Message from the Executive Principal 

Last we welcomed our whole back for our annual welcome assembly. I have included the full text of welcome and key messages, and added subheadings to assist with the sharing of the important updates and messages. A special thanks to Dr Helen Haines, MP, for her visit and for speaking to our students.

Welcome to Year 7 (the Class of 2029)

A very warm welcome to everyone. Welcome back to our ongoing students. This is a particularly warm welcome to our new students, especially our Year 7 students - the Class of 2029. Thanks for welcoming them yesterday and in our assembly today. To our Year 7’s welcome to high school, a journey of growth and self-discovery. To our Year 7’s: Embrace this time with a mindset of curiosity and resilience. Be open to new experiences and ideas, and remember, challenges are opportunities to learn and strengthen your abilities. It's not just a new chapter; it's a fresh start. New friends, new learning and a chance to transition on from primary school.

I am pleased that we are fully staffed for Term 1. Across Australian schools the shortage of teachers is big deal. Some of our nearby schools are short of teachers – making it very hard for them and their students. Don’t take this for granted.

Please welcome:

• Alice Reynolds (VCE-VM and Literacy)
• Amy Vuleta (English)
• Laurence Adorni-Dickson (Music)
• Catherine Rees (English-Humanities)
• Amanda Shaw (Teacher Aide)

A particularly warm welcome to Dr Helen Haines MP to this morning’s assembly. Helen is our Federal member of parliament and a great friend and supporter of our school. She will be known to many of you of course. In my opinion, Helen is a significant Australian. She is known for her caring, empathetic, and ethical leadership in her role as an MP, but she is also well beyond that sphere. As a small but notable acknowledgement of this, she was awarded the McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership – a belated congratulations Helen. She knows our school well, as her children attended our school. We are fortunate to have her as one of the many champions of our school. I look forward to hearing from Helen.

I have a few important words to share this morning and I ask that you listen carefully. It is hard to pass on these important messages quickly, so bear with me. After me you will her from Dr Helen Haines and then our prefect investiture and issuing of Year 12 jumpers will take place – both important High School traditions and events.

A reminder about our great results in 2023

Last year was a great year and we finished well in 2023. I hope you are well aware that of the our very strong VCE results – congratulations again to Orlando Bulmer for the highest ATAR in Wangaratta and the wider region, and to the many other great achievements of our Year 12’s. There were countless other stories of endeavour, persistence and achievement - many more triumphs in various forms that are not evident in “the number”. For some this means not even completing their VCE – in that they got themselves to a point that they needed to pursue other options, or even come back to their studies one day in the future. I don’t need to read off a list of names and accomplishments of those significant Australians or citizens of the world that did not get to their pinnacle by following a straightforward path. I take this opportunity to remind everyone, but especially Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 of our commitment to support and serve you with your learning and progress for any pathway – be it VCE and university, a trade or other vocational learning or help to enter the workforce. We are here to serve you.

Student Voice and Agency and Capital Works Update

A big area of focus this year across the whole school is your voice and your action. I’ll speak to this further at another time, but I remind you that I am employed to serve you. I am available every recess and lunchtime to meet if you have ideas or concerns, just want to say hello, or just approach me in the yard. A call out to the last years Year 10’s that I spoke with in a small group (now in Year 11). You were forthright, energetic, and passionate. I want to speak to any of that group as you were fired up in a great way – if that was you, please seek me out ASAP.

Last year, the school received a promise of $11.7 million in funding from the Victorian to upgrade and modernise our campus. We also received immediate funding to do master planning with archiI wanted to let you know that work is progressing. The projects are narrowing down and the architects will now begin the design work to upgrade the FLC, the PAC and the Senior Building. In the future, with more government funding, we will be able to build a new sports centre and complete other improvements for our campus. There has been a lot of admin and discussion to get through, but this term, the design work will begin with the architects. I look forward to supporting student involvement in this creative process. Do not forget also that there is a great student-led building project getting ready to move forward. I’ll use this great video to catch you up…

Our great school

As a school, I am proud and do not take for granted that we are friendly  and we focus on matters the most. We are unpretentious. Being unpretentious means that we prioritise simplicity and authenticity and focus on what really matters in education rather than emphasizing status, prestige, or outward appearances. Wangaratta High School is welcoming, down-to-earth, and inclusive, fostering a sense of community and belonging for all students and staff. Keeping it that way is a responsibility of us all, and how we look after each other and our new students, especially our youngest, is critical.

A key message from students during the school review was how much you valued your learning and an orderly, calm and productive learning environment. There was clear feedback and, at times, significant frustration communicated by students that, at times, learning is negatively impacted by a few students who did not value their learning as the majority of you do. Students also flagged disrespectful behaviour at times towards you and towards teachers. These challenges and behaviours are common challenges in all schools, and sadly in society also. We want to begin the year with a fresh start and renew focus on our expectations in this area. 

I take this opportunity to remind you of our mutually agreed school values: being ready to learn, being safe, respecting yourself and others and doing your personal best. In term one I have asked teachers to work hard to support you to build a better foundation of expectations. 

You can have high expectations of teachers, especially that they will have high expectations of you and continue to support you to be your best. I want you to be open to thinking that this is about you not the teachers. We are seeking to nurture one of the keys to success in life: personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is the opposite of blame, denial and deflection. It is the opposite of being controlled and managed by others. It is the opposite of passivity.

Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility is a cornerstone of both personal growth. It involves acknowledging and accepting the role we play in shaping our own lives and the impact we have on others. Embracing personal responsibility means being accountable for our actions, decisions, and their consequences. It encourages us to reflect on our choices, learn from our experiences, and strive for continual self-improvement. In our school, fostering a culture of personal responsibility can lead to a more respectful, dedicated, and thriving community. As individuals take ownership of their actions, they not only enhance their own integrity and character but also contribute positively to the broader community.

We do not have new expectations to implement this year, but you can expect a strong renewed thrust on rebuilding those that have existed for a long time. They are expectations that support your learning and your development.

Four key area of focus on honouring expectations

I want to alert you to a specific focus on 4 key areas that you can expect every staff member to be consistently following up on. Each of these has a strong alignment to our values.

1. No mobile phones usage during the school day. This is a simple and non-negotiable expectation that keeps you away from the distraction and negative impacts of mobile devices on your wellbeing and learning. You can ask a teacher to use your phone to support your learning, such as film as science experiment or photograph the whiteboard, but it is up to your teacher. You can use your phone to make a payment by a canteen. Beyond that it must be off and not used for anything at all. No exceptions. 
   This is a school rule and a state-wide Department of Education directive in every school in Victoria. If you use your phone, it will be confiscated. 
   We return confiscated phones to parents and carers, rather than to students. Please bear this in mind and take personal responsibility.
   I recognise that some of you will find this hard, especially for those of you that have spend 100’s of hours scrolling and playing on your phone over the summer. It is in your interests to break this habit and we need to help you. This addictive behaviour is harming you. Your teachers will explain the policy several more times across this week in readiness for Week 2. There is a summary in your diary and Mr Paola will have it posted on the noticeboards around the school. 
   I urge you not to make it a point of conflict with staff, referencing my point earlier about the feedback from students about a small. 
2. We will have all students from Year 7 to 11 line up for each class. We see this as an important way to settle and signal the transition from play and lunchtime or the change from one type of learning in a class to another. Your teachers will . I would prefer that in the very near future, we remove this expectation for our senior Year 11 students, but for now, we believe they can help model this behaviour to our youngest students, and I thank them in advance for their leadership in this regard.
3. Readiness to Learn. This is a a core value. The initial focus will be the basics that a small number of our students still need help with. Readiness to learn is actually a whole lot bigger than this – it is mainly a mindset. I was so pleased to see all of Year 7 students commence the year with all of the materials. In other years we still have work to do. The minimum and mandatory requirement for every lesson is your student diary (we will be helping you a lot more with its productive use this year, your pens and pencils, your textbooks and your exercise books
4. No student movement during lesson times. We renew our use of Out of Class passes. They will be issued sparingly. You can’t be outside of your class without an out of class pass.

Your class teachers and homeroom teachers will speak with you further about this. Please ask questions. Of course, I am available for you at any time.

So I’ll wrap up by wishing you all the best for the school year. It was a great start yesterday. 

Enjoy the rest of the assembly.

School Council Nominations

Please see the important call for nominations for our 2024 School Council in this newsletter. 

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy (see whs.vic.edu.au/policies) describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for Education], please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages.