In this edition of the newsletter I was going to skite about our wonderful achievements. I was going to bring to

the community’s attention that our rural youth ambassadors Jessie Meagher and Kylie Olsen met with the

Minister for Education last week, there is a working party using the suggestions put forward by our students

as their terms of reference. Yesterday though it was brought to my attention that the Herald Sun had run an

article titled “Victoria’s worst struggle towns revealed”. The article was based on a report titled “Dropping off

the Edge” commissioned by the Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia. The report lists

St Arnaud as one of the most disadvantaged communities in Victoria. I am going to refrain from commenting

on the report because I have not had the opportunity to examine it closely nor look through the data on which

the findings were made, any comments should be informed and based on fact.

We are being used as a case study in the current government’s consultation paper, showcasing to the rest of

the state how we can work differently in partnership with communities. Our Broader Horizons program has

kicked off for 2015. The evaluation from the 2014 program has been very positive and other school communi-

ties are considering adopting a similar model. Our Mates Mentoring Program has begun, 16 students paired

up and the feedback has been fantastic. We have had over 30 students attend our “Hour of Power” after school

study program. The Learning Alliance between the 3 schools is forging ahead. We have been working closely

with Danny Stone and his team of professionals from East Wimmera Health to ensure that we are providing

our students and community with the best possible attention to their needs. We have a wonderful school coun-

cil that is proactive in promoting the school to the community, but more importantly coming up with innova-

tive ways to meet the needs of our students. We have a fantastic parent club that is constantly trying to im-

prove the learning environment of our students.

I do not believe we are disadvantaged. We have a wonderful school and community that is rich in many ways.

It is great to see a community united around its young people, united in wanting to ensure that our young peo-

ple have every opportunity to develop to their full potential.

Branko Lukic

Principal

Principal’s Report

St Arnaud Secondary College

Weekly Newsletter

July 24th, 2015 Issue 21

Address: Smith St, St Arnaud Victoria 3478 Postal Address: PO Box 40, St Arnaud. Vic 3478

Phone: (03)54951811 Fax: (03) 54952308

Website: www.starnaudsc.vic.edu.au Email: st.arnaud.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au

Principal Mr. Branko Lukic Assistant Principal Mrs. Vanessa McCormick

Parents’ Club

Meeting Dates 2015 at the Botanical Hotel at 7:00pm, all welcome. September- 7th

November- 9th December - TBA

Darleen Baldock

Secretary Secondary College Parents’ Club and Friend of the College

0408518889

dlb1957@bigpond.net.au

Page 2 St Arnaud Secondary College

**** Year 7 News **** Welcome to week 2. All parents/guardians should have received student reports by this

stage. These end of semester reports are quite detailed and demonstrate the level of

attainment students have reached in comparison to this time last year. I hope that both

you and your child carefully read and discuss these reports together in order for new

learning goals to be set and to ensure there is a clear understanding of areas for

improvement in Semester 2.

Our Parent Teacher Interviews are being held on Monday the 24th of August. If you have

any concerns regarding your child’s progress please do not hesitate to contact me to

organise a meeting with myself or your child’s teacher/s prior to this round of interviews.

PE – our PE day has changed from a Tuesday afternoon to a Wednesday afternoon. Students

will therefore require a change of clothes on Wednesday afternoons. We will be undertaking

most of the activities (table tennis, indoor cricket etc) at the stadium and it would be good

if students ensured their shoes are clean for the stadium floor.

Our Breakfast Program is up and running again this term with Mrs Chapman, Michelle Watts and

Garry Allen providing a nutritious start for all students every Tuesday and Thursday morning. On

the 8th of August we have the Salvation Army providing breakfast; therefore it would be pleasing

to see more students attend in order to experience a social and healthy beginning to the school

day and to show their support for the community organisations who assist us.

POWER HOUR study group has started again this term. Our community volunteers and staff are ready to assist all students with their learning. This term the Grade 5/6 students will be given the opportunity to attend on a Wednesday night to experience assistance with their learning. It provides a wonderful opportunity for our Year 7’s to show their leadership skills by demonstrating their responsible approach to their learning during Power Hour sessions.

HOMEWORK REMINDERS

MATHS - Maths Mate Week 2 Term 3. Study for Maths test.

ENGLISH – Red Dog Assignment (students should be working on these at home in addition

to general classwork). English Basics Unit 9 due – Tues 28th July

PE – change of clothes required for Wednesday classes – a clean pair of runners required

CAREERS – students are working on an assignment due in the next week

Roxanne Egan (Yr 7 Coord) on 54 951811 or egan.roxanne.j@edumail.vic.gov.au

Issue 21 Page 3

Page 4 St Arnaud Secondary College

Cody Aspland using the timing gates

Alex Mula completing the VO2 Max

Test

Ryan Neilson testing his vertical

jump height

Tom Bertalli testing his vertical jump

height

Year 12 Physical Education FedUni Excursion

On Monday 20th July, the Year 12 Physical Education class travelled down to FedUni in

Ballarat to participate in a series of practical workshops, focusing on the Unit 4 part of the

course: Enhancing Performance.

Laboratory 1 focused on planning, implementing and evaluating a training program.

Students discussed fitness components, assessment of fitness, fitness training principles and

methods. Students were also able to use state of the art equipment and testing such as a

VO2 Max test, vertical jump test and timing gates.

The 2nd laboratory looked at performance enhancement and recovery practices including

nutritional strategies, hydration techniques, physiological and psychological strategies. Both

workshops helped reinforce the content being learnt in class and students were able to use

equipment which we are unable to access at school.

Issue 21 Page 5

ADF Visit

Students in Years 9 – 10 interested on where a career in the ADF could lead them were treated to a presentation by three

members of the ADF recently. Held in the St. Arnaud Secondary College Hall, it featured an audio visual presentation and

personal insights given by Danny McInnes representing the Army, and Kat Kenny representing the Navy.

Danny is a Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) in the Army working at Defence Force Recruiting in Melbourne. He was ac-

companied by his Technical Trades partner Jock Joce (Air Force Warrant Officer), and they form the Specialist Recruiting

Team - Technical Trades for the Southern Region. PO Katrina Kenny (Navy) also provided valuable experiences from a Navy perspective and also discussed the career opportu-

nities for young women looking at a life within the ADF. She works in Melbourne as part of the Women In Defence team.

The presentation focused on Tech Trades and the lifestyle/career opportunities within the ADF, and students were encouraged

to ask questions about any other avenues of entry into the ADF. These included General Entitlement Non Tech, all Officer

avenues of entry, and Army Reserve. A number of students took the opportunity to ask questions and others stayed behind to make valuable personal contact with

the officers. Who knows, those same officers may be the ones faced in an intake interview!

Pictured – Jock Joce with students Braydn & Kasey Medlyn left.

Jock Joce with students Alex Mula & Braydn Medlyn right.

Danny McInnes with students Evan Douglas and Alex Mula below.

Page 6 St Arnaud Secondary College

Tiffany and Sam run PB’s at State

Cross-Country

On Thursday 16th

of July, Tiffany Bussem-Jorgensen and Sam Rice

travelled down to Bundoora in Melbourne to compete at the State

Cross-Country Championships. The weather was quite mild which is

rare for Bundoora for this time of year. Tiffany competed in the 14 Girls

3km race, there were 87 competitors in her race. Tiffany ran a personal

best time of 12:14 minutes and placed 64th

overall, which is a

tremendous effort. There were 81 competitors in Sam’s 15 Years Boys

event which was also a distance of 3km. Sam ran an excellent race

finishing 36th

in a personal best time of 9 minutes and 40 seconds,

which is an exceptional effort. Congratulations to both Tiffany and Sam

on fantastic runs.

Photo: Sam and Tiffany at Bundoora.

ROUND 1 SEPEP REPORT

The game that I watched was between the Saintly Scoundrels and the Dark Knights. The score at the end of the

first half was 23 vs 17, with the Dark Knights leading. Bailey played well and scored 19 points. Dyllan was good

at rebounding. Brooke got the ball a lot and passed the ball around to team members. Will and Mitch did well

shooting but needed to use their team mates more at times. The score at the end of the game was 48 to 39

with the Dark Knights winning. Cody Decker was playing well. Bailey and Imogen were shooting some good

goals. It was a great high-scoring match which was entertaining to watch.

The game that I watched was the Rednecks vs the Rattlers. The score at the end of the first half was 16 to 2

with the Rednecks leading. Scarlett defending well in the first half. Maggie showed great encouragement to

her team. Dyllan passed well and Fletcher shot some good goals. The score at the end of the game was 24 to

14 with the Rednecks winning. Scarlett encouraged her team members well. Lochlan got some great rebounds

and Luke passed the ball around well. Tiffany and Tarnii gained confidence throughout the game. Both teams

played well against each other.

Current ladder:

Ladder Points For Against %

Dark Knights 10 48 39 123%

Rednecks 9 26 14 186%

Smurfs 9 0 0 0%

Saintly Scoundrels 6 39 48 81%

Rattlers 5 14 26 54%

Maddi Lonergan—Sports Coordinator

Issue 21 Page 7

Page 8 St Arnaud Secondary College

Calendar 2015

Term 3 Semester 2

July Thursday 30 Maths Competition

Friday 31 NCD Sports Day

August Wednesday 12 Interim Reports Distributed

Thursday 13 Junior State Squash

Senior State Hockey

Wednesday 19 Interim State Squash

State Netball

Thursday 20 NWZ Shoot

Monday 24 Parent Teacher Interviews

Tuesday 25 Immunisations Year 7

Friday 28 Year 11 Physics Excursion—Parkes

September Wednesday 2 Year 12 Alfred Hospital Excursion

Tuesday 8 NCD Athletics

Wed/Thurs/

Fri

9-10-

11

SSS Dance Performance

Friday 18 End of Term 3—2.30pm dismissal

Term 4 Semester 2

October Monday 5 School Resumes

Thursday 8 LMR Athletics

M,T,W,T,F 12-16 Year 10 Girls Work Experience Week

Monday 19 NCD Clay/Bowls

Tuesday 20 SSV Athletics

Wednesday 28 VCE Exams Begin

November Monday 2nd Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 3rd Melbourne Cup—No school