College Principal Message

VCE 2017

We have received our VCE Data for the Class of 2017 and it shows continued improvement over the past five years. Our average ATAR was the highest ever and we had 29 students scoring above 80. This puts them in the top 20% for the State. Congratulations to our Dux Jackie who scored 97.4 and Kathy, who was a close second with a score of 97.3. Well done to the students and to the teachers from Year 7-12 who have contributed to this great result. We will have more details early in the New Year.

Looking Back on 2017

It has been a busy year for Copperfield College. We started the year developing a new Strategic Plan which was completed by the end of Term 1. The Strategic Plan sets our direction for the next 4 years and includes our primary goal of improving student learning growth. We have made significant inroads into establishing Copperfield College as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) with all teachers teaching the same subject meeting regularly and working collaboratively to improve student learning in their classes. Teachers have increased capacity to use student learning data to identify and close learning gaps.

Staff Changes

The end of 2016 marks the retirement of Alan Shearer (Biology) and Peter Bromley (English). Both have had long careers in the State Education system and spent their time here at the Delahey Campus. We thank them both for their contribution to the college and their work with our students and wish them all the best for the next phase of their lives.

We also have a number of teachers moving on to different schools. Kavita Tandon has been a Maths/Science and VCE Psychology teacher at Copperfield College for 10 years. Sheila Serrao started at Copperfield in 2005 and has worked as a VCE Maths and Chemistry teacher at the Delahey Campus. Both Kavita and Sheila are outstanding teachers who will be missed. Claire Sucking (Art/Technology) has been with us a shorter time but has had significant positive impact in her role as Student Achievement Leader with her focus on improving reporting and assessment and establishing the college as a PLC. Helen Jensen has also been with us 10 years – most of that time as Performing Arts leader. She has done an amazing job establishing a performing arts culture at the college. We are also farewelling Jarrod Milsom who has been a Health and PE teacher at the Delahey Campus for the past 3 years. We wish Kavita, Sheila, Claire, Helen and Jarrod all the best in their new schools.   

Change is inevitable in schools and while we have staff moving on we are gaining new talented teachers. This year the recruitment of new staff has been a mammoth effort. This is not just due to those leaving us. In 2018 we have increased enrolments and are introducing new programs, including: Year Literacy intervention; extra time for Year 7 English; and collaborative time for Year 7-10 Maths and English teachers.

Looking Forward to 2018

2018 will again be a busy year for us. We will be focussing on making new inroads into our Strategic Plan with the key goal being Improving Student Learning Growth. While our enrolments continue to grow (next year we will have around 2100 students) we will continue to promote our successes and achievements to the wider community so that we remain the school of choice. We have already shifted to our inewsletter and early in 2018 we will have a new website. You may also notice some new facilities including new signage across the college and a renovated outdoor space at the Kings Park campus.

On behalf of all the staff at Copperfield, we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a safe and relaxing break.

Mr Anthony Sokol

College principal