Principal's Message

Well done to students, families and staff for working so well together in 2021. The Pandemic has continued from 2020 and the Wheelers Hill Secondary College Community has been outstanding in its ability to best meet the challenges brought on by COVID – 19 in 2021.   

As a College Community, we have worked so well together throughout the year.  It really has been a wonderful team effort from our staff, families and students, and we should all be very proud of our work and achievements.   

The role of schools during the Pandemic has never been more important.  As a College, we have sought to provide high-level care, leadership and support throughout 2021 to best meet the needs of our College Community during these challenging times.  

We have enjoyed terrific support from our families.  Parents and carers have worked so well with us and staff to best support students.  Our staff have been extraordinary as well.  Teaching and support staff have continued to go over and above to best teach and care for our students to the very highest of standards.  Our students have been phenomenal. They have again been resilient, committed and positive throughout 2021.  Our students are fine young people who have done their best under trying circumstances throughout the year.  I say well done to our students and congratulate them on their efforts this year.  

Whilst the wellbeing of students, staff, families and the broader community has always been our number one priority, we have never lost sight of the importance of our teaching and learning program.  We have achieved some outstanding academic results this year and we look forward to even stronger results in 2022. 

Our 2021 Presentation Evening Video was posted recently and it strongly demonstrates the many student achievements across a number of areas this year.  Congratulations to all of our student award winners and we thank David Gill (Leading Teacher – The Performing Arts) and his team for his work in leading the development of this very special event. 

We also congratulate those students who recently received Principal Awards for Semester Two, 2021.  The Principal Awards are for those students who have been recognised as all-rounders, given their involvement in many areas within the College, together with their ability to align to our College Values of Excellence, Creativity and Respect.   

We acknowledge our Student Leaders for 2022.  The recent Student Leadership Camp (3 – 5/12/12) our students in preparation for their leadership roles in 2022.  Well done to our student leaders who participated in a number of activities to help prepare them for their leadership roles next year.  We thank Shelby Morwood and her team for organising the Student Leadership Camp this year, and we wish our Student Leaders all the very best for 2022.  A full list of our Student Leaders for 2022 can be found as part of this Newsletter. 

Our innovative Arts and Technology Show for 2021 commenced earlier in the week, receiving rave reviews.  As per our Presentation Evening and Performing Arts Production, our Arts and Technology Show could not be held in its normal pre COVID – 19 formats.  Nevertheless, thank you to Pedro Mello (Learning Specialist, STEM; Domain Leader – Technology), Khairi Razaai, Abbey Novak (both Visual Arts Domain Leaders) and our Artist in Residence, Susannah Langley and their team for developing and making available this wonderful exhibition of student works using virtual and other technologies.  Well done to all involved, especially our students! 

As mentioned on Compass previously, we have not been able to hold our Performing Arts Production in a way that we are used to this year.  Instead, David Gill and his team have filmed a number of scenes from our Production, The School of Rock, to then make these scenes available to the community.  We thank David and his team for this innovative approach and for their wonderful work throughout the year.  We also commend our students for their outstanding skills and levels of participation with our College Production in 2021.  Well done everybody! 

Earlier in the week (Tuesday 7 December) we welcomed our new 2022 Year 7 students as part of Orientation Day.  Our new Year 7 students had a great time getting to know their peers, staff and their new school.  We cannot wait for them to commence their studies at Wheelers Hill Secondary College, next year. 

Our Draft Annual Implementation Plan (or AIP) for 2022 has been further developed by leaders and staff in recent weeks.  Our AIP for 2022 again seeks to make further improvements in key areas next year including personalised and stimulating learning, wellbeing, numeracy and literacy.  Families are again invited to provide input and / or feedback on the Draft AIP for next year by contacting the College on 9561 5811.  Our Draft AIP for 2022 needs to be confirmed and submitted to The Department of Education and Training (or DET) by mid February, 2022. 

Given that we are coming to the end of the year, it is timely to remind families of key policy areas including College Uniform, Laptops and Mobile Phones for 2022.  We expect all students to be in full College Uniform as of Day One, 2022.  Furthermore, all students need to have a reliable Laptop (we strongly encourage all families to purchase a laptop from our preferred supplier, Learning with Technologies) to support them in their learning in the classroom next year, and Mobile Phones are not to be seen or used at the College.  Details concerning our Policies and Laptop Program can be found on our website https://www.whsc.vic.edu.au/ or by contacting the General Office on 9561 5811. 

We of course look toward to 2022 and beyond with a real sense of hope as we as a Community continue our path towards a new normal.  Part of our important work next year is to further support our students with their wellbeing and social integration, and to further develop their enjoyment of learning in the classroom.  I am incredibly optimistic for our future and what we can do as a College Community in continuing our work to get the very best outcomes for our students.  

Please read on for further reports from other areas of the College.  In closing, we wish our Year 12 students all the very best with their results next week and with their future endeavours, the Cycle 4 Reports will be made available on the last day of term, Friday 17 12 21, after 3.00pm, and we wish our families a safe and enjoyable Summer Holiday period. 

Thank you everyone.  Our students return in 2022 on Tuesday 1st of February, 

Regards 

Aaron Smith 

College Principal  

Wheelers Hill Secondary College