Principal's Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

Welcome back for Term 3. The end of Semester One reports for all students were available via the parent and student portals on Compass on the last day of Term 2 for parents and students to access. Please contact the College if you have not been able to access your child’s report. I hope parents had the opportunity to discuss the report with their student/s over the holiday break and decided on appropriate actions to put in place to address any areas for improvement highlighted.

Parent Teacher Student Interviews – Advance Notice

We will be conducting Years 7-12 parent teacher student interviews in Week 7 of this term on Wednesday 28 August from 2pm-7.30pm. Normal classes will operate on this day from 8.55 – 1pm just with shorter lesson times. The Compass booking system will open a few weeks before this date. Student Led Conferences normally held in the last week of Term 3 for the whole school will move into Term 4 for Years 7-9 and will be held in the week before 2020 Headstart. There will be further information to come about this and what changes are happening for Years 10-12 in terms of Student Led Conferences.

Future Capital Works

As previously reported, the College has been allocated $855,700 in funding to complete the planning process for our project, which will allow us to go straight into construction when the rest of the $8.5 million is allocated in the 2020 May budget. As such, the process has now started for the College to appoint an architect through the tender process from three pre-selected consultants on the department's Consultants Service Register. A member of the Victorian Building Authority and representative from South East Region will be part of the selection panel, along with myself and Ian Fox, School Council President. Prior to the consultants submitting their tender for the project, I take each separately on a tour of the school and speak about the education vision of the school, school culture, pedagogy and the current masterplan and the need for planning for the current and future school growth. The contract should be awarded by mid-term.

Course Counselling VCE, VETiS & VCAL 2020

Following the Senior School information night and subject expo event held late Term 2, individual interviews for students entering Years 10, 11 and 12 next year are being held during the next two weeks with members of the College leadership team.  Year 11 into 12 for 2020 will be on Tuesday 23 July, Year 10 into 11 will be on Friday 26 July and Year 9 into 10 will be on Tuesday 30 July and Thursday 1 August. It is very important that parents and students attend the interviews planned during this time to discuss potential pathways and to submit their intended courses for 2020. Each student and their parents have been allocated an appointment, during which time course selections will be made and strategies put in place to ensure achievement and effort over the remainder of the year are sufficient to guarantee places in chosen subjects.   Please note the vast array of VCE and VETiS subjects on offer and also our VCAL program is another possible pathway. We look forward to students continuing their education with us next year but need everyone to meet appropriate deadlines in order for our planning to be completed accurately. My thanks must go to all staff who will give their time to ensure this process is a success. All students and parents should have received notification of their appointment time by now. Please contact Director of Senior School, Joanne Greenhalgh if you did not receive this notice.

Homework Guidelines

The College believes that to promote student engagement with their learning, some homework should be set and done regularly under the coordination of the teacher. The work completed at home by a student is a vital and necessary extension of the class lessons to enable them to consolidate and reinforce the work covered during the day.  This is best done some hours after the lesson and when the student is alone. 

Students’ work at home is divided into two categories:

HOME STUDY students should independently follow-up on class work to ensure that work is understood and relevant facts are committed to memory as a foundation for future learning, and

HOMEWORK which is a task set by the teacher or the completion of work not finished in class.

Home study should be done each night.  Consistent study through the year is essential for success in the senior years and the habit of home study must be set in the middle school years. The student planner (diary) is an important tool for students to plan their work commitment and for parents as a means of communication between teacher and parents.

Time spent in home study will vary with individuals and the following amounts of time are a guide to the time the student should spend on home study and homework most nights of the week.

Homework Hours 

If parents are worried about too much homework or lack of it they should contact the relevant Year Level Coordinator in Years 7-12.

Home-study provides further opportunities for parents to par