Principal's Report
From the Principal
At the conclusion of what has been a most challenging semester it seems appropropriate to take to a moment to reflect upon the achievements of our College community in the most trying of circumstances.
The manner in which our community has responded to this most unprecedented situation has been of the highest quality. Firstly, acknowledgement should be given to our students for their resilient, positive and pragmatic approach to life this semester. Secondly, our staff have been innovative, creative and adaptable in their approach to their teaching and ongoing support of our students. I am also sincerely grateful to our parents whose support and trust in the College has enabled us to jointly navigate the past months in a positive fashion.
Next semester, beginning at the commencement of Term 3, we will continue to adapt and evolve to meet the changing needs of our students, motivated by a firm desire to keep all in our community safe and supported. To this end, we will continue to give a firm undertaking to update you with relevant information concerning any developments with our COVID-19 protocols and guidelines as approved by Victoria’s Chief Health Officer and the Department of Education. These guidelines will inform our curricula and co-curricular program throughout Term 3 and will provide clarity about the impact on events, programs and activities in our College. Our aim is to continue to provide a high quality and engaging teaching and learning program whilst maintaining the safety of our community.
With the completion of Term two this afternoon, as a College we are all looking forward to a break to re-connect with family and friends. I trust that all of our students and staff members have a safe and enjoyable holiday. I look forward to welcoming back our students to commence Semester 2.
Student Reports
As of this afternoon, Cycle 3 student reports are now available on the COMPASS portal.
With the term at an end, and in full recognition that this semester has presented many challenges to all of our students, it is an ideal time for our students to reflect on their outcomes and to set goals related to areas for improvement for their second semester studies.
For students in the senior school, our Cycle 3 reports should provide useful feedback that informs their practices as they strive for a highly successful year and completion of their VCE examinations.
For many of our students it will be an important time to both recognize and celebrate their achievement and a confirmation of the consistent effort they have made. It is, at times, an overlooked element – the acknowledgement of great efforts and outcomes! Although the reports are archived for the duration of your child's enrolment with us, I would strongly advise that you download your own copy and save this to your home computer for your future use.
Parent/Teacher Communications
As communicated mid-week to our parents, I wanted to take this opportunity to reinforce our disappointment at not being able to conduct our traditional Parent/Teacher Interviews due to the current circumstances.
We do understand that many parents would like the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress in Semester 1 and as such will be designating week 1 of Term 3 for parents to email teachers in situations where they have specific concerns that they would like feedback on. Teachers will be relieved of meetings after school in this first week so that they are able to direct attention to any parent concerns and respond via email within this week.
We encourage parents and guardians to access the information in Compass Learning Tasks that provides insight into each student’s progress. This information combined with the Cycle reports provides detailed insight into each student’s academic progress, the skills and content being covered as well as student work practices. Furthermore, for students undertaking VCE, At Risk notices have already been issued for students experiencing difficulties in any of their subjects.
We do ask families to review this information first and email subject teachers in week 1 of Term 3 if there are questions or subject specific concerns that cannot be answered via this means.
Parents and Friends Association – a welcoming gesture
It would be remiss of me not to once again acknowledge the efforts of our hard working Parents and Friends Association. After a recent meeting it was decided that they wanted to welcome our students back from their remote learning program when they returned to on-site learning on June 8. As a small gesture to brighten the morning of return, they hired a couple of ‘Dancing Men’ figures that were prominently placed in our Middle-Courtyard space that greeted our students.Our students certainly appreciated the gesture.
Thanks once again, Parents and Friends!
Athletics Carnival
We have decided that in the best interests of the health and safety of our students that we will not conduct our scheduled House Athletics Carnival on Monday 20 July (Week 2, Term 3).
This decision is based upon the current restrictions on social interaction within our community and our communications from both DET and the Manningham Council that suggest that such an activity would not be supported at the early stage of next term.
As an alternative, we will be running an extensive athletics program during Term 3 in our Middle School Physical Education classes (Year 7, 8, 9) with all students participating in a new 'EDSC 5-star Athletics' program. The aim of the program is to build skills in both track and field activities along with developing interpersonal skills, teamwork and fundamental motor skills. If permissible, we are hoping that our Senior School students (Year 10, 11, 12) will participate in carnival events (at the College athletics track) on a sign-up basis at scheduled times in the early stages of Term 3. Our hope is to still assemble a team to participate in the Whitehorse Division Carnival (currently scheduled for Week 8, Term 3) from both the above opportunities afforded to our students.
Year 10 Work Experience
We have decided that in the best interests of the health and safety of our students that we will not conduct the Work Experience Program for all Year 10 students this year.
This decision is based upon the fact that there are currently multiple restrictions on social interaction within our community and the very high probability that some restrictions will remain enforced well into and possibly beyond Term 3 of our school year.
We are not confident of placing over 250 students into multiple work placement opportunities and be able to fully ensure their wellbeing.
It is recognised that this decision will disappoint many students who had already undertaken a good deal of work to secure exciting placement opportunities.This outcome will arguably have the most impact upon students who may need to undertake a work experience placement in order to access an immediate vocational pathway (e.g. a VCAL, Headstart, VET or TAFE-related course in 2021).
For students in this position, we will be offering a limited work experience program to be undertaken at some stage from week 9 of Term 3 to week 2 of Term 4.
In this situation, students will be subject to an application process and will need final approval from the Principal to be involved. The process would include work site checks prior to the placement to ensure measures are in place to ensure the health and safety of students involved. Details of this will be communicated when finalised.
Staffing Changes for Term 3
From the start of term three we will have a number of staff changes. Amanda Rasmussen Huang and Yuki Cao will be leaving at the end of this term.
Mark Tomsett, after nearly 40 years of service to the state education system, has communicated his intention to retire effective the end of this term. As Mark leaves us, we sincerely thank him for his commitment to teaching, his passion for impacting upon the learning lives of many students and his tangible connection and contribution to our College.
On behalf of all members of our College community, I would like to thank Mark, Amanda and Yuki for their efforts and their commitment to our College.
In Term 3 we will welcome back Jenna Gomes and Lan Lin from their respective leave periods.
Please note - Term 3 commences on Monday 13 July.
John Roberts
Principal
Census Data Collection
Every year the Department of Education and Training conduct a census which helps determine the level of our schools student-based funding.
To ensure that the College is able continue to provide quality programs and an efficient learning environment for our students it relies on being supported by Department funding. Student Family Occupation details are an important component used by the DET to formulate our correct level of funding. Please find attached important information regarding ensuring your details are up to date and how this impacts on school funding.
Updated Anaphylaxis Policy
At our February School Council meeting we updated and amended our College Anaphylaxis Policy.
The amendments (whilst important) were quite minor and related to the provision of epi-pens for students in our Food Technology classroom spaces.
Please see attached for a copy of this policy.
1 to 1 Digital Learning Policy 2020
College Philosophy
At East Doncaster Secondary College we have a strong tradition of academic excellence and we aim to promote and sustain a reflective learning culture. We want students to experience a sense of achievement and growth in their academic, personal, social and emotional development. We have high expectations of our students’ commitment to being mutually supportive and striving for success as learners. We are proudly multicultural with a student population from 43 nationalities including a number of International Students. 68% of our students speak a language other than English at home.
A student’s life at school is full of opportunities, being rich and varied with a range of co-curricular activities in music, sport, productions, debating, clubs as well as camps and international experiences for the educational and personal development of students. Our students are vibrant, energetic, and talented young people. There are many student leadership opportunities and we aim to continue to increase student access to decision-making and self-determination as learners.
We endeavour to create a "Culture of Curiosity" with goals of ensuring learning improvement for every student – every student, every period, every day.
Our school’s purpose is to develop passionate learners who are critical thinkers with the confidence and capability to engage in the global community.
Care and Compassion, Curiosity, Excellence, Fairness, Resilience, Respect and Teamwork are the core values that underpin the culture of our school as we embrace the challenges of 21st Century learning.
We aim to sustain a learning culture that provides every student with a sense of achievement and of being their best in their academic, personal, social and emotional development.