Principal's message
Principal’s Message
It has been great to commence work at Castlemaine Secondary College as the new Acting Principal. While I did not expect one of my first responsibilities to be organising the college for remote and flexible learning, the way all members of the college community have pulled together to achieve this in a short period of time is testament to everyone’s resilience and student centred approach.
Working alongside Justin Hird and others this week has given me valuable insights into the college. It has also helped me to understand the work Justin has done in Paul Frye’s absence to maintain a calm and orderly learning environment for all students. I would like to formally thank Justin for his work as Acting Principal and David Watson for his work as the Acting Assistant Principal prior to my appointment.
Farewell Elissa
Prior to my arrival I understood that Elissa O’Connor, the college’s Business Manager, would be finishing just after I started. Once I commenced, what I very quickly came to realise is the tremendous positive impact Elissa has had on the college and what a loss she will be. Elissa’s passion for Castlemaine Secondary College came through very strongly in all conversations I had with her and I regret that I did not have a longer period of time with which to work with her. I am sure the whole college community will join me in wishing Elissa all the best in her new role in Adelaide and in thanking her for the incredible work she has done at Castlemaine.
Welcome to our new Business Manager
As we farewell Elissa, I am excited to announce the arrival of our new Business Manager; Niraj Joshi. It was great to see Niraj and Elissa working together this week and I can see that Niraj’s background in finance and in the TAFE sector will be well utilised here at Castlemaine. I look forward to working closely with him during my time at the college.
NAPLAN Completed
Well done and congratulations to all of our Year 7 and 9 students on the successful completion of NAPLAN. Students worked hard and did their best to complete each component of the test for this year and should be proud of their efforts. Results will be available to parents and students through the college in Term 3. Castlemaine Secondary College also uses these results as one way to identify the future learning needs of our students. We look forward to receiving these later on this year.
Attitudes to School Survey
At Castlemaine Secondary College we value student voice as a means to improving all aspects of their learning, including engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction The recently completed Attitudes to School Survey is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training. Once we have access to the results, we will use this data to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of the college. Castlemaine Secondary College uses the survey results as one way to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. We look forward to sharing these results with College Council and through other forums later on this year.
Circuit Breaker Lockdown
We will be updating families as soon as more information becomes available but it has been confirmed we will be returing to onsite learning on Friday 4th June. A reminder to have masks on whilst travelling on buses and at school.
VCE and VCAL arrangements
Unfortunately, this reversion to Remote Learning causes more uncertainty for our Year 12 students. We will be learning more about any changes to Year 12 programs and assessments. We will be keeping in close contact with students and their families to keep them up to date with what is occurring.
I have already taken the opportunity to meet a range of staff, students and parents in the short time I had prior to the lockdown being announced. What is clear to me is that Castlemaine Secondary College is very fortunate to exist as part of such a wonderful community. We also have incredible facilities with which to deliver teaching and learning for all levels of ability and I look forward to being able to see these facilities being fully utilised once this lockdown reaches its conclusion on Friday.
Simon Woods
Acting Principal
