The School Bulletin 2015-01 - St Mary`s Coptic Orthodox College

St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox College
19-35 Thorpdale Ave, Coolaroo Vic 3048
Tel: 03 93022788 Email: [email protected] Web:www. Copticvic.org
January 2015
St. Mary’s Coptic
Orthoodx College
St. Mary’s Coptic
Orthodox College
is a Christian
Orthodox school
operated by The
Coptic Diocese of
Melboune headed
by His Grace
Bishop Suriel and
directed by Father
Tadros Sharobeam.
Welcome to 2015
His Grace Bishop Suriel
Bishop of Melbourne
Chairman of St Mary’s Coptic
Orthodox College Board of
Governors
Dear blessed parents and students of St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox College,
I wish you all a joyful New Year and may 2015 be a year where you all
excel and her much fruits.
The school was
opened on 23rd
February 1991 by
His Holiness Pope
Shenouda III
I welcome you to a new academic year and pray that all our students will
be successful in their studies. Our students are truly lucky to be at their age
studying in this period of time. The reason I say this is because technology
has developed so rapidly and in particular in the field of computing and
The school is a n
communications. This makes information readily available to our students
indepaendat school and at their fingertips. One only needs to think of a question and in
covering all school
seconds can find the answer through a simple google search on their
graded from Prep –
phone, tablet or computer. When I was at school in the 70’s such
Year 12.
information was not so easily available. One had to travel to a library and
Head of Primary :
go through a printed catalogue and search for an appropriate book to find
Mrs. Susan Pitsas
the required information and perhaps the necessary book was not at that
Head of
particular library.
Secondary:
Mr. Trvor Nye
Some people think that this technology is not making our children smarter,
Tel: 93022788
but I believe it is making our children more focused on the important
0 Main office
knowledge that they require and they are able to find it more rapidly and
2 Director
easily even in the convenience of their own homes and schools.
3 Head of
Secondary 4 Head I pray that our students will be enthusiastic to do their best and be inspired
by the success of the righteous Joseph in the Old Testament. The Book of
of Primary
Genesis says about the righteous Joseph that, "The Lord was with Joseph,
5 Library
and he was a successful man.” (Genesis 39:2) Walk with the Lord and you
will be successful in all that you do. Balance your weekly activities and
give time to God in prayer and in building your relationship with Him and
you will bear the fruit of this relationship in your studies also.
May God bless you all and I look forward to seeing you all at the College
in the near future.
Welcome to New School Year 2015
Fr Tadros Sharobeam
The new school year 2015 has started. I wish to express my best wishes for a fruitful and
successful new year. The new school year 2015 is the 25th year since the school opened by
His Holiness of good memory Pope Shenouda III on 23rd February 1991. Since then the
school has grown from a small struggling school of about 50 students and three teachers to a
medium size school of 770 students and about 60 teachers included in about 110 staff
members employed by the school.
These are some of the highlights of last year 2014 and what is new in 2015:
1) New classrooms building project has been completed and opened by His Grace Bishop
Suriel on June 2014. It added new 7 classrooms. This building is fully utilized on 2015.
Three classrooms has been dedicated to the Foundation classes. Three classes are used for
year 10 classes and one classroom has been set for our new Drama room.
2) VCE results: We very blessed by our dedicated staff and excellent students. At 2014 three
students achieved a score above 90, the highest was 97.8. More than sixty percent of our
students achieved a score above 50. It is pleasing to see more students are achieving scores in
the 60 – 80 range.
3) School council: New parent representatives at the school council need to be appointed for
2015. Thanks very much for all the effort and hard work undertaken by Mrs Rosemary
Nakhla, Mrs Renata Habashy and Mr George Ghobrial whose term has expired at the end of
2014. New members to be appointed soon by H G Bishop Suriel from the list of nominations
received by the school.
4) Refurbished school website: The school website has been completely refurbished with
beautiful new looks and easy to follow links for various school information and activities.
Thanks to Mr George Fam for redesigning our website. You can now easily access Parents
Portal, Students Portal and timetables.
5) Parent Portal: This is the main information source for parents and students. Go to the link
at the school website and use your login username (surname^account no). If you forgot your
username ring the school office to get it or reset it (all passwords currently are set to ‘123’).
You can get information about your accounts, student’s details and bus details at the Parents
Portal. Please try to access it at least once every week. You can also correct any details.
Trevor W Nye Deputy Principal (Secondary)
How quickly time goes in a school; it seems like last week that our students were dismissed
for the summer break.
Firstly I would like to thank last year’s graduating class, staff (both primary and secondary)
and our parents for the great results achieved by all of our students. We are all very proud
of our graduates from last year and hope that they all achieve their goals and aspirations in
their future endeavours.
Last year, 2014, saw a major change in our student/teacher ratio in the VCE area and we will
be continuing to offer smaller classes as we move forward into 2015. We have found that
with the smaller classes many student have not needed to engage outside tutors as some
classes have had less than ten students.
This year we are moving towards a more ‘open’ VCE with many year 10 students being
offered the opportunity to start their VCE in year 10. For those capable students in year 11
we are offering the opportunity to study at the unit 3 & 4 level.
This year we will also find blended classes in VCE; blended being students from both year
11 and 12 doing the same subject at the same time in the same classroom. Our new VCE
Coordinator Ms Shannon Lane, with the support of other staff, has been putting in a huge
amount of time and effort to bring these changes to fruition.
Many of our students have opted to undertake these advanced and blended classes but it is
only being offered to those who:
 are interested,
 are capable,
 have a proven academic record in their studies across the curriculum, and
 have a good behavioural record in the previous twelve months.
Like any school in today’s competitive market we are being compared, graded as parents are
making informed educational decisions about where to place their child to get the best
education. To achieve the needs of the community, and our employer, we are tightening the
academic standards across the College while at the same time offering greater opportunities
for our students.
Over the past year we have been moving towards a more organised, cohesive and
comprehensive Careers Guidance program; this will continue this year with greater
emphasis on helping our senior students with both their study and career options. I would
like to acknowledge Mr George Ghobrial for his efforts in ‘restructuring’ our careers
program.
The Middle School, under the guidance of Mrs Melissinos has continued its growth and is
going from strength to strength while Mr Moncrieff has settled in as the Upper School
Coordinator. Both of these staff members are at the core of the many changes happening
around secondary and I appreciate their effort and dedication.
The Coordinators/Head of Departments in Secondary for 2015 are:
 Upper Secondary Coordinator – Mr Cary Moncrieff.
 Middle School Coordinator – Mrs Pam Melissinos
 VCE Coordinator – Ms Shannon Lane
 Head of Department, English – Mrs Germaine Youssef
 Head of Department, Mathematics – Mr Steven Venturin
 Head of Department, Science – Mrs Kate Peach
 Head of Department, Humanities – Mr Ron Laidlaw
 Head of Department, Religion – Mr Adel Gawrgyous.
Please feel free to contact these staff members if you have an issue; the full list of staff and
their emails can be found in the front of the student diary (secondary).
I am looking forward to 2015 and I would like to thank all of the secondary staff for their
efforts, enthusiasm and support in 2014.
Education Maintenance Allowance
From 1 January 2015, the government will provide extra financial support directly to
Victoria’s neediest schools instead of providing the Education Maintenance Allowance
directly to parents.
Parents will not be able to apply for the Education Maintenance Allowance in 2015.
The money will be allocated to eligible schools through schools’ core operational
funding mechanism, with the neediest schools receiving the most funding. Not all
schools will be receiving funding in 2015.
This change to how the money is distributed was required by the funding agreement
with Commonwealth government to make sure Victorian schools receive increased
funding that will benefit all students and, in particular, those from schools with
concentrated disadvantage.
Dear Parents,
A warm welcome back, as always we seem to have a busy start to the year.
We welcome the following teachers:
Miss Miriam Bediako – Year 4 teacher
I am Ghanaian born and raised in New Zealand.
I love sports and experiencing new cultures.
Communication is very important to me as an individual
and as a teacher.
What makes me smile is when students realise their potential and achieve goals that they
have set for themselves.
Mrs Sarah McGregor – Year 2 teacher
Last year I taught at Carranballac College
as a Foundation/year 1 teacher.
It is rewarding to watch the students learn and
develop as the year progresses.
I really enjoy driving, and being with my family.
Mrs Kylie Dempster has replaced Mrs Debra while she is on Long Service Leave.
A reminder that a meet and greet evening will take place on Thursday March 5th
between 3:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. This is an opportunity for parents and teachers to meet
together to discuss how your child has settled into the school year and answer any
queries. We look forward to meeting with you and discussing the curriculum for the
school year.
The swimming carnival for years’ 3 - 6 will be conducted on Friday February 20th.
Children must wear a school hat outside
in terms’ one and four.
Yours sincerely,
Susan Pitsas
Deputy Principal
A message from the Career
Adviser
Mr George Ghobrial
The Keys Please program is a vital component of the Victorian Government’s strategy to
reduce the number of road crashes involving young Victorians. Road crashes are the number
one cause of death and serious injury to young people, which can be devastating to the
school community. Therefore the school has organized a session for our year10 students to
attend this important program. The session will be on 20th of February 2015 during period 3.
Consents forms will be sent to parents early next week.
UMAT is developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf
of the UMAT Consortium universities. The test is used specifically to assist with the
selection of students into the medicine, dentistry and health science degree programs at
undergraduate level at the universities listed on the following web site
http://umat.acer.edu.au/
UMAT is designed to measure ability in the following areas:
Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving
Understanding People
Non-verbal Reasoning
Registration for the UMAT is now open and closes on the 5th of June 2015
Please see the information at the following link regarding purchasing online materials:
http://umat.acer.edu.au/prepare/preparation-materials
The test is scheduled to be on the 29th July 2015
Good luck to all our students
The VCE and Career expo 2015 is Australia’s Biggest
Career expo where there are 190 exhibitors and 150
seminars are available for our students
St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox College has organized a
visit to the expo on Friday 8th of May for our year 11
students
Religion Department
Newsletter
Dear Parents,
Welcome to 2015 school year.
Religion is an important subject as it represents our faith and our spiritual lives.
For the first time the school is offering VCE religion (Religion and Society) for Years’10
and 11.
Due to the increase number of classes, new religion staff have been added. In Primary, we
still have Mrs Jarmine Fouad Gawrgyous as Religion teacher and Mr Adel Gawrgyous
as Coptic teacher.
In Secondary, we have Mrs Sara Asaad, Mrs Mona Nashed, Mrs Haidy Benjamin, Mr
Bishoy Hanna and Mr Ayman Awad.
We hope that our students will get the maximum benefit from studying Religion.
If you have any inquiries, please email us on [email protected]
Adel Gawrgyous - Head of Religion
BUS CHANGES
Dear Parents,
Requests for swapping of buses for students travelling to various destinations have become a
source of concern to the College. Please note the following section from the current College
Bus Policy. The full Bus Policy is available on the College website.
Bus Assignment and Requested Changes
The provision of school buses to service the students who attend St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox
College is part of the school’s ongoing commitment regarding the care and protection of its
students: Students will ONLY ride on assigned buses.
 Bus swapping is not permitted unless it has been authorised by the Transport
Manager.
 Any permanent change to assigned buses will not be allowed during the school year
unless it is due to a change in the family’s address.
 Students will board and get off at only their assigned bus destinations unless a
written request by the parent /guardian is sent to the Transport Manager to
change or modify the destination. Any requests for a change in designations
MUST be requested at least 24 hours prior to the requested change.
 If the Transport Manager can assist with the change, he will issue the student with a
Permission Slip which must be given to the bus driver. A Change of Bus fee may
apply.
 The Transport Manager has the right to refuse any request for reasons such as
lack of space on other buses, safety concerns, behaviour, etc.
 No one is allowed to ride a bus other than the buses assigned to him or her without
permission. The parents will assume the responsibility of the child when such a
request is made and granted.
PRIMARY STAFF 2015
Deputy Principal Primary – Mrs. Susan Pitsas
Foundation – Year 3 Coordinator – Mrs. Connie Spina
Years’ 4 - 6 Coordinator – Mrs. Mervet Boulos
English coordinators – Mrs. Louise Officer – Foundation - 2, Miss Christine Peverett –
3-6
Humanities/Science/Arts/P.E coordinator – Miss Natasha Zurcas
Maths consultant – Mrs. Gabrielle Lee
Pastoral Care – Tasoni Salwa Naguib/ Mrs. Jarmine Gawrgyous
Head of Religion/Coptic – Mr. Adel Gawrgyous
Foundation V teacher – Mrs. Vicky Glykokalamos
Foundation N teacher – Miss Natasha Zurcas
Foundation K teacher – Mrs. Kristen Talya
Year 1MS teacher – Mrs. Maria Siderakis
Year 1MY teacher – Mrs. Marina Youkhana (nee Maroky)
Year 1S teacher – Mrs. Sarah Andrawis
Year 2A teacher – Miss Alicia Braakhuis
Year 2M teacher – Mrs. Marina Moussa
Year 2S teacher – Mrs. Sarah McGregor
Year 3J teacher – Mrs. Janine Wanda
Year 3C teacher – Mrs. Connie Spina
Year 3N teacher – Mrs. Nancy Turner
Year 4V teacher – Mrs. Vicki Tsarouhas
Year 4K teacher – Miss Kylie Busuttil
Year 4M teacher – Miss Miriam Bediako
Year 5L teacher – Mrs. Laura Calcagno
Year 5C teacher – Miss Christine Peverett
Year 6M teacher – Mrs. Mervet Boulos
Year 6A teacher – Mrs. Aleksandra Milevska (nee Miloseska)
Religion teacher / Pastoral Care – Mrs. Jarmine Gawrgyous
Head of Religion/Coptic teacher – Mr. Adel Gawrgyous
Arabic teacher - Mrs. Marina Naguib
Music teacher – Mrs. Sandra Mlikota
French teacher – Years’ Five & Six - Miss Rana Nahas
Syriac teacher – Mr. Aziz Mrad
Reading Recovery/Literacy Support – Mrs. Louise Officer
Reading Recovery/EAL – Mrs. Sophie Georgakopoulos
E.A.L. (English as an Additional Language) teacher – Mrs. Maria Amanatidis
Literacy Support – Years’ Five & Six – Mrs. Susan Pitsas
P.E teacher – Years’ 1 & 2/ Early Numeracy Support Year 2 - Mrs. Kate Tsiolas
Integration / Teachers’ Aide – Mrs. Debra Clark
School Support – Mrs. Jousslin Molina
School Support – Mrs. Tania Verzantvoort
Fee Structure 2015
School Fees
Primary:
Prep To 6:
$ 1400.00 + $ 170.00 as Building Levy
Secondary
7-10
$ 1850.00 + $ 250 .00 as Building Levy
VCE
11-12
$ 2200.00 + $ 250 .00 as Building Levy
Multiple Student Discount
First Child (Oldest)
No discount, pays full
2nd Child
20% discount
3rd child
40% Discount
4th Child onwards
50% Discount
(Families who pay the whole year fees before 28 February will receive a 10%
special discount)
Other Fees (payable before the start of the year)
Locker and Diary
Years 7-12
$ 20.00
IPad maintenance fee
Years 6-11
$ 100.00
(Fees for Swimming, excursions and camps are charged separate, to be paid
before the prescribed date of payment for the activity)
Transport Fees (including 10% GST) (payable before the start of each term)
Primary 0
Foundation – 3
$ 1100.00 (full year), payable in 4 termly
instalments of $ 275.00 each
Primary
Years 4-6
$ 1210.00 (full year), payable in 4 termly
instalments of $ 302.50 each
Secondary
Years 7 – 12
$ 1485.00 (full year), payable in 4 termly
instalments of $ 371.25 each
Multiple Student Transport fee Discount
First Child (Oldest)
No Discount, pays full
2 nd Child
10% discount
3Rd child onwards
20% Discount
Uniform List and Prices 2015
First Day of School Year 2015 – 29th January 2015
New Foundation
students 2015
School Captains – past
and present
First Secondary school
assembly