Principal's Report

Evan MILLER

Principal

As we settle into Term 2, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the recent highlights and provide updates on upcoming plans and developments across the school.

Colour Blast Run - A Vibrant End to Term 1

The final day of Term 1 saw Highvale’s inaugural Colour Blast Run, a joyful and energetic event initiated and organised by our senior school captains. Over 300 students and staff took part in this colourful celebration, which not only ended the term on a high note but also demonstrated the strength of our community spirit.

The event was more than just fun—it was also a fundraising success. Nearly $3,000 was raised to support the installation of new tiered seating for our basketball courts, another student-led initiative. I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to all staff who supported the event, especially Amanda Gomes, our student leadership coordinator, for her invaluable guidance. It was a true celebration of student initiative, and we look forward to this becoming a new Highvale tradition.

Year 7 Camp – Building Friendships and Confidence

Earlier this term, our Year 7 students enjoyed a memorable three-day camp at Lord Somers Camp. With around 180 students in attendance, the program offered a wide range of engaging activities including Stand-Up Paddle Boarding, Kayaking, Pizza Making, T-Shirt Printing, Initiative Games, and Raft Building.

These experiences are a vital part of our transition program, helping students develop resilience, build friendships, and feel more connected to Highvale. I would like to thank Natalie Valentine, Christian D’Ademo, and Anita Grandy for their outstanding coordination of the camp, as well as the many staff who generously gave their time to support it. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and staff speaks volumes about the impact of this event.

Community Centre Update

We are still awaiting the final schedule of works from the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) before repair work on the Community Centre and tennis courts can begin. We were advised this would be sent through last week and are actively following up. Once received, a site visit will take place with the builders and VSBA to discuss the scope of works. We will keep our community updated as we receive further information.

NAPLAN

We have received our initial NAPLAN results in Reading, Grammar & Punctuation, Spelling, and Numeracy. Writing results are still being collated and are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Once all results have been uploaded to our data dashboard, Panorama, we will be able to conduct a comprehensive analysis, particularly of the growth shown by our current Year 9 students. This cohort was the first to undertake NAPLAN using the new proficiency standards when they were in Year 7, so this will provide us with valuable insights into learning progress over time. The data will help us identify both areas of strength and opportunities for improvement within our learning programs.

Diverse Learners Partnership

We are pleased to share that we have secured dedicated time with one of the Department’s Education Improvement Leaders, Gillian Mosley. Gillian has already collaborated with both the Differentiated Learning Team and the Disability Inclusion Team throughout Term 1, and we are excited to announce that this partnership will continue throughout the remainder of 2025 and into early 2026, as we have been accepted as a Deep Engagement school.

We anticipate that the work we undertake with Gillian’s support will positively impact not only our identified Tier 2 and Tier 3 students but all students at Highvale, as we continue to build our collective capacity to support every learner at their point of need.

In addition to her work through the Deep Engagement partnership, Gillian will also be joining us on Fridays in Term 2 in an Acting Leading Teacher capacity in the Disability Inclusion LT role. Given the significant time allocation required for this position, it was not feasible to fill the role internally mid-semester without causing major disruptions to our timetable.