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About Greater Shepparton Secondary College

Classroom Teacher - English Recruitment Online Number 1337139

Our way of doing things at GSSC

The saying goes at Greater Shepparton Secondary College (GSSC) that we are Greater Together! That is our families, staff and community all working together to support our young people, and our students leaning on these support networks to achieve their best.

Although we are a big school able to cater for more than 2,200 students, we have been able to retain a ‘small school’ atmosphere through our House and Neighbourhood structure. Through this model, our students are able to feel a sense of Greater Belonging by having a house to call home. This provides students an opportunity to build relationships with key neighbourhood staff, as well as with their peers through our Vertical Home Groups.

Building relationships and nurturing a student-centred culture is at the forefront of everything that we do here at GSSC. Our College and House Captains and specialist First Nations, Multicultural, Values, Environmental and Music Student Leaders provide invaluable student voice and input and role model our college values and ethos at various events and activities, both in the school and in the community.

Our award-winning Careers Team provide the supports our students need to set Greater Expectations for themselves and to aspire for excellence. While we ask our students to set high expectations of themselves and each other, we also recognise that achieving your personal best is just that, personal! This is why our careers pathway mentoring and counselling is targeted to each individual student and our curriculum is tailored at each year level.

In addition to this, our Wellbeing Team here at GSSC is focused on providing Greater Care to our students through a range of services and initiatives including our Doctors in School program, paediatric clinic, Program for Students with a Disability, Secondary School Nurses and Mental Health Practitioners. GSSC Wellbeing Officers are also based in each neighbourhood to support students on a day-to-day basis.

This team around the learner is further strengthened by our Ngarri Ngarri team, made by of six staff and a Team Leader who work across neighbourhoods to support First Nations students and their families. Our Multicultural Liaison Officers (MLO) provide this same support for our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families and speak a range of languages including Arabic, Dari, Persian, Hazaragi, Swahili, Kirundi and Samoan. Both teams work in and outside of the classroom to promote active student participation, positive family engagement, a proactive home/school partnership, culturally safe learning environment and inclusive curriculum and teaching and learning practices. 

Our Wellbeing and Inclusion Hub also includes a range of external allied health and education agencies working in school to support students.

Our facilities

Greater Shepparton Secondary College (GSSC) is among the most contemporary secondary schools in the country, featuring award-winning school design and cutting-edge facilities.

A double gymnasium, theatrette, green room and roof-top gardens are among features found in a few secondary schools. GSSC’s Enterprise and Innovation Centre for the arts, media, science and technology provides students with the subject choice and education pathways only a big school can deliver.

Our people

They say it takes a village to raise a child and the same goes for our school community – we simply could not do it without our talented, diverse and passionate teaching and education support staff.

Whether it’s in front of the classroom, maintaining our beautiful school grounds and facilities, in a leadership role, administration or providing extra support for our students and families, there are so many ways you can have a positive impact on the lives of young people here at GSSC.

Although we are a relatively new school, our people have built a fantastic workplace culture here at the college, through an induction and mentorship program supporting new staff. Our staff are also the driving force behind an active calendar of social events and opportunities to get to know one another differently. Not only that but we have the benefit of living in a vibrant regional area that strives to foster a sense of community and offers a wide range of sports and recreation choices and caters to a growing food and wine culture.

Teaching in Greater Shepparton also means having the very best in professional learning and inspiration on your doorstep, with the city being home to one of the few regional centres of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, building on the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership based in Melbourne.

The Academy provides an unprecedented opportunity for our best teachers to develop their skills and become recognised as state-wide leaders in teaching excellence, while still teaching in their Shepparton classroom.

Our community

GSSC is a reflection of its community in that it is a highly multicultural school and welcomes students from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  We are committed to creating a school community where all members of our school community are welcomed, accepted and treated equitably and with respect.

GSSC stands on the Country of the Yorta Yorta and Bangerang peoples, nations, tribes and clans and the Greater Shepparton area is home to the largest population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people outside of Melbourne.

Greater Shepparton is located 180 kilometres north of Melbourne, with a population of 66,000. It is the fifth-largest city in regional Victoria and consists of Shepparton city, Mooroopna and Tatura. 

The area is a culturally and linguistically diverse community with almost one quarter of the population born overseas in more than 50 different countries. Migrant communities are predominately from Italy and Albania and settled in the region after World War II. In the following years, refugees have come from Iraq, Kuwait, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The most recent arrivals have come from Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan and other parts of Africa. 

Our History

GSSC was formed by the merge of four secondary colleges in Shepparton and Mooroopna, as part of the Shepparton Education Plan - a 10-year Victorian Government strategy to transform Shepparton’s education system for young people from early learning, through to primary and secondary school, and beyond to higher skills and further education.

GSSC commenced in 2020 across the four campuses: Shepparton High School, McGuire College, Wanganui Park Secondary College and Mooroopna Secondary College.

Our combined campus, built on the former Shepparton High School site on Hawdon Street, opened in 2022 bringing students from all four campuses onto the one site. 

ROLE

Classroom teacher Range 1
The primary focus of the range 1 classroom teacher is on further developing skills and competencies to become an effective classroom practitioner with structured support and guidance from teachers at higher levels and the planning, preparation and teaching of programs to achieve specific student outcomes. These teachers teach a range of students/classes and are accountable for the effective delivery of their programs.  Range 1 classroom teachers are skilled teachers who operate under general direction within clear guidelines following established work practices and documented priorities and may have responsibility for the supervision and training of one or more student teachers.

At range 1, teachers participate in the development of school policies and programs and assist in the implementation of school priorities. 
The focus of a range 1 classroom teacher is on classroom management, subject content and teaching practice.  New entrants to the teaching profession in their initial teaching years receive structured support, mentoring and guidance from teachers at higher levels.

Under guidance, new entrants to the teaching profession will plan and teach student groups in one or more subjects and are expected to participate in induction programs and other professional learning activities that are designed to ensure the integration of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy across the school.

Teachers at range 1 are responsible for teaching their own classes and may also assist and participate in policy development, project teams and the organisation of co-curricular activities.

Key Selection Criteria

1. SC1 - Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the ability to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated experience in responding to student learning needs.
2. SC2 - Demonstrated experience in planning for and implementing high-impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluating the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth.
3. SC3 - Demonstrated experience in monitoring and assessing student learning. Demonstrated experience in using data to inform teaching practice and providing feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.
4. SC4 - Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated experience in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, agency, well-being and engagement.
5. SC5 - Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated experience in reflecting upon practice and engaging in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.

Our goals for effective teaching

An effective teacher is a positive role model who leads by example.

Our teachers are always willing to assist students with their learning, social and emotional needs, and are aware of their students’ various learning styles as well as multiple methods of teaching.

An effective teacher has high expectations for each of their students and frequently provides them with constructive feedback about their work.

At our new college, an effective teacher:

• is passionate about their subject area and stays accountable to their curriculum
• has extensive knowledge of learning theories
• provides students with skills to become an independent learner
• builds positive relationships with students
• involves students in the learning process (enabling student voice)
• provides positive, encouraging and constructive feedback to students and colleagues, and is always seeking to improve their own practice and actively seeks feedback for themselves
• teaches to various learning levels and challenges all students
• creates a positive and safe learning environment, and has effective behavioural management skills that enable all students to learn
• utilises appropriate assessment tools to inform teaching and learning, and to allow for differentiation within the classroom
• has effective communicative skills with students, parents and teachers; frequently communicating student needs, progress and issues.