FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Welcome Everyone
And a special welcome to our NEW families
A new year, new adventures/opportunities and, all being well, students at school for a full year!
Despite the uncertainty of the start to the school year, it has been relatively smooth thanks to everyone’s support and cooperation.
The Year 7 students are settling into their new environment that will be enhanced when the Junior School refurbishment is completed.
Year 8 - 12 students have adapted well to the disruption of the building works and settled into their classes.
We are very much looking forward to the year and the onsite activities that everyone has enjoyed in the past.
Leadership Team 2022
Principal
Wendy Powson
Assistant Principals
Stuart Young
Trent Silk
Melissa McMillan (on leave)
Genaha Thompson
Head of Senior School and Year 12
Katie Wilson
Head of Year 11
Daniel Toma
Head of Middle School and Year 9
Riana Asta
Head of Year 10
Michael Bourne
Head of Year 8
Jye Cuff
Head of Year 7
Jeremy Neumann
Head of Arts - Sarah Hardy
Head of English - Jessica Timmers
Head of Mathematics - Caitlin Saliba
Head of Humanities - Leah Shields
Head of Languages - Kelly Farrell
Head of PASE - Alister Stuart
Head of Science - Sara Schulz
Head of Technology - Caitlin Marshall
Head of Data and STEAM - Sally Stepniewski
Head of Instrumental Music - Jackie Goode
Head of Sport - Paul Hager
Head of Inclusive Education- Catherine Zavrou
Sub School
Coordination Teams
Junior School
Jeremy Neumann, Jye Cuff, Morgan Wyatt, Cindy Harris, Eleni Stavrou and Jayne Morrow
Middle School
Riana Asta, Michael Bourne, Narelle McGrotty, Maddy Ignatiadis, Zoe Younger and Catherine Edwards
Senior School
Katie Wilson, Daniel Toma, Janine Sayers, Mark Beatson, Jodie Street, Kelsey Currie and Sarah Redgewell
Lunchtime Clubs are all GO!
It was great to see many of the Year 7 students signing up for Lunchtime Clubs and this year’s School Production.
The clubs already on offer include:
- Art Club
- Book Lovers Club
- Gamer Club
- Lunchtime Health and Fitness Training
- Chess Club
- Clay Club
- Zoology/Zoo Keepers Club
- Clay Target Shooting Club
The Yarra Ranges Tech After School Program (every Friday afternoon) is also once again on offer in 2022.
Interschool Sport Teams
There are a range of interschool sporting teams that teachers are currently organising tryouts for. Full details are on Compass.
We encourage all students to check the News Feed in Home Group every morning.
Lunch with our School Captains
A lunch with School Captains, Ava Van Leemput and Lilly Urquhart occurred last week to chat about how they see their role and what they would like to achieve this year. They had some great ideas including; cross year level activities, fund raising and celebrating special days.
They will work closely with the other captains and the Student Representative Council to make 2022 a much needed year of celebrations.
Ava Van Leemput and Lilly Urquhart
Communications
You can contact any staff member via Compass, email or via phone at any stage, they will return your communications.
In the interests of work – life balance for our staff there is a policy in place regarding the timing of communication.
Staff will reply to emails within 48 hours, however, they are not obliged to check emails after 4.30 pm. If there is an urgent need for communication please phone the school directly.
Thank you to everyone for your assistance with this.
Uniform and Mobiles
Thank you to everyone for your support in relation to uniform and mobile phone policies.
A reminder to all students, that phones must be locked in lockers until the end of the day and facial piercings are not permitted to be worn.
If students need to contact parents during the day, they should attend the Sub School Offices (Junior, Middle and Senior) and not contact parents/carers from their phone.
When students have to chat with their coordinators and teachers regarding any concerns, it builds confidence, resilience and independence. The staff will be only too happy to assist where needed.
It is important that everyone complies with the rules and expectations so that we can get on with the business of learning in a safe and consistent environment.
The aim of the mobile phone policy is to provide:
- a safe environment to learn without inappropriate mobile phone use (including cyberbullying) or distractions
- greater opportunities for social interaction and physical activity during recess and lunchtimes.
Our school policies can be found on the school website and below;
3 Way Conferences
The first of our 3 Way Conferences is coming up on Thursday 17 March, that will be virtual.
The aim of the sessions are to exchange information in relation to learning and to set some goals for individual subjects.
Online bookings for parents and carers will be available soon on Compass.
Wendy Powson
Principal