Term 3 Week 9

Thank you to students, families and staff for your work and contribution to Rosehill throughout this term. I wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday.

Year 12

For our Year 12 students, there is not too much longer to go. Our VCE Vocational Major students presented their portfolios this week and will complete their school year today, Friday 19^th September, marking the occasion with a celebratory barbecue lunch. Our remaining VCE students, will be preparing for final exams. Please reflect upon the study tips and advice presented to you over the last two years and utilise these. The trial exams over the holidays will allow your teachers to provide valuable feedback on your strengths and areas requiring deeper understanding. Remember that your family and teachers are beside you and want the best for you. Work hard and feel proud. You are almost at the finish line!

Policies

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight two important policies which I believe are fundamental to the way we want our school to be. Our values of Respect, Initiative and Learning, are things we speak about with our students every single day.

Two important policies that articulate the value of respect and remind us of how to conduct ourselves and interact with each other are:

• Respect for School Staff Policy
• Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools Policy

Both can be found on our website here.

At a time when conflict and anger seem to be escalating around the world, I try to ensure I am not adding to the problem, and I try to model this to students in my daily interactions. When we feel upset or frustrated, it often a time to pause and draw breath rather than act in the moment and say, post or send something that escalates conflict. This is the message I want our young people to hear and learn; that we all have a part to play in making sure Rosehill is a safe and kind place for all members of our community. I feel very fortunate to be part of this school and thank all staff, students and parents who help make it a good place to be.

Parent Teacher Interviews

It was terrific to see so many parents and students attending our recent parent teacher interviews. While parents can now view a good deal of information about their children’s progress on Compass with our continuous reporting model and progress reports, it is always valuable to meet with teachers to learn more. Thank you for attending – whether in person or online – we really appreciate your partnership with us in your children’s learning.

Year 11 Presentation Ball

Our Year 11 Presentation Ball took place last Friday 12^th September. The students looked amazing and danced like professionals – thank you to Ms Marissa Aquilina and assistant Ms Leanne Mortellaro for all your work training the couples. Well done to everyone involved in the planning and preparation for the event.

Year 10 Tasmania Camp

Thank you to our staff who attended the Year 10 camp this week: Julian Connors, Alex Vincent, Kyra Fennell, Nellie Harbourd and Annabelle Ryan. Such events are memory-making for our students and provide real opportunities for fun and growth outside the classroom. They would not be possible without our amazing staff being prepared to leave their own families and friends for this time, and I know that our community recognises and appreciates their commitment. The camp was a great success, and all attendees will be tired and ready for a two-week break.

Facilities

There will be some minor works occurring around the school over the school holidays, including commencement on a new Year 7 locker bay. This will allow us to remove the last set of lockers from the A wing corridor, creating more space in this high-traffic area. We will also have Aboriginal artist Simone Thomson onsite to create an indigenous mural on the external auditorium wall at the end of the Administration building breezeway. We are looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

The Canteen will be receiving a well deserved face lift with the painting of its exterior - the first step in beautifying this area for our students.

Finally…

Arthur Soumalias will be returning from leave on Monday 6^th October. It has been my great privilege to be Acting Principal in Arthur’s absence. We are all looking forward to welcoming him back on the first day of Term 4!

Have a safe and happy holiday with your children.

Frances Snow

ACTING PRINCIPAL

School Policies have been updated in line with Department of Education and Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority requirements. Parents may review these on the school website https://www.rosehillsc.vic.edu.au/under Our School > Policies > Minimum Standards Compliance – June 2022.

The Year 8 students studying Humanities this semester, participated in an educational, entertaining and fun day exploring Medieval society. It was a fantastic opportunity for a hands-on learning experience.

Students took part in three program activities:

• Costume and Lifestyle: Students learnt about the day-to-day life of a medieval person. They were able to model a range of costumes including those of the kings, queens, nobles, peasants, and the clergy. The differentiation of the medieval classes was evident in the colour and fabric of the costumes.
• Games and Entertainment: Students learned all about how Medieval society kept themselves entertained. They discovered the different pastimes enjoyed by nobles and peasants, from games of strategy to games of chance. They were able to take part in some of these themselves, which brought plenty of laughter and fun to the day.
• Arms and Armour: The highlight of the day, however, was the Arms and Armour display and discussion. Students particularly enjoyed being given the opportunity to wear a variety of armour and helmets, and the opportunity to go into serious battle! They also listened attentively to the interesting stories about the use of medieval weapons, showing the evolution of the art of war.

The incursion was a worthwhile, informative, and engaging experience for our students. It gave them an appreciation of Medieval life and built on the knowledge learnt in the classroom.

Annabelle Ryan

Humanities Teacher

On Thursday 11th September leaders, Anthony, Isaac, William, Jenny, Alexandra and Ruby attended the Global Student Voice Closing Forum to share the activities we ran and to hear from other students.

Over the past six months the Global Student Voice Leaders have worked together, with the support of teachers, to create and run activities that work to increase both respect and inclusion and celebrate diversity at Rosehill. The main activity we decided on was a Cultural Diversity Poster Project that would be completed in Year 7 and 8 homegroup classes. These posters were informative and brought attention and awareness to the many different countries our school community is made up of as well as other countries around the world. The leaders were also involved in the running of Multicultural Day, helping with event planning, setting up stalls and selling food. The day was a great opportunity for students to share their background and celebrate the diverse cultures that make up Rosehill.

At the forum the Rosehill Global Student Voice Leaders presented their achievements to students from the participating schools, illustrating how Rosehill encourages and fosters student voice and agency by enabling students to have the opportunity to take action and leadership in areas that they are passionate about. We shared our accomplishments, particularly the many creative posters our junior school students made. In addition, we highlighted how student voice and advocacy were the key drivers in Rosehill celebrating its first Multicultural Day in over a decade. We were proud to showcase our student posters and share the incredible success of our student-led Multicultural Day, which saw our community come together in a respectful, inclusive and celebratory atmosphere. We also reflected on what improvements we can make to make this day even better, and what we have learned from our experiences.

The closing forum was a great opportunity to learn from other schools as they showcased what they achieved in their presentations and gave Rosehill students the opportunity to gain inspiration and consider how we could create ongoing change at Rosehill. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and would like to thank our teachers, particularly Mr Rose, Ms Tran, Mr Huang, Ms Li and Ms Hart for supporting us.

Ruby Herriot

YEAR 11 STUDENT LEADER

Victorian Student Representative Council

Empowering students across Victoria

On Thursday 11th September, Zoe Connors, Frankie Fortuna, Audrey Cook, and Hannah Pongrac were lucky enough to attend the VicSRC congress at Wurun Senior Campus to discuss important issues in Victoria's education. We discussed two major issues, equitable access to education, and mental health and wellbeing, discussing a variety of problems, and the outcomes and solutions that may affect our future as students, and future generations of students.

With the first issue of equitable access to education we discovered that teacher shortages was having a major impact on Victorian schools. The biggest impacts on students that we identified were “classes not going ahead due to scheduling issues, not enough teachers to run the class, not receiving clear instructions from CRTs on classes and not being able to complete work”. Not to mention lack of continuity, confusion, and general frustration with constant changes and interruptions to our learning. All of this means some schools struggle more with teacher shortage and lack of replacement teachers, resulting in inequitable access to education.

But how can we as students help? Our behaviour impacts what teachers feel as well. When students misbehave in a classroom, teachers often have to focus on behaviour management, losing time for teaching, and students lose time for learning – in addition, teachers can be made to feel less welcome in class. A 2021 Australian survey found student behaviour was the second most reported reason for teachers considering leaving schools – we believe that teachers have a right to be respected in their workplace, and as students, we want an education system where all students have equal access to consistent quality teaching.

With the second issue of student mental health and wellbeing, we discovered more students feel unsafe and unwelcome at school, which causes students to stay home from school more often. We discussed concerns about how student wellbeing and health could worsen and become more dangerous if they don't seek help and support from friends, trusted adults or school counsellors. We also discussed and brainstormed how “not enough support is being offered, friends and family don’t support you well enough, and not a lot of schools have trained wellbeing counsellors” but instead have teachers that need to “understand” and “support student needs”.

We all know that mental health is one of the key concerns of students, and we need students to know they can help themselves by speaking up and looking for support. Moving forward we would like to say to all students, don’t be afraid to speak up, seek help, support one another, encourage action and never be afraid to ask for help when you need it. We all go through hard times, but we can help when we go through them together, and we can help each other when we use our voices.

Overall, this day was an amazing opportunity for student voice and connection, an opportunity to learn and talk about our experiences and beliefs about our education system, and to think about how we can help, support and prevent future issues. We all had amazing fun and we would love to go back next year.

We 100% recommend this day to other students.

Zoe Connors, Frankie Fortuna, Audrey Cook, and Hannah Pongrac

YEAR 10 STUDENTS

Ask RU OK? any day because life happens every day

RU OK? Day was on Thursday 11^th September but we know that whether it’s a friend, family member, partner or colleague, the people around us go through life’s ups and downs every day. That’s why we want everyone to feel confident to check in with the people they care about and ask RU OK? any day.

Research has found that those who are regularly asked “are you ok” report increased feelings of wellbeing, and we have also learnt that one third of Australians say that they have been asking others more often since this initiative began. This shows that many of us are already showing up for others in meaningful ways, but when it comes to conversations about how we are really going, some people are less confident than others.

It’s natural to feel a little hesitant, but the positive news is that most individuals report feeling grateful, supported and cared for when someone genuinely asks them if they are OK.

If you need tips to build your confidence, RU OK resources are available to help you feel more confident to check in with the people that you care about.

Ask RU OK? any day of the year because a conversation could change a life.

This information was gathered from the RUOK website, so please check it out!!!

Stephanie Orso

WELLBEING TEAM