Principal's Report

End of Term 3

It has been another incredibly busy term and I am very pleased to report that our students have continued to perform at their personal best each day. I wish all students and staff a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing you all on Monday 9th October refreshed and ready for term 4.

On Friday of this week the annual Footy Colours Day will be held for the students at our Bundoora Campus. We have many Richmond supporters within our school who will be desperately keen for their team to go through to the Grand Final and win a long-awaited flag. Many staff and students (myself included!) follow the Melbourne Storm so we will be hoping they can bring the Premiership down to Melbourne. Good luck if your football team is still in with a chance of winning the Grand Final. The football finals mean that warmer weather is on the way so hopefully there will be opportunity for our students to play outdoors and share some adventures with family and friends.

Year 11 and 12 at Concord School

We welcome Bronwyn Hart to the school this week as our newly appointed Secondary 11-12 and VCAL Team Leader. Bronwyn is an experienced educator who has a comprehensive understanding of the VCAL curriculum as well as all the elements that make a successful Careers and Transitions program. For those not familiar with the acronym, VCAL stands for Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning. VCAL is a hands-on option for students in Years 11 and 12 incorporating practical work-related experience with the literacy, numeracy and personal skills that are important for life and work.

Some exciting new opportunities have been planned for our senior students in 2018.

These include:

- All Secondary 11-12 students participating in VCAL.

- Work Experience being offered to Year 10 students for the first time as well as Year 11 and 12 students. Please note that students can only participate in Work Experience when they are ‘work-ready’.

- VET (Vocational Education and Training) courses at a Certificate 1 and 2 level are being offered to all Year 11 and 12 students for the first time. The number of VET courses offered are increasing to cater for a wider range of students skills and interests and students have choice in course selection. These courses are taught at both TAFE’s and within mainstream schools and our staff have been working with the course providers to ensure the content is achievable for our students. Some of the courses begin before 9am and some finish after 3pm so students and families will need to organise travel for students wishing to participate in some programs.

Concord School will be offering VCAL Information Sessions in the Transition Centre. Bronwyn will present these sessions on Wednesday 25th October at 7pm and on Thursday 26th October at 9.15am. Please note that these are identical sessions. The content will cover VCAL but also include VET, Work Experience, School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships as well as the options available for our students after they complete Year 12. This is an important session for families of current Year 10 students but all families who would like further information regarding their child’s later years of education and transition from schooling are encouraged to attend.

Early Finish on Last Day of Term

Parents/carers please remember that our students finish 30 minutes earlier than usual tomorrow, Friday 22nd September. That means that if you meet your child at the bus stop, you need to be there 30 minutes before the usual time.

Urgent Notice for Parents: Student Absences

If your child is absent from school, it is vital that you communicate this to the school. This can be via email, phone call or written in your child’s communication book. If your child travels in one of our school buses, you must also ring the bus supervisor and inform them of any absence or change to the bus arrangements. This is vital as we need to account for every student in the school at all times.

Compass Portal

All parents need to be logged into Compass so our school can communicate effectively with you. If you have any questions regarding Compass, or are having difficulty in logging-on, then please ring Karen Jordan at our school on 94673972.

The Compass log-on can be found at https://concordsch-vic.compass.education or through the ‘Compass Parent Portal’ link on our website.

Principal's Award

The principal's award goes to Jarlath.

Jarlath is a hard working student who consistently tries his best. Jarlath has matured significantly in his final year at Concord School and should be very proud of all he has accomplished.

Jarlath shows kindness and compassion to his classmates and is always willing to help those who need it. Jarlath shows resilience on a daily basis and has proven that he is ready for the challenges he will face after school.

Well done Jarlath!

"Students striving to be the best they can be"

Jason Coningsby,

Principal