From the Principal's Desk

 End of Term Update

It has been fantastic to see students continuing their terrific start to the year. This has been evident in in classroom learning walks and observations, where students are actively engaging in the lessons content, thriving on the challenges their teachers are providing them and recognising how the skills and knowledge gained will help them navigate life beyond school.

Outside of the classroom there has been a vibrancy in the yard, with students engaging in a range of physical activities and lunchtime groups or just simply making the most of our incredible grounds. 

Our Year 7 and 9 students concluded their NAPLAN assessments earlier this week. It was a no fuss event, with students conducting themselves to the high standards we expect, getting in there and giving it their best. 

Staff at our College use NAPLAN data alongside other information collected by the school to understand student literacy and numeracy needs.

We look forward to sharing our NAPLAN results with the whole community when they become available in term 2. 

On Thursday March 19th we celebrated harmony day as a college, with many students and staff wearing outfits representing their backgrounds and culture and students participating in a range of activities at lunchtime. The day was a terrific success and I would like to applaud all of our student leaders and in particular Annalise Hook and Austin Rae for their organisation of the day. 

Our new school council met on Thursday March 12th, please see the school council representatives below:

• Meg Allen-Armistead  (President)
• Darren Apps (Vice President)
• Divya Vagadia (Treasurer) 
• Jeremiah Roper (Parent Representative) 
• Melanie Bruce (Parent Representative)
• Melissa Archibald (Parent Representative)
• Maria Ettrich (Parent Representative)
• Annelise Hook (Student Representative)
• Austin Rae (Student Representative)
• Luke Skewes (Principal - Executive Officer)
• Pierre Grzybek (Assistant Principal Lara Secondary College Representative)
• Brylee McNamara (Assistant Principal staff Representative)

On Wednesday and Friday this week we hosted Melton Secondary College and Narre Warren College for Rugby matches, retaining the Mana Shield and showing the strength and depth of our Rugby program, which continues to go from strength to strength. 

On Thursday evening community members enjoyed our first instrumental music concert of the year, demonstrating our students talents and hard work in practice. A big thank you to our music team who continue to make these opportunities possible for our students. 

We look forward to meeting with families at parent teacher interviews on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning next week. These are a brilliant opportunities to meet with teachers about students progress and ensure students are set up for success from the very beginning of term 2. This year we have extended our available times on the Wednesday evening in response to feedback that the evening time slots are more suitable for families. 

Lastly, I would like to remind all students and families that electric powered scooters, bikes and skateboards are not permitted on our school site at any point in time. We encourage all students to utilise modes of active transport but for safety purposes electric powered options are not allowed and if onsite will be confiscated. 

Luke Skewes

Principal