St Mary's Coptic Orthodox College

Newsletter Issue No. 5

Primary Chapel Message - 4 August 2023

(Click on the link below)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sMQONCAfEHHaEq21NxQs937VwjG7oiUx/view?usp=sharing

Student Safety on the School Bus

The provision of school buses to service the students who attend the College is part of the College’s ongoing commitment regarding the care and protection of its students. The College is also committed to the safety of its staff, including bus drivers.

All students have the right to feel safe on the College bus. Students, bus drivers and parents/carers have an obligation to ensure that a safe environment is maintained on the College buses at all times.

Student behaviour on and around buses is of vital importance to their safety, for operating a safe and effective bus service and for maintaining student access to the College. Therefore, we urge all parents and carers who utilise the College bus service to transport their child/ren to and from school, to discuss with their child/ren the importance of:

1. Wearing seatbelts, where fitted - Some students refuse to wear their

seatbelt when the driver asks them to do so or unbuckle it once the bus

takes off. This presents high risk to your child’s safety while the bus is

moving.

2. Staying in their seat - Some students leave their seat; they stand up and walk around while the bus is moving. Your child/ren need to understand that if the driver must stop the bus all of a sudden, they may fall down and get injured.

3. Listening and following the driver’s instructions – The bus driver is expected to maintain order on the bus and a safe environment for all students. However, the driver should be able to focus on the road and pay attention to traffic conditions. Therefore, students are expected to demonstrate excellent behaviour while travelling on the bus and listen to and follow the driver’s instructions.

Any misbehaviour on the bus will be reported to the respective Cluster or Year Level Coordinator, who will follow up by an appropriate action or sanction. We all want students and drivers to get home to their families safely. To this end, we urge you to have this conversation regularly with your child/ren.

Wishing all students and bus drivers safe travel.

College Bus Drivers' Meeting - Thursday 10 August 2023

Year 9 City Cite Experience

Dear Parents and Carers,

For the first time in the history of SMCOC, we provided our Year 9 students with the City Cite experience.

This was a compulsory program for Year 9 students as part of the SMCOC Curriculum to equip the students with the key skills for developing independence.

This program helped develop in our students, communication and collaboration skills. This authentic real-world experience gave the students a taste of adult life in the city.

The purpose of City Cite was to provide a dynamic experience for young people, where they can learn to work with others and to develop critical personal strengths such as persistence and resilience, to learn from feedback and to build vital attributes such as curiosity, courage and agency.

All students and staff that attended thoroughly enjoyed this valuable experience.

Mrs. Mervet Boulos

Head of Primary

LAMONT BOOK FAIR 2023

Dear Staff, Parents and Students,

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL BOOK FAIR 2023

This year our annual SMCOC LIBRARY Lamont Book Fair will take place on Friday 1st September 2023 in the MPRB straight after the Children’s Book Week Parade. It will cater for students from Foundation to Year 6 and is a great way to foster your child’s love of reading.

Only students who bring money will attend the Book Fair: Cash only will be accepted. Parents should place the money in a zip-lock bag with the child’s name & Year level on it. No more than $20 maximum!

The cost of books will range from $5 to $20. We will be accepting payments in cash only and would like it in small denominations if possible. Library Staff will handle all payments and issue receipts & any change for the cash purchases.

There will be NO REFUNDS OF MONEY. The Fair will be packed up at the end of the day on Friday and will be collected on the following Monday morning by the Lamont Company.

Sneak Preview: A list of books available will be released a few days before the Fair. Due to time constraints, no “Wish Lists” will be sent home, and no orders will be taken if particular items run out. No books will be reserved for later collection.

Years Foundation to 6 students will have an opportunity to visit the MPRB to select and purchase a book.

Primary class groups will be accompanied by their teachers or Learning Services Officers to the MRPB, for their chance to make their purchase. Times will be allocated to all Year Levels.

All students are encouraged to bring their own bags to carry home their purchases, as no plastic bags will be issued to students.

Rosemary Sullivan

College Librarian

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge 2023

Foundation to Year 3 students at St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox College are excited to be participating in the 2023 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

The PRC application offers a range of exciting features including:

 access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)

 a modern user-friendly interface

 rewarding students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved

 the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 8 September 2023.

In 2023, more than 716 schools have signed up with more than 270,451 school students registered. 1836 Early Childhood settings & parents have also registered. Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers. In addition, St Mary’s College is rewarding the participating Foundation to Year 3 students with a Mr Men storybook for completing the 2023 PRC Challenge by 25th August 2023, as well as a PRC Book Mark.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit:

https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge

Dental van

Dental van visit!

We were very fortunate to have the dental van visit our College in the first week of Term 3. This initiative is aimed to promote dental health and provide our students with convenient oral health care services.

Maintaining good oral health is crucial for overall well-being and we should all continue to prioritise our oral health in the future. We had a very positive response to the dental van this year, with a lot of students using this opportunity to ensure that they maintain regular check-ups.

Kate Tsiolas

Head of Curriculum Foundation – Year 6

Secondary's Excellence Award

On Monday 31st of July, we celebrated the high academic achievements of our Secondary students. Many parents and carers came and joined us in celebrating our students’ wonderful academic achievements.

The students were presented with badges that they wore so proudly. We also celebrated our very special Father Macarius Awards. Father Tadros humbly named these awards after our beloved Late Father Macarius.

We are very proud of our students. We thank our teachers, our parents and the College community for the support and dedication to our students.

Mrs. Mervet Boulos

Head of Primary

Acting Year 8 Coordinator

Acting Co Leader of Middle School