College Principal Message

Welcome back to the 2026 School Year

A Vision of Excellence, Belonging and Opportunity.

On behalf of my Leadership Team, student leaders and staff across our campuses, I warmly welcome all students and parents/carers to another great year at Copperfield College. I trust that families enjoyed a restful and well-deserved summer break and that our students return energised, optimistic and ready to embrace the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

A special welcome is extended to our new Year 7 students and their families who have joined us at our Junior Campuses. It was a pleasure to meet many of you at our Meet and Greet afternoons on Tuesday 17 February at Sydenham Campus and Thursday 19 February at Kings Park Campus. These occasions reflect what Copperfield College stands for; connection, partnership and community from day one. I also extend a sincere welcome to all new students and families joining Years 8 to 12.

Copperfield College is more than a multi-campus school, it is a dynamic learning community united by a shared commitment to excellence, inclusion and opportunity. Our school values, Respect, Responsibility, Relationships and Excellence (RRRE) are central to everything we do.

Our vision is clear:

High expectations for every learner
Outstanding teaching in every classroom
A safe, respectful and inclusive environment
Pathways that empower every student for life beyond school
No student goes without

We are committed to developing confident, resilient and compassionate young people who are prepared not only for academic success, but for meaningful contribution to society.

As we move into 2026, our strategic focus remains on:

Strengthening instructional excellence across all Key Learning Areas including a documented curriculum scope and sequence delivered using a consistent instructional framework
Embedding consistent high-impact teaching practices across the College eliminating variability
Expanding student voice and leadership opportunities (School Captains, Campus Captains, Junior Campus Year 10 Captains and SRC Representatives)
Enhancing wellbeing supports across all campuses
Building stronger partnerships with families and community

My Principal Team and I look forward to working closely with our new leaders as they help shape the future of our school, strengthening student voice and agency, promoting inclusion, and contributing to positive outcomes for all students.

College Captains:• Angus Morgan• Charlina Trieu

College Captain – Academic Leadership:• Chanelle Camilleri

College Captain – Sporting Leadership:• Jonathan Trinh

College Captain – Arts Leadership:• Neisha-Lee Fedele

College Captain – Community Leadership:• Billy Do

Kings Park Campus Captains:• Siyona Prasanth• Jasmine Lazos

Sydenham Campus Captains:• Julia Portelli• Haider Imran

“One College – Three Sites – One Family” is far more than a slogan at Copperfield College, it is the foundation of who we are and how we work together as a community.

Our three-campus structure enables us to combine the breadth and opportunity of a large, multi-campus college with the warmth and connection of smaller school environments.

Across each campus, our staff know their students well, building strong, authentic relationships that allow us to understand and respond to individual learning and wellbeing needs.

Our two Junior Campuses: Kings Park (Years 7–10) and Sydenham (Years 7–10) provide vibrant and comprehensive Middle Years programs. During these formative years, we focus on building strong foundations in literacy, numeracy and critical thinking, while explicitly developing resilience, wellbeing, confidence and character. We nurture curiosity and empower students to see themselves as capable, engaged learners.

Our Delahey Senior Campus (Years 11–12) represents the culmination of our students’ secondary journey. Here, students are treated as young adults and supported to take increasing responsibility for their learning and future pathways. With a breadth of opportunities across VCE, VCE VM, VET and workplace programs, we ensure that every student graduates with a clear and purposeful destination — whether university, TAFE, an apprenticeship or sustainable full-time employment.

“Empowering Every Student to Aspire and Achieve” is our mission. The most important word in that statement is Every.

We firmly believe that every young person can learn, grow and succeed. Every student can make progress. Every student deserves opportunity. Through the dedication of our outstanding Leadership Team and staff, we work relentlessly to turn this belief into lived reality.

Guided by our commitment that “No Student Goes Without,” we strive to remove barriers and provide the support, resources and encouragement necessary for success, irrespective of postcode or socioeconomic background.

Over the past month, I have spent considerable time across all three campuses reinforcing the spirit of “One College – Three Sites – One Family” and celebrating the unity that defines our College.

Welcome back to what promises to be an outstanding year for our community. I look forward to working in partnership with our families and to meeting as many parents and carers as possible throughout the year.

The Principal Team, Leadership Team and our School Captains join me in wishing all students, staff and families a successful, productive and inspiring 2026 school year.

Together, we will continue building a high-performing College culture where student achievement and wellbeing go hand in hand.

Celebrating Academic Excellence

Our 2025 VCE students achieved outstanding success, and we congratulate them on their determination, resilience and commitment to excellence.

VCE Median score 28 - great achievement!
VCE Allstudy mean score 28 - great achievement!
21% of our students achieved ATAR scores 80 to 100
57% of our students achieved ATAR scores 70 to 100
100% VCE satisfactory completion
Minjoo Baik, Dux of 2025, 96.05 ATAR score.

These results reflect the dedication of our students, the expertise of our teachers and the strong partnership with families.

Welcome to New and Returning Staff

The strength of any school lies in its people. I warmly welcome the following new and returning staff members and wish them a productive and rewarding year at Copperfield College.

Our staff bring passion, expertise and a shared commitment to ensuring every student experience high-quality teaching and meaningful learning.

New Staff Members

Adam Ammouche – LT (Student Engagement & Wellbeing), Syd & Del
Nathaniel Alexopoulos – Health/PE, Syd
Aiden Arandez – Music, Del & KP
Miah Butler (Graduate) – English/Arts/Textiles, Syd
Xaviel Cassar (Graduate) – Health/PE, KP
Megumi Chiba – Japanese/Humanities, Syd & Del
Ryan Chircop (Graduate) – PE/Maths/Science, Syd
Micah Coleman – English/Humanities/Philosophy, KP & Del
Sienna Hujdurovic (Graduate) – English/Humanities, Syd
Luy (Iris) Yan (Graduate) – Japanese/EAL, Syd
Lian Zhantong – Psychology/Humanities, KP & Del

Returning Staff

Deep Kunwar – English, Del
Karen Martin – LT, Syd
Kayla Di Benedetto – Humanities, KP

Education Support Staff

Annie Sophabmixay – Daily Organiser, Del

We look forward to the fresh perspectives, energy and professionalism they bring to our College.

School Council – Strong Governance, Stronger Outcomes

School Council plays a vital role in shaping the strategic direction and governance of our College. Effective councils bring diverse skills, experience and insight to ensure the best possible outcomes for students.

All Victorian government schools with Year 7 and above are required to include a student member category. Student voice in governance is an important and valued dimension of our leadership culture.

Copperfield College School Council Composition

7 Parent Members
3 Community Members
5 Department of Education Employees (including the Principal)
2 Student Members

Total Voting Members: 17

The Principal serves as the Executive Officer of the School Council.

2026 Council Vacancies

This year, the following vacancies are available:

6 x Parent Member positions (2-year term: 2026–2027)
1 x Community Member positions (2-year term: 2026–2027)
1 x DoE Employee Member positions (2-year term: 2026–2027)
1 x Student Member position (2-year term: 2026–2027)

I strongly encourage parents and community members to consider nominating. Serving on School Council is a meaningful way to contribute to the strategic growth and continued success of our College.

For further information, please contact Ms Belinda Palladino or the Principal. Nomination forms are available at the General Offices of Delahey, Kings Park and Sydenham Campuses.

Nominations close Friday 6 March at 3:30pm.

I take this opportunity to thank all current School Council members, particularly our parent representatives, for their ongoing dedication, wisdom and advocacy. Your contribution strengthens our College community and directly supports improved outcomes for our students.

As we begin 2026, I remain confident and optimistic about the year ahead. Together, staff, students, families and School Council, we will continue to build a culture of excellence, inclusion and aspiration at Copperfield College.

School Zone Speed Limits

With the new school year started, it is an opportune time for school communities to be reminded of the importance of road safety around schools.

School Speed Zones are enforced from the commencement of the school year and parents/carers are reminded to adhere to all VicRoads School Speed Zones rules.

Also, parents/guardians are reminded to take care and obey these parking signs and observe the Road Rules when picking up or dropping off students around schools. The City of Brimbank Parking and Information Officers monitor all supervised school crossings on a regular roster and issue infringements to drivers who stop in unsafe areas, such as “No Stopping” zones, within 20 metres of a school crossing, parallel to a yellow edge line, or if double parked, even for a moment to drop off or collect a student.

Queuing to enter a pickup/drop off zone can often lead to traffic congestion with vehicles being stationary in prohibited areas. Should the pickup/drop off zone be occupied with vehicles, to avoid the possibility of receiving an infringement it is advised to drive around the block and return when legal parking is available.

Statistics show that illegal parking around schools is greatly reduced due to an Officer’s presence and Council prefers to achieve these results though education and awareness.

Designated school speed zones: Specified times (8.00 - 9.30 am and 2.30 - 4.00 pm).

Further information in regard to VicRoads speed limits around schools can be found at: VicRoads School Speed Zones

Also, please note that the school car park is out of bounds for all parents/guardians. The car park is only for staff. It is imperative that parents DO NOT enter the carpark during pick up/drop off as they are placing students and staff at grave risk.

I wish to thank all parents/guardians who always adhere to all traffic rules re: school zones and also the school carpark rules. The safety of all children, staff and parents is paramount.

Victorian Schools’ Privacy Policy

The Department of Education and Training (which includes all Victorian government schools, central and regional offices) values the privacy of every person and is committed to protecting information that schools collect.

All staff including contractors, service providers and volunteers of the Department, and our school, must comply with Victorian privacy law and this policy.

In Victorian government schools the management of ‘personal information’ and ‘health information’ is governed by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) (collectively, Victorian privacy law).

This policy explains how our school collects and manages personal and health information, consistent with Victorian privacy law.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese.

Copperfield College Privacy Policy

This policy is regularly reviewed and updated to take account of new laws and technology and the changing school environment when required.

During the ordinary course of your child’s attendance at our school, school staff will collect your child’s personal and health information when necessary to educate your child, or to support your child’s social and emotional wellbeing or health. Such information will also be collected when required to fulfil a legal obligation, including duty of care, anti-discrimination law and occupational health and safety law. If that information is not collected, the school may be unable to provide optimal education or support to your child or fulfil those legal obligations.

For example, health information may be collected through the school nurse, primary welfare officer or wellbeing staff member. If your child is referred to a specific health service at school, such as a Student Support Service officer, or school-engaged psychologist, the required consent will be obtained.

Our school may use online tools, such as apps and other software, to effectively collect and manage information about your child for teaching and learning purposes, parent communication and engagement; student administration; and school management purposes. When our school uses these online tools, we take steps to ensure that your child’s information is secure. If you have any concerns about the use of these online tools, please contact us.

School staff will only share your child’s personal or health information with other staff who need to know to enable the school to educate or support your child or fulfil a legal obligation.

When our students transfer to another Victorian government school, personal and health information about that student will be transferred to that next school. Transferring this information is in the best interest of our students and assists that next school to provide optimal education and support to students.

In some limited circumstances, information may be disclosed outside of the school (and outside of the Department of Education and Training). The school will seek your consent for such disclosures unless the disclosure allowed or mandated by law.

Our school values the privacy of every person. When collecting and managing personal and health information, all school staff must comply with Victorian privacy law. For more information about privacy including about how to access personal and health information held by the school about you or your child, see our school’s privacy policy: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx

Definitions

Personal information is information or opinion, whether true or not, about a person whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion – that is recorded in any form. For example, a person's name, address, phone number and date of birth (age). De-identified information about students can also be personal information.

Health information is information or opinion about a person’s physical, mental or psychological health or disability, that is also personal information – whether in writing or not. This includes information or opinion about a person’s health status and medical history, immunization status and allergies, as well as counselling records.

Sensitive information is information or opinion about a set of specific characteristics, including a person’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions or affiliations, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation or practices, or criminal record. It also includes health information.

What information do we collect?

Our school collects the following type of information:

information about students and their families, provided by students, their families and others.
information about job applicants, staff, volunteers and visitors; provided by job applicants, staff members, volunteers, visitors and others.

How do we collect this information?

Our school collects information in a number of ways, including:

in person and over the phone: from students and their families, staff, volunteers, visitors, job applicants and others
from electronic and paper documentation: including job applications, emails, invoices, enrolment forms, letters to our school, consent forms (for example: enrolment, excursion, Student Support Services consent forms), our school’s website or school-controlled social media.
through online tools: such as apps and other software used by our school.
through any CCTV cameras located at our school.
Collection notices

When our school collects information about you, our school takes reasonable steps to advise you of how the information will be handled. This includes the purpose of the collection, and how to access, update and correct information held about you. For information about students and their families, a collection notice is provided to parents (or students who are mature minors) upon enrolment.

Unsolicited information about you

Our school may receive information about you that we have taken no active steps to collect. If permitted or required by law, our school may keep records of this information. If not, we will destroy or de-identify the information when practicable, lawful and reasonable to do so.

Why do we collect this information?

Primary purposes of collecting information about students and their families

Our school collects information about students and their families when necessary to:

educate students.
support students’ social and emotional wellbeing, and health.
fulfil legal requirements, including to:
take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of reasonably foreseeable harm to students, staff and visitors (duty of care)
make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities (anti-discrimination law)
provide a safe and secure workplace (occupational health and safety law)
enable our school to:
communicate with parents about students’ schooling matters and celebrate the efforts and achievements of students.
maintain the good order and management of our school.
enable the Department to:
ensure the effective management, resourcing and administration of our school.
fulfil statutory functions and duties.
plan, fund, monitor, regulate and evaluate the Department’s policies, services and functions.
comply with reporting requirements.
investigate incidents in schools and/or respond to any legal claims against the Department, including any of its schools.

Primary purposes of collecting information about others

Our school collects information about staff, volunteers and job applicants:

to assess applicants’ suitability for employment or volunteering
to administer employment or volunteer placement
for insurance purposes, including public liability and WorkCover.
to fulfil various legal obligations, including employment and contractual obligations, occupational health and safety law and to investigate incidents.
to respond to legal claims against our school/the Department.

When do we use or disclose information?

Our school uses or discloses information consistent with Victorian privacy law, as follows:

for a primary purpose – as defined above
for a related secondary purpose that is reasonably to be expected – for example, to enable the school council to fulfil its objectives, functions and powers.
with notice and/or consent – including consent provided on enrolment and other forms.
when necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to:
a person’s life, health, safety or welfare
the public’s health, safety or welfare
when required or authorized by law – including as a result of our duty of care, anti-discrimination law, occupational health and safety law, reporting obligations to agencies such as Department of Health and Human Services and complying with tribunal or court orders, subpoenas or Victoria Police warrants.
to investigate or report unlawful activity, or when reasonably necessary for a specified law enforcement purpose, including the prevention or investigation of a criminal offence or seriously improper conduct, by or on behalf of a law enforcement agency.
for Departmental research or school statistics purposes
to establish or respond to a legal claim.

A unique identifier (a CASES21 code) is assigned to each student to enable the school to carry out its functions effectively.

Student transfers between Victorian government schools

When a student has been accepted at, and is transferring to, another Victorian government school, our school transfers information about the student to that school. This may include copies of the student’s school records, including any health information.

This enables the next school to continue to provide for the education of the student, to support the student’s social and emotional wellbeing and health, and to fulfil legal requirements.

NAPLAN results

NAPLAN is the national assessment for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9, in reading, writing, language and numeracy.

When a student transfers to another Victorian government school, their NAPLAN results are able to be transferred to that next school.

Additionally, a student’s NAPLAN results are able to be provided to the student’s previous Victorian government school to enable that school to evaluate their education program.

Responding to complaints

On occasion, our school and the Department’s central and regional offices receive complaints from parents and others. Our school and/or the Department’s central or regional offices will use and disclose information as considered appropriate to respond to these complaints (including responding to complaints made to external organisations or agencies).

Find out more about the privacy complaints process.

Accessing your information

All individuals, or their authorised representative(s), have a right to access, update and correct information that our school holds about them.

Access to student information

Our school only provides school reports and ordinary school communications to parents who have a legal right to that information. Requests for access to other student information must be made by making a Freedom of Information (FOI) application through the Department’s Freedom of Information Unit (see below).

In some circumstances, an authorised representative may not be entitled to information about the student. These circumstances include when granting access would not be in the student’s best interests or would breach our duty of care to the student, would be contrary to a mature minor student’s wishes or would unreasonably impact on the privacy of another person.

Access to staff information

School staff may first seek access to their personnel file by contacting the principal. If direct access is not granted, the staff member may request access through the Department's Freedom of Information Unit.

Storing and securing information

Our school takes reasonable steps to protect information from misuse and loss, and from unauthorized access, modification and disclosure. Our school stores all paper and electronic records securely, consistent with the Department’s records management policy and information security standards. All school records are disposed of or transferred to the State Archives (Public Record Office Victoria), as required by the relevant Public Record Office Standard.

When using software and contracted service providers to manage information, our school assesses these according to the appropriate departmental processes. One example of this is that staff passwords for school systems are strong and updated on a regular basis, consistent with the Department’s password policy.

Updating your information

We endeavour to ensure that information about students, their families and staff is accurate, complete, and up to date. To update your information, please contact your child’s Campus General Office.

Nick Adamou

College Principal