The Newsletter Friday 23rd August 2024

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

What a super star we have in our very own Rosa and her interview on the Sunrise Show. What a wonderful job  promoting and showcasing our town!

Term 3 at Robinvale continues to move ahead for staff and students. Our commitment is to ensure all students have a great learning experience every day. At our recent whole school assembly, I spoke with students about striving for excellence in all their endeavours. At Robinvale College we show this by being persistent and demonstrating resilience in our everyday activities. We also do this through being hopeful and displaying a positive work ethic. To be ready to learn each day students need to: Be on time and in full school uniform, Bring the right equipment to class 3 – Mobile phones must be securely stored in lockers or handed to the office, pay attention and follow instructions, work for the whole lesson and not disrupt any other students learning. To improve we need to practice until a strong learning and work ethic becomes a habit.

Athletics Day 2024

Even though the weather did not start well what a great day at our Ath Sports. Thank you to Travis, Tim and the organising team – great job! Congratulations to our age champions: and Congratulations to our winning House Gold with Green in second position and Blue in third position.

So many things are happening over the next couple of weeks.

Pyjama Party Day  

On Friday 30th August the grade six students are fundraising for their Graduation with a Pyjama Party Day. Students and Staff are invited to dress up in their Pyjamas for the day for a gold coin donation, there will a pancake breakfast followed by an afternoon full of fun movies and popcorn. Foundation to 4 are invited to bring in their teddy bear for a Teddy Bear picnic on the day.

Father’s Day Breakfast

I am very excited that our Father’s Day Breakfast (Dads, grandfathers or your child’s special person) will be held on Thursday 29th August from 8:30am to 9:30 am. The kids will love to see you there and you will have a chance to show off your sporting skills kicking a footy or shooting some hoops with each other. You are all invited to enjoy a bacon and egg roll/s prepared by Damian and his helpers.

Book Week Parade

Our Book Parade will be celebrated on Friday the 6^th of September. The children and staff would love for parents, family and friends to attend and enjoy the wonderful costumes. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to start thinking about your book week costumes!

Father’s Day Stall

Also, on the 29^th children will have the opportunity to purchase a gift for their special father figure. The stall will be running in the Piazza between ??? .  Special thanks to our Rosa for coordinating the stall. 

Science Week.

 Thanks to Jo-San for coordinating our Science Week activities. Thanks to all the staff who participated; the children had a ball! It has been beautiful to see our children thinking more scientifically. I was very proud of all our students when our school was contacted to congratulate our children on their behaviour at the Fizzics Incursion. Well done every one!

Planning for 2025 school numbers

 It is at this time of year that we begin to forecast how many students will be attending our school in 2025. These forecasts are very important as it tells me how many classes will be required for 2025. This of course impacts on how many teachers we need and how many classrooms we need. Can I ask that all parents advise us if your child/student children will be leaving in 2025. Conversely, if you know of any families who will be joining our school, please ask them to contact our office for enrolment forms and details.

Thank you.

Lyn Coulter 

ATHLETICS DAY 2024

Age Champions 

ROBINVALE COLLEGE CHAPLAINCY SERVICES

Hello, my name is Sam Mitchell and I am writing to you to inform you of the chaplaincy services offered at Robinvale College. I want this letter to provide you with some information about what chaplaincy services are available, and a little bit about who I am.

I grew up as a local Mildura boy, before I moved away and joined the Australian Defence Force in both Navy and then Airforce. After considering my career options for a while I eventually studied for a Diploma of Chaplaincy and moved to Airforce reserves from the start 2023.

Now as Chaplain at Robinvale College, I am committed to providing care and support to primarily students, but also families and staff who may seek it. These services are open to anyone that would like them and can include any the following parts of my role that you may voluntarily request.

The primary elements to my role include.

1 - Pastoral care:

                Pastoral care for those that find it helpful, is providing a non-judgemental and empathic listening ear to those who may be struggling with an issue and just needs someone to talk to. This can include looking after the physical, emotional, social, intellectual wellbeing needs of a person. There can be ongoing check-ins from time to time especially when times are tough and providing a safe space to talk.

2 - Confidential conversations:

                As a Chaplain confidentiality and privacy is key. There are times when having someone to talk to and share what is going on is all that is needed, and as a chaplain I am here to be present and listen and to do so respecting that these conversations will be very personal. The only times confidentiality can and will be breached is if the safety of the individual or others may be at risk - (Chaplains are mandatory reporters).

3 - Referrals.

                As a Chaplain I am required to work within the scope of my role and make referrals to other professional services as appropriate to the situation and that may be of benefit to the individual or family. If someone else is better able to help in your situation I am happy to help you find the best help possible. If you need some assistance with something and you are unsure where to go, I can help point you in the right direction.

4 - Emotional understanding and techniques.

                Sometimes we all struggle to understand our emotions and work through them in a safe and positive way. There are many techniques available to help improve our understanding of what we are feeling and how to better regulate and control our emotions. Things such as types of breathing exercises, drawing, and various games are all activities that can be offered as part of my role.

5 - Group programs and activities.

                Part of my role is to offer group activities that may help with building various skills and improving engagement in the education context. The type of activities vary but often relate to life skills such as dealing with grief & loss; social skill development, resiliency, team building etc.

I hope this information is useful to you. For those wanting to use any of these chaplaincy services, I am available at school during normal school days. There is a consent form which can be provided for parents and/or mature minor students wishing to utilise this service. For more information please feel free to call the school and ask for me directly or feel free to email me directly samuel.mitchell@education.vic.gov.au

Kind Regards,

Samuel Mitchell

Chaplain - Robinvale college

VET TRADIES

These are pictures of the VET Tradies students who over the last several weeks have been adding some art to the Community Garden area.   They have undertaken a unit from the Cert 2 in Design Fundamentals (Produce Creative Work).  Working with Chicken wire, plaster and paints the students had free range of their designs and have come up with some brilliant pieces, that are now on display.

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

Science was alive in week 5, as Robinvale students from Foundation to year 10 celebrated all that is amazing in science.

Students from years 7 to 10 completed and displayed the Science Fair Projects they have been working so hard on, ready for school voting. Winners will be announced at the week 7 Monday morning assembly and will be entered into the national Think Science Competition, where they will be competing against schools around Australia.

On Wednesday, the Primary school participated in the Robinvale Science Activities Day, where they were invited to participate in a range of activities within the secondary science building. During these activities students were able to explore their creativity and curiosity as they carried out experiments rich in chemistry and physics.

Students from foundation to year 8 were also lucky enough to join St Mary’s again this year, to participate in the Fizzics Science Show on Thursday. The show highlighted some of the excitement that science brings, with students expressing their enjoyment across the school.