Year 7 Transition Hub

As our teachers spend most of their time in the classroom teaching our students, the preferred method of communication is email through Compass. If you have a general question please contact the Learning Mentor. Teachers will endeavour to respond in 48 hours but not in the school holidays or on weekends. If it’s an urgent matter please call our office 9755 4555.

We will send out parent information and nomination forms for our School Council positions on Compass in Term 1. Make sure you check Compass newsfeed.

Permanent Parent Usernames will be sent Mid-term 4. These will be emailed to you. Students will receive their Usernames when their laptops are set up in January as part of the onboarding sessions.

No. If you already have a student at RSC, you keep the same login.

Student email addresses can be found on Compass. It contains the student’s school username (eg. SYR0321) followed by @rowvillesc.vic.edu.au. If in doubt, use a parent email address and change it later.

Click here for our class times.

You will find our School Maps by clicking here. They are also located on various walls and windows around the school.

Year 7 Orientation Day is Tuesday 13 December.

Wear your primary school uniform on that day. You will receive more information about Orientation prior to the day.

Orientation Day is a fantastic introduction to RSC. Students meet their Learning Mentors and the students who will be in their LM group and hear a little about what they will be doing in Year 7 as well as taking part in “get-to-know-you” activities, and games to allow the students to familiarise themselves with the school grounds. While it’s understandable that students can be both excited and apprehensive about Orientation, it’s important to remember that students coming into our specialist programs are coming from a wide range of primary schools, so most students will not know anyone else there and be eager and ready to make new friends!

Yes, all Year 7 students receive a combination lock. For security, this combination must remain confidential to the student and Learning Mentor. There is no need to purchase your own lock. It is recommended students use the school supplied lock for security and keep a copy of the code at home somewhere safe so it can be checked and re-memorised at the end of each holiday period.

On the first day of school, you will meet up with your Learning Mentor in your LM room and have a range of activities planned that provide opportunity to familiarise yourself more with your teachers, classmates, and the school and how it operates. You may have an assembly and meet the Principals, Assistant Principals, House Leaders, and hear from the Junior School Leaders and Transition Coordinators. The aim of the day is to prepare you for the best start to regular classes on Day 2.

It is strongly encouraged that all students attend Year 7 Camp as this is one of the best experiences and opportunities a student has for consolidating their learner strengths and building relationships with their teachers and classmates. It is also very fun. Regular Year 7 classes do not run back at school during camp.

Please refer to the information on the forms and on Compass. As a guide, it is usually by the start of the school year.

It is important students are able to develop friendships and participate in activities knowing they are not being watched by their parents. It is also important in the development of grit and resilience that students are only on camp with teachers and camp staff. Therefore, parents are not allowed to accompany students on camp. Whilst this may be of some anxiety for both parents and students, we have measures in place to help students become accustomed to being away from home and their family. Most students despite some initial nervousness, soon forget all about it once they arrive at camp.

Onboarding takes place in the week prior to the first day of the school term. Bookings will be open from the start of December. It is strongly encouraged every student is onboarded with their device prior to the commencement of term. Click here to find out more.

Please bring the laptop device you intend to use for school and any accessories (eg. Charger). The best experience is when students and parents/carers attend so both can follow the process and ask questions.

You are welcome to provide vaccinations certificates through the school office, however these are not mandatory, and you do not need to bring current permission slips. We will distribute permission slips when required.

No, due to privacy we cannot release the recording. However, ‘The Hub’ is full of information, resources, and Q&As collated from all sessions over multiple years.

Purchasing of all textbooks is done directly through Campion. Please log into their website for ordering deadlines.

In signing up for Campion you can use your student email address found via Compass. If you cannot locate the code, please contact Campion and they should have a record of it.

All students are required to purchase the Rowville Perfect Bundle Year 7. You can then choose whether you purchase either Option 1: Print and Digital Textbook OR Option 2: Digital Textbook only. You must purchase one of either Option 1 or Option 2. You can purchase second-hand books as long as they are the correct editions, however the bundles cannot be split, so you can’t choose to buy some new and some second-hand books. The only way you could use second-hand books is if you buy Option 2, and then additionally purchase whichever second-hand books you’d like to.

Yes, just make sure they are the correct editions. It is not advised that second-hand workbooks are used as even erased out answers may still appear and prevent real learning taking place.

In short, you should purchase all books for subjects listed as “Broad Arts”, as all students no matter their specialism will take these classes.  Where subjects are listed as “Specialism”, you only need to purchase books for your child’s particular specialism, and no other specialism. Regarding the items listed as 1, 2 & 3 on the booklist, everyone needs to purchase item number 1, and in addition choose either 2 or 3.

Answer TBC.

Yes.

All Year 7 students are required to have a laptop. Teachers need to be able to plan effectively knowing that students have similar access and function, so we ask that iPads are not used.

No. It is recommended that Year 7s have laptop computers. Please see the BYOD page on our website for details.

JB Hi-Fi have a range which we recommend, however it is not compulsory to purchase laptops through JB, as long as the laptop has the correct specifications as set out on the BYOD page of our website. Generally, laptops do not come with cases, however it is a good idea to purchase one.

There are no expectations about the brand of laptop you purchase. In senior years, depending on subject choice, including arts or media, it can be a viable option, but not required. But there is also no guarantee the specifications of a device purchased in Year 7 will meet specifications of these specialist subjects 5 or 6 years later.

The simple way is to use a label-maker device. However that is very easily removed. Other options include names being engraved in the plastic bottom casing, or putting a label on the inside of the bottom casing. ie: unscrew the bottom casing if possible. This might be more secure, but could void the warranty. You could also try a blacklight pen available online.

Yes – protective cases are encouraged. However, please be aware that in accordance with the Mobile Phone Policy, students are not allowed to carry school bags around during the day. As such, a laptop bag may be used to carry laptop-related equipment such as a mouse or charger, but it cannot be used as a bag to carry around schoolbooks. It is recommended that students keep the laptop bag in their locker and only carry what they need to class.

The school will be conducting “on boarding” sessions to help set up the students’ laptops. This will involve making an appointment to come into the school during the week before Term 1 commences, so that our IT team can help set you up. You will receive details about this towards the end of the year.

It is not necessary to purchase Microsoft Office as all students have access to the Microsoft Office 365 suite as part of their enrolment which includes applications such as Word, Excel and Power Point.

Our IT team will assist with software issues. If you purchase your laptop through JB Hi-fi, JB solutions will deal with hardware issues only.  Alternative arrangements can be made through our IT department in order to not interrupt learning on case by case basic.

We recommend you keep your computer for school-based activities. There should be no games installed on the computer unless these are used for curriculum purposes.

All Year 7s starting in 2022 will purchase the new school uniform. Visit our school uniform page for more information.

At this stage, the OnTrack uniform shop is currently under construction and therefore families are unable to try on. There is a sizing measurement guide within the OnTrack guide. OnTrack will offer exchanges should any items not fit. They are also happy to take calls to offer guidance to families on sizing.

All new uniform items must be purchased through our supplier to match the style, colour and logo of our school.

Yes, please visit our school uniform page for more information on school shoes.

The RSC school bag is NOT a compulsory item.

Not in Year 7. Year 12s have a unique uniform item. However, a hoodie can be purchased through OnTrack for all other year levels.

Every student is assigned a Learning Mentor (LM) who has the responsibility to oversee all aspects of their time at school. They are the student’s and their family’s first point of contact for updates, issues or enquiries.

Learning Mentor groups (LMGs) are assigned a number or letter and consist of students who share the same LM. In Year 7, students have a dedicated LM for that year level and class and are therefore considered a “rainbow” group because it is a mix of students in different houses. In Year 8, students have a new LM and LMG which is based on their house. They will have that LM and remain in that LMG for the rest of their time at RSC.

Learning Mentor classes or sessions occur first thing every morning and are an important opportunity to deliver messages and notices to the group. Students also take part in activities that help prepare them for the day and build relationships with their teachers and their peers. In most cases, ConnectEd classes are also taught by a student’s LM.

We have four houses at RSC: Aston Kangaroos (red), Mabo Dingos (yellow), Stynes Sharks (blue) and Walton Eagles (green). Students are designated to a House from Day 1, and there are various house activities throughout the year, such as House Athletics, a Photography Competition, and Rowville’s Got Talent. Students with older siblings will be placed in the same house as their sibling/s. For more information, please see the House System page here.

Learning Mentor Group and House are typically announced on Orientation Day.

Wellbeing Coordinators: Joanne Johnson (East) and Andy Phillips (West)
Phone 9755 4555 (ask for Wellbeing East or Wellbeing West).
Email: wellbeing@rowvillesc.vic.edu.au

During Term 4, you will be able to log into Compass using your parent account and make payment should Compass be your preferred payment option. For more details, visit our school council parent payment page on our website.

Yes, you can. Log in to Compass using your parent account and you can make a payment plan in the ‘Course Confirmation and Payments’ section.

Our leaders, teachers, and educational support staff are well-equipped to support students with different needs. Depending on the nature of the need, supports may include Individual Education Plans (IEPs), changes in the work and delivery of content, or support provided by a Tutor or Teacher’s Aid.

Ideally, your primary school will share your learning plans with us. If they have indicated they will not be doing that on your behalf, we request that you forward these to your child’s Learning Mentor or email to the appropriate Transition Coordinator.

The languages taught at RSC are Italian (RIA and GE) and Indonesian (MSA).

In Years 7 & 8, all students will have one semester of each of the specialisms as Broad Arts. These classes are taken with their regular class. From Year 9, the Broad Arts become electives and the subjects are more varied and specific. For more information about Broad Arts, please see the RIA Curriculum page on the website, or the RIA Information/ Application pack.

The maximum number of students in any class at RSC is 26. The specialism classes for Drama, Media, Music and Visual Arts are multi–year classes, made up of Junior (Yr 7 & 8), Intermediate (Yr 9 & 10) and Senior (Yr 11 & 12). Dance specialism has a separate class for each year level. Numbers in each class depends on the number in that specialism, and currently may vary from 8 students to 26 students.

Our biannual Showcase performance/exhibition and individual specialism performance nights take place in the evening, however there is no regular rehearsal time outside school hours.

Yes, all RIA students take Italian language class as one of their compulsory core subjects from Year 7 to Year 9. From Year 10 onwards, Italian becomes an elective.

In MSA we have two classes of specialism time. These are called ‘Science & Technology Project’ and ‘Maths & Engineering Project’.

There is usually just one MSA class per year level. The maximum class size is 26 students.

Yes, we teach coding and programming through our specialism classes. For example, students learn HTML and CSS to be able to write their own websites from scratch. 

Absolutely, we value student voice in determining what directions our projects take within specialism classes. We are very keen to see what they are interested in and how we can explore this further.

Yes, we try to encourage collaboration between the MSA classes where we can. This is sometimes limited due to timetabling issues but we would love to expand on how the MSA classes collaborate in coming years.

No, MSA students study Indonesian in Years 7-9. We are working on offering a Year 10 Indonesian elective, but this will be based on demand from the students.

Students enrolled in the cricket program are requested to bring all of their own equipment necessary to participate in training and coaching sessions safely. This would include helmet, pads, bats, etc. Rowville Sports Academy supplies the use of a secured shed on the property where students may store their equipment when not at training. It is personal choice as to whether students decide to leave their bags locked in the shed overnight or take their bags to and from school with them each day. Students utilising this facility do so at their own risk.

Golf students are encouraged to bring a minimalised set of clubs with them for days of training.  It is recommended that students utilise an 8-inch stand bag for ease of travel and storage.

Rowville Sports Academy supplies a secure shed for all of the Golf Students to store their equipment during the day when not at training/coaching sessions.  It is personal preference of each student as to if they wish to store their equipment at school in the secure shed overnight, or if they wish to travel with their Golf bags to and from school each day. Students utilising this facility do so at their own risk.

Churchill Waverley Golf & Bowls Club has a designated RSA Classroom that is kept locked.  Students are permitted to store their equipment in this room between sessions held at Churchill Waverley Golf & Bowls Club. Please confirm with the Golf Coach each session if the following session will be held at Churchill Waverley Golf & Bowls Club or another location.

It is recommended student bring a racquet bag to protect racquets and store other basic equipment. They should of course have appropriate footwear for the court. Any other information will be provided by the coach during the first session.

Yes, we have a fabulous instrumental music program open to students in all programs. A range of instruments are available for private/group lessons and to join in our ensembles. Please see our website for more details.

Within a week of expressing your interest, you should be contacted acknowledging this and to discuss options with you and confirm an enrolment. Final confirmation of lessons and instruments takes places at the start of the school year.

KIOSC (Knox Innovation Opportunity and Sustainability Centre) is a joint initiative of the secondary schools in the City of Knox and Swinburne University of Technology. Click here to find out more.

Early Term 1, we will share the process for electing our Year 7 SRC members. Here is the application form if you wish to express an interest.