Principal's Report

Assistant Principal's Report

NEVR Conference

“I always questioned myself in the best of times. Even when I was World Number 1 for many months in a row. ‘What can I improve? What do I need to change?’ If you don’t do anything or you just do the same thing over and over again, you stay the same. Staying the same means going backwards. It’s important for me to actually hear criticism sometimes. That’s what makes me a better player” – Roger Federer

Research shows the value of deliberate practice across fields such as music to athletics: ' … whether the subject is baseball or biology, piano or palaeontology, medicine or math, children and adults need deliberate practice in order to achieve their objectives.

The Principal Team attended the North East Victoria Region Conference. We had the opportunity to meet with local and international experts to provide us with deeper learning opportunities and explicit strategies that provided us with evidence- based new learnings to ensure that we continue to lead excellence in teaching and learning at Koonung. For example, at one workshop we were provided with the latest research from Professor Dinham (University of Melbourne) about the components of great teaching which involve a number of attributes including:

Pedagogical content knowledge/Quality of instruction/Classroom climate/Classroom management/Teacher beliefs/Professional behaviours

The very best teachers are those that demonstrate all of these attributes.

Pierre de Coubertin Awards 2018

On Friday 22 June I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 Pierre de Coubertin awards. These awards recognise secondary school students who have demonstrated values which are consistent with the Olympic Movement through participation in sporting activities. The Olympic Values are:

respect – fair play; knowing one’s own limits; and taking care of one’s health and the environment
excellence – how to give the best of oneself, on the field of play or in life; taking part; and progressing according to one’s own objectives
friendship – how, through sport, to understand each other despite any differences

The criteria to receive the award is as follows: enrolled in school (Years 10/11/12); actively participate in PE with a consistent positive attitude; demonstrate attributes that are consistent with fundamental aims of Olympic movement; represent the school in many sports; and produce an educational piece on the designated theme. More than 16,500 young Australians have received the Award since its inception in 1993.

Congratulations to James Elward, Year 12, who has won the award for Koonung in 2018. Since Year 7, James has been an active participant in the PE and Sports programs. James has demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities and has been an outstanding role model when competing and participating in sporting competitions and activities. He has always led by example and has sustained an excellent level of participation in all areas of PE and sport. He has been an outstanding Koonung Sports Captain where he has encouraged and mentored many students to be involved. James has been an absolute credit to our College. Congratulations.

Athletics Day

Don’t forget that our Athletics Carnival will be on Tuesday 17 July 2018. This will be an opportunity for all students to participate in the many fun activities for all year levels. It is a day when you can be with your peers, have a break from study and enjoy the outdoors participating in some fun activities for your house group. Remember, physical activity can have both immediate and long-term benefits on academic performance.

Parent/Student/Teacher Conference - 19 July

Bookings for the Parent/Student/Teacher VCE Unit 3/4 Conferences will be open on the Compass booking system from 4pm Friday 30 June. The interviews are an important three-way discussion about the student's learning to enable new targets to be set for the final semester. The conferences occur on Thursday 19 July from 4pm to 7pm. Students are expected to attend the interviews with their parents. Requests for interpreters need to be made with Middle/Senior Sub-Schools by Monday 16 July, with a copy of your booking sheet.

Semester 1 Reports

Semester 1 reports will be available on Friday 30 June at 3pm. The aim of the report is to indicate to Parents/Guardians the progress your son/daughter has made over the Semester 1.

The College has been using continuous ‘Learning Tasks’ (LT) Reporting for the Koonung community. Continuous LT reporting, through Compass, has enabled each student and parent to view assessment grades and specific feedback for a minimum of 3 LT for Semester 1. The semester Report will only include information about; Victoria Curriculum Outcomes, attitudes and behaviours, and a summary of learning task grades. Please spend time with your son/daughter reflecting on their report. Please contact the school if you have any difficulty accessing your child’s report.

Senior School Formal

I was fortunate to attend the Senior School Formal on Thursday 28 June 2018. It was a great celebration with many Year 10/11/12 students and staff attending. Thank-you to the students and staff for organising a great event. A special thank-you to McKenzie, Ryan and Friyana for trying to get staff to dance!

Mark Quinlan

Assistant Principal