Principals' Report 

Executive Team Report 

Term 4 has begun and we are feeling like a vibrant, busy learning community again as we have gradually welcomed back our students to on-site learning.

Our Year 12 students attended on October 7 to complete the GAT test. We have set up the Gymnasium as the key Exam Centre as it allows us to provide the required physical distance between candidates as they complete their exams. It has proven to be quite a good venue, with good lighting and air flow. The Gymnasium will remain largely out of action for Physical Education and Sports classes as we will maintain it as the Exam centre throughout the term.

Practice exams in all Unit 3 – 4 subjects had been conducted in week 2 and these exams provided great insight into the revision required to prepare for the exams which begin for most on November 10. We are looking forward to a Celebration Day event for our Year 12’s on October 30. The day aims to provide a suitable celebration, which recognises the contribution of the Year 12 cohort to Koonung whilst meeting the strict COVID protocols. 

October 26 was a momentous day as it marked the return to school of all year levels. It was lovely to see and hear lots of chatter and excitement as our Year 8, 9 and 10 students joined the Year 7, 11 and 12 classes back in class. Everyone was pleased to be here and are enjoying the benefits of face to face teaching and learning. 

Again I would like to commend the Koonung community for the positive and resilient way that many tackled and engaged in the Remote learning program. I have had the privilege of seeing a range of amazing work in every subject area that was produced by students whilst working from home. Examples included wonderful music collaborations, beautiful photographic, media and visual art folios, drama performances, fitness programs and many others. Teachers have been innovative in managing a different medium for communicating information and it did have challenges. Checking for understanding, assessing material on line and simply delivering material was difficult, however, solutions were found. This period has certainly made everyone appreciate the value of interacting in person and being able to really work together in groups. 

Interest in Koonung Secondary College remains very strong and we anticipate welcoming well over 200 Year 7 students in 2021, we are currently planning for nine Year 7 classes. This high level of interest reflects the positive image presented by our students both at school and in the wider community, our continued focus on excellence and the strong sense of cohesion and community which is evident at Koonung. 

School Review 2020

We are about to participate in a School Review which will determine our key improvement foci for the next four years. This process looks back at our Strategic Plan which was the guiding document which operated from 2017 to 2020.  The School Review process is managed by external reviewers and has a dual focus on school improvement and compliance against the minimum standards for school registration.  The process is completed by all schools and provides an independent view of the school by drawing on external expertise. The aim of the review is to look back at improvement targets which were set and measure our performance as an organisation over the past four years. A number of key goals were outlined and work completed with the aim to meet those goals.

Our identified goals from 2017 were:

-To maximise every student’s achievement and learning growth with a focus on literacy and to improve VCE outcomes.

-To increase the level of student cognitive engagement, where students develop their metacognitive skills and capacity for critical thinking and independent learning.

-To continue to develop community relationships both local and international to further strengthen student connectedness, engagement and participation.

-To investigate and implement the optimal allocation of resources to provide the best learning, engagement and wellbeing outcomes for the students and school community.

Through this process there have been multiple opportunities to engage with the school community to gather a range of perspectives about how the school is going. To this end a number of student, parent and staff focus groups have been conducted looking at key questions and unpacking our progress. The panel also delves deeply into the school’s performance through the analysis of performance data, and observation of teaching and learning practices. Staff, student and parent surveys as well as VCE results, NAPLAN data, attendance information and other material is examined and compared to our original goals.

Generally, when looking at those original goals there has been much progress made in a number of key areas. VCE median scores have improved  each year from 2017. We have participated in a long standing Literacy project with Camberwell High School, East Doncaster Secondary College and John Monash Science School. All teachers have completed detailed and rigorous training in Literacy for Learning which aims to improve literacy in all domain areas. Changes to curriculum, lesson plans and assessment tasks have occurred to incorporate key literacy components and to support students to improve their use of technical language, unpack worded questions effectively and write fluently. There has been a positive uptake by teachers to publish their lesson plans on Compass with a view to encourage students to preview and review their learning material.  A timetable review increased the amount of face to face teaching of core subjects at each year level and this timetable will be simplified for 2021 whilst maintaining the increased learning time for core subjects throughout the school. We have continued to develop opportunities for students to participate in a range of opportunities both with community partners and within the college. Our leadership profile has expanded with many students being involved with increased responsibility and agency. We are fortunate at Koonung to have an active and supportive School Council, PFA and parent community. We are also looking forward to the construction of our new Capital Works project which will deliver brand new learning spaces by early 2022.  Our reviewer has already flagged that we have a positive story to tell, but as always there will be areas identified that will be priorities for future improvement.

Our appointed reviewer is Brian Collins from Bj Consultancy. He is a retired Principal who is completing a number of reviews in a range of schools this term. Eva McMaster (from the NEVR region) is the School Education Improvement Leader for our Network and two invited Challenge Partners make up the external panel. The Challenge partners are current Principals and I am pleased that Ashley Ryan, (Principal of Birralee Primary School) and Losh Pillay (Principal of Box Hill High School) have agreed to take part in this process. Also involved will be Geoff Spicer our College Council President and various members of the staff and student bodies.

We have completed a large amount of work to review all of the material required and present them in specific document form. On Monday November 9 the core panel will meet after examining the material to talk to a range of stakeholders and observe classroom practices in the school. A number of key probing questions will be formulated to use when visiting classrooms and speaking to staff and students. There may also be further opportunity to engage with parents as well. These observations and discussions can occur during the two days of Field work set for November 19 and 20. The panel then resits on December 4 to present their findings to propose goals, targets and key improvement strategies for the new School Strategic Plan which will be our guiding document from 2021. The school review is an opportunity to celebrate past and current achievements whilst setting goals for the future as we to strive to continually improve. 

Marianne Lee 

Principal 

We want our parents to tell us what they think!

2020 Parent Forums

Over the past few weeks I have been conducting a number of parent forums. The forums focused on obtaining feedback on the current school strategic plan (2017 to 2020).  This information will be used as evidence and feedback for our school review which is due to commence in November.    The discussion points were as follows:

1.  School goal - To maximise every students' achievement/improve VCE outcomes

Discussion points – Reflection on Let's Learn Instructional Learning Model and  improving       literacy at Koonung

2.   School goal - To create a stimulating learning environment 

Focus discussion - Reflection on student learning at Koonung

3.  School goal - To continue to develop community relationships

Focus discussion – Reflection on community engagement with learning and various forums   at Koonung

4.   School goal - Optimal allocation of resources

Focus discussion – Reflection on Compass/ Reporting/Learning Tasks/Newsfeed/

Enrolments

Some key parent feedback points were:

• The “LETS LEARN” instructional model on Compass assisted them with being engaged with their child's learning.  Parents were pleased when detailed “LETS LEARN” lesson plans were available on Compass.  They were positive about lesson plans that were detailed and easy to understand.
• Parents have seen an improvement in lesson plans over the past four (4) years and during remote learning.
• Our parents have understood that the school has introduced a literacy focus across all subject areas.  They saw a greater focus on literacy within the classrooms.
• Our parents see that giving feedback is vital improving student outcomes.  They have seen teachers give specific and detailed feedback.

2020 Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey (see Compass Newsfeed). All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Wednesday 21 October to Friday 13 November.

The survey will be conducted online (see Compass Newsfeed), only takes 20 minutes to complete and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek. Please contact Mr Mark Quinlan if you would like more information.

Mark Quinlan

Assistant Principal 

Capital Works Program 

The capital works program is progressing and we are delighted to be able to provide some external views of the new building. We are about to undergo the tender  process and look forward to seeing the commencement of the building program in the near future. 

Important parent information

New parking arrangements: Box Hill Crescent

Families are advised that Whitehorse City Council has implemented a ‘No Stopping 8-9am and 3-4pm School Days’ parking prohibition along the west side of Box Hill Crescent between Cairo Road and Belmore Road. We trust that families will appreciate the increased safety for their children that this action creates. Please also note that the bus zone has also moved in order to further reduce congestion. The new bus zone is now located closer to Cairo Road.

Stace Kerr

Business Manager