Principal Report

Principal’s Report 

Dear Woodmans Hill community, 

I wanted to start my Principal’s report today by thanking the entire community for the warm welcome and support that I have received as I have stepped into the role, over the last few weeks. It has been extremely heartening and another example of how special and supportive our Woodmans Hill community is. 

Since then, the College has undertaken some backfill arrangements and it is my pleasure to announce that Heather McClure is now replacing myself in the Acting Assistant Principal position. Heather came to us a few years ago from her role as a Regional Engagement officer, and this, as well as her wealth of experience in the inclusion and student wellbeing space at other secondary Colleges, means she is a fantastic fit for the position. 

Further to this, Shaedyn Gibbs will be stepping into Heather’s position of Learning Specialist Engagement: Head of Junior School until the end of Term 2. Shaedyn has several years’ experience as Year Level leader, both within the Junior and Senior schools, and a real passion for supporting staff and students in the engagement and learning space. She works within the Junior team already, as a support and will no doubt be an asset to the team moving forward.

This newsletter I would like to focus on our school value of determination.  This value jumps out at me at this time of year because this is about the point of the year, where for our students’ things get a bit harder. The days are getting shorter and colder, illness is rearing its head affecting our health and general sense of wellness and as we head towards the end of this term, many of our students will be thinking about the upcoming summative assessments with exams, learning tasks and for our senior VCE students scored assessments & the General Achievement Test (GAT). It can be easy to sometimes let the external pressures affect us. 

The concept of determination for me links to the unwavering resolve to acquire knowledge and skills, regardless of obstacles or setbacks. It means pressing on, pushing forward and seeking supports, when needed to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. I see this everyday in the classrooms and common spaces at Woodmans Hill! 

Determination can be small scale, with a student seeking feedback from their teacher in class so that they can make their work better the next time, or challenging ourselves to smile at a new student as a way to make a new friend, but small scale determination can led to big things and I implore all members of our school community to think about instances where they can act in a determined way. For me, I will act with determination to learn the different aspects of my role and relish the challenge of learning in this space. I look forward to hearing from students about ways in which they have been determined over the coming weeks and sharing the ways that I have been determined in my practice.