops at any time. At home, parents take on this responsibility. I would encourage you to ensure your child is working in a common space or at least with their bedroom door open; you may also wish to set a time that they are allowed to use them and then they are put away. Again, as parents, set the rules and it would be good practice for many valuable reasons to ensure your child places their school laptop in a different room to their bedroom once they head off to sleep.

Jacqualina Vreeling, Head of Middle School