Assistant Principals' Report

Simon Jones

Assistant Principal

Years 10 - 12

All students in the senior school are now in the final stages of semester 1 courses and need to continue to work steadily to achieve their best and enjoy success in their chosen studies, whether they be in year 10, 11 or 12. Recent progress reports and semester 1 parent-teacher interviews should ensure that students and parents are very clear about student progress and what may need to be done to address concerns. Teachers can always be contacted via Compass or email for further updates if required.

Year 12 VCE students and Year 11’s doing a Year 12 VCE subject will undertake the General Achievement Test (GAT) on the 12th of June between 10am and 1.15pm. They will be doing preparation and familiarisation activities at school in readiness. The GAT does not contribute to a student’s VCE or ATAR directly, but is an important mechanism for checking school-based assessment results, externally assessed exam results and in providing Derived Exam Scores in the event that students are unable to sit the final exams due to illness, for example. All students sitting the GAT have also been issued a VCAA pamphlet explaining all aspects of the GAT.

There are no other externally assessed mid-year exams for year 12’s, however there will again be practice exams for all VCE students. The importance of these practice exams cannot be overstated as authentic exam practice where students are required to work under timed conditions is the best possible preparation for the final VCAA exams at the end of the year. We have clearly conveyed the message to students that end of year exams will be the factor that has by far the greatest bearing on their study scores and hence their ATAR. As such students need to take every opportunity to maximize and enhance their exam performance and taking practice exams seriously is a vital step in this direction.

The Year 10, 11 and 12 exam timetable and exam expectations are attached below for the information of parents.

I would also like to congratulate the Year 11 students who were involved in the Presentation Ball earlier this month. It was exciting to see all of their hard work and practice come to fruition on the night and all  the debutantes looked amazing in their finery. A memorable night was had by all who were in attendance.

Andrew Wynne                                                   Assistant Principal 

Years 7-9

Already into week six of the second term! The year is flying past and already so many experiences and events have taken place, and so much more to come! Dromana College is indeed an exciting and dynamic place to work and study.

Camps

Term One finished with the Year 7 camp, and I was delighted to spend a day with the students. I walked with a group to Smiths Beach where the students tried their hand at surfing, then spent some time with the students at the camp. This visit is always one of the highlights of the year and the camp is always well organised and a great opportunity for students to develop relationships with their teachers and classmates. It is an important aspect of the college pastoral program and provides a springboard for embracing all that the college offers in the years ahead. The Year 7 students on this camp were indeed a credit to the school and themselves, embracing all activities with enthusiasm and mutual respect. It is so important for the transition of our students into secondary school to have the opportunity to develop relationships and this camp is a great opportunity for teachers to really get to know the students. Well done to all.

Naplan

Naplan testing is an important event on the school calendar, and this year again our students were tested in Literacy and Numeracy, as were all Year 7 and Year 9 students across the country. These tests were held in exam like conditions and I was extremely impressed with the attitude in which these students approached this process. Whether we like it or not, testing is an important element of assessment that students need to become familiar with, particularly as they approach the senior levels of schooling. Well done to all the Year 7 and Year 9 students and the co-ordinators for making the process meaningful and professional.

Chad Ambrose

Assistant Principal

Learning and Teaching

Dromana College is currently in the process of developing our next Strategic Plan. This process gives us the opportunity to reflect and celebrate on the work we have undertaken and the achievements of our students. One of the significant areas of work that Dromana College has undertaken is around supporting students to develop a ‘Growth mindset’. Carol Dweck, author of the book ‘Mindset,’ explains that there are two distinct mindsets that have a huge influence on how we learn.

‘In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment’ (Dweck, 2015).

Since adopting a Growth Mindset approach within our middle school maths program our students have thrived, with our improvement data amongst the best in the state. This data is simply a measure of how much our students have improved from Year 7 to Year 9, and it is simply outstanding. We encourage all students to continue to adopt a Growth Mindset approach.