Assistant Principals' Reports 

SIMON JONES

We are fast approaching the end of term 3, which marks a significant milestone for our year 12 Vocational Major and Further Learning students: the end of their time at school. Many students are joining the world of work in apprenticeships or other full-time jobs, while others are continuing their studies at TAFE and will undoubtedly transition to university studies beyond that.

I take this opportunity to not only wish them well for their life beyond school, but also to thank them for their outstanding demonstration of our school values during their journey through the school. They will be missed but we have great confidence that our graduating students are equipped with the skills, attitudes and values to prosper in the big wide world.

The rest of the year 12 cohort are now starting preparations for final exams. A vital part of this is the practice exam program which runs through the first week of the school holidays. All students have their timetables and will benefit greatly from this experience.

As for the rest of the school, we have a very busy period in front of us. We are finishing off second semester studies before going into year 10 and 11 exams, followed by our Jumpstart program, commencing on the 18th of November. This is a 3 week program for new year 11’s and 4 weeks for the graduating 10’s. It is very important that all students attempt Jumpstart as this is the beginning of the new academic year. It is important that all students continue to produce their best effort to ensure a smooth transition to step up to the next year's level.

I wish everyone a safe and relaxing break before we begin the final term of the year.

Stephanie Pearce

It is hard to believe we are at the end of Term 3! It has been a productive term filled with continued achievement and progress.

This term we celebrated our NAPLAN results in Year 7 and 9, and what a cause for celebration they were! As a learning community we can be proud of all students, who have collectively achieved results across literacy and numeracy that not only are above like-schools and the network, but the state. The commitment from all students to living our college value of Personal Best is unwavering. 

Please find below a summary of the percentage of Dromana College students who achieved results of an Exceeding or Strong proficiency level (Top 2 proficiency levels) in 2024 and how they compare to the state.

A special shout-out to our Year 9 cohort who collectively achieved results in reading that were over 20% above the state! A phenomenal achievement!

Additionally, it was pleasing to see participation above 85% in all tests. Well done to all and thank you to our Year 7 and 9 families for your support and encouragement.

Another area for celebration this term was the work of our student leaders, under the guidance of Student Leadership Leaders Alex Woolley and Mitch Gardner, they developed and implemented another successful Teach the Teacher workshop series for staff. The students brought their voice and agency into discussions for school improvement in their chosen area of respect and empathy informed practice. This is one of our school strategic targets, so it was great having students so involved in driving improvement in this space. It was a very well-received professional learning opportunity, and I speak on behalf of all staff when I say how appreciative we are for the time and effort the students gave to this meeting. We are already looking forward to the next one!

Our Curriculum Day this term focused on the familiarisation and implementation of Victorian Curriculum 2.0. We heard from a number of staff about strategies they use to differentiate learning in their classroom, and then had time in domain teaching and learning teams to review new curriculum documents and resources – ensuring strong alignment to assessment and pedagogy. It was a positive and productive day for all involved. I would like to extend thanks to our Professional Learning Team for their hard work and organisation in bringing this day together. 

The development of the 2025 book list is currently underway. New subjects and resources have been added to further enrich the breadth of our learning program across Year 7-12. The booklist will be available to families on Friday, 1 November, with further information to be shared closer to that date.

2025 Year 10 and VCE students can now begin accessing and ordering resources for English in preparation for Jumpstart.

To access and order from the list online, please use the following details:

• Campion Education Online Ordering: Campion Education Online Ordering: Dromana College
• Resource List Code: MT7M

Please ensure all orders are placed online by Friday, 11 October. This will guarantee delivery of resources by Friday, 8 November, ahead of the Jumpstart program. It is essential that all senior students have their English materials ready for the start of Jumpstart to ensure a smooth and successful transition into the program.

Lastly, thank you again to the whole college community for your ongoing support during what always proves to be a busy term. Enjoy the break and I look forward to a positive and strong finish to Term 4 once we return. 

MATTHEW MCLAREN

Wellbeing and Cyber Safety

The use of Smartphones and access to the internet are often topics of conversation brought up by parents who attend Student Support Groups (SSG) at the college. Given the recent media coverage about a proposed ban on social media and a growing body of evidence about the negative impact that the combination of social media and Smartphones is having on High school-aged students, as well as the local community's experience of cyber blackmail and extortion on teenagers and families, it felt timely to address this issue. 

Why smartphones and social media can be a particularly problematic mix

Social media

Social media can allow us to contact distant friends or catch up on the latest trends. However, for teenagers, particularly younger teenagers, social media has led to a rise in mental health concerns. These concerns include;

• Social media platforms enabling cyberbullying through negative comments, harassment, or public shaming. Students may be unable to escape this bullying if they have constant internet access to a smartphone. 
• Feelings of inadequacy, especially when teens compare themselves to others’ curated, often idealised lives. 
• Addiction to checking notifications and constantly interacting online.
• The promotion of unrealistic beauty standards. 
• Encounter harmful content, including violence, explicit material, or radical ideologies.
• Teens may overshare personal information without realising the long-term consequences or potential for identity theft and online scams.
• Teenagers cutting off potential future job opportunities due to previous poor choices in their digital past. 

Smartphones

Ding, or the buzz of a smartphone's vibration, can give both adults and teenagers the dopamine rush of satisfaction. However, through the constant notification of applications on smartphones, this Pavilion response can create excessive use of smartphones, which can lead to over-dependence or even addiction. The negative impacts of smartphones include: 

• Opportunity cost—Teenagers spend many hours per day looking at their smartphones, which could be better spent studying, talking to friends, or being active. 
• A significantly increased risk of anxiety, depression, self-harm, stress and suicide, particularly among adolescents.
• Lack of physical exercise, eye strain, weight gain, back and neck issues from poor posture whilst looking at the phone
• A significant reduction in positive face-to-face social interactions, which is one of our highest protective factors.as human
• A reduction in concentration span and motivation.
• Heightened arousal, which can make it harder to relax and fall asleep, leading to insomnia or delayed sleep onset.
• Reduction in duration and quality of sleep. 

The combination of social media with constant and continual access to smartphones compounds the negative impacts. 

So, how does the curriculum at Dromana College address these concerns about phone use, social media, and cyber safety?

• Dromana has clear rules that students should not be using mobile phones during school hours. They should 
• The Respectful Relationships curriculum is important in exploring mutual respect and consent in real-life and online environments. 
• In term 4, we have the "Digital Thumbprint' program back in with junior students looking at online safety and appropriate behaviours in an online space. 
• When incidents arise, we provide individual support and assistance to help students change habits and make more positive choices. 

Tips and Tricks for Parents 

• Reenforce school expectations that if phones are brought to school, they are kept in a student’s locker (with a lock on it) between form assembly and the end of period four. 
• Never text or call your student during school times. If it is an emergency, please ring the office. 
• Consider a dumbphone (a phone that can call, text and take photos but has no internet access. 
• Ideally, students should not use social media on their phones until they reach Senior School (Year 10). 
• Turn off all notifications on apps; this lets your child control when they access information rather than having the device dictate their behaviour response. 
• Have a cut-off time for all devices at home and stick to it. 
• Finally, model good behaviour to children. They are more likely to follow what you do rather than what you say as a parent. Model what you want to see and what you want to see a child do.  

Further support with Smartphones and cyber safety 

Parent advice from the e-safety Commissioner 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents 

5 tips for keeping your child safe online from UNICEF. 

https://www.unicef.org/eap/keeping-your-child-safe-online-5-top-tips-parents 

Online advice from Kids’ Helpline 

https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/staying-safe-online 

Family Advice from Digital Technologies Hub 

https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/for-families/for-parents-and-carers/cybersafety-at-home/