Middle School News - East Doncaster Secondary College
Middle School It has been a wonderfully busy and productive term for our Middle School students. Student schedules have been filled with the College Athletics Carnival, Interschool sports, Music camp and concerts, subject-based and Wellbeing incursions, lunch time and after school clubs, the Jewish Museum of Australia excursion, the Dante Alighieri Poetry Recitation Competition, Year […]
Middle SchoolIt has been a wonderfully busy and productive term for our Middle School students. Student schedules have been filled with the College Athletics Carnival, Interschool sports, Music camp and concerts, subject-based and Wellbeing incursions, lunch time and after school clubs, the Jewish Museum of Australia excursion, the Dante Alighieri Poetry Recitation Competition, Year 9 City Experience, Production rehearsals, IDAHOBIT Day, and Year 9 Semester 1 Exams. All these activities have been enjoyed alongside their rich Term 2 teaching and learning program. To round out the term this week, our “Out of Uniform Day” coincided with EDSC’s Big Freeze event. EDSC has a long-standing relationship with Fight MND and is committed to raising funds to help find a cure for this incurable neurodegenerative disease. We extend our gratitude to all students and staff who donated to the cause during our school-wide campaign this term, particularly those involved in the lunch time activities, including our Middle School Interact students who helped to run a sausage sizzle Well done to all for contributing to this worthy cause. Year 9 Exams and the ABCs of VCE PresentationThe Year 9 Semester 1 Exams took place last week, with students participating in English/EAL and Maths Exams. Students were extensively prepared for these exams by Year Level Coordinators and classroom teachers, and this certainly came through on the day. Students participated with maturity and confidence which was great to see. As communicated throughout the Semester, the efforts that Year 9 students make now will have an impact on their choices for next year, a process they will soon embark on with Course Information Sessions and Course Counselling in Term 3. In anticipation of course selection for 2027, on Tuesday 23 June, students attended “The ABCs of VCE” presentation. This was delivered by Assistant Principal of Senior School – Kate Leamont and Teaching and Learning Assistant Principal Brett Lamb. Students were informed about preparing for VCE in ways that involve developing positive and sustainable habits, and how the process of course selection and counselling is carried out at EDSC. Parents were also invited to come along to attend the same presentation yesterday evening as the first step in understanding their role in their child’s course selection. We encourage all Year 9 families to spend time these holidays carefully consulting the 2027 Course Handbooks before information evenings are held next term. Incursions and ExcursionsThis term, students have been fortunate enough to participate in multiple incursions that support the school’s curriculum, providing practical and interesting ways to reinforce their learning. With a particular focus on student social and emotional growth, activities and workshops have been delivered to students, including the Year 7 Teenager Mashed incursion and the Year 7, 8 and 9 Brainstorm incursion. These incursions are performances and presentations that delve into the landscape of adolescence, aiming to support students as they navigate the many different circles in which they operate. Year 9 students also participated in what always describe as the best week of their Year 9 life – City Experience! This week is life-changing for many of our students, and we are very proud of how the Year 9 cohort have embraced this experience and conducted themselves in the city. East Doncaster Secondary College students were also offered the opportunity to participate in the School Visits to Cultural Museums Project this term. This project aims to enhance student intercultural capability through participation in educational programs at cultural museums, proactively contributing to the prevention of racism and intolerance in our community. EDSC students was selected to participate in the project which provided free excursions to major cultural institutions, of which the Jewish Museum of Australia was offered to our school. We were delighted to send Year 7, 8 and 9 students to the museum along to this initiative which fosters cultural understanding as we do at EDSC, supporting our ongoing commitment to creating a culture of curiosity, care and compassion. It has certainly been an eventful term! I hope all families have a restful and enjoyable time over the holidays. Giulia CatalanoAssistant Principal of Middle SchoolCambodia Expedition 2027 – A Life-Changing OpportunityEDSC is thrilled to announce an exciting new international opportunity for our middle and senior school students. In partnership withCamps Internationalwe will be offering students who will be inYears 10 and 11 in 2027the chance to join a two-week expedition to Cambodia in September 2027. An information session will be held onWednesday 22 July 2026at lunchtime in theJLCto provide students with further details regarding the program, including:Program activities and educational outcomesTravel arrangements and supervisionEstimated costsEligibility and application processesStudent LunchesA reminder to parents that we are unable to deliver lunches to students during school time. It is the student’s responsibility to come and collect their lunchif it has been dropped off at Reception. We will not accept fast food take-away or any hot (warm) food. Hot (or warm) food is not suitableto be left at Reception due to food safety regulations regarding temperature control. Students will be notified by email if their lunch is to be collected at Reception. If lunch is not collected by the end of the day, it will not be kept. As a part of being prepared for the school day, it is important that students remember to bring their lunch. If a student forgets to bring their lunch, food is available from the Student Wellbeing Centre or available to purchase from the Canteen. PLEASE NOTE:Take-away food isnot allowedat the College during school hours. Under no circumstancesare students to be ordering take-away food to be delivered to the College. Uniform ReminderTheEast Doncaster Secondary College Student Dress Codeaims to foster a sense of community and belonging and encourages students to develop pride in their appearance, support East Doncaster Secondary College’s commitment to ensuring that our students feel equal and are dressed safely and appropriately for school activities. Our dress code also aims to reduce student competition on the basis of clothing and enhance the profile and identity of the school and its students within the wider community. Recently, there has been a notable increase in items being worn to school that are not in line with the EDSC Student Dress Code. These items include branded and plain black tracksuit pants (mostly Elite Eleven), runners (mostly black Nike Air Force 1 and Nike Low Recraft Grade), branded socks (mostly white Nike), hoodies and large and oversized hoop earrings. Please see the visual attached to this newsletter for examples of these non-uniform items. With the cooler months approaching, please be reminded of our uniform expectations particularly regarding layering for warmth. Students are not permitted to wear any of the listed items above to school or during school events. Please note that whilst the pants/shorts/skirt are not required to have the EDSC logo, the expectation is that the STYLE, COLOUR and MATERIAL are a close match to those sold atPSW, our official unform supplier. If familieshave any questions about this, they should contact Year Level Coordinators for advice prior to purchasing. If tracksuit pants without the College logo are worn as part of the PE Uniform, theymust not contain any visible branding. Only plain navy-blue tracksuit pants are acceptable. Black flare pants and leggings are not permitted to be worn at school. Students are welcome to wear additional layers underneath their uniforms. These layers must be plain white, with no logos, and covered by the school shirt, jumper or jacket. These additional layers should not replace any official school uniform items. If students choose to remove an outer layer, any non-school items must also be removed and kept out of sight. Other clothing accessories, religious or otherwise, should be plain black or navy, including scarves, hats and beanies. These items can be worn to and from school when it is particularly cold although are not to be worn indoors. Hair colours should be natural. Additionally, PE uniform should only be worn on days when Middle School students have a PE or Sport class. Wearing the PE uniform on non-PE days does not align with our uniform guidelines. For Senior School students, PE uniform is only to be worn on designated PE practical days, not every day students have PE. Colder weather in the winter termsdoes not permitstudents to wear the PE uniform as an alternative to the formal school uniform. We kindly ask that families take the opportunity over the school holidays to review their student’s uniform items to ensure they have the correct school uniform. Please prepare adequately for the cooler months ahead and if necessary, purchase winter uniform items accordingly. Middle School students have been reminded of this expectation during their Term 1 Values Assemblies and during classroom visits by their Year Level Coordinators, where consequences for being out of uniform next term and for the remainder of the year were reiterated. Students should expect to be issued a lunch time detention if they are not in the correct school uniform. Senior School students have been reminded through Year Level Coordinator communication and classroom teacher conversations and reminders. We ask that parents and carers support students in being in correct school uniform. Should families require support with uniform items, please reach out the Year Level Coordinators. College UniformFor Term 2 and Term 3 only, please refer to the Winter Uniform requirements. The expectation is for students to wear the dress and shorts only in Term 1 and 4 and the Winter skirts are for Winter Term 2 and 3. Shorts and Pants must be tailored and Navy. Student Attendance / Absence ReminderThe school must be informed of ALL absences, whether it be illness, appointments, holidays or any other reason. You can do this via the following options. The easiest way, is to login to Compass with your Parent Login and add submit an ‘Attendance Note’ for the time of absenceCalling the Absence Line BEFORE 8:30am on the day of the absence. Phone: 9842 2244 (dial option 1)Sending a note with the student for early departures. Teachers will not allow students out of class without a note or an approval on CompassFill in a ‘Student Absence Notification’ form for any extended length of absence including holidays, overseas travel etc. (The College must have any extended leave submitted in writing)If you have any attendance concerns or questions regarding an SMS message you have received, please call the College absence line and leave a message with your child’s details and we will follow up your enquiry. Please do not reply to the SMS as this service is not available. Please remind your child/ren that theymust sign outat the Middle School (Years 7,8,9) Compass Kiosk machines if they arrive late to school or have to leave early. UnwellPlease remind your child/ren not to contact you directly during the day to let you know they are unwell. Instead, if they are feeling unwell, they need to ask the teacher to visit our Sickbay and our First Aid Officer will contact you accordingly. If you need to pick them up this will be organised via Sickbay. Extended AbsencesPlease remember to fill in and return a ‘Student Absence Notification Form’ (Please see below) for any extended absences over 3 days. Please ask your child to drop a copy into Reception or you can email this form to our school email addresseast. doncaster. sc@education. vic. gov. auVCE studentsPlease remember to provide Medical Certificates for VCE students for any medical absences. This is to help maintain their VCE Attendance requirements for all students who are in Year 11 and Year 12 and students that are in Year 10 and completing a Year 11 or 12 subject. Please forward certificates to our school email addresseast. doncaster. sc@education. vic. gov. auStudent Absence Notification FormMandi PigdonAttendance OfficerStudent Compass ID / Library / PTV CardsPlease remind all students that they must carry their Student Compass ID/Library/PTV Cards with them at all times. ALL studentsmustsigninwith their card at theMiddle School Officewhen they are arriving late and signoutat theMiddle School Officewhen they are leaving early for any reason. The cards are also used for any student photocopying that is done at school. The EDSC Student Compass ID/Library card can be used as ID for student PTV (Public Transport Victoria) travel. They are required to carry this card as student identification while travelling on public transport. If a student loses their card, parents/guardians are able to re-order a replacement card via the Compass parent portal.