Hilltop News - Weekly Newsletter

This is the second last week in which a full print run will take place.

As a school, we are very conscious of the amount of paper that we consume. While some usage is unavoidable, we believe that the weekly publication of the newsletter uses a significant amount of paper across the year. The vast majority of schools in the State have ceased the paper versions of their newsletter and we believe that it is time that we did too.

We are asking every family and recipient of our newsletter to provide their email address so we can send you the publication every week. Attached to today’s newsletter is a form for you to complete. There is also a box you can tick if you are happy to access the newsletter on our website – with the weekly edition uploaded on the same day as the newsletter is published.

Our last full run of the printed version will be on Tuesday August 29, so you will need to log your email address with us prior to that date. However, each week we will still print a limited number of hard copies and these will be available from the General Office.

Click here to download the latest Hilltop News

Important End of Year Dates

Please see the document linked below for the finishing dates for the various year levels. If you have any questions, please call the school and speak with the relevant Year Level Coordinator.

Click here to download Important End of Year Dates as a .pdf

Principal's Report - Tuesday 22nd August 2017

Thank you to our Education Support Staff
August is Education Support (ES) staff month and last week was ES week. It is timely to reflect on the vast range of jobs that our ES staff do in and around DMSC and without them, many aspects of the school would simply not function. On behalf of our school community, I would like to thank the following ES staff members for their ongoing dedication to their roles at our college: Sue Bell, Steve Bouts, Julie Elliott, Tim Ivett, Julie Nooteboom, Helen Polack, Donna Schultz, Georgina Smith, Kaye Webb and Suzi Wouters. Your efforts are truly appreciated.

NAPLAN Results
This week, families with students in Years 7 and 9 will receive their son or daughter’s NAPLAN results. The document which has been sent home contains a series of graphs which show the student’s achievement, measured against national benchmarks. There is also an information sheet for each family, explaining how to read the graphs and further explaining how the NAPLAN data can be used by schools to analyse student progress. I would again like to remind all parents and carers that NAPLAN is just one measure on one day, it is not the sum total of your child’s abilities. However, in a broader sense, whole class data enables us as a school to see what areas we have strength in and also the areas that stand out as requiring more attention.

If you have any questions about your child’s NAPLAN results, please contact Mrs Charlotte Pyers – our Teaching and Learning Coordinator, or me, here at the school.

Tidy Towns Judging
This Wednesday we will be hosting the Tidy Towns judges here at DMSC. Several of our school projects have been entered into this year’s awards and members of our Hands on Learning (HOL) group will be the school guides, accompanied by Mr Lyndon Kuhne, who together with Mr Luke Werner, oversees this new program. We are very proud of the progress that the HOL group have been making in just a short period of time.

Parent Teacher Interviews
On Wednesday August 30, we will be holding Parent Teacher Interviews, commencing at 3.45pm. This evening will provide an excellent opportunity for you to discuss the progress of your child in all of their subjects. Staff will be available until 6.00pm.

Presentation from Glenn Manton
Last Friday, students from Year 11 and 12 participated in a “motivational” session with Glenn Manton. Glenn challenged the students to embrace who they really are and encouraged all students to take the time to get to know the people who are around them. That includes, fellow students, people you play sport or work with – and he stressed that the key to all relationships is communication. Please see photos later in the newsletter.

Curriculum Day
This Friday, students will not be required to attend school. All staff will be involved with professional learning on this day, as well as updating their CPR training. We hope our students enjoy this mid-term long weekend.

Help us go GREEN - Newsletter via email or online
Second last printed edition!
As a school, we are very conscious of the amount of paper that we consume. While some usage is unavoidable, we believe that the weekly publication of the newsletter uses a significant amount of paper across the year. The vast majority of schools in the State have ceased the paper versions of their newsletter and we believe that it is time that we did too. We are asking every family and recipient of our newsletter to provide their email address so we can send you the publication every week. Attached to today’s newsletter is a form for you to complete.

There is also a box you can tick if you are happy to access the newsletter on our website - www.dmsc.vic.edu.au/hilltop – with the weekly edition uploaded on the same day as the newsletter is published. Our last full run of the printed version will be on Tuesday August 29, so you will need to log your email address with us prior to that date. However, each week we will still print a limited number of hard copies and these will be available from the General Office.

Anne Gawith
Principal

Other News

Hall of Fame Photos
We are currently trying to update some of the photos in our DMSC Hall of Fame. There are several people whose families we do not have contacts for and so we are asking if members of the community might be able to assist us in trying to locate photos of the following people: