Unfortunately we find ourselves in a new snap 7-day lockdown. This lockdown will remain in place until at least Thursday 12th August. I believe it is apparent that this is now our new normal, for the foreseeable future, until a significant portion of the population is vaccinated. It is vitally important that we come to terms with the fact that these interruptions will continue and that we maintain a positive outlook and be grateful that we have the technology to be able to continue to deliver effective remote learning for our students and children.

The GAT will once again be postponed (12th August) and a new date for the Athletics Carnival (13th August) will also be rescheduled.

The week commencing Monday 9th August is a significant course selection week for students currently in Years 11, 10 and 9. Please note that all planned course counselling interviews will be conducted remotely. Thank you to all the students and parents/guardians who have completed and returned the required documentation on time. I am encouraged by all the parent/guardian involvement in their student’s subject selection - it is important to have open and regular conversations regarding future studies, pathways and possible careers at this time.

As mentioned in previous communication, the subject selection process for current Year 7 and 8 students will take place later this month.

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome a new staff member to our College, Graham Taylor. Mr Taylor is an experienced Mathematics teacher and has joined us this term as a numeracy tutor. He will be working with a small number of students across a number of classes.

In more good news, Mr Hao has been approved to complete the training for the University of Melbourne Mathematics Extension Program. This will allow Rosehill Secondary College to once again offer first year University Mathematics to our students and the local community from 2022. Congratulations and well-done Mr Hao!

Thank you to the parents/guardians who have completed the Parent/Guardian Opinion Survey. There is still time to log in and complete the survey if you haven’t as yet. Your opinion is important to us and helps us make informed decisions. An email with a personalised pin was sent to a random sample of selected families during the past fortnight.

Finally, with the Olympics coming to an end (how fantastic has it been to see Australia win so many Olympic medals and in particular gold medals?) Now might be a great time to encourage your children to do some more reading. Fiction, non-fiction whatever they find interesting, possibly an autobiography of a famous and successful athlete? Maybe read some poetry or even try your hand at writing some too!

Below is a poem, by Wendy Cope, The Orange. Often the very simple things in life can make us happy.

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave
They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.

Arthur Soumalias

Principal

Helping Hands has a lot to offer. It is run by an amazing group of volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure all areas of the organisation run smoothly.

People who are struggling with money can get a whole meal from the community kitchen by just donating $5. The meal includes bread, cold food, milk and other drinks such as water and coke.

The Op Shop (where we are working) offer many different budget-friendly clothing and household items. At our store there is a good selection of clothes and other items such as beds, TVs, books, toys, jewellery and more. Depending on what you want, you will get it for a good price!!

I have learnt a lot working here especially about how much an organisation like this can help individuals and their families.

Some tasks that we do include sorting through clothes that are donated, putting them on hangers and displaying them on the shop floor. We also help out in the pantry by packing food into bags so that people can use them for cooking. We also have to sort through eggs, (it isn’t the greatest thing to do, but I am happy to do it).

While I’m here I get to work and meet a lot of amazing people both in the store and the customers who come to us. Overall, this has been a worthwhile experience for all of us.

Hope you have enjoyed reading.

By Adam Langton