Principal's Report

School Council Elections 2025

Please refer to the following documents.

Student Achievement: TOPshots 2025 at Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh)

We're delighted to announce that Jude Chamberlain (Year 12 class of 2024, Everard House) has been selected to exhibit his photographic work 'Boy and Ferris Wheel' in TOPshots 2025. 

TOPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photomedia artists. 2025 will mark the 17th anniversary of this annual award and exhibition, which continues to showcase exceptional photographic work produced by students who have completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects of Art Making and Exhibiting, Art Creative Practice and Media, as well as International Baccalaureate (IB) Visual Arts and Vocational Education and Training (VET) Visual Arts.

The artworks displayed in TOPshots are selected by MAPh's curators from a large pool of entries and represent a small sample of the creative talent in Melbourne’s secondary schools.

As the Australian home of photography, MAPh is proud to have the opportunity to foreground and acknowledge the excellence of young photomedia artists in our community while providing a vital platform for these artists to share and exhibit their work. 

Jude's work will be on display at MAPh in Wheelers Hill from 12 March - 5 May 2025 at MAPh. TOPshots works will be displayed in The Atrium Gallery at MAPh, the exhibition space for emerging artists.

Congratulations Jude on your success!

2024 Worldskills Medal presentation

The skills and talents of Tegan Gibbs (Year 12, Skipper House), Charlie Connolly (Year 11, Pakana House) and Scarlett Harrison (Year 12, Skipper House) in the 2024 VETiS Commercial Cookery Competition were recognised with medals at a ceremony on Thursday 6 February.

Further to this amazing achievement, Charlie and Scarlett have been selected to compete at the National championships in Brisbane in June this year.

Congratulations to Tegan, Charlie and Scarlett and we wish Charlie and Scarlett all the best at the National level competition. 

These are outstanding achievements all round. A big thank you to Yasemin Ziada, who has worked alongside the students, supporting them to build their skills and confidence to achieve such outstanding accolades. 

STEAM Centre Development

I am pleased to announce we officially have a builder appointed to our STEAM Centre project.

After a thorough tender evaluation process, McColl Smith Projects has been awarded the contract for our upgrade project. Construction is set to begin in March and is forecast for completion in mid-2026.

We’ll share details about the impact construction will have on our school community before it starts. Rest assured our top priority will be to minimise disruption to student learning.

It has now been confirmed the project scope will include upgrading and modernising the science areas to give students better learning opportunities.

I am also pleased to share some much-anticipated designs for our project. Attached to this update are designs of our new STEAM Centre, including the building’s entry and science lab.

Clearly there's much to look forward to. While we navigate the upcoming period of transition at Eltham High School, I trust you can recognise the remarkable benefits this project holds for our community in the long run.

Delegation of International Educators

On Wednesday 19 February, Eltham High School hosted a delegation of international educators from Fiji, Mongolia, India, UK and the USA.

The delegates were presented with information about our curriculum and its delivery, the wellbeing strategies we have in place, the professional learning program for our staff, the school’s STEAM agenda and our engagement with digital technologies. The delegates then engaged in a Q&A session followed by a tour of the school.

The group was grateful for the opportunity provided to them to visit the school and commented on how impressed they were with the school and more importantly our students.

We are always willing to share why we do what we do at Eltham High School, and how we go about our work.

School Swimming Carnival

The School Swimming Carnival scheduled for Friday 21 February, is a school-based event and all students are expected to attend and encouraged to dress in their House colours (Everard – yellow, Pakana – Blue, Skipper – Green, Toner – Red).

For the Year 7 students this will be their first experience of an EHS Swimming Carnival. I am sure that they are all excited and looking forward to participating in as many events as possible. 

For the Year 12s, the class of 2025, this will be their last swimming carnival and their last opportunity to participate and celebrate together with their peers, teachers and support staff. Usually, a great deal of effort goes into the design and construction of some very creative outfits for the day, of course reflecting the House colours.

All Year 8, 9 and 10 students are encouraged to participate in the day and to support their House and peers.

There has been a great deal of work put into the organisation of this day and I wish to thank Bree Pascoe for her outstanding leadership and hard work and to thank all the staff that have supported Bree to make sure that the day proceeds well and that everyone has the opportunity to participate and truly enjoy the day.

Thank you to those families who have completed the consent form and swimming competency assessment. No student will be able to attend the event without consent.

I remind parents that students will not be allowed to leave early on the day from the pool. Staff will not be engaging in phone conversations with parents to gain permission for their child to leave early, they have other duties to fulfil.

Any early dismissal or dismissal from the pool at the end of the event must be organised before the day via written communication to the relevant sub-school team leader:

Junior School: Kathryn Boysen kathryn.boysen@education.vic.gov.au 

Middle School: Erin Knight erin.knight@education.vic.gov.au 

Senior School: Orianne Megaloudis orianne.megaloudis@education.vic.gov.au 

Thank you for your support with this.

Reminders 

Staff Work Hours

Parents/carers and students are reminded that regular work hours for staff are 8:30am - 4:30pm. Staff are not available to respond to emails outside of regular work hours.

You are at liberty to send an e-mail at your convenience but please be aware that it will not be responded to immediately if it is outside of the regular work hours. However, your email will be responded to within 48 hours from the first workday that it is received. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Should you require immediate assistance with a matter of concern, please contact these external services:

Telephone or Webchat Support for Young People:

1800 55 1800 

https://kidshelpline.com.au/

Parents/Carers Support:

13 22 89

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/serviceprofiles/parentline-service

The following link takes you to the Eltham High School staff emails and Coordinator list for 2025. 

2024 Staff Emails and Coordinator List

Mobile Phone Policy

A reminder that the school Mobile Phone Policy remains in place and requires students to switch off their phone from the first warning bell for the day and store their phones securely until they leave the school at the end of the day. Students are not to access their phones at any time throughout the day including breaks. The same expectations apply for the use of headphone and air pods. Unless requested by a teacher to support learning, these must also be stored securely for the school day. A process for addressing a breach of the policy is in place and all students are well aware of their role in this process. 

Parents/carers must not expect to communicate with their children during the day via their mobile phone. Should there be the need to get in touch with your child during the day for an emergency, please contact the general office otherwise please confine any communication for the times when student can access their phones. A small number of students have Mobile Phone or Headphone exemptions, these are generally for medical reasons supported by relevant documentation.

Privacy Policy

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

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, available in the Policies section of the school website www.elthamhs.vic.edu.au 

Student Accident Insurance

Parents/guardians are reminded that the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Likewise, the school does not have a whole-school policy for personal accident insurance for students. Parents and guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including transport costs. Reasonably low-cost accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers. These cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance. Parents/guardians may wish to purchase such a policy for individual students.

Student Exchange Organisations approved by the VRQA and therefore DET

The following is a 2025 update of the Student Exchange organisations approved by the VRQA to provide student exchange programs in Victoria. The list may change each year, so it is important that you check the current list rather than relying on old information. 

Each year we are asked about student exchange programs that provide a reciprocal benefit. It is important that if you wish to engage in reciprocal exchange that you utilise the services of one of the organisations on this list. The school will not be able to enrol overseas exchange students coming through organisations not on this list because they would not be approved by the Department of Education and Training. 

If you need further information, please do not hesitate to call Kate Scalzo on 9430 5111 or e-mail Kate.Scalzo@education.vic.gov.au

School Drop off and Pick Up Times

I remind all parents and guardians, and inform new parents and carers to the school, that student safety is always the primary consideration including both drop off time and pick up times.

Whilst traffic seems to flow smoothly through the circular driveway of the school at the start of the day, there seems to be greater congestion at pick up time in the afternoon.

The circular driveway is to be used purely for drop off and pick up. 

There is very little parking available within the school grounds between the following time (8:00 – 10:00am and 2:00 – 4:00pm). “No Standing Anytime” signs are located within the school, and it is important that parents/guardians adhere to these. Furthermore, double parking is illegal in the street and within the school grounds, it causes further congestion, which in turn impinges on student safety. 

We will be enforcing the use of the circular driveway purely for drop off and pick up of students. 

As you move into the circular driveway, if your child is not at the front of the school you will need to exit the driveway and re-enter. You may need to do this more than once. Alternatively, it is advisable that you organise with your child another location for pick up.

As always, we will continue to expect everyone to abide by road and safety laws and procedures as they move through the driveway. The same applies at the Ely Street end of the school. Staff parking on the street is now minimal and this means that there is space for drop off and pick up. Please do not park in residents’ driveways. No parents are to drive into the school driveway or park in it or across it. This is the only avenue that students have to get to and from the school buses and we must be vigilant for their safety. 

Subsequently, it is imperative that everyone behaves in a lawful and safe way out in Withers Way, Susan Street, Bell Street and Ely Street. We have informed the traffic division of the Shire of Nillumbik of the school’s strategy, and it is possible that the Ranger’s office may act against people who disregard road and safety laws out in the streets. Likewise, the police will patrol the area at these peak times, and they will not hesitate to reprimand and fine if necessary.

I trust that you will understand the need for this direction, and I ask you for your continued support to ensure the safety of our kids. 

If you do use the drop off and pick up zone on Withers Way, can you please direct your children to cross the road at the school crossing both on arrival and on their departure from school. We certainly do not want students crossing the road in front of oncoming cars and placing themselves at risk.

Thank you for your support with this matter.

VINCENT SICARI, Principal