Important Student Information

Attendance

Attendance at school is compulsory. Students are to attend all time-tabled classes and rolls will be marked every lesson.

A student who arrives late to school must report to Student Services and have their diary stamped.

Late Arrivals

A student who arrives late to school must report to Student Services with an explanatory note from their parent/guardian. Parents are welcome to send an SMS to 0429 696 808 or email attendance@shirechristian.nsw.edu.au on arrival instead. Repeated lateness to school because of sleeping in is not acceptable.

Absence from School

The school is required to keep a record of attendance. If a student is absent from school their parents will receive an SMS. A response to this

SMS with the reason for the childs absence is required. A follow up email is sent as a courtesy each Friday for any absences that remain unexplained.

Absence from Sport

All students are expected to participate in the sporting program. If a student has a health issue which prohibits participation, they must

bring a note on the day, explaining the reason for their inability to participate. The note should be handed to the sports coordinator

at recess. Students not attending sport will be supervised at school. Students complete schoolwork during this time.

Leaving School During the Day

Students must have a note from their parent or guardian requesting permission to leave school at a specific time, for a specific reason.

The note must be handed in at Student Services as they leave.

Illness During School

If you feel unwell, inform your teacher whowill give you a note and send you to Student Services. In case of an injury, have someone

inform the class or playground duty teacher. When walking to Student Services always have another person go with you in case you

faint. The office staff will decide whether to contact your parents or send you home.

Lost Property

All lost property is sent to Student Services. It is important that all school equipment is labelled with your name and class so it can be returned when lost.

Nuts

Parents are asked not to send nut-based products such as peanut butter, chocolate nut spreads or nut bars to school.

School Buses

• When waiting, stand on the footpath back from the curb. 

• Wait until the bus comes to a complete stop and the doors open before moving.

• Allow younger students to board the bus first.

• If there are no seats available, move towards the back of the bus before standing in the aisle.

Student Property

Students may have their property, including devices temporarily confiscated by the school as part of a disciplinary investigation.

Movement About the School

No students should be out of their classroom during class time without the permission of their teacher.

At period changeover, and when required, students should move directly and quietly from one room to another. It is important for students to be punctual.

Bags should be left outside classrooms and Library and stacked neatly against the wall, not blocking the pathway.

Students should not be in classrooms for any reason during breaks, unless a teacher is present.

Teachers’ Staff Room

Students are not to enter staff rooms. If they wish to speak to a specific teacher then they are asked to knock.

Travelling To and From School

Students are expected to behave in an exemplary manner while travelling to and from school. Complaints against students will be investigated and offenders may have their bus or train passes cancelled.

Bicycle riders must wear safety helmets correctly fastened. Bicycles should be walked when inside the school grounds and parked in the bicycle racks at the side of the office building. This area is out of bounds during recess and lunch.

Skateboards and scooters are not permitted on the school playground. They must be left at the garage in the morning and collected before leaving at the end of the day.

Every Secondary school student is placed in a small pastoral care group with a teacher who cares for each student and monitors their wellbeing.

Pastoral Care groups and Pastoral Care classes assist students in the following ways:

• Connectedness (students are known and belong)

• Christian character development (kindness, perseverence, gratitude etc)

• Support (eg prayer, organisational skills, cybersafety, correct wearing of uniform)

There is a short secondary assembly each Monday.

Pastoral Care occurs after recess from Tuesday to Friday.  It Includes a TLC session for the year group where students are challenged with a message from God’s Word once a cycle. 

On one day Pastoral Care teachers lead their groups in a Bible study and discussion that supports the topic outlined in the whole-group session.

The Pastoral Care teacher is the first point of contact regarding student wellbeing needs.

Restoration

The culture of the school is to endorse reflective, positive and restorative practices that support relationship building, safety and learning and allow for the resolution of issues in a responsible manner.

Disciplinary Consequences

Possible disciplinary consequences for students include: a lunch detention, an after school detention, an internal or external suspension from school or exclusion from an excursion or sport activity. 

The school reserves the right to permanently exclude a student from the school. A student’s behaviour record will be taken into account when determining the most appropriate consequence for a student’s misconduct.

If a student is given a lunch detention and the relevant behaviour then doesn’t improve to a satisfactory standard, they then may receive a more serious consequence. Students who miss a lunch detention without a reasonable excuse will be given an afternoon detention.

For a school community to operate smoothly, students are expected to meet the following standards:

• Wear the uniform in the manner outlined in the guidelines.

• Be punctual to all classes.

Students who fail to meet these standards will be given an infringement. Once a student has received four infringements, he or she will be placed on a lunch detention. 

For example: over a period of time a boy may receive one infringement for wearing the wrong shoes, another infringement for being five minutes late to class without a legitimate reason, a third infringement for defacing his diary and a fourth for an unacceptable hair cut. The boy would then receive a lunch detention. 

If a student continues to receive compliance infringements, he or she is likely to receive an after-school detention. The relevant Year Coordinator will work with students who struggle to meet the above-mentioned standards.

The student’s Pastoral Care teacher also monitors the merit and discipline system. It is a mechanism to encourage each student toward positive effort and to discourage poor behaviour. 

Merits, infringements and detentions can also be viewed on a student’s profile in Seqta Engage. Outlined on the next two pages is the framework for the Merit and Discipline System.

The Merit System seeks to:

• Recognise and encourage sustained academic excellence

• Acknowledge and encourage persistent student endeavour according to their abilities

• Create a consistent, positive and cooperative learning atmosphere within the classroom

• Recognise God-given gifts and abilities and use them effectively with humility

The criteria to be applied across all subjects for awarding certificates are:

• Academic excellence

• Responsible and enthusiastic involvement in class activities

• Consistently excellent homework and preparation for class

• Demonstrating a high level of skill or mastery of course content

To demonstrate an intent to learn and a willingness to work, students are to:

a. Arrive on time

Students arriving after school has started without a legitimate reason will receive a late stamp and an infringement.

Reasons for late arrival to a class must be recorded in the student’s diary and signed by the teacher who detained the student.

b. Wear the correct uniform 

If a student needs to be out of uniform for any reason, a note must be provided in the diary by the parent and signed by the Pastoral Care teacher. The note can only excuse a short-term uniform infringement.

If students are not in correct uniform, or forgets their equipment, they will receive an infringement.

c. Arrive with equipment
Students are to arrive with their materials needed for every lesson.

Some key guidelines for safe technology and internet use:

• Care for laptops remembering that parents pay for laptop repairs.

• Be responsible for bringing charged devices to school.

• Only use laptops for school related purposes as directed by a teacher.

• If students use a laptop at home for non-school related purposes, they must not use it in a way that could offend others or be considered inappropriate.
  
  

View the ICT Acceptable Use Policy.

• Student cars must be parked on the street. The car park area is for staff only.When you park, please ensure you are being mindful of our neighbours and park legally.

• Students who drive are to complete a form given to them by the year coordinator.

• Students are instructed not to drive another student unless permission has been given by the parents/guardians concerned.

• Year 12 students can apply to start school at the first timetabled lesson of the day or leave early if a study period is the last timetabled period after lunch. Students must complete the application form and have it signed by a  parent/guardian. Once this is approved, students need to sign in/out using the iPad in Student Services.

School uniforms give students a sense of belonging to the school and create an identity for the school in the community. Therefore, the school expects students to follow the requirements below. Teachers have the discretion to interpret and apply these guidelines. A member of the school executive is the final authority if a value judgement needs to be made on a students’ overall appearance. Students who do not follow these guidelines, or whose overall appearance is unsatisfactory, may receive a disciplinary consequence.

Uniform Guidelines

This glossary contains key words that appear frequently in NSW Education Standards Authority syllabuses, performance descriptions and examinations.

The purpose behind the glossary is to help students prepare better for the HSC by showing them that certain key words are used similarly in examination questions across the different subjects they are studying.

In classrooms, teachers of different subjects could use the glossary to help students to better understand what the examination questions in their subject require. Students should recognise the consistent approach of teachers of different subjects and get cues about how to approach examination questions.

For example, students would be better placed to respond to ‘explain’ questions if, in the context of different subjects, they developed an understanding that ‘explain’ could require them to relate cause and effect; make the relationships between things evident; provide why and/or how.

It is also important that the key words should not be interpreted in an overly prescriptive way. Teachers must ensure that they do not use them in ways that conflict with their particular meaning within subjects. To do this would be counterproductive. A term like ‘evaluate’, for example, requires a different kind of response in Mathematics from that required in History and this needs to be respected.

When using key words to construct questions, tasks and marking schemes, it is helpful to ask what the use of the term in a particular question requires students to do.

Key words are best discussed with students in the context of questions and tasks they are working on, rather than in isolation.

It is important to note that examination questions for the HSC will continue to use self-explanatory terms such as ‘how’, or ‘why’ or ‘to what extent’. While key words have a purpose, they will not set limits on legitimate subject-based questions in examination papers.

  Account

Account for: state reasons for, report on. Give an account of: narrate a series of events or transactions

Analyse

Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications

Apply

Use, utilise, employ in a particular situation

Appreciate

Make a judgement about the value of

Access

Make a judgement of value, quality, outcomes, results or size

Calculate

Ascertain/determine from given facts, figures or information

Clarify

Make clear or plain

Classify

Arrange or include in classes/categories

Compare

Show how things are similar or different

Construct

Make; build; put together items or arguments

Contrast

Show how things are different or opposite

Critically (analyse/evaluate)

Add a degree or level of accuracy depth, knowledge and understanding, logic, questioning, reflection and quality to (analyse/evaluate)

Deduce

Draw conclusions

Define

State meaning and identify essential qualities

Demonstrate

Show by example

Describe

Provide characteristics and features

Discuss

Identify issues and provide points for and/or against

Distinguish

Recognise or note/indicate as being distinct or different from; to note differences between

Evaluate

Make a judgement based on criteria; determine the value of

Examine

Inquire into

Explain

Relate cause and effect; make the relationships between things evident; 

Extract

Choose relevant and/or appropriate details

Extrapolate

Infer from what is known

Identify

Recognise and name

Interpret

Draw meaning from

Investigate

Plan, inquire into and draw conclusions about

Justify

Support an argument or conclusion

Outline

Sketch in general terms; indicate the main features of

Predict

Suggest what may happen based on available information

Propose

Put forward (for example a point of view, idea, argument, suggestion) for consideration or action

Recall

Present remembered ideas, facts or experiences

Recommend

Provide reasons in favour

Recount

Retell a series of events

Summarise

Express, concisely, the relevant details

Synthesise

Putting together various elements to make a whole

In a letter to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul said something very important about the Bible.  He said: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

This is why our school was founded on God’s Word and seeks to be governed by it in all we do.  The Bible is a deep mine of buried treasure, and we can dig in the mine for a whole lifetime and never exhaust its rich reserves. Here are some of the real gems you might find helpful — and don’t forget that your parents, teachers, the school chaplain and trusted friends can be a valuable help, too, in getting more out of God’s amazing Book.

Well-known chapters in the Bible

How the world began Genesis 1

The Flood Genesis 6

The Ten Commandments Exodus 20

The Lord’s care Psalm 23

A prayer of confession Psalm 51

God knows all about me Psalm 139

What it means to be wise Proverbs 3

The death of Jesus foretold Isaiah 53

God’s love for the world John 3

Life as a Christian Romans 8

What it means to love 1 Corinthians 13

Jesus defeats death 1 Corinthians 15

What about my Faith

Doubting God
Romans 10:17
Acts 17:27,28
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Knowing God
Isaiah 40:18, 22-26
1 John 4:7,8

Knowing Jesus
John 1:1-14
Colossians 1:15-19; 2:13,14
Hebrews 1:3-8

Knowing the Holy Spirit
2 Corinthians 1:22
Romans 8:9-11
John 14:15-17,26

Prayer James 5:16
John 15:7
Matthew 7:7,8

What about other people?

Family Ephesians 5:21-28; 6:1-4
1 Peter 3:1-7

Friends Proverbs 13:20
Proverbs 18:24
Philippians 2:3,4

Injustice 1 Peter 3:16-18
1 Peter 5:10,11

Love John 15:9-16
John 3:16
1 John 4:9-21
1 Corinthians 13:4-7,13

What about the future?

Astrology & Horoscopes
Isaiah 8:19
Isaiah 47:12-14

Life lacks direction
Psalm 16:7,8
Isaiah 30:21
Psalm 25:9,10
James 1:22-25

Making decisions
Proverbs 3:5,6
Philippians 4:12,13

Worried over money
Philippians 4:19
Ecclesiastes 5:10
1 Timothy 6:6-10

When you feel…

A need for wisdom
James 1:5-8

Anxious 1 Peter 5:6-7

Am I a Christian?
1 John 5:9-15

Agitated John 14:27
Philippians 4:6,7

Angry Ephesians 4:26,27

Bereaved 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14
Psalm 34:18a
1 Corinthians 15:51-55

Defeated Romans 8:28-39

Depressed
Psalm 40:1-3
Psalm 34:17,19

Discouraged
Galatians 6:7-10
John 14:1-3
Deuteronomy 31:6

Fearful Isaiah 41:10
Psalm 112:7,8
Psalm 32:7

Feeling inferior
Genesis 1:27
Mark 12:31
Romans 12:3-5

Full of doubt
Mark 9:17-24

Frustrated
Hebrews 10:36
Isaiah 26:3,4

Guilty 1 John 1:5-10
Isaiah 44:22
Isaiah 1:18
Ephesians 1:7

Impatient Psalm 37:7
James 5:7,8

Insecure Romans 8:31,32
Isaiah 41:13
Hebrews 13:6

Insulted Matthew 5:10-12,44,45

Jealous James 3:14-16
Psalm 49:16,17

Life is just too hard
1 Peter 1:3-9

Lonely Hebrews 13:5-6
Psalm 4:8
Isaiah 54:10
John 14:18

Pain Mark 14:36
2 Corinthians 4:17; 12:7-10

Sickness James 5:14,15
Psalm 41:3

Suffering and death
John 11:25,26
2 Corinthians 5:1,2,4,5
Romans 8:18

Tempted 1 Corinthians 10:11-13
James 1:12,13; 4:7

Tired Isaiah 40:31
Matthew 11:28-30

Unable to cope
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Unable to pray
Romans 8:26-27

Worthless
Matthew 10:29-31

Worried Isaiah 26:3,4
1 Peter 5:7