Message from our Campus Principal
Dan Swallow
Dan Swallow
Welcome back to another year of learning!
We have hit the ground running this year, navigating the ins and outs of the new requirements of Covid and ensuring that we keep our staff and students as safe as possible. Whilst cases were inevitable this year, I’m pleased to report that they have been absolutely minimal in the circumstances and I am reassured that our staff and students are as safe as they can be. We were pleased to have our air purifiers delivered over the holidays and have them installed in most classrooms and common spaces. Our classrooms are being well ventilated and our students have been working together safely. Thanks to all our families for your support in administering the RAT tests now that they are available and ensuring that your children are away from school when they show signs of illness. The support from our community has been phenomenal this year.
We were really pleased to take possession of two new portable classrooms over the holidays. Since the plans were developed for our new buildings, we have already shown growth in numbers sufficient for the provision of more classrooms. The new portables are high quality learning areas; nothing like portable classrooms of the past.
They have access to all the technology and comforts of our other classrooms and are a fantastic addition.
Additionally, the final stages of our building project are soon to get underway and you will notice the demolition of our old administration building soon. This stage has caused some disruption to our staff, but thankfully will have minimal impact on our students. Hopefully, by the end of this year, the building project will be completed. This has been a long time coming. I can still remember the building of the new gym and refurbished technology (old gym) being done 10 – 12 years ago. It feels like we’ve been renovating ever since!
Next Thursday is our annual Year 7 Parent BBQ. I look forward to meeting with families at this event and hearing about your experiences of high school so far. This is a great opportunity to reflect on the positives and start to address any concerns. More importantly, this is a chance to meet the new friends your children are making and develop connections with their parents. I have loved getting around the classrooms of our Year 7 students and seeing them settling in to high school. They have all approached their learning with positivity and excitement.
This year, we have welcomed some fantastic new staff to our teaching team:
- Oliver Clark (English & Humanities)
- Shawn Jordan (English & Humanities)
- Anna McGregor (English & Humanities)
- Stacey Miller (English & Humanities)
- Ang’ Bolding (English & Humanities)
- Mark Heiberg (Maths & Humanities
We have also welcomed back Jessica Qu who rejoins our team as a Maths and Science teacher after a year of leave.
These additions have strengthened our teaching team and have started with enthusiasm. I encourage you to use Compass to contact them, and any of your child’s teachers, to follow your child’s learning.
Unfortunately, we already farewell Ange Bolding who has taken on another position leading the Young Parents’ Program. Cassandra Keevers will be returning from leave to replace her and brings many years of experience. Cassandra was a teacher at Morwell Campus for a long time and will know many of our families already.
I hope this year has started well for you and for your children, and if there is anything we can do to make your child’s experience of schooling better, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and talk to us.
