Principal's

Message

Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2022 School Year!

Welcome back for the beginning of a new school year. I hope you and your family had a great well-rested summer break and, like me, are excited by the opportunities that the 2022 school year brings. A very special welcome to our new Year 7 students and to all those students who are new to other year levels, and to their families. We hope that you enjoy your time here at Victoria University Secondary College and that it is rewarding for you both educationally and personally.

On behalf of the College Board, I would like to thank all parents/carers, staff, students and members of the VUSC community who supported the school in 2021. It certainly was another challenging year for everyone. As we moved through our changing COVID environment last year again, everyone showed resilience, patience and adaptability, and as a result developed new skills and learnt new things! 

It has been such an exciting start to the new school year with students showing a high level of enthusiasm about their courses, meeting new teachers and classmates, and settling quickly into their learning. Thanks to the strong partnership we have with our families, we have been able to support students to commence with a high level of preparation with all the necessary information and materials to make 2022 a successful year. 

Congratulations Class of 2021

We congratulate the VCE and VCAL class of 2021 for their perseverance throughout two difficult years of schooling, which has led to great success.

With the past two years having been severely impacted by the uncertainty and interruptions that have emerged due to the COVID pandemic, we are pleased to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating class in reaching the end of their secondary schooling, ready and equipped to tackle the new challenges of tertiary studies and life in the workplace. 

We commend each graduating student in the class of 2021 for their achievements and we are confident that they are well prepared to take their next steps in life.

VCE Dux and High Scorers

Congratulations to our 2021 College Dux, Zoe Beazley, who achieved an ATAR of 98.5, and our Proxime Accessit, Cassandra Davidson, who achieved a result of 96.55.

Our 2021 College Dux, Zoe Beazley, achieved strong scores across her subjects, reaching a perfect score of 50 in Extended Investigation, and 49 in English. She has already been offered scholarships from multiple, prestigious universities, and will be going on to study a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne this year.

Our Proxime Accessit, Cassandra Davidson, also achieved a perfect score of 50 in Extended Investigation and achieved scores above 40 in all her other subjects. Having attended the college since Year 7, we are proud of Cassandra’s continued aspiration to achieve her best and her passion for learning. This year Cassandra has received an offer to study a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, where she will commence her studies focusing on criminology, politics, and gender studies, studying Russian as her breadth subject. She was also awarded the Hansen Scholarship through the university, which is worth over $100,000, and will provide an excellent support in Cassandra’s studies.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved ATARs of 90 or above:

• Cindy Tran ATAR 93.6. In 2022, Cindy will be studying a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne.
• Yan Rustambekov ATAR 92.5. In 2022, Yan will be studying a Bachelor of Nursing at Swinburne University. 
• Gabriel Lovas ATAR 92.45. In 2022, Gabriel will be studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. 

We also congratulate the following VCAL students who have been successful in obtaining apprenticeships: 

Gerard Lee Lo – Plastering Apprenticeship with Gyprock Trade

Edmond Lee Lo – Bricklaying Apprenticeship with J & A Bricklaying

Rung Thang Lawng Sang – Automotive Apprenticeship with Melton Toyota

Simon Thing Thaih – Automotive Apprenticeship with EBDC AutoTechnics

Michael Jafari – Plumbing Apprenticeship with Plum Heating and Cooling

Congratulations to all students in the Class of 2021! We wish you all the best wherever your career paths may take you. 

Top Scorers in the State in Extended Investigation

Zoe and Cassandra were the only published students in the state to achieve a perfect score of 50 in Extended Investigation (EI). This is a VCE subject in which students complete an extended inquiry into an area of their own interest. They submit a 4,000-word thesis for external assessment in September, before presenting their completed projects to an external assessment panel and answering questions asked of them.

Zoe studied the semiotics of the aesthetic components of protest music, comparing and contrasting symbols used in performances in the Civil Rights protest music of the 1960s with those of the Black Lives Matters protest music of today.

Cassandra researched the impacts of gentrification on the lived experiences of long-term residents in the municipality of Maribyrnong. She managed to fit in interviews with residents in Footscray and Yarraville in between the various lockdowns across the year, working hard to manage her project under such circumstances.

Well done to both Zoe and Cassandra for achieving the highest score in the state for this subject! Here they are pictured with Extended Investigation teacher, Christopher Troy.

Welcome Year 7’s

On Monday 31st January the Year 7 students began their first formal day at VUSC. They participated in an assembly, found their lockers, juggled their books, got lost a few times, learned the bell times, practised reading their timetables and met lots of new teachers and classmates. Over the next few weeks their classes will focus on teaching them the school values and routines, as well as helping them to get to know their new classmates.

As is always the case, we look forward to working together with parents and carers to support our students to reach the levels of achievement they are individually capable of. Again, we invite parents and carers to work together with us to ensure students are meeting the basic requirements necessary for success in their studies. These include:

• Excellent attendance and punctuality
• Bringing the appropriate books and equipment each day 
• Using class time effectively
• Completing homework 
• Keeping to deadlines for submission of work
• Always putting in maximum effort.

The last point on ‘maximum effort’ is one that underlies all the others, and it will be explicitly emphasised with the students throughout the year. Of course, the chances of this message being conveyed successfully will be much greater if it is also reinforced at home, so we will be most appreciative if parents and carers can also emphasise the importance of consistent and persistent effort.

A checklist is attached of what parents and carers can do to support their children with their schooling this year:

We wish everyone the best for the upcoming school year.

Congratulations

The Mushroom Group ran their ON TRACK 15 program over the January school holidays. 

It was a week filled with Song Writing Workshops, Demo Recording, Film Clip Making and so much more.  They emailed our school to say they were very grateful to have a Victoria University Secondary College student Sherman Hewage join them over the week. 

We are very excited to share with you an article that was published in the Star Weekly re-capping the program. Click here to view the full article. 

Congratulations Sherman and well done! We are very proud of you. 

New Staff

The College is very pleased to welcome the following staff who are joining the teaching and education support teams this year:

Sam Evcimen – English/Humanities Teacher

Despina Kallis – English/Humanities Teacher

Kieran Bennett – Humanities Teacher

Simon Morris - Humanities Teacher

Dushani Andarachewa – Chemistry/Science Teacher

Bayu Pratama – Youth Worker

Jeanu Sayachack – English Teacher

Siobhan Neyland  – Mental Health Practitioner 

Leanne Reeves - Reception / Administration

Hannah Pike - Instrumental Music Teacher

Karen Baker - Instrumental Music Teacher

We welcome and wish them all the very best at Victoria University Secondary College.

Tutor Learning Initiative

One of our top priorities for the year is again to respond to the disruption of 2021 by working to ensure that all students who need additional assistance to ‘catch up’ on learning that they may have missed, get tailored and targeted help through the Government's Tutor Learning Initiative. 

The additional resources made available by the Victorian Government through the continued funding directed to this program provide us with an unprecedented opportunity again to meet the learning needs of every individual student.

Tutors will be a valuable part of our teaching team at VUSC this year. By providing intensive learning support to the students who need it, we will not only ensure that those students are not left behind, but also give classroom teachers the space they need to meet the achievement, engagement and wellbeing needs of all students.

The tutors that have joined our VUSC teaching team this year are as follows:

Adil Soh-Lim – English tutor

Anjali Sahasrabudhe – Maths tutor

Brayden Kelputis – Maths tutor

Annette Lawrence – English tutor

George Plavelil – Maths Tutor

Charlotte Lake – English tutor

Tina Gupta– Maths tutor

Gerard Ward  – Maths tutor

We welcome and wish our tutors the very best at Victoria University Secondary College.

College and Junior Campus Captains

On behalf of the whole school community, I am delighted to announce our College and Junior Campus Captains for 2022.

Congratulations to Paris Tran and Luke Ratanachan who have been elected College Captains and to Vice Captains Donald La and Sara Poveda Muneton.

At the Junior Campus, congratulations to Captains Kimba Lewis and Erin Austin and Vice Captains Paige Albury and Jasey Chu Pham.

Each of these students have already shown themselves to be really deserving of these leadership roles, and we look forward to working with them and all our student leaders.

Student Absence Hotline

Parents/carers are reminded that the school requires 90% attendance for all students. 

If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please call 8312 0243 or email absence@vusc.vic.edu.au before 10am that day. 

Parents/carers will receive a call from our Attendance Officer if a reason for the absence has not been provided. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter to ensure that all student absences are accounted for. 

Uniforms

A reminder to all students and parents/carers that students should be in full summer uniform this term, including the blazer and black leather shoes (no other colours/no boots or sneakers). Please see our full Uniform Policy here. 

Families may request assistance with purchasing school uniform from the following organisations: 

Smith Family Learning for Life provides support and financial assistance to help disadvantaged children stay at school. The program runs in select disadvantaged areas.

A Start in Life provides financial assistance to disadvantaged students and families to ensure they can access the same learning opportunities as their peers. For information phone (02) 9264 3017.

Opening the Doors Foundation provides education assistance for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in an independent educational institution in Victoria.

The Queen’s Fund Financial assistance with the cost of educational expenses for children. Applications must be completed by a social worker or a community agency that works with you.

Good Shepherd Micro-finance is a great initiative that has financial programs to assist families on low or limited incomes with educational costs and other expenses. One of their programs is the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) which gives access to fair and safe credit up to $1,200 for essential educational items.

Saver Plus  This is financial education and up to $500 in matched savings for education costs for individuals and families who have at least some regular income from work. For information phone 1300 610 355.

Second hand uniforms are also bought and sold by local families on the Sustainable School Shop website. 

Jacaranda e-books

Once again Jacaranda are our supplier of electronic textbooks this year. Information has been provided on booklists and posted to Compass about how to purchase and access the books. Please ensure your child has all the textbooks they need for a successful start to the year. 

Homework Club

Homework club will run at the Junior Campus this year in the Library after school every day during term except Wednesdays. This will be up and running shortly, parents will be advised. 

Open House

Our Open House will be held on Monday 21 March at the Junior Campus. This is a great opportunity for prospective parents and students to see our classes in action and hear about the rich program of learning and extra curricular activities that we offer. 

There will be morning tours at 9.20am and 10.30am and an evening session including interactive tours from 6.00pm. Please note that as per the Victorian Govt guidelines, all adult attendees must be double vaccinated and will be required to show this (or their exemption) to staff on arrival. 

Privacy Reminder

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website:

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese.

Mobile Phone Policy

A reminder to students who bring a mobile phone to school that they must have it switched off and stored in their locker from the first bell to the last bell of the day. Families may ring the school office if they need a message given to their child. The College Board has approved the policy which is attached below. Students and their parents will also be required to sign the Student Mobile Phone and Computer Use Agreement upon enrolment, which sets out the school's guidelines regarding appropriate use of these devices and our school internet. 

Reminders from the Office

• Students are reminded that sunscreen is available at the general office all year round in line with our Sun Protection Policy.
• Please ensure the school has your current address and contact details in case of emergency. These can be updated on Compass or contact the office.

Insurance and Ambulance Cover for Students

Parents/carers are reminded that the Department (and the College) does not provide personal accident insurance, personal property insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for their child/ren, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs.

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage. Parents/carers can purchase insurance policies and ambulance cover from commercial insurers if they wish for their child/ren.

Finally

While it is great news that all schools have returned to on-site learning from day one this year, it is critical that we all remain vigilant in maintaining a COVIDSafe environment. Actions such as staying home when unwell, performing regular hand hygiene, maintaining physical distance and wearing masks in class are simple measures, but are of the utmost importance.  

That said, it is exciting to once again allow all students and staff to experience the full richness of school. Of particular importance are those aspects that were so difficult to maintain through last year, including participation in performing arts, sport, practical activities in science and technology, school performances, camps and excursions. 

We learnt a lot about what Victoria’s education system is capable of last year, as VUSC successfully innovated and adapted like never before. The lessons learned from 2021, combined with parents' and carers' help and support, will stand us in great stead for the year ahead.

Thank you also for your excellent support in ensuring that your sons and daughters have been well prepared for the start of the year. We have had such a positive start, and this is in part due to your efforts, especially with books, equipment, devices and uniform.

If you have any concerns or questions about how your child has settled in, please do not hesitate to contact their Year Level Co-ordinator.

I wish you all well for the year ahead and look forward to working with you.

Elaine Hazim

College Principal

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Child Safety at VUSC

Victoria University Secondary College is a child safe organisation committed to protecting students from all forms of abuse.

Our College has stringent protocols in place and endeavours at all times to be fully compliant with the Child Safe Standards set out under Ministerial Order 870.

Our College has the following documents and policies in place to achieve compliance with the Standards. All of these documents are available for downloading on our website or contact the school for a copy. 

1. Commitment to Child Safety
2. Child Safety Policy
3. Child Safety Code of Conduct
4. Child Protection Policy and Procedures