So far, 2018 has been a great success. ETASC is on target to reach its notional maximum of 150 student enrolments. We have 16 Year 7 students, 35 Year 8 students, 52 Year 9 students and 43 Year 10 students. We still have vacancies in Year 8 for 2018, and enrolments are open for 2019 for all years.

We are pleased with the progress that students in all year groups are making in their academic studies. Parent/Teacher interviews are timetabled to occur in early August. These interviews are a great communication point about student progress between school and home. At this time of the year we are focused on assisting our Year 10 students towards the achievement of their RoSA. We also look forward to supporting our Year 10 graduates in their next step, to school, work or training. The time to plan this next step has arrived and this term we will be undertaking the second round of Pathway Plans with Year 10 students, this time with parents/carers present and involved. We are here to support and guide students all the way along their career and learning path.

Our academic focus on literacy and numeracy skills, our school philosophy that guides us to create a safe and nurturing environment, and our focus on fostering each student’s work ethic appears to be a successful combination.

If anyone ever has suggestions about how to improve on our success, we are open to opportunities and suggestions.

I hope that every student enrolled at ETASC fully utilises the opportunities available to them.

Tony Mylan
ET Australia Secondary College Principal

Excursions and Events

There are a number of School Events planned for Term 3.

Parents/carers will be emailed with details of each event and where permission is required, we ask that you REPLY to the email with your permission, as instructed. This will ensure that your response goes to the staff member who is responsible for that event.

Students without parental/carer’s consent provided cannot be included in the event. Phone calls, handwritten notes and texts will no longer be accepted, unless a prior agreement has been made with the Assistant Principal. Some events will be limited due to transport or other considerations, so getting in early will be important, once you are notified that bookings are open.

Year 8 French Incursion

When: Wednesday 1st of August
Location: ET Australia Secondary College

In Term 3 Year 8 students will have the pleasure of watching a bilingual (French and English) puppet show about Aladdin and his magic lamp. This will be a one hour performance  in French class and will continue to improve students listening and language skills in French.

Parents please note as this is an incursion there is no permission note emailed to you.

Year 8 Wetlands Environmental Education Centre Excursion

When: Monday 6th of August
Location: Wetlands Environmental Education Centre

In Year 8 Geography, students are studying the topic of ‘Water in the World’. Students will visit the Wetlands Environmental Education Centre located in the Hunter and undertake water quality testing, discover animals in the pond, use compasses, develop their GPS skills, take weather measurements and view Aboriginal seasonal calendars.

To learn more about the Wetlands Environmental Education Centre visit http://www.wetlands-e.schools.nsw.edu.au

Parents please look out for the permission note for this excursion being sent to you via email in the next couple of days.

Year 7 Brett Whitley Art Studio Excursion

When: Thursday 9th of August
Location: Brett Whitley Art Studio, Sydney

Year 7 students will experience an art studio first-hand through a guided tour of the Brett Whitley Art Studio. Brett Whitley was a famous Australian artist that students studied in Terms 1 and 2 this year. Students will also have the chance to be creative in a hands-on workshop which will further develop their broad understanding of how a studio works.

Parents please look out for the permission note for this excursion being sent to you via email in the next couple of days.

Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC)

When: Friday 10th of August
Location: ET Australia Secondary College

Last term all ETASC students were given the opportunity to sign-up for the 2018 Australian Mathematics Competition. The AMC is a fantastic platform for our students to challenge themselves and compete for a variety of prizes.

The AMC is an online test that will be run at ET Australia Secondary College. The AMC consists of 30 mathematical problems with a time limit of 75 minutes. Students will use i-Pads to complete the test.

All students receive a participation certificate. Depending on results, students may also receive a Certificate of Credit, Distinction or High Distinction. All entrants in the competition will be provided with a detailed report showing how they performed on each problem with wider statistical rankings.

Currently there are 8 students taking part. If any additional students are interested the closing date to register interest is Thursday 2nd August.

For further details please contact Jaclyn Brownhill our Gifted and Talented Teacher by calling the school office on 4323 1233 or email Jaclyn.Brownhill@et.makearchive.com.au

Year 9 and 10 Science Incursion

When: Wednesday 22nd of August
Location: ET Australia Secondary College

Year 9 and 10 students will be divided into two groups and attend one of two forensic science workshops provided by Education Perfect.

Each workshop will cover the forensic scenario where an 18 year old boy is arrested for a murder which he claims to know nothing about. The murdered man was shot three times and found next to a burnt out car in bush land. A gun, drugs and a stash of money were found at the home of the accused.

Students will examine the crime scene and analyse the evidence including arson, autopsy, DNA and ballistics. On top of applying forensic science methods, this case also deals with drug awareness and the impacts of hanging out with the wrong crowd.

If you would like to learn more about the Education Perfect platform please visit http://worldseries.educationperfect.com/

Year 9 and 10 B Street Smart Excursion

When: Wednesday 29th of August
Location: Sydney Olympic Park

In Term 3 students have the opportunity to participate in a road safety program called B Street Smart held at Sydney Olympic Park. This program is designed to help promote safe behaviours for drivers, riders and passengers and is linked to the PDHPE curriculum. Students will participate in a range of workshops which create awareness about what can cause accidents and how emergency services interact and assist patients at crash sites. There will be professionals from the traumatic brain injury unit at Westmead Hospital talking about their experiences dealing with brain injuries as well as a guest speaker who suffered a spinal injury from a road accident. Students will also watch a demonstration about safe stopping distances and the program will conclude with a guest speaker who lost their daughter from texting and driving.

Parents please look out for the permission note for this excursion being sent to you via email in the next couple of weeks.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher interviews for 2018 will be held a the college on:

• Wednesday the 8th of August
  6-8pm
• Thursday the 9th of August
  3-5:30pm

Given the increase in students in the college in 2018, parents will be provided a booking sheet to nominate times to see their child’s teachers on either day. The student will need to provide that booking sheet to their teachers to confirm an appointment time. Teachers will be managing their own booking sheets this year so the college reception will not be able to make appointments on a parents/carers behalf. If parents/carers are unable to make a booking with a teacher, a telephone interview can be arranged at a time that is suitable to both parties.

Please contact the college office on 4323 1233 if you have any further queries about parent teacher interviews.

Regular Pattern of School Attendance Required by Students

A reminder to parents that in order for their child to retain enrolment here at the college, students need to maintain a consistent pattern of attendance.

The NSW Education Department require all students to have a minimum attendance percentage of 85% throughout the year.

This means the college expects every student to attend school every day unless they are too sick to attend. In the event of absence caused by illness, the college requires an explanation of the absence within 24 hours of the student’s absence. Notification can be provided via text message, email or phone call. In the event of three or more consecutive days off, the college can request a Doctor’s certificate to support the provided reasons. If you have other reasons for a student being absent for the day (family emergency for example) please provide the college office with an explanation so we are able to account for the student’s absence.

For more information on school attendance please refer to our College Handbook.

Request for Student Leave

The Department of Education’s requirement for school attendance also affects opportunities for families to take holidays during school terms. Some schools are withdrawing the option of families taking students out of school for holidays. ETASC is flexible but the Minister of Education requires us to ensure all student leave during term time be approved by the college Principal in advance. A student leave request form is now available from college reception and needs to be completed 4 weeks prior to the planned absence from school.

Please contact the college office on 4323 1233 if you have any further queries about holidays during school Term.

Teaching Staff Changes

New staff

Welcome to Robyne Hill who will be teaching Year 9 and 10 English.

Scholarships

Parent/carers of ETASC students are encouraged to apply for a scholarship at any time during the year.

A scholarship is money set aside which can assist a family experiencing hardship to pay school fees. Scholarships are available for eligible Year 7, 8, 9 & 10 students and applications are a relatively simple process, with the majority of scholarship applications succeeding.

Students who attend school regularly and apply themselves to their academic progress will be eligible.  A successful applicant who receives a 50% scholarship will have their contribution to school fees matched dollar for dollar by the scholarship sponsor.

Some terms and conditions apply.

To apply please download our scholarship application form and hand it into the College office.

2019 Enrolments

The College is currently accepting enrolments for students for 2019 and 2020 and beyond.

Our school’s growing reputation is generating ongoing interest, so much so, that Year 10 for 2019 is already full. ETASC students in Year 9 this year are presumed to be continuing into Year 10 next year and are allocated a place for Year 10 in 2019.

Thank you to those parents and students who are recommending our school to prospective students who will value and enjoy what ETASC provides.

We are always accepting enrolments for future years up to and including 2021.

If you or anyone you know are interested in a place for Year 7-9 in 2019 you are urged to act now. Please call the College office on 02 4323 1233 so we can send you an information pack in the mail.

Opal Cards

The Department of Transport’s introduction of OPAL Cards is designed to reduce schools’ involvement in the issue and re-issue of this free service for school children. Parents are now responsible to follow up with errors / lost and stolen cards. Students are advised not to put OPAL cards near phones or other disabled cards.

For more information on Opal Cards please refer to our College Handbook.

Contacting Students in Class Time

Please do not phone your child during class time, they will be tempted to answer which is very disruptive to the class. Their phone should be off and out of sight. Parents/carers who need to contact their child during school hours are asked to do so by calling the college office on 4323 1233 or wait until break times.

School Fees

A reminder to parents/carers that have outstanding school fees that Term 1 and Term 2 are now overdue and need to be paid as soon as possible.

Parents/carers are required to make sure that school fees are kept up to date.

The college understands that finances can be tight at times, so if you are have financial difficulties please contact the college finance officer, Jan Paton to organise a payment plan.

School fees are a requirement of a students enrolment at ET Australia Secondary College and failure to pay or make suitable arrangements to pay school fees will result in a students enrolment being withdrawn.

The school is restricted on what we can offer to your child without these fees and we will not include students in activities where fees are outstanding.

For more information on ETASC school fees please refer to our College Handbook.

PDHPE

Students attending ETASC are required to participate fully in PDHPE. This includes doing some physical activity as part of their subject. In Term 3 we are offering the following activities in order to encourage more active involvement.

Years 7 and 8 students will participate in:

• Archery
• Gym at Snap Fitness Gosford
• Soccer, and touch football at Central Coast Leagues Club park
• Lawn bowls

Years 9 and 10 students will participate in:

• Gym at Snap Fitness Gosford
• Badminton in the Youth Arts Warehouse
• Soccer, and touch football at Central Coast Leagues Club park
• Waterfront walking

Where a student has a temporary incapacity and requests an exemption, a letter from a parent will suffice for one week, any time beyond one week must be supported by a Doctor’s Certificate.

Free After School Tutoring

Any student who wants help after school (on any subject) should ask the subject teacher and arrangements will be made to provide free tutoring for most afternoons.

Weekly Timetable

Tuesday:
Extension Maths (Y10 students intending to complete the HSC) 2:30pm to 3:30pm
Literacy tutoring 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Thursday:
Extension Science (Y10 students intending to complete the HSC) 2:30pm to 3:30pm
Numeracy tutoring 2:30pm to 3:30pm

All extra curricular or tutoring classes are free.

Excursions and Events

There are a number of School Events planned for Term 3.

Parents/carers will be emailed with details of each event and where permission is required, we ask that you REPLY to the email with your permission, as instructed. This will ensure that your response goes to the staff member who is responsible for that event.

Students without parental/carer’s consent provided cannot be included in the event, phone calls, handwritten notes and texts will no longer be accepted, unless a prior agreement has been made with the Assistant Principal. Some events will be limited due to transport or other considerations, so getting in early will be important, once you are notified that bookings are open.

School Lockers

The school has provided lockers at no cost for students to store their school bags to improve security and work, health and safety.  Students are asked to clean out their locker at the end of every term. Items left in lockers at the end of each Term will be discarded. If you value the contents of your locker, please take it with you.

Students are encouraged to keep lockers locked at all times, even when empty. We are keen to prevent unauthorised access to your locker and/or to have other people placing objects in lockers which do not belong there.

Medication Taken at School

Parent/Carers are reminded that students must not bring medication to school without advising the school in writing (this includes non-prescription medication). Medication which needs to be taken during school hours must be held and administered by school staff, not the student.

For more information on medication at ETASC please refer to our College Handbook.

Student Expectations and Rewards

Students are expected to observe common courtesy, and show respect for each other and for staff.

Where students demonstrate consistent effort in the school community they may be rewarded with a Gold Card, which can be used to access various privileges or recognition. These rewards are designed to be timely, appropriate and meaningful to the student.

For more information on expected student behaviour and rewards please refer to our College Handbook.

Year 7 and 8 Excursions and Events

Year 7 and 8 parents please take note of School Events planned for Term 3.

Parents/carers will be emailed with details of each event and where permission is required, we ask that you REPLY to the email with your permission, as instructed. This will ensure that your response goes to the staff member who is responsible for that event.

Students without parental/carer’s consent provided cannot be included in the event, phone calls, handwritten notes and texts will no longer be accepted, unless a prior agreement has been made with the Assistant Principal. Some events will be limited due to transport or other considerations, so getting in early will be important, once you are notified that bookings are open.

Year 10 Work Experience

Year 10 students will have the opportunity to participate in a 3 week work experience program starting on the 26th of November and concluding on the 14th December. Students will be encouraged to negotiate a minimum of 25 hours per week unpaid work with the help of parents/carers and Jasmyn, ET Australia Secondary College’s Student Development Coordinator (SDC), in an area of interest to them. Students may stay with the same company in the same work experience trial for the duration of their work placement, however trialling various occupations may be a great opportunity.

During work experience Jasmyn, the SDC, will visit all students to monitor their progress and participation as well as receive feedback from their workplace supervisor. Students are fully covered by ET Australia’s insurance policy for the duration of approved work experience.

Students who are unable to find work placement are required to attend school until graduation.

Year 10 Graduation

The 2018 Year 10 Graduation has been booked in for Friday the 14th December 2018.

Information regarding the venue, ticket prices and times will be provided in the Term 4 college newsletter.

Year 10 HSC Minimum Standards Tests

Meeting the HSC minimum standards will mean that your child has the literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for success in learning and life after school.

If your child achieved a Band 8 or above in all of the 2017 Year 9 NAPLAN reading, writing and numeracy tests they are recognised as having met the HSC minimum standard in that particular area. They will not need to sit the corresponding online test. If they did not receive a Band 8 or above in all or any of the aforementioned tests they must complete the corresponding online tests.

ET Australia Secondary College will give year 10 students two opportunities throughout the year to sit the online tests at school.

The dates for the online tests are:

Term 3 Week 4:
Reading and writing – 14^th of August 2018
Numeracy – 15^th of August 2018
Catch up on missed exams – 16^th of August 2018

If you wish to discuss HSC minimum standards testing in further detail please do not hesitate to contact ETASC Curriculum Coordinator Kimberley Wheeler on 4323 1233 or via email on Kimberley.Wheeler@et.makearchive.com.au

Say What You Mean (SWYM) Writing Program

SWYM is a writing program to encourage students to Say What You Mean. All students will participate in a weekly lesson to build confidence in essay writing as they learn about format, text type, literacy skills and use of academic vocabulary.

After a successful start to SWYM, Year 9 and 10 students will be concentrating on introductions and conclusions for their persuasive writing this term. It will be great fun seeing the students implement the So What Factor and working on their ‘hooks’. Students will also enjoy a variety of spelling games which will work nicely with the return of Wazza wants a Word!

Year 7 and 8 students will start their Word Vomit creative writing programs which encourage students to blurt out (on paper) their amazing creative ideas and refine them through the art of drafting and editing. We are hoping to have one original story from each student by the end of the year with the opportunity to create a school creative writing magazine.

Year 10 students who sat the HSC online minimum standards testing last term are to be congratulated on their positive and mature approach to the tests, with many of our students reaching the required standard.

Procedure for Friday Classes – Years 9 and 10 Only

With the introduction of the SWYM writing program on Fridays in 2018, Year 9 and 10 students who are up to date with their work will be able to now leave at 12:55pm on a Friday.

Those students who have work outstanding will need to remain at school until 2:25pm to complete their work.

Parents/carers should avoid scheduling medical appointments or organising work shifts for students during this time so they are available to stay back for catch up if required.

ET Australia Secondary College Term Dates

2018 ET Australia Secondary College staff development days (no school for students):

• Monday 30th of April
• Tuesday 1st of May
• Monday 23rd of July
• Friday 28th of September

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