Principal's Report

Principal Report

The first four weeks of the 2024 school year seem to have flown by. There has been a wonderful energy both inside and outside the classroom as students acquaint themselves with their new classes, teachers and changing surrounds. I am truly privileged to be in the position of Acting Principal for Term 1 and am reminded of this every day with my walks around the school that afford me the opportunity to connect with many students and experience the genuine warmth and friendliness that underpins our school culture.

It was also especially pleasing to see so many of our new Year 7 students and families attend our welcoming social function last Monday evening. In spite of the incredibly warm weather conditions, it was a great opportunity to meet parents new to our College community and to hear their initial impressions of our College.

Our Year 7 students depart next week for their camp at Anglesea. Year 7 camp is always one of the highlights for our students as they settle into their first year at the College and yet another major element of their successful transition to secondary school. I know that our teachers are just as  excited as our students about the activities planned and I wish them all a wonderful time.

School Council Update

With the tenure of our 2023-24 School Council completed at our School Council meeting held on Wednesday 14 February, we had the following vacancies for School Council membership:

Two Parent representative

Two DET representatives

Upon the closing of nominations last week, it was very pleasing to receive nine nominations for the two parent position vacancies, hence an election process has been commenced.

Please refer to the extended Compass News Feed for updated information on this election process for every family.

I will update our College community in upcoming Newsletters on the final composition and office bearers for our 2024-25 School Council.

** Please note, parents are able to attend our General Office in person if they wish to do so in order to cast their vote for Parent School Council Member up until 4.00 pm Tuesday 27 February.

School Council and 2024 Annual General Meeting - Open Meeting

We are extending an invitation to the College Community to attend the March School Council meeting and Annual General Meeting. This will be held at 6.30 pm on Wednesday 27 March. Interested parties are asked to please contact Lisa Bull at Lisa.Bull2@education.vic.gov.au  for further details and to register attendance. All attendees must be registered by 4.00pm Monday 25 March.

Year 7 Social Evening

It was wonderful to see so many of our parents – especially those new to our College community, attend our annual Year 7 Parents Social evening last week. We are grateful that so many parents attended on this very warm evening and displayed such a common interest in understanding the functioning of a new school and investing so readily in the learning journey of their children.

A very special thank-you and acknowledgement to Daryl and the members of the Manningham Rotary club that catered for the evening with one of their special sausage sizzles.

The Instrumental Music Information session that immediately followed was overwhelmingly attended. It is always great to see our new students excited about the opportunity to learn a new instrument and equally pleasing to see our current students sharing their love of learning an instrument with our year 7 students.

Parent – Student – Teacher Conferences

A reminder that our Term 1 Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences (Formally Parent Teacher Interviews) are to be held on Tuesday 26 March.

We encourage parents and students to avail themselves of this important opportunity to meet our teachers to discuss student progress. Students are not required to attend classes on Tuesday 26 March 2024 but are expected to attend interviews with parents and teachers. They too will benefit from the feedback provided and from the opportunity to share their own reflections on their learning. All bookings must be made via Compass.

Interview Times are:

Interviews 12.30pm – 2.30pm

Interviews 2.45pm to 4.45pm

Interviews 5.30pm – 7.30pm

The Parent- Student- Teacher Conferences Booking System will be accessible from:

Year 12 Student Bookings - 12.00pm Friday 15 March until 12.00pm Monday 25 March.

Year 7 to 11 (including Year 11 students doing a Unit 3/4 subject) Student Bookings – 10.00am Monday 18 March until 12.00pm Monday 25 March.

We fully acknowledge that the logistics of the afternoon and evening make it difficult for all parents to meet with each teacher, I would therefore advise parents to be selective and prioritise their bookings.

If parents are unable to attend personally on the day or unable to secure an interview with a particular teacher, could I remind all parents that the Compass system allows for ongoing communication via email. I would encourage parents to contact any teacher if they have specific concerns/queries regarding the education of their child. Alternatively, parents may contact Year Level Coordinators to arrange meetings and discuss overall performance or other issues. Please find attached further information regarding Parent- Student- Teacher Conferences and booking information. For further booking instructions please go to https://www.compass.education/guide#section-09

Department of Education Mobile Phone Ban

A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobiles phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.

The department requires all schools to ensure this ban is in place and enforced from the start of the 2024 school year.

The ban applies equally to all government schools right across the state.

This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions.

By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause.

I ask for the support of all our families, staff and students in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school.

Further information:

Exceptions: For a small number of students with particular health needs, an exception to the policy may be granted. Please contact our Assistant Principal, Cameron Campbell,  if you would like to discuss this further.

Emergencies: In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, I ask that families contact the school office who will pass on a message as required.

School mobile phone policy: A copy of our school’s local mobile phone policy, which implements the government’s mobile policy in line with our local context, is available here: https://www.eastdonsc.vic.edu.au/policy-documents

Parent support: The Mobile phones in schools webpage provides links to resources for families to help them balance their children’s time using mobile phones.

If you have further questions, please contact the General Office.

Compass Communications at EDSC

The Compass Learning Management system in use at East Doncaster Secondary College provides parents an opportunity to monitor many important aspects of their child’s learning and wellbeing.

I hope that parents of our Year 7 students and other parents new to our College will have already discovered the potential of the Compass system to inform them of College operations, upcoming events, student attendance data and learning outcomes.

Parents are encouraged to maintain regular communication whenever there is a concern via the Compass portal. As mentioned, parents are also able to check daily attendance and can send emails directly to teachers requesting clarification of learning progress or related issues.

We are committed to improving the quality of communications to parents – especially in relation to student learning. The management of Learning Tasks including descriptions, due dates, confirmation of submission and feedback on learning performance are all ways for teachers to engage and inform parents and students within this information feedback loop.

If you are encountering difficulties in accessing and using the COMPASS system, please do not hesitate to contact our General Office.

Parent Contact Details

Whilst on the subject of College communication, a reminder to all parents and guardians to please update their contact details with the College.

Whether this involves a change of residential address, an updated mobile phone or work number, it is essential that we have the latest available information on our data-bases.

If an urgent situation, a medical condition or an emergency was to eventuate, it is critical that we are able to contact parents and guardians as quickly as possible.

Student Enrolment Information - EDSC

All families will receive an email over the coming weeks from east.doncaster.sc@education.vic.gov.au with the subject East Doncaster SC| Current Student Enrolment Information. This email will have a PDF attached containing a Student Enrolment Information report. This report reflects the enrolment information we currently have on our system for your child, including address, contact details, emergency contact details. We ask you please review this information carefully. You may reply via email with any changes required. Alternatively you may return a hard copy to Reception with updates.  If you have more than one child attending the College, you will receive one email for each of your children. It is important that all enrolment details are kept up to date. 

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this process, please contact Reception on 9842 2244 by Friday 1 March 2024. 

Karen Boyle

Acting Principal

Photographing, Filming and Recording students at East Doncaster Secondary College - Annual Consent Form and Collection Notice 2024

During the school year, there are typically many occasions and events where school staff may photograph or film students participating in school activities and events. These images are used for a variety of purposes including the school newsletters,  (for example, of classroom activities or camps and excursions and events), Compass News Feeds, student identification, College magazine and display in school classrooms. We also arrange for official school photographs to be taken at the start of each year, including a class composite photo which is available for parents to order. 

We ask that all parents please refer to the attached Annual Consent Form and Collection Notice.

Parents or carers can withdraw consent for their child to be photographed or filmed by completing the form on the Annual Consent Form and Collection Notice and returning it to Reception or via email east.doncaster.sc@education.vic.gov.au