A WORD FROM THE PRINCIPAL

You are about to begin a new and exciting stage of your education at Noble Park Secondary College. We have high expectations of the way in which our students conduct themselves as members of the college. You too, I am sure, will have much to give your new college.

Our College offers a wide variety of opportunities for you to do well. Some of these areas of involvement are in class work, sporting contests, concerts and plays, gymnastics, computer, instrumental music, singing, horticulture and community work for the college. There are, of course, many more chances for you to develop your individual skills. The college Awards Commendation Certificates for excellent effort and achievement. I look forward to presenting many of these to Year 7 students throughout 2008.

The teachers of the college will be very helpful to you throughout your career here. This is especially important as you settle in during your first year. You will soon learn the names of your teachers and will find them very willing to assist you in answering any questions about a wide range of matters. Do not be shy to ask them about anything which you would like to know. I too, am always pleased when students introduce themselves to me as I walk around the college.

My best wishes for a very happy and successful career at Noble Park Secondary College. I look forward to meeting you and your parents.

Andy Stevenson
PRINCIPAL

IMPORTANT PEOPLE TO KNOW      top

Year Level Head MrsTheoharis

Your Year Level Head is a most important person. If you need help for anything your home group teacher or the year level head are the persons to see first. Make sure you know where her office is - outside B1.
  

Student Welfare Coordinator Mrs S. Jamieson

The student welfare co-ordinator has time available to help students with anything from books, uniform and financial assistance through to personal problems. By discussing the problem with someone you trust, solutions can often be found.

If further help is required the S.W.C. can refer students to counselling or to outside agencies such as the Youth Resource Centre, Family Mediation or Community Health Centres.

Remember, "Nothing is so bad that you can't talk to someone about it!
   

Home Group Teacher

Even though you won't have one single teacher like in primary school, you will have a Home Group Teacher who you will see at twice every day during Home Group Assembly, often your home group teacher will teach you in at least two of your classes for example English and Social Education. The Home Group Teacher will then have more time to get to know you and that's very important!

Your Home Group Teacher should be the person to see first whenever you need help or just someone to talk to.

Home Group is held for ten minutes at the start of the day and five minutes at the end of lunch time. You always meet in the same room. It is a very important time because your home group teacher will read the Student Bulletin to you, mark the roll and issue uniform passes. This helps you to keep up with what is going on in the school. There is often important school news that will affect you.

The Home Group Teacher will be involved in the organization of a number of activities such as; Year 7 camp, "Getting To Know You" - Parent and Student BBQ, lunchtime activities and a special transition timetable in the first few week of the year.

These activities are designed to help students settle into the college smoothly and: form new friendships

• develop self esteem
• build confidence
• develop organizational skills

The way your day is organized at Secondary School is completely different to the way it was organized at Primary School. There are 6 classes each day plus a 10 minute and a 5 minute home group assembly.

College Hours
(Normal Day - Please click here for special day bell times)

Time

Locker Bell - This bell rings 10 minutes before class is to begin, students can then enter the corridors to collect their books from the lockers. Students can only go to the lockers before school, recess, beginning/ end of lunchtime and when school finishes.

Warning Bell - The bell rings 3 minutes before class begins, by this time you should be moving to the classroom ready to begin your lesson.

On some days we have a General School Assembly these occur approximately once every month, each period is then reduced by 5 minutes to allow the whole school to assemble for 30 minutes at the end of recess. During assembly we often have interesting guest speakers, award presentations etc.

Wet Weather Day - The program remains the same for the day except lunchtime is shortened by 10 minutes and students are allowed to go home 10 minutes early!

Located at various places around the college are Timetables, which tell you what subjects are on for your class, the initials of your teacher, and the room number. All the rooms are numbered, and you will get used to this very quickly. It may look confusing at first, but do not worry because your teachers will show you how to read the Timetable. For example:

You will be given a diary at the start of next year. Apart from containing lots of information (including college rules), your diary should be used in a number of ways:

• writing down and planning your homework
• writing messages between parents and teachers
• writing out your timetable
• at the back there are absence, lateness and uniform notes

Your diary is a 'business' diary, not a 'personal' diary; so don't write personal things in there and keep it free of graffiti and pictures.

You must take your diary to every class and home each night. Your parents should check your diary each night and sign it once a week. This will be monitored by your Home Group Teacher.

Homework is an essential part of school work, this is where you can work at your own pace. Students will always have homework to do, it can be revision, reading, researching, preparing for tests, finishing off classwork or working on set tasks/ projects. Your homework should be listed in the college diary each lesson.

Students in Year 7 should expect on average to around one hour each night (five nights per week). Students at Noble Park Secondary College should never be able to use the excuse "I don't have any homework tonight!"

In Year 7 you will study 9 different subjects. Unlike Primary School, you will probably have a number of different teachers. In that way you will get to know several teachers in a very short time. As well, you will have a Home Group Teacher who will help you, especially in your early days at the college. The subjects for Years 7 & 8 are listed below.

Students will study the following subjects for the whole year:

• English 5 periods
• Mathematics 5 periods
• Science 4 periods
• Study of Society & Environment 4 periods
• Physical Education 3 periods
• Information Technology 2 periods
• LOTE (Japanese or German) 3 periods
• Food Technology 2 periods
• ARTS 2 periods

TOTAL 30 PERIODS/WEEK

NOTES:

LOTE - Students in Year 7 choose to study German or Japanese for the entire year. In Year 8 students continue to study the language studied in Year 7.

ESL students, will study extra English rather than LOTE (unless parents specifically request that LOTE be studied).

ARTS – Arts includes units such as Music, Art, Ceramics and Graphics.

School is a community of people who live and work together in groups, either large or small. To assist students in learning, school groups depend on individuals co-operating in caring about, and having respect for the rights and needs of others.

Students are responsible for their own behaviour. They must accept the consequences when they are wrong and not excuse themselves with "What about the others" etc.

We expect our students to be polite to their teachers and to each other. You must consider and respect the wishes and the feelings of others. "Please, Thankyou", "Excuse me" etc are to be the norm.

School is a place for learning. The teacher's task is to teach and the student's task is to learn. Students must obey teachers' reasonable instructions at all times.

We try not to have too many rules. Those we do have are to protect you from danger or inconvenience.

If students do break the college rules, your teachers will ensure that the consequence is fair and appropriate.

You will find a list of rules in your school diary, please read them!

You are expected to wear correct uniform to school every day. If there is a good reason for not wearing it (e.g. if it needs mending) see the Junior School Head during morning Home Group Assembly with a note explaining why you are out of uniform and he/she will give you a uniform pass.

NAMING: All garments must be clearly labeled with the student’s name.

CLEANLINESS: Students are to ensure that they maintain a neat, clean and non-offensive appearance at all times, in keeping with the College ethos.

JEWELLERY: If a student has pierced ears, studs or sleepers may be worn Sleepers must be less than I cm in diameter. NO other jewellery other than a watch is to be worn, apart from religious necklaces, which must be worn under the uniform. If other jewellery is worn it will be confiscated.

MAKE-UP. Make-up must not be worn. Nail polish, other than clear, must not be worn.

SHOES: Are to be polishable leather, not suede, and are to be kept polished.

SHIRTS: Are to be of a length that is able to be tucked in at all times, and are to be buttoned up at all times.

JACKETS: Jackets may not be worn instead of jumpers, only in addition to jumpers.

HAIR: Must be clean and neatly groomed. Must be tied back when student is working in areas where safety procedures and hygiene rules must be adhered to.

REMEMBER! ALL GARMENTS MUST BE CLEARLY LABELLED.

Noble Park Secondary College has a very well equipped library. Although the library is larger than your primary school library, it has essentially the same layout and resources. Books and audio-visual materials are arranged by the Dewey Decimal System of classification, and there are magazine sections, two photocopiers and a borrowing desk for library loans. The library stock is fully computerised and you will be shown how to search for books on the computer.

Books for homework may be borrowed overnight and sometimes for one week. Fiction books may be borrowed for up to 3 weeks. Always return books on time or re-borrow them.

Students have access to IBM computers with CD ROM drives in the library, both systems have CD ROM drives. A range of CD titles are available for students to use. One computer is connected to the ‘internet’ and students may use it for research purposes.

In addition, the library has a large range of ethnic language reading books in Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, etc, for loan. Always ask the library staff if you have difficulty with anything in the library - they are there to help you.

At Noble Park Secondary College students have access to excellent computer facilities. There are four computer rooms with over 100 computers. Students can study computer subjects from year seven through to VCE.

Latest software are used on the computers. All Hewlett-Packard computers have Windows 2000 (Operating System) and Office 2000 and students use these programs for their word processing, database and spreadsheet assignments. The computers also have Microsoft Publisher for Windows loaded and this program is used to perform desktop publishing activities.

All the computers are connected to the INTERNET and may be used by students for research. The computer rooms are open every lunchtime and students are encouraged to use the facilities.

Noble Park Secondary College has an extensive program in inter-school sport including Years 7 - 12. Within the college grounds students are provided with excellent sporting facilities which include a fully equipped gymnasium and college hall, extensive sporting grounds eg: tennis courts, basketball courts, hockey field, and football oval.

There are three major activities that include the whole school; swimming, cross country and athletics. Students who are interested in participating in any of these activities will first compete at the school level and if successful will continue on at the inter-school level and may even progress to state level championships.

Summer and winter inter-school sports occur during the year, Year 7 and 8 students participate in the junior level. Students are offered a range of team sports such as Volleyball, Football, Netball, Soccer and Hockey. There may be many other specialist activities including golf, gymnastics, diving and lawn bowls.

The college provides opportunities for all students to participate in a diverse range of sporting activities within and outside the college.

The college employs a part-time First Aid Officer. In the case of illness or accident at school students should report to the First Aid Officer, or the teacher on duty. It is a good idea not to come to school if you are sick as our facilities are limited and depending on the seriousness of your condition you may be:

• kept in class
• placed in sick bay
• parents contacted and sent home under their supervision
• Placed in the care of ambulance officers or taken to doctor/hospital

If students need to take medication during the day, it should be given to the care of the First Aide Officer and not left in the locker.

Students at Noble Park Secondary College have lots of opportunities to become involved in activities which broaden their experiences beyond those of the normal classroom. These programs may be academic, sporting or cultural and provide acknowledgement, encouragement and develop students' self esteem.

Year 7 students can get involved in many ways for example:

• Music Program - If you are a budding musician you could be a member of the College Band.
• Debating - Aspiring to be a politician? Students participate in interschool debates and the Annual Staff-Student Debate.
• Public Speaking - Students are encouraged to speak at General Assemblies and participate in Public Speaking competitions.
• Drama performances - Students enjoy displaying their acting ability in Junior school productions
• Sport - All students have the opportunity to compete and participate in a wide range of sporting programs both within and outside the college.
• Excursions and Camps - Students participate in a range of educational and recreational excursions/camps throughout the year. Year 7 have a camp in the first term, its great fun!
• Japanese Sister School - Noble Park Secondary College has a Sister School in Japan, Shin Minato High School. In 2001 a group of students travelled to Japan and stayed with the families of Shin Minato students. In 2002 a group of Japanese students will come and staye with us!
• Horticulture - Got a green thumb? A well equipped horticulture complex gives students the opportunity to develop interest, skills and knowledge in plant propagation and care.

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY BOOKS AND THINGS?

Since you won't have a home room with your own desk or tray, you will be issued with a locker in the first week of school. You will need to bring a padlock from home so you can lock your locker. Year 7 lockers are in B corridor. Keep your locker locked at all times - unfortunately there are always a few dishonest people about. If you must bring something special or valuable to school, or something that won't fit in your locker, leave it with your Year Level Head for safe keeping.

WHAT DO I DO IF I DON'T FEEL WELL OR I AM HURT?

The college has a sick bay, and sick bay attendant who is funded by parent contributions. If you are sick or injured, go to the sick bay and see the sick bay attendant. If you can't find her, see your Year Level Head, an Assistant Principal or any other teacher. If you use an asthma inhaler, nasal spray or take any other medication on a regular basis, you may leave a spare supply with the sick bay attendant (make sure your name is clearly marked on the container).

LOST SOMETHING?

If you have lost something, check the Junior School Office at the end of B corridor.
Make sure that your name in on everything: books, pencils, bags, clothing (especially jumpers and jackets) - this will help us get things back if you lose them If you find someone else's property, hand it to a teacher or your Year Level Head so that it can be put in the lost property cupboard.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR LUNCH?

If you want to order your lunch at the Cafeteria, write your order on a paper bag and leave it (with enough money of course) at the Cafeteria before school. Always write on the bag the amount of money you have put in. You can then pick up your lunch from the canteen at the start of lunchtime. If you forget to order your lunch, you can simply buy it from the canteen, but you'll have to battle the queues.

LUNCH PASS

Do you want to go home for lunch? Everyday or even some days?

See your Year Level Head who will give you a form for your parents to fill in so that you can get a Lunch Pass. An adult must be home at all times, students are not allowed to go to the shops to buy their lunch besides they don't need to we have a great canteen!

WHAT IF I COME LATE TO SCHOOL?

Been to the doctors? Overslept? Got a puncture on the way?

If you are late - sign the late book at the General Office as soon as you arrive at school to get a Late Pass. You must bring a note either that day or the very next day.

WHAT DO I DO IF I GET LOST?

A secondary college is a big place, and it is common for new students to get lost. When this happens to you, ask some one - either a teacher or a student. They are sure to help you. Remember, they were new to the college once.

HOW WILL I REMEMBER ALL THE NEW THINGS?

You won't have to at first; we don't expect you to. As you become more at home in the college you will remember more, and soon you will become an expert.

WHEN DO I GET MY LOCKER?

During the first week. How's that for efficiency?

WILL THE WORK BE HARD AT THE COLLEGE?

Anything that is worthwhile will require effort on your part. All of the teachers are prepared to help you with any questions that you may have.

WILL TEACHERS PICK ON ME?

Teachers at the college are here to teach you, to help you as much as they possibly can. They are not there to pick on anyone, and if you don't believe me, ask a college student.

DO STUDENTS GET BASHED UP?

Of course not. Physical violence of any kind is not tolerated at our college.

WILL BIG KIDS PICK ON ME?

Again, no. They are far too busy either impressing you or trying to ignore you.

WILL I FIT INTO MY HOME GROUP?

Most of the people in your form will not know each other until the first day of college, so all of you will be in the same position. Each person has both the right to fit in and the responsibility to help other students to fit in.

ARE YOU ALLOWED TO CHEW GUM?

No!!!!

AM I ALLOWED TO SMOKE?

There are only a few college rules, but one of these is definitely NO SMOKING!!!!

IF I HAVE A PROBLEM IN SOME SUBJECT, WILL THE TEACHER YELL WHEN I ASK FOR HELP?

Teachers are there to help. They will only yell if you stand on his or her toe!!!!

AM I ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE CLASSROOM DURING CLASS?

You are expected to take all the necessary books to class, so there should not be the need to leave the classroom during a lesson.

CAN I LEARN A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT?

Yes! See your Music teacher if you want to learn an instrument or sing in the choir or play in the college band.

CAN I RIDE MY BIKE TO SCHOOL?

You may ride your bike but please bring a chain and lock. Your bike will be locked in the shed during the day.

You MUST wear a bicycle helmet when riding your bicycle, this is a STATE LAW!!

WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE FIRST DAY NEXT YEAR?

1. First you will have a Year Level assembly with all the Year 7 students together.
2. You will be welcomed to the college by your Year Level Head and have your Form Groups read out.
3. Then you will have a Home Group Assembly and meet the students in your group and your Home Group Teacher.
4. After the Home Group Assembly, there will be a whole school assembly where the Principal will welcome all students to the college for 2002.
5. There will then be a recess and normal classes will begin for period 3.

   You will need a pen and something to write on (pad or exercise book) for the first day or so. Don’t bring all your books to school until you get your locker.

Descriptions of each subject may be found