The Grapevine Newsletter 1-12-2023
PRINCIPAL DESK
The end of year program is always a little frantic. This year I’m pleased to say that we are frantic but for all the right reasons. You’ll read in this edition about Italian Week, $20 Boss and College representation at the Pasifika Festival. Our staff have worked hard to collaborate with students and our school community. Thank you so much to our parents and friends who have pitched in in one way or another recently, this is how we want Robinvale College to be; families, agencies and staff working together to support our students. Our students have shown over and over that they are capable. Our pride for them grows every time they step up and participate in academic and extracurricular events.
Staffing
Believe it or not we have almost employed the staff required to provide students with the learning program they want, and that the college is obligated to provide, the only gap is in Physical Education. In addition to providing the essentials, we have scope to broaden our STEM program, to provide extension classes for students who are excelling in Maths and English in the middle years and literacy intervention from Foundation and to increase options for the electives program. We have staff with time allocated to mentor and coach the 4 graduates and the overseas staff who will be starting with us. In total, at this stage, we will have 14 new staff next year. Of them, nine are from overseas, we are working madly behind the scenes to help them attain their visas.
We have employed a lead teacher Wellbeing Coordinator and a chaplain 2 days a week. Many of our Education Support Staff (our locals) are stepping into roles with more responsibility and will be instrumental in the smooth running of the school.
I have learned, and as part of the school community you will also have learned, not be too excited until the teachers walk through the door but so far so good. I would like to thank the Robinvale Community for helping us source housing for our new staff. Hopefully all the planets will align, and we’ll have most people starting on day one.
At this stage we will be farewelling Kate Zimmer and Micaela Davoli who will be leaving for the Mildura Senior College and Emma Price will be teaching at Elevation Secondary College. With Kate Zimmer leaving an opportunity became available to appoint an Assistant Principal for 2024. Congratulations to Brenda Latunipulu who will be stepping into the role and will be overseeing Wellbeing and Student Management.
The Principal role hasn’t been advertised yet so I have no news for you on that front.
The Week 9 & 10 Learning Program
The college was forced to rethink curriculum delivery for the two weeks before Activities Week because our eight Irish CRTs left last week. Alice Yates, Rikki Johnson, and Stephanie Fang have collaborated with staff and students to create an alternative timetable for weeks 9&10. Students have elected to learn more about robotics, cooking, debating, art, music, media, dance, sports and VCE toolbox. The Primary students are participating in the swimming program and are learning about road safety. Attendance has been good, and students are having a wonderful time showing their teachers how and what they like to learn.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
A collaborative effort between the Learning Through Connection class and some of the 9 /10 students, saw an advancement in the Australian native section of the community garden. Students were involved in cleaning up the garden, weeding, planting, and mulching. With a plan to turn the native section of the garden into an Australian native edible garden, a Midyim berry and a male and female Pepper Berry tree were planted. We hope that in the following years, students can continue to add Australian edible natives to the garden and enjoy their culinary delights.
YEAR 7 HEALTH
As a result of the great effort the year 7 to 10 health students have shown in Term 4, both academically and in following the class and school expectations, students had the opportunity to participate in some healthy cooking in their final lesson. The students showed some great skills in the preparation and presentation of their chicken burritos.
CANTEEN NEWS
We would also like to acknowledge Juscinda Mattschoss and her LOFT 13 Canteen staff for their service over the past 5 years. We appreciate the kindness and delicious food you have provided our students and staff. Jusinda has been a wonderful assest to the college with the Canteen. When the Canteen was in the process of renovations Juscinda and her team organised a food van and prepared and served all the students and staff. She catered a many of times for Staff PDs and during the COVID lockdown when the school was opened Juss and her team organised the lunches for the students that were on campus. In 2022 Juscinda had a very big year with the birth of her son Huxton, Juscinda was still at the canteen, which we were very grateful for.
Loft 13 Canteen will be finishing up on the 15th December and we would like to give a warm welcome to Ashlyn Healy from AJs on George who will be running the canteen in 2024.
We wish Juscinda all the best on her new adventures and spending time with her partner Tom and little boy Huxton.
$20 BOSS MARKET
During Term 4, Year 7 to 10 students embarked on a journey to learn all there is to know about entrepreneurship. They had to come up with a viable business idea for Market Day, and create a presentation detailing their business plan, which they then had to pitch to their teachers. Each student got a $20 start-up investment, which they needed to repay after the Market Day. The next step was to design a logo and a slogan, as well as flyers and posters that they used to advertise their business. Students learned about traditional, as well as more contemporary marketing methods. They drew up budgets, made ingredients lists, sourced materials and equipment, and worked really hard to bring their business ideas to life.
And then came Market Day, and WOW, what a day it was! Music was playing, and stalls were buzzing with community members, friends and family supporting our amazing students. There was something for everyone- even carnival games for our younger visitors to enjoy! It’s also fitting to make mention of our businesses that weren’t necessarily visible on Market Day due to the nature of their ventures (Craamp Lawn Mowing Services and Jacob’s Car Washing), but that still achieved excellent results! These students worked incredibly hard offsite and turned fantastic profits! A huge congratulations to every single student that participated in this project- you’ve certainly done Robinvale College proud!
And then a special congratulations to our People’s Choice winners, Cooper Jenner, Joel George and Johnathon Manu, who created C&J Car wash! They showed dedication to the project through the entire term, and planned and marketed their business like true entrepreneurs! Ahead of the day, they took bookings, but once they saw that there were a lot of walk-ins, they recruited (and paid!) an excellent helper (the very hardworking Wade Best!) so that they could clean two cars at a time, instead of just one. The students started at 9am and continued all the way to 6:00pm with the biggest smiles on their faces all day long, despite the heat and the physical nature of their business. The team showed perseverance, leadership skills, excellent time management, and amazing customer service! Well done, Boys! And also a special thank you to the Robinvale/Euston Business Association (REBA) who very generously helped us to reward C&J Car Wash for the stellar job that they did!
Everyone agreed that the $20 Boss project was a huge success, and this would not have been possible if it weren’t for the determination and hard work of our students and school staff (including our lovely Irish teachers), and the support from the community and the local businesses. Thank you very much to every single person that contributed to making this project such an amazing experience!
$20 BOSS MARKET DAY WINNERS
The Market Day was a huge success, and it was really difficult to choose a winner- we had so many amazing businesses, and so much fun was had by all!
We ultimately looked at dedication to the project during the entire term, the viability of the business idea, planning, marketing ahead of the day, teamwork, customer service, as well as the success and profitability of the business on the day.
Our winners were Cooper, Joel and Johnathon (Wade was their recruit on the day😊) and they created C&J Car wash.
I really want to thank the Robinvale/Euston Business Association for helping us reward these boys for the amazing work that they have done, not only on the day, but for the entire term that we’ve been working on this project. Thank you so much.
ITALIAN WEEK CELEBRATION
The Robinvale College Italian Week kicked off on Monday, starting with a whole school assembly with guest speakers, Joe Albanese, Santina Zappia, Maria Chirchiglia & Nat Mouvet. Our guests spoke about their experiences of their families/themselves arriving to Australia. At lunchtime, a salami competition was held, which was won by Rosa Chirchiglia, students then had lots of fun dancing the ‘tarantella dance’. A big THANK YOU to our guest speakers for taking the time to speak to our students today. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
On Wednesday the student in the primary made pizzas with Mrs Zappia while the secondary students made Tiramus with Miss Davoli. on the Thursday there was a Soccer game between staff and Students. To finish off the week celebrations Pasta lunch was on the menu with Mrs Carmel Falvo and Mrs Angela
Garreffa cooking the pasta,and parents donated pots of sauce for the day thank you to Carmel, Angela,Ginette Chirchiglia and Lyida Davoli for the pasta sauce. Due to the bad weather condition on the friday the out door activties of Trantella dancing, card games and face painting were cancelled but it didn't stop the community area buildings celebrating in their buildings with the 10-12 building have a ball dancing and enjoying their pasta lunch. Special thank you to our staff Micaela,Maria, Ester, Travis, Santina, Rosa, Bobbie-Jo, Georgie, and Rose Rogers for joining Micaela’s team and working together to make last week fun and informative.
ROBINVALE COLLEGE TAKES ON THE PASIFIKA FESTIVAL IN SHEPPARTON
Our Robinvale College students have unintendedly formed a Tongan dance group who are called “Si’i Kae Há” which translates to small but significant. The students were invited to the Pasifika Festival to showcase their Tongan dances and singing. They truly lived up to their name, while there were only 18 from the original +40 dancers on stage, they elegantly rocked the stage and danced and sung their hearts out. It was a magnificent day of cultural embrace.
We would like to thank Sam Fangatua, for preparing the students and teaching the choreography for their dances. We’d also like to thank Siua Taumoefolau for volunteering his time to play the drums – without you Siua, we could not perform the traditional má’ulu’ulu. A special thanks to Jess Kei and Empower for their support in organising food for the students on the trip to and from Shepparton. Thank you to Sela Ale and Paula Finau for travelling with us and assisting in the backstage preparation. We were also fortunate to have parents and relatives travel individually to join us in Shepparton and cheer our students on. Finally, a big thank you to Stephanie Fang, Kabi Motlali, Elizabeth Minoneti and Lueni Kolofale who volunteered their time to support our Si’I Kae Há dancers.
We can’t wait to see more from you all Si’i Kae Há dancers.
FOUNDATION TRANSITION
Our 2024 Foundation students had their second transition session this past week! They listened to stories, did some boogies, got creative with a bit of art & craft and of course - enjoyed a play on the playground equipment! Everyone had so much fun and we look forward to their third session.
RENTALS NEEDED FOR 2024
We have been lucky enough to secure teachers to our school for 2024. Now, we're on the lookout for housing in the Robinvale area. If you know of any available rentals or have a property, we'd love to hear from you!Kindly reach out to by contacting College: 
(03) 5026 3704.Your support makes a difference! 