Kings Park Campus 

Principal Message 

Kings Park Campus Term 3, August 2026

The mornings may be very chilly, but students have enjoyed the occasional sunny afternoons in the yard.

We congratulate Lance Petherick on his appointment to an Assistant Principal (AP3) role at Dohertys Creek P-9 College and we thank his for his significant contribution and leadership to the College and more recently as a Campus Principal at the Kings Park Campus.

We welcome Karen Martin to the Assistant Principal (AP2) role at Copperfield College, Kings Park Campus. Karen brings much experience as a Campus Leader at the College.

We had our ‘Celebration Assembly’ late last term. Our Campus Captains and Student Leaders were very professional in running the assembly and supporting each other to speak in front of a large group of their peers and staff. Congratulations to our award recipients, students who have displayed behaviours aligned with the core values of being Respectful, Responsible, Valuing Relationships and stirving for Excellence. We also had several of our music students perform at the Assembly. The theme was making ‘choices’. Choices in the behaviours we display (School Wide Positive Behaviours) and the impact they have on others and choices in terms of the decisions our students need to make during term 3.

Preparation for 2027 is well underway and students in Years 8, 9 and 10 have been selecting subjects for their 2027 courses. Last week, Year 10 students completed their course selections for next year by attending the Campus with their families. Thank you to the Pathways Team, and James Inabinet (Campus Leader) for all their work in preparing resources, informing and supporting students. We have a pleasing number of students selecting to ‘accelerate’ their VCE by choosing a VCE/VET subject as part of their Year 10 program in 2027.

Recently, all Year 8 and 9 students participated in our Subject Expo. This session is designed to give students information about all our core and electives we offer. Students were able to hear from subject teachers, view examples of student work from each of the electives and speak with staff about the content and skills of each subject.

Last Friday our Year 8 students visited Lake Mountain and there was SNOW, and lots of it! There was tobogganing and lots of snow thrown. A fantastic day for all who attended, despite the 5:45am start to the day.

Last Wednesday we held our second Forum for Be Bold Be Heard (BBBH). We are the lead school of this exciting female student leadership Program.

BBBH is a leadership and advocacy program designed to empower teenage girls to become confident changemakers within their school communities. Grounded in the core values of empowerment, connection and equity, the program builds students’ leadership capacity through collaborative, student-led forums where participants analyse, from a femalestudent lens, school performance data and transform insights into meaningful action.

Each Forum features an inspiring female guest panel that connects students with diverse role models and reinforces the belief that their voices matter and their actions can create impact. Last week we were privileged to have on the Panel Alice Jordan-Baird (Federal Member of Parliament for the Seat of Gordon) and Dr Mandy El Ali (PhD, Chair of Copperfield College School Council and Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Paramedicine at the Australian Catholic University).

The day was led by female students at Year 11 and attended by students from St Albans Secondary College. We currently have two projects taking place, one at each of the two junior campuses of Copperfield College. The projects are based on student data looking at what impacts female experience of school. Thank you to Rhiannon Hatton (Student Engagement Coordinator) for support and leadership of BBBH.

All Year 10 students experienced a Bell Shakespeare Performance of Macbeth earlier this term. The purpose was to ‘bring to life’ the text students have been reading and studying in their English classes.

Our entire Year 7 cohort students visited the Melbourne Museum to view the Rome: Empire, Power, People exhibition.

Entering Term 3 we have refocussed, with students and staff on our Campus Goals of;

●Our high expectations in relation to student learning and behaviour in the classroom and yard.

●Student attendance is everyone's responsibility.

●Building POSITIVE and RESPECTFUL relationships and connectedness within the school community.

●Use data informed seating plans to provide a routine and safe learning environment.

Semester 1 Reports were made available on Compass at the conclusion of last term. We encourage students and their families to read through the reports and to take note of any areas of improvement. We also encourage communication with Connect teachers and class teachers.

We wish all our staff, students and families a wonderful Term 3 at Copperfield College.

Dr. Michael Gruis and Ms. Karen Martin

Principal Class Team- Kings Park