Duce Newsletter

The College newsletter, Duce, is emailed parents on Thursday of every second week (Week 2 on the cycle). Duce is an important link between the College and home and all parents are encouraged to read this.

Parent Network

The De La Salle Parent Network is a vibrant, energetic element of the College community. The Parent Network Committee is a representative group of parents, who meet monthly to plan and organise Parent Network events. All parents are warmly invited to become involved in the various activities throughout the year.

There is a strong social aspect to the Parent Network events aimed to help parents meet other parents and develop a real sense of connection within the College community.

Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing

De La Salle College is committed to child safety and wellbeing. We recognise the importance of student empowerment and participation, and strive to develop the potential of those entrusted to our care. We challenge, nurture and respect all children/young people, as well as our staff, contractors and volunteers.

We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures. We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously.

Please read our full Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing and our Child Safety Policies available on the College website

Annual Tuition Fees

When enrolling your son/s at De La Salle College, you are making a commitment to agree to pay all fees associated with the cost of providing an education. Parents/guardians/carers are asked to familiarise themselves with the College Fee Schedule and the College Fee Policy. All incoming families must ensure that they have a payment arrangement in place prior to their son/s commencing at the College.

Families who are experiencing financial difficulty should contact Family Accounts (familyaccounts@delasalle.vic.edu.au) as soon as possible to discuss your situation.

Student Attendance

Absences

Parents/guardians/carers must contact the College Absentee Line on (03) 9508 2100 or complete the Absentee Form on the College website to explain any absence by 9:00am on the day of the student’s absence. Parents/guardians/carers can also submit an absence via the OLLIE app. If absent, parental notice via phone or email is also required for the Class/House Mentor on the day the student returns to school.

Late arrivals

Where students arrive late, they must sign in using the terminal located at their respective campus reception. Parents/guardians/carers must contact the College via phone or email to explain the lateness.

Students who need to leave the College during normal school hours must have parental permission in all cases. Parent/guardian/carer must communicate with the Mentor Teacher via email or phone prior to the student departing the College. With approval from the Mentor, the student must then obtain an Early Leaver’s Pass from their c oordinator. Students are required to present the Early Leaver’s Pass at their respective campus reception and sign out before leaving the College grounds.

Extended leaves of absence

The College does not recommend extended absences, especially for holidays, during Term time. Requests for an extended leave of absence must be made in writing to the relevant Head of Campus (Holy Eucharist).

Any student who has an unexplained absence when a formal assessment is being conducted will not be afforded the opportunity to re-sit.

Excursion/Event Permissions

For a student to attend a scheduled excursion/event, parents/guardians/carers must provide electronic consent via the Consent2Go platform. For each excursion/event an email will be sent to each parent/guardian/carer in advance to alert to provide consent. The email will contain all the relevant details including event description, purpose, transport arrangement and other related information. Only one parental consent is required. Permission by phone or parental note is not legally acceptable. Parents/guardians/carers are advised to save this email for reference as it contains all the details of the event/excursion.

Where parental permission has not been provided via the Consent2Go platform by the due date, students will not be permitted to attend the excursion/event and will be supervised on the College grounds.

Student Code of Conduct

All students must conduct themselves in such a way that they are always a credit to themselves, their families and De La Salle College. Students must read the Code of Conduct prior to the commencement of the school year.

Respect is one of the Five Core Principles of a Lasallian education. Building positive and respectful partnerships between students/staff/parents is fundamental in building a positive culture.

Wilful Damage / Vandalism

Wilful damage and vandalism is an unacceptable form of behaviour in any circumstances. Deliberate damage will incur replacement costs. Vandalism is a criminal offence and will be dealt with appropriately.

Holy Eucharist Staff*

• David Alexander Head of Year 9, Holy Eucharist Campus

• Thomas Murphy Year 9 Learning and Teaching Leader

• Warren Bardsley Ingenuity

• Chris Church Encounter, Ingenuity

• David Happ Alliance, Encounter

• Matthew Jones Alliance, Discovery

• Vanessa Marolda Alliance, Conversation

• Chris Martin Ingenuity, Encounter

• Andrew Murrell Alliance, Drama, Music

• Claudia Tohi Alliance, Encounter

• Josip Krsticevic Alliance

• Jamie Steel Education Support Teacher

• Brittany Sim Learning Support Officer

• Chas Thompson Logistics Facilitator

• Sharon Richards Learning Support Officer

• Patricia D’Arcy Education Support Officer

• Monique Wasa Education Support Officer

Collectively we bring a great mix of energy, experience and innovation to the Year 9 campus. Together, our vision is to promote a learning environment where students are engaged, empowered and selfmotivated. By year’s end we hope that all Year 9 students have more confidence as a learner and are much more self-aware of required areas of personal growth.

* Staff are subject to change throughout the year.

The Curriculum

This group of talented staff have designed a rich program based around a set of six ‘ribbons’. Each ribbon comprises:

Experiential Electives

Your son will undertake one elective per Semester. In 2023, all electives will run at our Year 9 campus. In some cases, specialist Elective Teachers will travel to Holy Eucharist Campus from our main site.

Homework

It is hoped that Year 9 students bring an increased maturity to the completion of homework. The expectation is that Year 9 students should be completing 90 minutes homework every night. This expectation will allow students to gradually increase to three hours per night as they enter their senior years of schooling. If there are moments when little homework is needing completion, students should always be regularly reading to increase their vocabulary - which in turn will benefit their language conventions. We encourage students to endeavour to find reading material they enjoy.

Study Sessions

Supervised Study Sessions will continue to be used to support learning on a Wednesday afternoon. The core purpose of the Study Sessions Program is to further develop a culture of learning excellence at De La Salle College by providing a supervised environment in which students develop important study skills and strategies for success as well as completing work.

If students miss an assessment task or underperform on a piece of work, they will be asked to attend a session running from 3:20pm - 4:20pm. Parents will always be advised when their son is asked to attend these sessions.

Expo Showcase

Monday 19 June 2023 (Week 9 of Term 2) is Project Based Learning Evening. More detail about this evening will follow.

The WISE Award

Connected to Discovery is the WISE Award. Implemented for the first time in 2021, WISE is a customised program that meets the intended Year 9 mission of promoting independence. The WISE program aims to engage and empower our young men through active participation in experiential learning. The WISE Award will provide recognition for commitment, challenge and progressive improvement of self It encourages students to not only lead their own learning but to ultimately capitalise on it. With the requisite commitment, every Year 9 student should achieve a level of success over the course of the year.

The acronym WISE stands for Wellness, Independence, Service and Expedition. More information can be found on the College website

Whole School Events

Whilst the Year 9 campus has been purposefully set to cater for independence from the main site, it is imperative that Year 9 students are not excluded from key whole school events that bind the De La Salle community together. Year 9 students will still partake in all House Carnivals, Mission Action Day and Founder’s Day. On occasion , Year 9s will be asked to attend major assemblies and Masses at Tiverton Campus. On these mornings, students will assemble in the Tiverton Performing Arts Centre for roll call and often stay on at the main campus in the Rheims Science Centre

Immersion / ACC Sport

During Terms 2 - 4, students will partake in either Immersion based units or (based on selection) represent the College in Tuesday ACC Sport. Students will have already opted into these preferences throughout the subject selection process. All Immersion offerings will run on our Year 9 campus. To learn more about Immersion Units and their project-based learning opportunities you can refer to the Curriculum Handbook

Music, Ensembles, Band, Choir and Private Music Lessons

Students are encouraged to maintain their commitment to Music Ensemble practice and any involvement in College bands. This practice will continue to take place in the morning at Tiverton. A College bus will provide transportation to the Year 9 campus leaving Tiverton at 8:40am to be at the Year 9 campus by 8:55am for scheduled classes.

Similarly, private music lessons should be arranged by negotiation with your son’s Music Teacher. These arrangements should be mutually convenient and may happen prior to school at Tiverton Campus - taking advantage of the De La Salle bus arrangement. Further information about this can be discussed with the College Music Coordinator, Luke Serrano.

College Productions

Students are similarly encouraged to involve themselves in College Productions. While auditions and rehearsals for these will happen at Tiverton Campus, arrangements can be made to help students attend these rehearsals. Please encourage your sons to be involved and to speak to David Alexander and/or the Director of the Production about these arrangements.