Learning and Teaching

 Over the past few weeks, we have had the opportunity to stop and reflect on the achievements of our senior students and farewell our year 12s as they begin their final VCE examinations. It is a bittersweet time for these young adults as they move into their next chapter after thirteen years of schooling. The myriad of events of the past few weeks have allowed us to celebrate them, laugh at school memories through the Year 12 Assembly, and shed tears as they were farewelled by staff and younger students. It has been a privilege to watch this group of young adults as they step into the wider world, and this was also a window through which they could see the impact they have had on other students. We wish them every success over the coming weeks as they complete their exams and journey to the top of the tower.

There was a lovely balance to these farewells as we welcomed students and families of our Year 7 2025 cohort to our Engage Information Evening last night. It was wonderful to see so many families in attendance and many excited (and slightly nervous) students catching up or renewing connections before their Year 7 Orientation Day next week. If you were unable to attend, the recording is available to watch here.

Alongside this, we continue to work on the 2025 learning programs for all our students. In the coming weeks, parents and students will receive final confirmation of subjects for 2025 and information about Booklists (via Campion Books), so the preparation for next year can begin. Our Step-Up Program in weeks 8-9 of the term will provide students with an introduction to their new course. They will meet their teachers and class groups and begin to interact with the course content. This is an important part of our learning program at College, and we ask our families to support student attendance fully. Earlier this week, information regarding Early Booklists for VCE Maths and English was sent out to the families of students undertaking VCE subjects in 2025. These are now available via SIMON/PAM under ‘Campion Book List 2025’ for you to order. This process has a very short turnaround, and orders are due by Sunday, 3 November.

I wanted to share a reminder with parents about continuous reporting. I encourage you to check PAM regularly to review the student feedback and assessment grades throughout the term. Continuous Reporting comments are in the ‘Learning Tasks’ section of the PAM platform.

Finally, thank you to those parents who responded to our survey regarding Parent-Teacher Interviews. I appreciate you taking the time to share this information with me, which will assist us in planning for these events as effectively as possible in 2025.

As always, if you have any questions or need to speak with me, please email me at arobertson@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au.