Welcome to our last Newsletter for the term.

As we draw to a close, and I reflect on Term 2, there is much to celebrate.

It has been another eventful term, with the two-week lockdown just a few weeks ago, but our community’s capacity to respond and adapt has again been commendable. Even though the spectre of COVID-19 still looms larger than we would like, we have still been able to achieve so much of what makes school life energising and rewarding.

Not only has there been some fabulous teaching and learning, but things such as the production, co-curricular groups, student leadership, camps and inter-school sport have enriched us and allowed our students the opportunity to shine.

The Year 7s had a great time building bonds on the camp at Phillip Island, the Year 8s rose to the challenge of an outdoor expedition on their mid-term camp, and the musicians, although cut short due to the lockdown, had some quality time together to develop their skills and repertoire for the up-coming rescheduled mid-year concerts.

The production team have been working hard, refining their skills, collaborating and creating together. One of the advantages of lockdown was that I could join a couple of virtual rehearsals, and I was overjoyed to hear the progress they are making. We are so looking forward to their performances early next term.

Our co-curricular groups, such as Green Team, Rainbow Club and FemCo, and many others I don’t know about, have all done fabulous work throughout the term.

STEM celebrations and farewell

The precious plastics program, our approaches to design and STEM, and the work of Green Team, have been showcased on the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (ACARA) website, found here in the Illustrations of Practice section of their website.

A big congratulations to our students and staff, demonstrating their care for the planet, their creativity and agency to make an impact. It would be remiss of me not to mention and farewell Peter Murphy. Peter has been a key leader of the design faculty and STEM at the school for the past 7 years and was instrumental in leading this excellent practice. Not only that, but he has developed other staff and key leaders within the school. Peter is leaving us at the end of term to go on to bigger and better things (if that is possible), he will be training other design technology teachers at university. There is a shortage of design teachers, so he is benefiting the whole of the education system. We wish Peter all the best and thank him for his contribution to the school.

Masterplan consultation and process

Thank you to the families, students and staff who completed the survey for the Masterplan consultation. We were delighted with the alignment between the three key stakeholders within the school. The leadership team and School Council have used the information from the survey, our strategic plan, and other contextual knowledge to complete the first phase of reviewing and renewing our 2017 Masterplan, in readiness for the new building. This is called Asset Management Planning Phase 1, and provides big picture visioning for how our school environment can facilitate the vision and direction of the school.

The next phase of the process is to collaborate with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to select an architect from a panel of three and then begin the detailed planning known as Asset Management Planning – Phase 2. This phase is where the detail about the types of buildings and the location of them on campus can be planned, and the latter parts of the process will include the design of the new building in the $8 million project. We have also alerted our neighbours that an upcoming build will take place in the next year or so.

Bike racks and bike security

I am delighted to report that after a significant COVID delay we have increased the bike storage for students using the $50 000 grant from the State government and the $5 000 grant from the federal government. An enormous thank you to Sarah Burns our Business Manager for her tireless organisation (and reorganisation). Thank you also to Noah Rindschwentner, Leo Sekhon and Reg Duggan in Year 11 for their promotional video.

More bike storage, plus a campaign to encourage students to lock their bikes properly should significantly reduce bike thefts. We are also working closely with the Northcote Police, who will be here this week to engrave bikes to also discourage bike thefts. Please see further details of this later in the newsletter.

Writer’s TalkFest

We are again excited to be planning another phenomenal Writers TalkFest, to be held on August 12. The details of this event are documented in later pages of the newsletter. Please book your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Thanks so much to two of our fabulous parents, Aviva Tuffield and Ruth Clare, who are working with Kerren Diamond and other members of staff to return this community building event to the schedule.

Holiday wishes

We wish everyone a happy, safe, restful holiday and thank you all for the contributions you have made to our school community over the course of a very productive term.

Well done.

Rest up for a big Term 3.

Sue Harrap

Principal

Deterring Bike Theft

Onsite bike engraving by Northcote Police