Principal Update
I hope you are all well as we come to the end of another long term. We continued to be challenged with two lockdown periods this term, and I commend our students and families for their ongoing effort and resilience. In this newsletter, I will share information on:
- Year 12 study
- GPAs
- Parent/teacher interviews
- leadership team, and
- reflect on our recent remote learning experience.
Year 12 Study & Exams
We have adapted our Year 12 practice exam schedule this year with a more flexible approach for students. We trust this will support our students to complete their practice exams as their time allows over the two-week break. There are also VCE exam revision lectures occurring over the break, so the practice exam flexibility will allow these two key activities to occur concurrently. Importantly, all Year 12 students should ensure they have a clear, one-week break over the holidays without study or revision. It will be very important to approach the last few weeks of classes and exams feeling somewhat refreshed.
GPAs and Parent /Teacher Interviews
As mentioned in my recent Covid-update letter, our GPA reports have been adjusted to reflect the online format and will be released this week, in preparation for parent/teacher interviews. Interviews can be booked via Compass and will occur online via Microsoft Teams. If you have booked interviews, you will receive a Microsoft Teams email with a link to click, from each teacher, later in the week.
NAPLAN Results
We are extremely pleased with our recent NAPLAN results. Given the significant disruption to learning over the past 18 months, most schools are pleased with results that have shown some continuity of learning – that is, that students are not falling behind. In our case, not only have our students obtained strong literacy results, particularly in reading, but we also have the best numeracy results we have had in 7 years, building on improvements in the last 2-3 years. We had a strong portion of our students obtaining ‘high’ or ‘medium’ growth, a testament to the work of our Enrichment Teams we introduced in 2019. Well done to our staff and congratulations to our students for your incredible resilience and effort over the past 18 months.
2022 Executive Team
This week we confirmed our 2022 Executive Team, following a recent recruitment process.
We have been identified by the Department of Education as an outstanding school in the way we operate our Professional Learning Teams, or PLTs. PLTs are the way in which teachers work together, plan collaboratively, monitor student learning, and adapt teaching to ensure all students can learn. This recognition means we have been appointed as the PLT Link School for the South-East Victoria region. We will receive significant additional funding, to further strengthen our own PLTs, while working with other schools in the region to help them grow their PLTs, based on our experience. One of our Assistant Principals, Belinda Ludlow, will lead this work in 2022.
Given the additional funding and overall growth of our college, we have appointed an additional (fourth) Assistant Principal for 2022-2024. I am pleased to announce that Trevor Cox is the successful applicant and will join the executive team next year.
The Executive Team of 2022:
Mr. Adam Hogan – College Principal
Ms. Angela Skinner – Business Manager
Mr. Matthew Robinson – IT & Facilities Leader
Mr. Michael Lakeman – Assistant Principal, Student Wellbeing
Ms. Belinda Ludlow – Assistant Principal, Literacy & PLT Outcomes
Ms. Fiona Milkins – Assistant Principal, Numeracy & VCE Outcomes
Mr. Trevor Cox – Assistant Principal, Student Positive Climate
2022 Leadership Team
Further, we have also confirmed our broader Leadership Team for 2022:
Mini-School Leaders:
Ms. Kristy Bannister – Junior School Leader
Mr. Darren Mitchell – Middle School Leader
Ms. Nicole Taylor – Senior School Leader
Faculty Leaders
Ms. Emma Arthur – English & Literacy Leader
Ms. Elyse Rowlings – English & Literacy Leader
Mr. Daniel King – Mathematics Leader
Mr. Ashley Scott – Health & PE Leader
Mr. David Williams – The Arts Leader
Ms. Lauren Edwards – Humanities & Languages Leader
Ms. Kirsty Speirs – Science Leader
To be confirmed – Technology Leader
Specialist Leaders
Mr. Allan Chandler – Lowanna Sports Academy Leader
Ms. Kirsty Mitchell – Careers Team Leader
Mr. Paul Fry – Wellbeing Team Leader
Now with nearly 1000 students, and 150 staff, the executive team and leadership team are excited to support everyone in our college to be their best, to live our values, and to continue building on the college’s recent success and improvement.
Remote Learning
We are aware that remote learning has been challenging for many. For the few weeks we had back at school between lockdowns, attendance was strong, student behaviour and uniform was fantastic, and there was a very positive feel across the school as everyone reconnected. I am confident we will see this again when we are able to return next term. It is not yet clear whether school will resume for all students at the start of Term 4, or whether there will be some extension to remote learning. The Victorian Government and Department of Education have advised we will be provided this information during the term break.
It has been great to have our Year 12s back this week, creating some sense of normality and routine as they work to navigate their last few weeks of schooling, and then exams for our VCE students. Well done to our Year 12 students for accessing the vaccination blitz in strong numbers over the last week. The expert health advice is that the vaccines are safe, and are your best protection against the virus.
While it has been another challenging term, we remain optimistic that we are heading towards a more normal 2022 (if not Term 4 to some degree), given the rate of vaccination is increasing quickly across the state.
Have a great term break everyone, and we look forward to catching up with you all in Term 4.
Mr. Adam Hogan
College Principal