Delahey Campus Principal Message 

Delahey Campus Principal’s Report

February 2022

To all members of the Delahey community, a big welcome back to 2022.  Speaking of welcomes…

Welcoming new staff. We have some changes to our staffing profile here at the campus in 2022. 

• Marianne Gualtieri joins us from Lakeview Secondary College as our new Campus Leader.
• Jackie Breen returns to the fold after a year at another school, undertaking the new role of Vocational Specialisation Leader
• Melissa Talevski is our new Yellow Team Leader, after having spent a few years at the Sydenham campus
• Kylie Dagher has joined the Maths/Science team here after many years at the Kings Park campus
• Sijie Wang has also joined the Maths team here after a year at the Sydenham campus
• Craig Hildebrand-Burke has been appointed to the role of educational psychologist after the retirement of Ms Judy Scarfe
• Bella Moore and Jenny Zahra have assumed the roles of College Pathways Leaders and will share their expertise, knowledge and experience across both the senior and junior campuses as part of a larger college pathways team
• Robert Boskovski is new to Copperfield College. Robert is one member of the newly created Marketing and Communications Team

We wish them all a happy, healthy and enriching experience here at the Delahey campus!

Start of the year 

 Of course, it goes without saying that we can now officially welcome our new Year 11s on campus and of course welcome back our new Year 12s. It has been a smooth start to the year and this is due in no small part to the efforts of our staff back in late 2021 as well as this year. There is always an air of excitement and anticipation at this time of year at a senior campus.  Students starting Year 11 have chosen their school program to a greater extent than ever before. When we’re speaking to students around the campus, we are hearing about their career ambitions, their new favourite subjects and their goals for what they want to achieve by the end of Year 12. Our new Pathways structure will articulate and target student career pathways more than ever before this year as it is a focus of our Strategic Plan.

Landscaping complete 

Students have been particularly enjoying our refurbished and newly open central quadrangle, complete with the attractive landscaping. Students now have many places to sit down, both outside and undercover. The undercover area will also serve as an outdoor educational space for teachers; a space that now holds more significance in the post-COVID world we live in. The new plants and vines growing really provide the environment for a pleasant meeting space. We look forward to those climbing vines growing up and providing natural shadow and shelter over the years.

Supporting student wellbeing  

For those students having difficulty readjusting to school life after lockdown, we now have expanding wellbeing supports in place for students. Our new Mental Health Practitioner, Rachel Morrison, has begun regular appointments with students. Our new school psychologist Craig Hildebrand-Burke has also been seeing students. Whilst he is newly employed at the college, this is actually a continuation of work he was doing last year as a student under the tutelage of our much-beloved and longstanding school psychologist Judy Scarfe who retired at the end of the year. 

Welcome Assembly  

On Friday February 11, the Delahey campus came together to celebrate the achievements of our best Year 12 VCE students last year. All students who obtained a 40+ study score were invited back to collect their engraved medal; the medal they received on December 20 at our official Awards night. Amongst the recipients was Chloe Vo, the 2021 VCE Dux. It was an uplifting gathering that not only acknowledged past students but also reminded them that they are forever alumni of Copperfield College and always welcome back here. The assembly also included a solo performance by Leigh …magnifico! Thanks to Ms Aleardi, Ms Gaulteiri and the team for all the work involved in organising our first assembly for the year.

COVID update 

We have received our consignment of HEPA Filtered Air filters and have distributed them to many of the rooms at the campus to maintain a purer atmosphere, with open windows providing good ventilation. Students are still required to wear masks any time they are indoors  We have had a few positive COVID cases identified at the campus but with the whole school community doing regular twice a week surveillance testing with RATs, these have mostly been detected early and those unlucky few have isolated at home to prevent infecting others. The case numbers across Victoria are now slowly subsiding so we’re looking forward to a much less interrupted year for senior students. 

Coach Approach (Year 11s) and MEE Day (Year 12s) – On February 9, our Year 11 students undertook a day of getting together, having some fun with challenging activities but also working on developing a goal-orientated mindset to support their transition into the last two years of their formal schooling. A big thanks to the Student Management Team for organising this worthwhile annual event. Speaking of events, our Year 12 students attended MEE (Motivate, Empower, Energise) Day on Friday February 18 at LaTrobe University. Similar to the coach approach in some ways, this is an opportunity for our Year 12s to undertake some bonding activities, listen to guest speakers and familiarise themselves with a university environment. The beautifully landscaped LaTrobe University campus provides a stimulating backdrop for providing students with a look into their future. Well done team!

Photos – Photo day will take place on Wednesday February 23. Big smiles now!

Ok, I think that’s enough for now. Please stay safe, happy and healthy.

Mr Renato Carinci and  Mr Dan Sullivan

Campus Principals