Principal's Report 

Congratulations  

Congratulations go to Kelly Stals, who while Aidan Message is on leave, has been promoted to Acting Assistant Principal. As a result of this promotion Ben Healey has been appointed to the role of Acting Head of House for Hotham. Upon Aidan’s return next year Ben will remain as Acting Head of House, whilst Kelly will move into a new portfolio as Head of Learning Diversity & Inclusion. 

2023 YEAR 12 VCE VALEDICTORY DINNER 

On Thursday 16th November, Vermont Secondary College held its Year 12 Valedictory dinner with approximately 660 people in attendance including 200 plus Year 12 students. A huge event by any standards and the largest we have ever held as the Year 12 class is the largest VSC has ever had.

It is always fantastic to see so many parents, guardians, grandparents, siblings, friends, staff and special guests paying tribute to Vermont's graduating class. This year, as we needed a larger venue the event was held at Crown Palladium Ballroom. 

The evening allows the college to acknowledge the tremendous contributions that our Year 12 students have made across the breadth of school programs, both academic and co-curricular throughout their six-year journey. It was a fantastic evening and the positive energy amongst the parents, students and staff was wonderful.

The contribution of our Year 12 students is not just one of an academic nature. They have also significantly contributed to our student leadership program through the house system, instrumental music program, college production, the sporting field, and numerous other co-curricular programs. I would therefore like to acknowledge the students for their substantial contribution to the ongoing success of Vermont Secondary College. 

Major award winners on the evening were: 

The Citizenship Award: 

Kurt Ennis

The All-Rounder Award: 

Summer Squires 

2023 Student of the Year Award: 

Alex Lee 

The above student scholarship awards are generously sponsored by the Lions Club of South Vermont and were presented by Peter Carden, representing South Vermont Lion's Club. 

Well done to these outstanding students on receiving these prestigious awards and thank you so much for your significant contribution to the college program over the years. 

Sportspeople of the Year: 

Kate Montgomery & Abbey Spencer  

Congratulations to Kate and Abbey for their outstanding contribution to the college sports program and for their individual and team involvement at VSC.  

Performance artist of the year: 

Charlotte Cetoupe 

Musician of the year:  

Kurt Ennis 

Congratulations to Charlotte and Kurt for their outstanding contribution to the college performing arts program (college music program and annual production) over so many years, a fantastic achievement.  

Further congratulations go to all of the students who received recognition on the evening for their significant involvement in the performing arts, visual arts and college sports program and for your outstanding contribution to the broader college program and individual and/or team involvement throughout your time here.  

Appreciation goes out to the six House Captains for their significant leadership and contribution throughout the year - 

Hotham – Kurt Ennis and Heidi Ma  

Macedon – Jade Carnell and Nishita Arora 

Stirling – Alex Lee and Freya Sutanto 

I commend these student leaders for their commitment to the house system and the broader college program and personally thank our two School Captains, Freya and Alex for the way that they have so ably represented the college. 

On behalf of the college, I would like to sincerely thank Laura Churcher and Minhtu Ngyuen for their work in the Senior School Program Managers role this year. Laura and Minhtu have played a significant role in organising and running the many Year 12 activities that the class of 2023 have enjoyed throughout the year and their meticulous planning enabled the Valedictory evening to run very smoothly. 

Thanks go to the three Heads of House for their commitment to the senior school program – Kelly Stals for Hotham, Peter Henderson for Macedon and Jeremy Shannon for Stirling.  

Thank you also to the six Senior School Student Managers for all their efforts this year: Sarah Gerrard and Ben Healey (Hotham), Caroline Leavey and Fraser Murray (Macedon) and Kristy Arthurson and Seamus Billings (Stirling). This student support structure was further supported by Assistant Principals Aidan Message - Hotham, Suzanne Plant - Macedon and Mike Stevens – Stirling.  

Much appreciation is extended to Jenny Stevens for the outstanding job she has done in leading the Pathways team and no doubt will continue to do so over coming months whilst supporting the class of 2023 in their course selections and chosen pathways.  Also, the Wellbeing Team lead by Leesa Moar and the Inclusion team, led by Kelly Stals & Georgia Cox-Minahan for the significant support these teams offer our students and families over their six-year journey. 

Also, on behalf of the class of 2023, I would like to recognise Richard Walsh for the fantastic job he has done, yet again, in producing the ‘Year 12 Magazine’ and the College Yearbook that will serve as a lasting memory for all.  

Finally, a big thank you to all of the teaching and Education Support staff who have contributed to the development of this cohort of students over the last six years.  

I congratulate the class of 2023 for their contribution over their past six years at Vermont Secondary College and I wish you all the very best for a positive future. 

TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 

Thank you for supporting us, and your child, in getting the current Year 12 students through their VCE exams under some trying circumstances around COVID over the last four years. Our priority over this time has always been to get the students through their Unit 3 & 4 exams unscathed, and despite some difficult moments along the way we were able to achieve this. Credit also goes to the staff for all their hard work in preparing the students for their final year. 

I wish all students who completed a Unit 3 & 4 external exam all the best with their results which will be released from 7am on Monday 11th of December. You must register for the Results and ATAR service before you can log in to the website or app and it is highly recommended that you set this up now. Below is a table from the VCAA website that may give results some perspective. On average there is around 50,000 students doing their VCE each year. 

Note: The maximum study score is 50. For studies with many enrolments (1000 or more) the following table shows the approximate proportion of students who will achieve a study score on or above the stated values. For studies with fewer enrolments the proportions may vary slightly. 

TRANSITION PLANNING DAY 2023 – FRIDAY 24th NOVEMBER – STUDENT FREE  

A reminder that Friday, 24th November, is a student free day, allowing our staff time to consider the broad range of data (information) about their new classes. We will begin the day with a training session for staff on how to best access the many data sets available, and how to interpret and manipulate this into useful groupings that make for easier planning of targeted, differentiated work for the students. Over the day we will then hold team meetings and allow for planning time, so that we have a smooth start to the Transition Program commencing on Monday 27th November. 

TRANSITION PROGRAM – MONDAY 27th NOVEMBER TO FRIDAY1st DECEMBER 

On Monday of next week, we commence the 2024 Transition Program, this is when we officially commence our 2024 academic program with students moving to the next year level. Specifically, this entails two weeks for Year 7 into 8 and Year 8 into 9; one week transition plus camp (Camp dates - 4th to the 7th of December) for Year 9 into Year 10; and one week (Monday 27th November to Friday 1st December) for Year 10 into Year 11 & Year 11 into Year 12. 

We hope our students are excited about starting their new courses and expect them to settle in quickly on day one. Senior students are expected to take careful note of the preparatory work set for the holiday break and ensure they understand and complete it in preparation for the start of term one in 2024.  

While the academic nature of the Transition Program is important, it also gives staff and students a chance to build strong social and emotional bonds that will carry over into the new school year and beyond. Constructive relationships between the teacher and student, and student to student, account for much of the positive learning that takes place both in and out of the classroom. According to research, “Students are more likely to be emotionally and intellectually invested in the classes in which they have positive relationships with their teachers (Phelan).” 

My thanks go to our House, Programs and Pathways teams, and above all our Timetabler, Rosemary Neilson, for the many hours invested in this process. Congratulations also go to all the staff, both teaching and support, for the tremendous amount of work they have done in planning this program.  

VSC 2023 SUMMER PROGRAM - MONDAY 11th DECEMBER TO TUESDAY 19th DECEMBER. 

The Summer Program will run from Monday 11th December to Tuesday 19th December. The program will consist of combined Year 7, 8 & 9 classes dependent upon the number of students attending the program. These classes are not part of formal assessment, and it is a non-academic program, as all student reports have been completed. Students will not be supervised by their normal teachers, but activities will be organised around specific subjects. There is no additional cost involved for the Summer Program, and it will be operating around a normal 4 period day timetable. 

To assist in planning for the Summer Program, parents MUST indicate if their child will be attending the program by Wednesday 7th December. 

If you have any concerns or wish to discuss this program, please contact one of the Assistant Principals - Mike Stevens, Kelly Stals or Suzanne Plant  on 88726300. 

STATEWIDE ORIENTATION DAY FOR Year 6 into Year 7 2024 – TUESDAY 12TH DECEMBER 

On Tuesday 12th December, we will welcome our incoming cohort of 2024 ‘Year 7s’ to the college on Orientation Day. Many of the 275 new students will know us already, having attended briefings or the ‘pre-orientation day’ in the weeks before and all will have met their House teams at the upcoming Family Information Evening to be held at 6.00pm on Thursday 30th November. We hope the students are excited about joining our wonderful learning community and wish them well for their six years with us.