Senior School

A Positive Start to 2024!

It has been a great start to 2024 for our Senior School students as we welcome our Year 9 students to Senior School for the very first time. Over 950 students across Years 9 to 12 have settled well into the school year, demonstrating a positive, calm and productive start to their classes and importantly their learning. It was great to see the busy hive of activity throughout our recent Transition Day, which saw our Year 12 students buddy up with our new Year 7 students to take part, and assist in, a school-wide tour and scavenger hunt.  

We have been overwhelmed with positive feedback from our teachers who have indicated how well our Yr 9 -12 students have started the year. Our Senior School students should be commended in the way they have conducted themselves over the first two weeks of the school Term. From uniform, attendance, engagement, and completion of holiday homework for our VCE and VM students, we would like to say thank you for starting the year exactly how we wanted, and hopefully we can continue to see this level of commitment across the rest of 2024. 

Our Senior School team have been busy behind the scenes planning opportunities for our Yr 9 -12's to flourish throughout 2024.  The following themes for each year level have been created to enable this to occur: 

Year 9 = Believe 

Year 10 = Discover 

Year 11 = Grit 

Year 12 = Achieve 

VCE / VM information Night 

6pm - 7:30pm, Mon 12 February

College Theatre

The College warmly invites parents and students to our upcoming VCE / VM Information Evening . This event is for current VCE / VM students and families, including early start students.  In our experience, we have found, that success in VCE is best promoted when the student, their family and school staff work together during these important years. 

To support you and your child through Year 11 and Year 12 VCE and VM, this information evening will discuss important VCE policies and procedures, including strategies parents can use to assist their child to reach their full potential.  Members of the Principal team will also discuss many of the positive changes that are happening across the College to further support students in their learning at VCE.  Finally, you will hear insights from a panel made up of current and ex- Wantirna students, current Wantirna parents, and members of the Senior School and Principal Team in a Q and A style forum.  We would like all our Year 11 and 12 parents to attend this evening. Students are welcome to attend.  If you are planning on attending the VCE / VM information night, please fill out the following form here.   

VCE/VM Student Handbook 

All students who are completing their VCE (including Early Start students) have been provided with a VCE/VM Student Handbook.  Each year, the VCAA requires us to ensure all students undertaking VCE/VM have clarity and certainty around the main VCE/VM policies, rules and expectations. This comprehensive VCE/VM student handbook outlines the rules, expectations and policies that support the integrity of the VCE & VM certificates. It is expected all students read and are familiar with the contents within the VCE/VM student handbook.  

All VCE/VM students are expected to return a student agreement form which acknowledges that they have read and understood the VCE/VM policies, rules and expectations outlined in the handbook. Year 12 students have been distributed this form already and need to return it to the Senior Centre by Friday 9th February. Year 11 students and Year 10 Early Start students will be distributed this form on Wednesday 14 February during the VCE Nuts and Bolts Assembly and will need to return the form by Friday 23 February in the Senior Centre.   

Study Periods 

Year 11 students are required to be present during study periods and need to sign in at the Senior Centre. Year 12 students are required to be present during study periods until Friday 9 February and until their student agreement form is returned. Once Year 12 students have done both of these things, students may come to school when they have scheduled classes only. If Year 12 students are present during their study periods, they need to sign in in the Senior Centre.    

Learning Recovery  

The purpose of Learning Recovery is to provide students with an opportunity to catch up on required work/learning and to get additional support from teachers and members of the sub school team regarding their learning. Learning Recovery is for students who have not submitted ongoing and significant amounts of homework and/or classwork.   

Teachers in the first instance will implement strategies to support students in work completion and maintain high expectations around learning, during and after classes. Teachers will provide appropriate interventions before any student is booked in for Learning Recovery.  

If students are still behind in classwork and/or homework after teacher interventions and is deemed significant and ongoing, then teachers will consider the student for a Learning Recovery session.  

Learning Recovery Process  

Subject teachers can book a student into one of these sessions via the ‘VCE/VM Learning Recovery’ Chronicle Post.   

Students who receive a ‘Learning Recovery’ chronicle post are required to attend Learning Recovery, which runs every Thursday afterschool from 3:15pm – 4:00pm in the Senior Centre (F4). VM/VPC Learning Recovery will be run weekly on a Friday at lunchtime.  

An automated email letter is sent to the student and parents / guardian, providing them with an overview of the sessions, their purpose, and the date.  

Teachers are required to inform and explain why a student have been booked into Learning Recovery, as well as detail what they need to do during this session. Teachers are encouraged to provide support and feedback before and/or during these sessions to assist students in their work and learning.  

If students catch up on required classwork/homework before the week's Learning Recovery, the teacher can comment and resolve the chronicle post, which will trigger the student to be removed from learning Recovery.  

Learning Recovery sessions will be supervised by a member of the Senior School team.  Once a student attends their Learning Recovery session, this will be communicated via the resolved Chronicle post.  

If a student fails to attend the required Learning Recovery Session, they will be re-booked to Learning Recovery the following week.  If a student fails to attend two Learning Recovery sessions in a row will lead to a parent phone call, SSG and may include an internal suspension.  

Tim Pearson, David Black 

& Darren Hoogkamer 

Senior School Leaders