Middle Senior School Communications, 23 January 2025
IMPORTANT DATES (EARLY TERM 1):
Friday 24 January
- Year 7 Book drop off and meet the teacher opportunity
- Student Leadership training day (Student Leaders were notified at the end of last year) 10 am-2 pm
Monday 27 January
- Australia Day public holiday
Tuesday 28 January
- First day of school – students to wear sport uniform with House shirt.
- MSS Information Night & Meet the Teacher 6 pm at the CCC (Calvary Community Centre)
Friday 7 February
- Year 12 Formal
Wednesday 12 February
- MSS Leadership Induction 9 am
19-21 February
- Stages 4-5 Camps (Parents will be receiving communication about the various camps early next week)
28 February
- College Bush Dance
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the start of the 2025 academic year! We know that the return to early mornings and shifting away from screens can sometimes make the first days of school feel less exciting for teenagers. It’s completely normal for motivation to take a little time to kick back in. However, we encourage both students and parents to reframe this transition as an opportunity for growth and connection. School offers so much more than just academics—it’s a place where students can strengthen bonds with old friends, make new social connections, discover new interests, and develop valuable life skills. Whether it's participating in extracurricular activities, learning new subjects that spark curiosity, or challenging oneself in areas like sports or creative arts, the year ahead is full of opportunities for personal growth. By focusing on these positives, we hope to partner with all our stakeholders to make 2025 another great year at Calvary.
YEAR 7 – 10 CAMPS
As detailed below, our Year 7 – 10 students will travel to various camps on 19 February 2025. Parents are reminded that our camp program is considered an essential element of our curriculum where student character development, friendships and rapport with staff are developed. An email from the College will be sent to parents/carers requiring confirmation of student attendance at camps. When responding to this email please note that parents will need to click the green button and follow the prompts that follow.
BENEFITS OF REDUCED SCREEN TIME
Research from across the world increasingly provides evidence of the need to assist students in reducing their screen time. The benefits of reduced screen time have been well documented by researchers such as Judith Locke, who highlights the negative impact of excessive screen time on adolescent mental health and the importance of establishing healthy technology habits. To assist with this, the College has invested in upgraded software to monitor and control student use of technology. This software will better equip our staff to assist students in using technology appropriately and safely. Another area of support that the College is seeking to help reduce student screen time is reducing student access to mobile phones during school hours. As of the start of this year, students will not be able to use their mobile phones to purchase items from the Mango Café. Students will be able to use cash, a bank card, pre-order items, or have money loaded onto their student accounts to be able to purchase items from the Mango Café. We kindly request your support and collaboration in creating healthier technology habits and improved technology hygiene for our students. Working together, we can ensure a balanced approach to technology use that promotes academic success and overall well-being.
QUSTODIO PARENT APP
This year, we are excited to offer parents the ability to monitor their child's use of College laptops outside school hours, as well as one additional smart device, through the Qustodio platform. To register an account, please click here and use your personal email address you have on file with the College. After registration, you will be able to monitor and guide student use of College laptops outside of regular school hours. To monitor a home-based device, click this link to follow the guide to install the Qustodio app on a family device. With Qustodio, parents can ensure their child stays focused on homework by disabling distractions, explore the internet safely by blocking inappropriate content, and establish healthy screen habits by scheduling screen-free times. To learn more about Qustodio, parents are encouraged to attend our MSS Information Night & Meet the Teacher event at 6 PM on Tuesday 28 January 2025.
WHAT TO DO/BRING FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
What to wear:
- On the first day (28 Jan) please wear your House shirt and sport shorts with the correct sports shoes.
What to bring:
- Please bring your stationery and books to put in your locker.
- Students with laptops should bring these.
- Ensure you have a hat and food (the Mango Café is open and available that day).
Where do I go at the start of the day?
Supervised areas in the morning include the Western Carpark hanger, the Pavilion and Café areas until 8:35am. There will be lots of teachers out and about on the first morning and at 8:35 am they will direct students to their respective student areas for the start of the day. We will sort out lockers, etc., after the start of the day.
What will happen on the first day?
The first day of school for 2025 has been thoughtfully planned to foster community and engagement as students transition into the new academic year. Students will bond with their form classes, participate in various assemblies, and conclude the day with interhouse activities, offering a fun and friendly opportunity for competition. To ensure all students in Years 8–11 are fully prepared for learning, laptops handed into the College at the end of 2024 will be returned on the first day of school, enabling a seamless start to their academic activities.
SHOE REMINDER
Please note that students cannot wear sport shoes as formal shoes (as per our communications from November 2024), e.g. Nike Airforce would be considered sport shoes.
HAIR
If your child’s hair style is in breach of our uniform policy, they will be excluded from returning to school until their hair is compliant with our uniform policy:
Hair must be neat, tied up (if long), and presentable.
- It must be a natural looking colour
- All forms of mullets, rat tails, undercuts and extreme hair styles are not permitted.
Hair length:
- Hair at the sides and back of the head must be similar length and suitably blended.
- Hair at the top of the head must be tied up if it is long and falls over the sides and back.
- Hair must be off the ears, off the eyebrows (1cm above), and off the collar.
- You may shave your head, but you are not permitted to carve patterns, symbols, lines, etc. into your hair.
HATS
Students must have both a formal hat and a sport hat. You are expected to wear the right hat with the right uniform every day. Hats may be left in lockers to assist students in meeting this expectation.
JEWELLERY/MAKE UP
Jewellery
- Necklaces and rings are not permitted.
- Earrings must be one single plain stud or sleeper (6mm or less) in the lower lobe of the ear.
Smart watches are not permitted (students may wear a standard watch).
Make up (mascara/visible foundation/eye shadow, etc) is not permitted. Fake eye lashes are not permitted.
Our extended uniform policy can be found here:
UNIFORM SHOP UPDATES
Online Orders
A pickup notification will be sent to you when your order is ready for collection.
Carbrook Online Orders
Orders ready for collection at Carbrook, can be accessed from Monday 13 January 2025 onwards anytime from 9:00am to 4:00pm. The Uniform shop at Carbrook will be closed on Monday 20 January 2025.
Uniform Shop Hours
- Please note the Uniform shop will be open this Saturday the 25 January at the Carbrook campus from 9 am – 1 pm for walk ins, exchanges or collections.
THE UNIFORM SCHEDULE FOR WEEK 1 TERM 1 IS OUTLINED BELOW
|
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Junior School |
House Shirt/Sport |
Sport |
Sport |
Sport |
MSS – Stage 6 (Yr 11 & 12) |
House Shirt/Sport |
Formal |
Formal |
Formal |
MSS – Stage 5 (Yr 10) |
House Shirt/Sport |
Formal |
Sport |
Formal |
MSS – Stage 5 (Yr 9) |
House Shirt/Sport |
Formal |
Formal |
Sport |
MSS – Stage 4 (Yr 7 & 8) |
House Shirt/Sport |
Formal |
Sport |
Formal |
Please ensure all your child’s uniform items are named/labelled
ACCESSING COMMUNICATIONS, LEARNING PROGRESS, AND ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Our key channels of communication are the College App, website, MSS Facebook page and email. Every Thursday we publish our MSS Communications on the website and College App. Communications contain important information about school life and upcoming events.
If you would like to see photos and videos of events across the year, please join our 2025 MSS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18e19otcHJ/ Please note, the 2024 MSS Facebook page is no longer active and will be closed in the coming weeks.
Parent Lounge (accessible via the website and App) is where you can update your details, child’s medical data, etc. Across the semester, we would like to strongly encourage parents to access the ‘Curricular Activities’ section of Parent Lounge as this is where you will find our ongoing feedback on your child’s learning progress across the semester and report cards. All other pertinent information should be accessible in the Parent Information section on our website.
We eagerly await the return of our students to school and pray that your child’s experience at Calvary in 2025 is exciting and rewarding.