Message from our 

Campus Principal

This term has been jam-packed with lots of opportunities for our students to take advantage of.  It is important that parents keep informed of what is going on by checking Compass messages, keeping track of excursions and communicating with the school when you are unsure of something.

Our first opportunity took place early in the term, with Grade 5 and 6 students coming from Morwell Park and Morwell  Central Primary Schools to see what Kurnai is like.  Most of your own children will have taken advantage of this opportunity when they were in primary school and it is a great chance to try and reduce the anxiety of transition for students before they reach secondary school.  The students that visited engaged in learning activities in a large variety of classrooms and really enjoyed themselves.  It was a great take on what our school has to offer.  Thanks so much to the Kurnai helpers that assisted the primary students to make the most of the day and to families who supported by having Year 7 and 8 students at home to make this opportunity possible.

Our Year 10 students participated in Work Experience and reports from employers are exceptionally favourable.  I still remember my work experience when I was in Year 10 and I’m sure that this had a similar impact on our students.  For some, this might lead to part time or casual employment.  For some, it opened their eyes to opportunities and career pathways they weren’t aware of.  For others, it closed off pathways they will have decided are not for them.  All of these outcomes are helpful in the long term career goals of each child.  Also adding to our careers program, the Year 9 students are undertaking Morrisby Testing.  The Morrisby process provides career profiles and exit interviews to enhance students’ understanding of their potential career pathways and again, open opportunities they may never have even thought of according to their strengths and weaknesses.

NAPLAN ran for our Year 7s and 9s from the 10th – 20th May.  This year is the first year we have engaged with an online NAPLAN testing platform.  The students have had a number of opportunities to engage with the platform and prepare for it and they had no trouble engaging with the testing.  The new testing platform comes with a number of advantages, including tailoring the testing to the ability levels of the student taking the test, providing a facility to read the question to students and allowing students who struggle with handwriting to type responses.  Having the process spread over two weeks means that students are less fatigued, engaging with a test every second day instead of four days jam-packed with testing.  If you have any concerns about your child’s NAPLAN, or would like to ask any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the school or by email.

We look forward to multiple camps this term also, with our Year 7s going to Camp Coolamatong after the Queen’s Birthday weekend, and our Year 9s and 10s having access to a week-long FREE camp at the Summit in Trafalgar in the last week of term.  The school has been exceptionally lucky to be able to access a number of free camps with many of them happening next term also.  We encourage all students to take advantage this amazing opportunity.