Need to Know
As we head into the final weeks of Term 3, there’s a wonderful buzz around our college. Thank you for your ongoing support of our students and staff—there’s a lot to celebrate and a few important dates to note.
Year 9 City Experience – Our Year 9s have been in the city this week for a program of urban learning. There has been lots of walking and independent navigation and our students have risen to the challenge. I was very proud to receive this email from a member of the public today:
Hi
Friday afternoon last week I travelled by train from Flinders Street to Macleod A large group of your students were on the train and I thought it was going to be an awful trip home but they were all so well behaved no yelling or showing off or swinging from the straps and bars and not once did I hear a swear word used There didn’t appear to be a teacher present the kids were just genuinely aware of how to behave in public I wanted to commend this large group of students on their great behaviour as all too often only bad behaviour is called out Hopefully somehow the kids will receive this very positive feedback. Kind regards
Year 8 Camp – Last week around 70 Year 8 students participated in the Year 8 camp. Students participated enthusiastically and staff report that the camp ran smoothly and students were respectful and well behaved. Thank you Year 8, and thanks to the staff who attended.
42nd Street – a triumph: Our musical season of 42nd Street has been nothing short of spectacular. Audiences have been warm and appreciative, and our cast, crew, orchestra, and staff have shone. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved for the countless hours of rehearsal and preparation.
Year 10 Snow Camp –: Our Year 10s represented the college superbly on the slopes—embracing challenge, supporting one another, and building resilience. Thank you to the staff who made this opportunity possible.
International visitors: We were honoured to host leaders and teachers from the English Language Institute of Singapore who visited to learn about our literacy programs. They were impressed by our evidence-informed approach and the steady growth our students are demonstrating.
Victorian State Schools Spectacular – Saturday 13 September: Several of our students will perform in this state-wide celebration. It’s a significant honour to be selected—congratulations to our performers and the staff supporting them. We wish you a fabulous show and a memorable experience.
- Congratulations to our Senior Jazz Band and Intermediate Concert Bands who won gold and silver respectively at the Victorian Schools Music Festival.
Parent/Teacher Interviews (Term 3)
- Thursday 18 September: Pupil-free day. Face-to-face interviews run from lunchtime until 4:20pm.
- Friday 19 September: Online interviews all day (pupil-free).
Bookings: Information on how to book interviews will be sent shortly. Please keep an eye on your email and Compass notifications.
NOTE: THE LAST DAY OF TERM IS WEDNESDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER. SCHOOL FINISHES AT 2.50 PM AS USUAL.
Key Dates & Reminders
- Victorian State Schools Spectacular: Saturday 13 September.
- Parent/Teacher Interviews: Thursday 18 September (pm, on-site) and Friday 19 September (online, all day).
- Term 3 finishes: Wednesday 17 September at 2:50pm.
- Additional calendar item: Early dismissal day on Tuesday 2 December (please add to your calendars now).
- Evacuation Drill: Wednesday 8th October, during Period 4. (Information below)
Evacuation Drill
In Term 1 we conducted a Lockdown drill, and early next term (8th October) we have a whole school Evacuation Drill scheduled. It is important that staff and students know what to do in the case of an emergency, and that we test our procedures.
Students will be given information (see attachment below) the week of the drill so that they know what to expect.
A version of our Emergency Management Plan is on our website.
Can I ask that, in the event of a lockdown or evacuation, parents DO NOT CONTACT THE OFFICE BY PHONE. It is unlikely we will be available to answer your questions as we will be managing the emergency, and you will tie up the phone lines that may well be needed for communication with Emergency Services and the Department of Education.
As soon as it is practical, you will be sent information regarding the nature of the emergency and updated via SMS/Compass as circumstances change.
Please discuss with your child the importance of taking the drill seriously and following the procedures.
Dare to be Excellent
Lachlan Elliott, 8E
I am pleased to feature this fabulous poem from Lachlan, created as part of his poetry folio assessment about identity/place/home:
'The whispers filled the air,
Our minds igniting with thoughts to share,
The whiteboard telling us sums,
While the morning light comes,
Through the window humming.
A bell rings, we run to class,
As fleeting hours swiftly pass,
With books in hand and dreams in sight,
We learn to reason, read and write.
Though the days are long, the gifts are true,
In school, we shape the best of you.'
Well done Lachlan - I think we have a budding writer here!
If your child has excelled at something at or outside of school and you would like to see their achievement featured here, please message AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au
Welcome Mr Lovell
Nick Lovell joins St Helena as our newest staff member, teaching Music and Humanities.
Mr Lovell has spent 9 years at Roxburgh College and 2 years at St Albans Secondary College, so is a very experienced teacher. He says that St Helena is in a lovely area and everyone here seems really friendly. Mr Lovell enjoys playing music, and is married with three children aged 16, 13 and 8.
Parent Opinion Survey
Thank you to the 73 parents who have responded to this annual Department of Education survey. We would like some more parents to respond so that we have a valid sample. I am reposting my Compass post here:
Dear Parents / Caregivers / Guardians,
Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey and is seeking your feedback. The survey, offered by the Department of
Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement.
Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.
The survey will be conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete.
It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.
The survey is available in English and 10 other languages: Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. If you require assistance in another language, resources may be available for you. Please reach out via AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au
if you require assistance in another language.
The Parent / Caregiver /Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 18 August to Friday 19 September 2025.
To complete the survey, simply:
1. Click on the link
below, or copy and paste the text into your browser. This link will take you directly to the survey.
https://research.orima.com/parent
2. Select the School and Campus name below.
School Name: St Helena Secondary College
Campus Name: St Helena Secondary College
Enter the School PIN below.
PIN: 832298
When complete, please click on the ‘Submit’ button at the end of the survey to submit your answers.Please note that the survey will time out after 60
minutes of inactivity.
PLEASE NOTE: Only one parent / caregiver / guardian from your household is invited to complete the survey on behalf of the student’s
family. Please reach out via AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au or the school if your child’s family lives in two separate households, so both households can have the opportunity to provide their feedback.
To protect your responses, please DO NOT share the survey link and PIN with others, or on a public website, forum or similar.
Please be assured that your responses are completely confidential
The survey is conducted anonymously, and it is important to our school that you complete the survey as honestly as possible.
ORIMA Research, a private research company, is conducting this survey on behalf of the Department of Education. ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has not been and will not be provided with the contact details, names or any other personal identifying information about the parents / caregivers / guardians invited to complete the survey.
The department, the survey supplier (ORIMA Research) and the school can never personally identify you, or see your responses linked with the PIN.
The department and ORIMA protect your responses in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic). ORIMA Research also adheres to the Privacy (Market and Social Research) Code 2021, as well as relevant State and Territory legislation. For more information, please visit ORIMA’s Privacy Policy here: http://www.orima.com.au/home/privacy-policy and the department’s
Schools' Privacy Policy here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx.
Questions?
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any general queries about the survey. For specific technical or participation-related queries, you may also contact the department or the supplier administering the survey, ORIMA Research.
·
Should you have any technical queries regarding the survey, or questions regarding the privacy and confidentiality of your survey responses, please
do not hesitate to contact ORIMA Research on 1800 654 585 (toll-free during business hours), or by email: pos@orima.com
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Should you have any participation or survey-related queries, please contact the school, or the department by email: school.surveys@education.vic.gov.au
Yours sincerely,
Karen Terry
Principal
