Principal's Report
Welcome to Semester Two
All students are active participants in a learning culture that promotes academic excellence and personal development through a diversity of challenging experiences.
VISION
“Working together, learning together” – Working together to enable all students to achieve their potential and become confident, effective learners who contribute productively to society.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Doncaster Secondary College acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which our school is situated, the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to elder's past, present and emerging and extend that respect to any and all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. We value the ongoing contribution to the cultural heritage that the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people provide to our school as well as the city of Manningham. We recognise that this land was never ceded and there is no treaty, and we commit to efforts towards reconciliation as a school community. We at Doncaster Secondary College are inclusive of individuals from all backgrounds including the LGBTQIA+, culturally and linguistically diverse as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) Open Night
On Tuesday 9th August, we held our first SEAL open night. Current families and families from our local primary schools came to hear about Doncaster Secondary College and our SEAL program. Our keynote speaker was Mark Nicholson from the Victorian Association of Gifted and Talented Children. Mark has a Master of Education from Monash University in Gifted and Talented education, and his presentation conveyed his passion for SEAL programs and their role in developing gifted and talented learners to be their best and contribute to their communities.
Maximising learning growth for all students no matter their starting point is goal one for our school strategic plan. Achievement of this goal requires the investment of the school, families, students, and the broader community. This collaboration and partnership aligns with our motto of “working together and learning together”, and our core values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Teamwork. At the SEAL Open Night, we spoke about how the achievement of this goal requires all members of the learning partnership to position themselves as learners. Parents, carers, students, staff, and community members in attendance, all demonstrated their commitment to this partnership and mindset. Doncaster Secondary College have made a significant investment in resources to achieve this goal. For the first time we have “Excellence in Teaching and Learning” leadership team, made up of four leading teachers and six learning specialists, focusing on building programs and teacher capacity to maximise the learning growth for all students.
Thank you to Doncaster Secondary College SEAL alumni Jess Ritchie, Ethan Jayamanna and Jerome Wong for being part of the SEAL Open Night Q&A panel, and to our current SEAL students for supporting the smooth running of the evening and answering any questions which came your way. You were all great examples of the well-rounded students who are making the most of your learning opportunities and contributing to the wider community.
Thank you to the Junior School team and SEAL teachers for organising and supporting this evening.
"As a parent of two SEAL kids, I highly recommend the program. It may not be for everyone, but it does provide extra learning extension opportunities, and students get to share these experiences with likeminded peers. Our son entered the SEAL class in Year 7. Our daughter didn't qualify initially, but applied again the following year, and made it to the SEAL class in Year 8. We didn't put pressure on them to be in the SEAL program but encouraged them to simply give it a go and see what would happen. If you get through, that's great. If not, you can try the following year. Nothing is lost by giving it a shot. If you don't make it to the SEAL class, that's ok too - there are plenty of opportunities for all DSC students to grow and thrive. I cannot speak more highly of the amazing support our kids have received from the staff at DSC since 2016." Parent testimony.
Student Achievements
Term 3 has seen some remarkable achievements by past and present students of Doncaster Secondary College.
Firstly, congratulations to DSC Alumni Abbey Caldwell for her heroic race in the Women’s 1500m Athletics at the 2022 Commonwealth Games! Abbey dug deep in the final sprint home to take 3rd place.
Well done to Yu Yu (Year 12) on his debut for Collingwood’s VFL team, kicking a goal against Williamstown. Yu Yu is a member of Collingwood’s Next Generation Academy, which has been established to help develop the junior talent in the extended Oakleigh region.
The Senior and Year 8 Boys Soccer teams won all their games and now move on to the State Finals. In winning their matches the boys demonstrated our college values to the highest level. Thank you to the families who supported the teams. I hope that you can make it to the State Finals on September 1st and 2nd.
Year 11 student Suki was selected to perform at the Northeast Victorian Region Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre. The concert highlights musical excellence in government schools and we were so thrilled that Suki was able to showcase her elite skills.
Congratulations to String Orchestra on being awarded a Gold Award at the Victorian Schools Music Festival in the Junior Strings Section. They performed brilliantly and received an Excellent for all categories and an Outstanding for rhythm and presentation. Congratulations to Ms Hannah Walters and Mr Joshua Verco for preparing them so well to produce such an incredible result. The string program at Doncaster Secondary College is in great hands. If you missed the live stream of their performance, you can access it via this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GoXp0NqPUzUdNstoMlDA0MzPXizVnovC/view?usp=sharing
Curriculum Day
This Thursday’s Curriculum Day started with a focus on the new Child Safe Standards. Victoria’s Child Safe Standards are a set of mandatory requirements to protect children and young people from harm and abuse. The Child Safe Standards (the Standards) commenced in Victoria in January 2016. After six years, we have seen how the Standards improve safety for children and young people. Changes have been made to make our Standards even stronger. The new Child Safe Standards came into force on 1 July 2022 and organisations now need to comply with these new Standards. Assistant Principal and Child Safety Officer, Georgina Carroll, led all members of staff to engage with the new standards, review our implementation and identify steps to continue to strengthen our practices. Victoria has over five years’ experience of mandatory Standards, so many organisations like Doncaster Secondary College already have well developed child safety frameworks.
The new Child Safe Standards
There are now 11 Standards, which include new requirements such as:
- involving families and communities in organisations’ efforts to keep children and young people safe
- a greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
- managing the risk of child abuse in online environments.
The new Standards are outlined in the attachment.
Our Respectful Relationships and Sexuality Education program is one of the actions we take to meet the child safe standards. These programs encompass consent, emotional literacy, positive gender relationships and help seeking behaviours. All skills which are essential in building the capacity to empower our children to build and maintain respectful and safe relationships.
Information about sexuality and consent education can be found via the following link Sexuality and Consent Education: Policy | education.vic.gov.au
Parents and carers of year 7 and 8 students are invited to attend an information evening on relationships and sexuality education. The junior school and health and physical education teams have organised for representatives from Sexual Health Victoria to speak to parents and carers about the links between RSE (Relationships and Sexuality Education) and the Victorian Curriculum. Specifically, offering explanations and outlines around the topics being taught in year 7 and 8 Health classes. If you have questions or are wanting more detail about what is taught in classes at DSC, this is a great opportunity to learn what is and is not covered.
This is a free event for parents and will be held in the Performance Centre at Doncaster on August 16th, from 6pm-7:30pm. No booking required.
Student Voice and Agency and the Student Led Conferences
Student Led Conferences (SLCs) will be held online via MS teams on August 24. Information regarding booking for student led conferences will be sent to families via the Compass newsfeed.
The student led conferences are an opportunity for your child to showcase their learning, including the development of their personal and social capabilities, and critical and creative thinking skills.
Student led conferences are different to the traditional parent teacher interviews that many parents/carers have experienced during their own time at school. The major difference is that students are expected to lead the conversation. In doing so, students take on an active role where they can present their own ideas, opinions, knowledge, and experience.
In most instances there will still be opportunities for families and teachers to discuss the information presented by students and provide further feedback. To prepare your child for the student led conferences, teachers are supporting students to reflect on the teacher feedback provided through the common assessment tasks. This feedback is available to parents/carers on Compass. The feedback that students receive from their teachers is vital however, it can be missed if the focus of students is only on the grade or %. Educational research highlights the importance of student self-assessment and reflection on student achievement.
In addition to the student led conferences, our DSC lesson structure and the planned review and reflect activity builds opportunities for student self-assessment and reflection into each lesson. This allows students to build their capacity to:
- identify their current knowledge and skills
- articulate the strategies they will use to progress their learning
- identify the next steps in their learning
The conferences will provide an opportunity to celebrate your child's learning journey and strengthen the partnership between home and school.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to kristin.skennar@education.vic.gov.au
Whole School Approach to Wellbeing
Last Friday we held a whole-school breakfast event to promote and highlight the College's We've Got Your Back initiative for our students and families. Through this invaluable program, the College offers assistance with lunches and snacks, food hampers, uniforms, books, stationary and other necessary educational items.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend our support to any family who needs these resources or support at this time, particularly with food hampers as we have many these available - provided by our supporters at Foodbank, Coles and DCC.
There are no eligibility criteria for accessing this support. Food parcels can be picked up by prior arrangement on Fridays from Katie Mills (Youth Worker) at W-block or can be delivered via contactless drop-off directly to your home at a pre-arranged time.
Please contact the school on 98484677 or via email on katie.mills@education.vic.gov.au for further information and support.
Well done to Katie Mills for your leadership of this program, and thank you to our community partners for supporting this initiative.
2022 Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey:
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. We encourage all families to participate in this survey. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
A random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents/caregivers/guardians have been selected to participate in this year’s survey.
The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 15th August to Friday 16th September.
The survey will be conducted online, 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, Simplified Chinese, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.
The survey results will be communicated to parents/caregivers/guardians through annual reporting. Last year we used the survey results in the development of our school strategic plan, and the setting of improvement targets.
Careers Expo
Well done to our Careers department and Senior School for the organisation and leadership of a very successful Careers Expo Day. Our senior students enjoyed an entire day dedicated to subject selections, career, and further study options.
Thank you to the guest speakers who delivered incredibly engaging and inspiring presentations. They provided so many great tips and insights into their careers, and our students asked some brilliant questions. One powerful takeaway was to ask yourself not what you want to do for a career/further study, but why you want to do it. The why is what will push you to persevere when the going gets tough.
Thank you to all of my teachers who set up stalls to support students to better understand the subjects offered through our senior school program. Course counselling will be held for all Year 10 students on Wednesday 17th August. This is an opportunity for parents and carers to partner with their child and the senior school team to better understand pre-requisite studies, career plans and the subject selection process.
Community Engagement
Current Doncaster Secondary College Milgate Primary School Alumni braved the cold weather to volunteer at the Milgate Primary School Athletics Day. These students were particularly keen to give back to the Milgate Primary School community. In between raking the long jump sand and handing out place ribbons, our students enjoyed connecting with the primary school peers and teachers.
Thank you to Ms. Chiuchiarelli and Mr Pring for working closely with Mr Will at Milgate Primary School.
Glenn Morris
Principal