|
|
Artpreneurs Workshop with Dickson College Principal Craig Edwards
|
|
In this issue:
Upcoming Events
Principal's Report
Student Notification
UNSW Co-op Scholarship Winner
Capital Chemist Award Winner
Pi Memorising Competition
Student Leadership Team
STEM Testing Timetable
AST Trials Year 11 & 12
Student Engagement
Artpreneurs News
Secondary Introductory English Centre (SIEC)
Indigenous Cultures and Languages Guest Speakers
Language News
Textiles, Fashion and Art
School Photos Collection
QCity Bus Cards
Canberra E-Scooters
Covid Update
Parentline
School Holidays Cricket Camps
DC Hoodies and T Shirts
|
|
Upcoming Events:
25, 28 & 29 March, Friday, Monday & Tuesday - STEM Crossline Testing
All other classes as per normal timetable.
30 March, Wednesday - Year 12 AST Trial, all day (8:45am-3pm). No classes.
31 March, Thursday - Year 12 AST Trial, morning session (8:45am-11:30am). No classes.
31 March, Thursday - Year 11 AST Trial, afternoon session (12:30pm-3:15pm).
No classes.
1 April, Friday - DC Moderation & Assessment (Pupil Free Day)
4 April, Monday to 8 April Friday - Normal Classes Resume
5 April, Monday - School Reports Emailed to Students and Families
11 April, Monday to 25 April, Monday - Term 1 Break
25 April, Monday - Anzac Day Public Holiday
26 April, Tuesday - First Day of Term 2
26 April, Tuesday - 2023 Enrolments Open
26 April, Tuesday - ANZAC Day Assembly, 9:40am - 10:20am
28 April, Thursday - Parent Teacher Evening (online event)
10 May, Tuesday to 13 May, Friday - MIEACT Week (Mental Illness Education ACT)
|
|
Principal's Report
Dear students and families,
I have had the rare privilege to be Acting Principal for a couple of weeks while Craig has been out of the school. It’s been keeping me busy - what an energised and productive community we have at DC!
The Student Leadership Group has been putting smiles on faces with year 12 jerseys and a covid safe handout of yummy ice blocks on a beautiful sunny day. Well done and thank you to our Student Leadership Group and their supporting teacher, Steph Burns.
Our students have recently had some amazing opportunities to gain insight into First Nations peoples. The Indigenous Cultures and Languages course boasts an impressive array of guest speakers and this week we have also been honoured with a Ngunnawal language workshop, presented by Uncle Cheyne Halloran and Dr Louise Baird. Students learnt about the revitalisation of the Ngunnawal language and protocols around using it, as well as how to give an acknowledgement of Country in Ngunnawal.
|
|
|
We’ve also hosted an Indigenous Foods Workshop with Adam Shipp, including a short walking tour of the College grounds and close surrounding area to identify local Indigenous food sources. Thank you to our wonderful team, Holly Williams, Aunty Jenny Dries and Eli Archer for the outstanding learning opportunities you make available to our students.
|
|
I would like to express my gratitude to our outgoing School Board members, Chris Johnston (Parent Representative & Board Chair), Clare Wynter (Parent Representative) and Zeinab Nafe (Student Representative). Thank you also to Caitlin Hanby who has represented staff and was assisted in this role last year by Matthew Hall. I was lucky enough to attend the last board meeting with this line-up on Monday night, and it was clear we have a board that is a formidable advocate for our school community and an asset in our school governance. We should have the official outcome of our election processes for the incoming board members to announce in the next community update.
You will have seen in your emails last week, the reminder sent about our Covid safety settings included again below. Please reinforce these with your young people to keep our community as healthy as possible. It would be great if you could remind them not to get complacent about mask wearing whenever they are in the building and to put their mask on before they enter. If they need a mask from our front office, please enter through the front door and sanitise hands beforehand. The good news is that there has been a slight easing of restrictions announced which means that some of our much-loved school activities such as excursions can recommence. Our teachers have not wasted any time getting their excursion proposals in and the students will enjoy the opportunities coming their way.
You can expect to see mid-semester reports in your inbox in week 10. An invitation to parent-teacher interviews will arrive in the holidays with instructions about how to access this online event. Our mid-semester reports are the major reports for the semester, containing detailed feedback for students. Staff are working hard to get these ready for students and their families. By the time you hear from the principal’s desk again, Craig should be back in his rightful spot at the helm. Let me take this opportunity to thank the extraordinary staff and students that form our Dickson College community of learners for the remarkable work you do. I’ve had a blast as Acting Principal.
Regards,
Victoria Margrain
Acting Principal
|
|
|
Student Notification
Please be aware that a member of the Dickson Community has a life threatening anaphylactic reaction to aerosol deodorants. Please ensure aerosols are not bought to school, roll-ons are acceptable if deodorant is needed.
|
|
|
|
UNSW Co-op Scholarship Winner Jack Lane
|
|
|
Jack Lane, who was one of our students from the 2021 graduating cohort has been successful in gaining a UNSW Co-op Scholarship. This prestigious scholarship is awarded to students with high academic achievements, who also demonstrate significant contributions to the school or community and show initiative and leadership. The scholarship offers a strong financial incentive as well as sponsorship and mentoring with industry leaders. This is the first year that a student from Dickson College has been successful in gaining entrance to this program. Jack is currently studying Marketing at UNSW and we wish him all the best for his future. Congratulations Jack.
Jenny Cowell - Executive Teacher
Design and Technology, VET and Careers
|
|
|
Congratulations Capital Chemist Award Winner Isaac Watson
|
|
Pi Memorising Competition
Usually the Pi competition brings hoards of students and their parents to Dickson College. Due to Covid, we had to do it differently this year. Students from other schools had to recite to a teacher at their school and then the results were sent to me.
We had 107 entrants who combined recited 10955 digits of Pi. 30 of the entrants were from Dickson College. Our winner was a year 12 student who recited 283 digits of Pi – very impressive. Our second place went to Martyn S who recited 161 digits, then third to Arland S-C who recited 108 digits.
First place over all went to Aditya from Narrabundah College who recited 1678 digits, followed closely by Peter from Giralang Primary who recited 1440 digits. 17 students recited more than 100 digits. Amazing.
Prizes are given to students who recite 10 or more digits.
|
|
|
Caroline Evers - Mathematics Teacher
|
|
|
|
At recess and lunch, on Wednesday, the student leadership team gave free ice creams to all students! Exams start on Friday, so we (the leadership team) thought it would be nice to brighten the day of many stressed teenagers. We had music blasting, and there were even enough ice creams to give to teachers. We hope everyone enjoyed it!
|
|
Hi Year 12s,
The Leadership Team has organized Year 12 jerseys based on your feedback. There is an online shop open until the 8th of April. The link is below.
There will be sample jerseys for you to try on so you know what size to order. Please visit the Humanities staffroom before the start of classes each day, recess and lunch only. You can also come anytime on Wednesday and Thursday week 9.
https://shop.onesport.com.au/cat/dickson-college/
Thanks,
Leadership Team!
|
|
|
|
Josephine Kim - Acting Deputy Principal
|
|
AST Trials
Y12 AST trial
- All day Wednesday 30th and the morning of Thursday 31st March
- This is a full trial including all three parts for the AST (Short response test, Multiple Choice test and Writing test)
- This trial is compulsory for all Y12 Tertiary students
- Please look on the AST 2022 GoogleClassroom (code: i4euaen) for further information
Y11 AST trial
- 12:30-3:15pm Thursday 31st March
- This is the first of four trials you will complete over your 2 years at Dickson College
- This first trial will only include the Multiple Choice test
- This trial is compulsory for all Y11 students intending on completing a Tertiary package
- Students MUST sign up to the AST 2023 GoogleClassroom (code: tiumoak) and MUST complete the registration survey
- Students who intend to apply for AST Special Provisions, will only receive them if this is indicated in the responses to the survey
- Students who intend to apply for EALD status, will only receive them if this is indicated in the responses to the survey
AST testing venues
- Most student will be seated in the Gym
- Any student awarded Special Provisions will be seated in A12
- Any students awarded EALD Status will be seated in A20
- Make sure to check the appropriate GoogleClassroom for further information (AST 2022 for Y12 & AST 2023 for Y11)
Christopher Hammerer - Acting Executive SHAPE and Certification
|
|
|
Student Engagement News
We are here to help
For all your student administration queries, please email dicksonc.studentadmin@ed.act.edu.au. If we are unable to help, we will direct your query to the relevant staff member.
2 Preferred Contacts
Last year, the administration system SENTRAL was enhanced to include two (2) preferred contacts for all communication and notifications for each student. This particular feature allows for communication to be sent to 2 separate households or 2 contacts within the 1 household. Communication includes:
- Daily absence notifications
- Fortnightly summaries
- Student reports
- Community information
- School Newsletter
- Notifications from classroom teachers
If only 1 member of your household wishes to receive correspondence, please email dicksonc.studentadmin@ed.act.edu.au with the name, email and phone number of the preferred contact.
Explaining Student Absences
When explaining absences, please email dicksonc.absences@ed.act.edu.au with the following information:
- Your student’s name
- Date of absence
- Time of absence
- Explanation of absence (see below)
At the end of each school day, unexplained absences are sent by SMS or email to preferred contacts. You can respond to either the SMS or email to explain the absence.
***Please note that our system requires specific times and dates for absences. If you are unable to provide a time, for example, the student has an appointment and they will arrive back at school after the appointment, you may receive an unexplained absence at the end of the day. Please reply to the unexplained absence with an explanation.***
What is a reasonable explanation for an absence?
Examples of a ‘reasonable excuse’ for a child’s absence may include:
- illness or medical issues, including recovery from major injury or medical condition
- medical and dental appointments, where out of hours appointments are not possible
- bereavement or attending a funeral of a relative or friend of the student
- religious or cultural observation
- attendance at court or other legal hearings or meetings associated with hearings
- participation in sanctioned debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not directly
- arranged by the school or participation in interstate, national, or international academic or sporting event or equivalent
Roll marking errors
If the student believes there is a roll marking error, please direct these queries to the relevant classroom teacher.
Student Engagement Team
|
|
Artpreneurs News
Artpreneurs students and interested Art/Ceramic students welcomed a Ceramic Artist to the class for a workshop on making larger pieces of work on the wheel.
Many were surprised to find that the artist was their own Principal, Craig Edwards! Craig introduced the students to wood fired ceramics and brought in some of his work to discuss glazes and the processes of wood firing. Then the part they were all waiting for.....The throwing of a 2-piece vessel on the wheel.
We thank Craig for his time and for sharing his expertise. The students very much enjoyed this workshop session.
Artpreneurs is a voluntary workshop that runs every Wednesday, Period 3 in the Ceramics Room. Please see Kate if you would like any more information.
|
|
|
Kate Leedham - Arts Teacher
|
|
Secondary Introductory English Centre (SIEC)
Imagine walking into the classroom and not understanding a single word the teacher is speaking! You are greeted with مرحبا اسمي گي (Murhaba esmi Cay) Arabic for "Hello, I'm Miss Cay". How would you feel? Learning a new language can be exciting but can also be overwhelming, frustrating and lonely. At Dickson College we have around 30 students who are very new to English and come from many different cultural backgrounds and languages. Every day is a challenge for them. If you see any SIEC students around please greet them with a smile and G'day! The students don't only learn basic greetings but also very specific language for different subject areas as well as some aussie lingo. Recently, students started learning about Australian money, the Geography of Australia, as well as the specific terms for equipment in the Science Lab. A practical and fun element was watching the reaction with mentos in a coke bottle (and then writing it up in as a proper science report). I wonder how you would go doing this in another language?
|
|
|
|
So is it a chemical or physical reaction?
|
|
شكراً (shukran) Thank you
التكرار يعلّم الحمار. (Practice makes perfect)
Cay Merritt - SIEC Teacher
|
|
Indigenous Cultures and Languages Guest Speakers
As part of our Indigenous Cultures and Languages course here at DC, we are lucky enough to have some amazing First Nations speakers come and yarn to our students. This opportunity is open to all DC staff and students who are interested. It is also part of the core curriculum for students completing a minor or major in Indigenous Cultures and Languages, where they are learning about the diversity of Aboriginal Australia and individual story.
In week 6 we had our students heard from Don Bemrose, Gunggari man and internationally acclaimed performer and opera singer. Don is also an experienced educator and spoke to the students about his life’s work in education and the creative arts, on performing across various mediums and countries and community engagement.
|
|
|
Elinor Archer - Indigenous Cultures and Languages Teacher
|
|
Languages News
Dickson College provides students a great opportunity to learn another language. Did you know that Dickson teaches four languages? French, Indonesian, Japanese and Chinese. There are many events on in the community that give students an opportunity to use what they have learnt at College. For example, over the next couple of weeks The French Film Festival is on - don't stress the movies have subtitles. What a great way to extend your language and immerse yourself in another culture. For more details on the French Film Festival go to: https://www.afcanberra.com.au/culture-events/upcoming-events/french-film-festival/
|
|
|
Alliance française de Canberra - French Film Festival
French Film Festival. March 2nd to April 6th 2022. At Palace Electric CinemaBook. Tickets are now on sale for the 2022 Alliance Française French Film Festival! Come and join us for our exceptional line up of French films! Throughout the Festival, special events will be highlighted by the screenings of incredible movies. www.afcanberra.com.au
John Healy - French Teacher
|
|
|
Textiles, Fashion and Art
|
|
|
|
Students are working through the Wool4school competition task with many innovative designs for their ‘Hero’
|
|
|
|
Elaine using the new stainless-steel table in the art room for her reduction print
|
|
|
Jill Pettifer - Textiles, Fashion & Art Teacher
|
|
School Photos Collection
If you ordered school photos could you please collect from the front office between 8:30am-4:00pm.
Dickson College Front Office
|
|
|
QCity Bus Cards
If you are waiting on a QCity bus card please visit Student Engagement between 8:30am-4:00pm.
Student Engagement Team
|
|
|
|
Do you ride an E-Scooter to school? Please remember to respectfully park the E-Scooter away from walking paths so they are not a tripping hazard to other community members.
|
|
Covid Update
The Education Directorate is closely following the advice of ACT Health to ensure on campus learning is conducted in a COVID-safe manner.
Dickson College is following the Health Guidelines for Schools and Early Childhood Education and Care endorsed by the ACT Chief Health Officer.
Please accept this as a courtesy reminder on a number of key details in which have been implemented in order to ensure the health and safety of all students and staff:
Students who are unwell or have any COVID-19 symptoms must not attend school and should stay home and get tested. If they attend while unwell, they must be sent home. In circumstances where students have other medical reasons for recurrent symptoms, a letter from their GP is sufficient to allow return to school without a negative test. However, these students should continue to monitor for any new symptoms, and not attend if these develop.
Students experiencing symptoms compatible with COVID-19 (e.g. fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath) must not attend school until symptom free.
If a student starts to experience symptoms whilst on campus, they should be advised to travel directly home.
- Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT)
The ACT Government is providing 2 rapid antigen tests per week for the first 8 weeks of term 1 for all on campus students.
While testing is voluntary, it is strongly recommended that students do a test twice-weekly. This will help us ensure we are identifying cases as early as possible, including anyone who is asymptomatic.
It is essential that the RAT kits are not used/taken on school grounds.
- Reporting a positive COVID-19 case
Parents are required to report a positive Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) or PCR test to both ACT Health and to their school.
All students are required to wear a face mask at all times while indoors, exception for those who have registered their mask exemption with the school.
It is essential for all students to ensure that they are wearing a mask prior to entering the college’s indoor spaces.
- The use of the Check in CBR App
All students (aged 16+) must check into the college each time they arrive onsite using the Check in CBR App.
The Check in CBR QR code is present on all entries into the college for ease of access.
For general information about COVID-19 and schools, visit the FAQs on the Education Directorate website.
https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1935444/January-2022-Health-Guidelines-for-Schools-and-ECEC.pdf
If you have further questions, you can also call the ACT COVID Helpline on 6207 7244.
Thank you for your patience, understanding and support at this time.
Victoria Margrain - Acting Principal
|
|
|
The team at AAS Cricket Coaching are excited to announce our upcoming ACT Easter Holiday Cricket Camps.
Catering to ages 6-16, our school holiday cricket programs include access to:
- A structured & enjoyable program delivered in a fun, team-based learning environment
- Coaching covering all aspects of the game including batting, fast & slow bowling, fielding, running between wickets and wicketkeeping
- Technical, tactical & game sense tuition
- Qualified & experienced coaches
- T10 Challenge Cup
Please note that clinic size is limited to ensure an appropriate player to coach ratio. Players will be grouped according to age and skill level.
All programs will be held at Reid Oval (corner of Euree Street & Limestone Avenue) from 8:45am - 3pm each day. After hours care may be available for an additional charge on request.
To book your spot, head to https://form.jotform.com/220748318245861.
For any enquiries, please contact Holly Halford-Smith on 0400 125 342 or activeallsports@outlook.com.
|
|
|
DC Hoodies and T Shirts for sale!
Please visit the front office.
|
|
|
We have two new designs on our T Shirts.
They are $20 each or one of each design for $35.
|
|
|
|
The old-style T Shirts will be sold for $5 - very limited stock remaining.
|
|
|
The amazingly warm DC Hoodies are $60 and are ideal for the cooler Canberra days.
|
|
|
|
