Principal's Page

College Captains for 2020

We once again adopted a rigorous process to decide our College Captains for next year.  As part of the process, we had students submit written applications, present to staff and students, and sit a formal interview.  Students and staff were also able to vote as part of the process.  After some careful consideration, the following students have been appointed for 2020:

College Captains - Mikayla Harvey and Jemma Frisina

College Vice Captains - Aidan Smith and Erin Mckenzie

The College is thrilled with our appointments to these very important leadership positions.  We know that Mikayla, Jemma, Aidan and Erin will all be outstanding representatives of the College and we wish them well in their leadership roles in 2020.

Welcome to New Staff at WHSC

There are a number of new staff that we would like to welcome to the College:

Helen Charalambous - Social Worker.  Helen has been working with us for the last few weeks and has recently been appointed until the end of 2020 as the College's Social Worker.

Michelle Galea - Leading Teacher, VCAL and Pathways.  Michelle is currently working at Cragieburn Secondary College and will start in this role at the beginning of 2020.

Pedro Mello - Learning Specialist, STEM (or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).  Pedro is currently working at Casterton Secondary College and will start in this role at the beginning of 2020.

Year 7 and 8 Inter-School Sport Success!

We had a large contingent of Year 7 and 8 students represent the College in Inter - School Sports last week (11/9/19).  Students were participating in a number of sports such as table tennis, hockey and basketball.

We achieved some terrific results last week with Year 7 Boys and Girls Basketball Teams winning their respective competitions allowing them to progress through to the next round of competition.   

We acknowledge all students for their wonderful participation on the day, and we thank both staff and senior school students in attendance for their supervision and coaching.

STEM at WHSC

We made reference to STEM in our last Newsletter (6 9 19).  Whilst STEM is short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, 'STEM' at our College is seen as more than just teaching and learning in these subject areas.  In fact, STEM is really an opportunity for students to use the the '4C's' across all subject areas with Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication and Creativity being integral to the STEM learning process.

Last week (6/9) our staff engaged in a STEM workshop with Neil Cameron - Vickery from the Monash Tech Schools.  The Monash Tech Schools allow students from schools in the Monash Local Government Area to engage in high tech STEM learning activities.  It was important for our staff to hear from Neil as he explained that 'Design Thinking' can be applied to all learning areas.  The workshop was incredibly informative and helpful to our staff as we look to ways of incorporating more STEM activities and 'Design Thinking' into our Teaching and Learning.

Last Friday (16/9) was the conclusion of our Year 8 STEM Unit.  The two week Unit allowed our year 8 students to use the 'Design Thinking' process to develop solutions to problems using the theme, 'Adapt or Abandon'.   The Unit was delivered using a number of subject areas and our students really enjoyed the opportunity to demonstrate and further develop their critical thinking, collaboration, creative and communication skills as part of the work.  Students were able to present their projects on the last day of the Unit with some incredibly creative designs developed and presented.  Well done to all of our staff and students involved in the Year 8 STEM Unit for 2019.

NAPLAN, 2019

Whilst the NAPLAN (National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy) is a snapshot of a child's ability with respect to Numeracy and Literacy, we received some excellent results with respect to NAPLAN this year.  Our Year 9 Writing results were exceptional with the data revealing that we are above the State and Network average for this part of the Assessment.  The number of Year 7 students in the top two bands for Reading aligns with the State Average, while for Writing in this same measure we are above Similar Schools.

There are some areas where we can make some improvements.  For example, our Year 9 Numeracy and Reading results are areas that we will be focusing on in 2020.  Our Leadership Team, together with our Mathematics and English Teams, have already started discussing and developing some plans for next year in an attempt to improve these results.

Year 7 Scholarship Program, 2020

The interest in our 2020 Year 7 Scholarship Program was enormous this year.  I was incredibly fortunate to meet a number of our new Year 7 students for next year with their families as part of the process. 

The caliber of the Scholarship candidates for 2020 was outstanding with existing School Captains, House and Sports Leaders, together with students who excel in a number of different areas all applying for Scholarship for next year.

Students successful as part of the process have been informed, and we congratulate them on their Scholarships for 2020.  We thank all students and their families for their interest in the Year 7 Scholarship Program for next year.

Year 12, 2019

The year is quickly coming to a close for our Year 12 students.  The Year 12 Exam Period will commence in late October meaning that our Year 12 students will only have classes for the first few weeks of Term 4 Four. 

We wish our Year 12 students all the very best as their secondary schooling comes to an end.  This can be quite an emotional time for students and families alike.  As a College, we will continue to support all of our Year 12 students with their studies, together with their exam preparation and participation.

WHSC and the Central Australia Trip, 2019

An enthusiastic group of intrepid travelers set out for Central Australia this week.  Students and staff commenced their Central Australia Tour on Wednesday (18/9) and they will be kept busy as part of packed itinerary of sightseeing.  We wish the group all the very best with what will be a very exciting and worthwhile trip.

WHSC Parents and Friends Committee Trivia Night, 2019

Our hardworking WHSC Parents and Friends Committee organised and lead the Committee's inaugural Trivia Night last week (13/9) to raise funds for our successful Performing Arts Program.  The night was a tremendous success!  Using a 'Friday the 13th Theme', a lot of fun was had by all as table groups fought it out to be crowned Trivia Night Champions for 2019.  Silent auctions, raffle prizes and other fun activities were also a feature of the night.  We thank the families, friends, staff and students in attendance for their support of the College.  The event raised over $2,500.00 for our Performing Arts Program which is an outstanding result.

We thank the WHSC Parents and Friends Committee for their excellent work in organising such a successful event.  Special thanks must go to Sarah and Mick Gason (parents of Adam Gason, Year 11) at the College for running the Trivia Night questions and activities.  A very special thank you though must go to Carol and Steve Kourtis (parents of Chloe, Year 8) who did a power of work in organising so many high quality goods and services as raffle and auction items to support the Night - your efforts here are very much appreciated.  The College thanks all involved for their wonderful support of our great school.

Value of the Week - Creativity

Our Year 8 students have demonstrated one of our key values in Creativity given their involvement in the Year 8 STEM unit recently.  I was impressed with the work created and the solutions developed as part of their work - well done to all involved 

And Finally........

I would like to take the opportunity of wishing our College Community a safe and restful holiday period, and we welcome back students on the 7th of October for what will be another busy term at Wheelers Hill Secondary College,

Aaron Smith 

Principal