Hazel Glen College extends a warm welcome to new Year 7 Students joining us in 2017.

Students entering Year 7 have the opportunity to establish continuity in their academic progress, early integration into the culture of the College, as well as benefiting from a broad range of learning experiences and the extra curricular opportunities available.

Our warm and friendly staff will help the students settle into their new College community and build those skills, attitudes and values they will need to fully participate in the rich educational life that our College offers. The new Hazel Glen College has been created to ensure a safe and secure environment that promotes positive social interaction between students and collegiality amongst staff and parents. Both House and Subject teachers will assist in ensuring that your child is able to move with ease from primary to secondary education at Hazel Glen College. Hazel Glen will enjoy outstanding physical resources that will provide students with the best possible educational opportunities. The modern facilities and teaching and learning practice represent an exciting opportunity for students and parents to experience the school’s culture, values and nature. Hazel Glen is committed to the academic and personal growth of every student. Students will be provided with a well balanced curriculum that focuses on English, Mathematics, Science and embeds; communication technology, thinking skills, ethical behaviour, creativity, self-management, teamwork, intercultural understanding and social competence. Our aim is to challenge students to be the very best they can be. Our role is to help every student reach their potential. The skills needed for the 21st century, which support a love of learning that goes beyond the classroom environment, will be actively embraced by Hazel Glen College.

To download the Yr 7 Information Handbook click on the link Below.

As your child is now in Year 6 of primary school, an important decision must be made about which school your child will attend for Year 7 next year. When considering which school would be more likely to suit your child’s educational needs, you may also wish to discuss the matter with your child’s Year 6 teacher or primary school principal who will be able to provide personalised and customised advice.

A Year 7 Transition Pack will be provided to all enrolled students in November. It contains:

The Year 7 curriculum is focused on ensuring a smooth transition to the College and introducing students to a variety of subjects and opportunities for the future. It is important to understand that students develop at different rates and achieve competencies according to their existing knowledge, interests, maturity levels and skills. Thus some students achieve certain skills earlier or later than others.

The Hazel Glen Curriculum programs are designed to cater for individualised student learning plans, according to their educational needs. Learning support will be available for accelerated learning needs as well as catering for the needs of those students who require more time to develop their skills.

More information may be obtained online at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/

The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of Language, Literature and Literacy.

Students will practise the skills of Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning as an integral part of the mathematics content across the three content strands: Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability.

Students will study the history of the earliest human communities to the end of the ancient period.

Students will study the origins of democracy and various other types of government in an historical context, learning about how past societies have influenced modern democracies.

Students extend their knowledge and understanding of physical phenomena, including natural hazards, and of the physical processes that produce them.

Students will develop an understanding of the nature of scarcity, opportunity, cost and resource allocation, and how these influence the Australian economy. Students develop personal financial literacy skills and an understanding of the importance of being an informed consumer.

Students will explore the diversity of life on Earth and continue to develop their understanding of the role of classification in ordering and organising information. They consider the interaction between multiple forces when explaining changes in an object’s motion. They explore the notion of renewable and non-renewable resources and consider how this classification depends on the timescale considered. They investigate relationships in the Earth, sun, moon system and use models to predict and explain events. Students make accurate measurements and control variables to analyse relationships between system components and explore and explain these relationships through increasingly complex representations.

In Year 7, students complete a range of activities aimed at developing skills and knowledge leading to the achievement of Level 5 Standards in the dimensions: Communicating in a Language other than English ,Intercultural Knowledge and Language Awareness Standards from the Thinking, Personal Learning and Interpersonal Learning dommains are also addressed. Level 5 assumes that students have not studied their chosen language at primary school.

The Year 7 course is a program in which students are encouraged to understand and use Mandarin within their world of experience, through the study of topics such as self, family and friends, school, leisure interests, likes and dislikes. Students learn about the culture, traditions and geography of China by completing formal assignments. They are encouraged to contribute to discussions of cultural similarities and differences.

Students develop creative and effective ways of combining and manipulating arts elements, principles and/or conventions when designing, making and presenting arts works for particular purposes and audiences. Students respond to a wide variety of aural, written and visual media; for example film, radio, the Internet, billboards, multimedia, and text messages. They explore both implicit and explicit meaning, how the author has structured and presented ideas, and whether they have used specialised language or symbols to communicate their message. They develop skills in analysing, interpreting and evaluating specific expressive, technical and aesthetic qualities of their own and others’ works.

Students use processes of rehearsal, reflection and evaluation to develop skills in refining and shaping their works to effectively communicate their intended aims, and experiment with imaginative ways of creating solutions to set tasks.

Students work individually and in teams to developinnovative solutions in design and technology contexts (for example, creating a low-fat biscuit and designing a three-dimensional, environmentally-friendly package for eight of the biscuits) and evaluate their decisions with reference to design brief specifications. They further explore the properties and characteristics of materials/ingredients, and carry out tests to determine their suitability for intended products and/or systems.

Students develop and refine a range of movement and manipulative skills. They participate in a variety of team and individual games and activities, using and building on skills and strategies from other sports as well as continuing to develop new, sport-specific, skills. Students explore views about fitness and suggest what fitness might mean to various groups in society. They develop their understanding of the physical, mental, social and emotional benefits of participation in physical activity, and examine factors which influence such participation.

This program will be conducted as a Home Group subject. Students develop their interpersonal skills and strategies. They participate in activities which enable them to identify the differing values and beliefs held by individuals in local, national and global contexts, and reflect on the impact these may have on relationships. They learn how to manage their emotions and behaviour in their relationships, especially with peers. They consider the needs of others and ways of responding with appropriate sensitivity, learning to adapt their behaviour and language to suit different settings. Exploring appropriate scenarios, students learn that while they need to value friendship and respect confidentiality, in certain circumstances confidentiality may need to be breached. They manage their impulses to encourage harmonious collaborations and relationships.

Assessment is continuous and covers individual and sometimes group performance. All units in the curriculum provide students with a range of choices of assessment tasks, designed to cater for differences in student interest and levels of competence. Most assessment tasks reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum and allow students to explore creative options when presenting their learning.

The College reports at the end of Term one and three with a Progress Report in all subjects for students.

Hazel Glen College formally reports to parents twice a year in all subjects: at the end of Semester 1 (July) and at the end of Semester 2 (December). Each subject report will include an overall subject grade, work habits, a written comment about the student’s achievements and areas for improvement/future learning, AusVELS assessment and absences from class.

Parent/Teacher/Student interviews are held at the end of term one and in term three. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend these interviews / conferences and are able to arrange interview times electronically. Families are advised when they are able to access the program as the time for interviews nears.

Regular and punctual attendance is essential. Attendance at all classes is compulsory. A student who has been absent from College is required to present a note signed by the parent to the office or to the Home Group Teacher on the day he/she returns to College. The College has an electronic attendance system and close tracking of students with poor attendance is available including parent notification of student absence via SMS or email. Regular and punctual attendance is essential. It is expected that the Administration Office is notified of any absence of more than oneday.

90% Minimum Attendance It is essential students attend all classes. Students who miss school tend to fall behind in their work, lose confidence and then fail. It is government policy for all schools to adopt policies which encourage maximum attendance. At Hazel Glen students must have a minimum 90% attendance or they will automatically fail.“90% Minimum Attendance” is defined as: • Class attendance time • On an approved school activity (eg: inter school sport, Rock Eisteddfod) • Absent with a doctor’s certificate • Special leave approved by the Professional Learning Team (PLT) Leader (eg: funerals) This means the maximum number of days absent per semester is 10 days.

If you are aware of any confidential, medical or personal circumstance that will affect your son or daughter’s attendance, please contact the College as soon as possible.

Please note that if a student goes overseas without prior permission, an explanation to the Assistant Principal will be required.

If a student arrives late or needs to leave early, he/she should go to the Administration Office to sign in/sign out using the Attendance system. In all cases, students should have a note from home explaining the late/early arrival. If a student is late and no note or acceptable reason is given, they may be given a lunchtime detention.

Students should not be out of class except in special circumstances. Students who become ill Students who become ill at College should report to the college First‐aid Nurse or the Year 7 PLT Leader. They will either be cared for in the Sickbay or parents will be contacted to arrange for their transport home. On no account should a student who becomes ill at the college, leave without permission.

Parent communication is always welcome and regarded as vital for each student’s social and academic progress. Parents may ring the College to speak to or arrange an appointment with an Assistant Principal, PLT Leader, House Leader, or subject teacher or contact can be made through email. The College diary is also an excellent avenue for communicating with teachers.

It is the policy of the College to set student work to be completed at home. This homework is required to be completed by designated due dates. The information and guidelines provided below will enable you to assist your child to use their home study time efficiently. The aim of homework is to develop good habits at an early age, and a degree of independence and self discipline necessary for higher education. Your child should write all set homework set in the Student Diary, as well as the due date for any assignments or projects. The College will operate a weekly Homework Club where students can get regular assistance with their homework. If homework is completed in less than the suggested time, your child would benefit greatly by revising class work and reading widely on topics studied. You can help by making sure that suitable conditions for study, with adequate lighting are provided and set homework is completed. It is recommended home study take place 5 nights per week. The hours for Year 7 students is one hour per night.

Hazel Glen College is divided into 6 Houses – Stynes (Blue), Chang (Red), Wood (Black), Beachley (Yellow), Goodes (Green), and, McGrath (Orange). The House system provides regular and friendly competitions / activities and forms part of each student’s identity and sense of belonging to our College. The competitions include major carnivals for swimming and athletics as well as, House Music, Drama, Art, Debating and Public Speaking Competitions. The House system provides one of many opportunities for School Leadership development. House Captains and Leaders from Years 7 will play an integral role in the running of House based activities and events across the K-12 College.

At HGC we challenge ourselves to teach and lead in relevant and new digital forms through evolving modes of Information Communication Technology and new methodologies. Our 1:1 initiative is designed to improve our student’s access to learning technologies and online learning – it actively and creatively engages students in their learning and is used as a learning device alongside our College owned technologies. It is expected that all Middle Years students will have a charged iPad at school every day. This will allow the college to further personalise learning and to move away from a traditional approach of a teacher-only directed classroom with students all using the same textbook. Students that already have iPads from primary school will be able to continue to use these at our College.

Mobile Phones and iPods are permitted at the College although they are discouraged. Students are not to use their mobile phone while at school unless specifically permitted by a member of staff while under their direct supervision (i.e. the use is relevant or appropriate to the subject being taught) If a mobile phone is either used, is visible in class, or heard in class time, it will be confiscated and locked in the College safe until a parent collects it. Confiscated devices (in the first instance) will be passed to and retained by the Student Manager (Administration Office) until a note or phone call from the parents has been received, indicating that parents have discussed appropriate usage with their child. Students who offend again will have the device confiscated, to be returned to their parents/guardians in person. The College takes no responsibility for lost or stolen mobile phones or iPods.

To download the Yr 7 Information Handbook click on the link Below.