Acting Principal's Report

Dear WSC Families,

It is very hard to believe we are nearing the end of first term already! The time has flown by, and I hope you are experiencing happy kids at home because that is certainly how they are presenting at school. You can be very proud of the way your children are interacting, behaving and learning here at Westall Secondary College. I am sure this reflects the hard work and good values you have raised them with 😊

It’s been wonderful to have the students on site for 10 weeks without the type of disruptions we saw through 2020 and 2021. It has been a calm and friendly first term characterised for me by the following impressions:

• Students smiling and always saying ‘Hi Miss’
• Steady quality learning observable in classes, 
• Quiet corridors during class time,
• Staff collaborating on student learning and wellbeing, contacting parents by phone or meeting them here on site and making sure everyone knows what’s going on
• Our Language Centre students making new friends and giggling in the corridor, 
• The excitement around iCreate classes, 
• Being personally shown Taekwondo moves in the A corridor,
• Wonderful aromas of food floating down corridors on Wednesdays as nearly a quarter of our students are guided by the culinary whizz, Ms Paget, to cook up a storm.

My list could go on and on . . . Westall Secondary College is a kaleidoscope of events, people, opportunities and friends, a brilliant blend for your child’s education. 

This was never more obvious than yesterday when the college celebrated Open Evening.  I am sure others in the newsletter are going to fill you in with photos and stories of the night, but what I will tell you is that the atmosphere was like a party. Visitors and existing families were welcomed and warmly encouraged to get involved in activities, that ranged from cracking literacy codes at the WELC, to eating dried insects in the science room. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? There were robots in the Arena, the St Kilda football team activities, free ice cream, cupcake making, table tennis, volleyball, numeracy quizzes . . . You name it, we had it 😊. You could even get a crash course on how to fly a jet plane at the aviation display. I excelled in the ‘crash’ part of that course! 

Thank you to our 100+ students, who volunteered to assist in setting up, assisting with displays, taking guided tours and packing up at the end. Your friendliness and enthusiasm was infectious. Thank you also to School Captains, Mai and Kaif, who spoke with passion and genuine feeling about their school to our visitors. A big thanks also to our School Council President, Johnny Balalovski, SC Vice President, Maggie Tucker, and Councillors, Donna Petersen and Joanna Karadimitris, who joined in on the evening welcoming new parents and chatting with families. Your support is highly valued. 

My greatest thanks must go the education support and teaching staff across the college and our Assistant Principal, Mark Henderson, for organising every last detail. Your effort and commitment to making this a wonderful and interesting event was magnificent. 

Harmony Day

Community Celebration - Culture and Diversity

Another highlight to the term calendar was our community celebration of diversity, Harmony Day.  On Wednesday March 27th, the new Arena was awash with colour and the talent of our young people as our college joined with Westall Primary School, Westall Preschool and playgroup and groups from the Westall Hub in celebration of our diversity and tolerance with a Harmony Day event. 

It was a privilege to open the event and welcome the community in partnership with Westall PS Principal, Peter Jeans. Everyone present were fortunate to participate in a traditional smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country performed by Bunurong Elder, Uncle Mik and his son, Eric. It was a fabulous reminder to all of us of the unique and valuable heritage of the land we learn on. The event was attended by the Kingston City Mayor, Steve Staikos, and proudly emceed by Harshika, a young school captain from WPS, our own inclusion captains, Daisy and Monica. The students did a wonderful job facilitating the many wonderful performances, which included a beautiful solo performance by Anita Soghmayan, Year 10, a rousing drum performance by WSC music students, and two exciting dance performances by our Cook Island dancers and the Xia Shan Pinyin dancers. Our school is full of talent, and everyone present enjoyed watching students shine together. 

Campfire Conversations

This year, the Education Department and State Government are seeking authentic input from our Koorie families and Koorie people in the community to inform the next steps in working towards real self determination in education for first Australians. 

Camp Fire conversation is an initiative designed to give Koorie families an opportunity to tell their educational stories and talk about what they hope to see happen in education to allow better access and engagement for their own kids. 

Together with our Campfire Convenor, Humanities teacher Sian Moore, we decided to hold a joint conversation with Westall Primary School families and again work collaboratively with Westall Primary School Principal, Peter Jeans. 

The campfire Conversation was held in Balook on Friday afternoon, 1 April, utilising our indigenous learning stones circle at the front of the building. 

The event was attended by a handful of our students and parents, and we are grateful for their attendance and contributions. Also attending were several Koorie community members, Shilo, Shanai and John, Koorie Engagement & Support Officers, (KESOs) for Bayside, Selina and Kalie from the Derrimut Whelan Gathering Place, Chris from Nairm Marr Djambana, Jamil from the William Cooper Instate, Monash University, and Charlie and Zorika from Kingston youth services. 

It was a great chance to start the conversation about improving education by listening to people's stories from their own experiences. Feedback from the event will be sent to the department to inform future policy. 

We hope to continue these events through the year to build stronger relationships with our Koorie families, and in doing so, continue to improve the educational opportunities for all our students. 

Term 2

Next term, Assistant Principal, Mark Henderson, will be on leave from WSC until June 14. Mark was successful in applying for a temporary position as Acting Principal at Seaford Primary School. We wish him all the best and will look forward to his return. Replacing Mr Henderson as acting Assistant Principal will be Jason Ticker for the first 3.5 weeks and Alice Paget for the second 3.5 weeks. Assistant Principal, Sue Simadri, and I look forward to working closely with Mr Tickner and Ms Paget next term as part of the school’s Principal Class Team. 

Like most schools and businesses in Victoria, we have needed to cope with extended absences across the college in Term 1, as staff and students have been required to isolate as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This situation is expected to continue into Term 2 and we have been warned that we are also in for a bad flu season. Your children have been bringing home Department supplied RAT tests for the past 10 weeks and this will continue through Term 2.

Please continue to use the tests if students show any symptoms at all. Students who have any symptoms of illness, whether it be Covid, a tummy upset, headache, cold or flu symptoms, they must not attend school until symptoms clear. This will help us to keep the student and staff at WSC as safe as possible by not transmitting illness onsite. 

I hope you all stay safe and healthy over the holiday break and please don’t forget, students need to attend school in winter uniform next term! 

Warm regards, 

Ms Marcelle van Maanen 

Principal