Senior School 

Senior School Report

Term 3

As we welcome Spring and our frost-bitten fingers start to thaw it’s good to reflect on all the positives that Senior School students and staff have experienced this term.

Firstly, Senior School welcomed Katherine Smith to the team and college leadership. Kate comes with an abundance of experience and knowledge making her a very welcome addition as Senior School Leader: Curriculum & Programs. Welcome Kate!

We are seeing out 30 weeks lockdown free for the students and staff! It is important to remember what we were all going through this time last year and celebrate that we have all experience on site teaching and learning without remote learning interruptions. Yay!

Senior School had many special days this term celebrating diversity, our graduating Year 12 cohort, and awareness to mental health with R U OK Day. Thank you, Megan Penn and Heather Livermore, for all your support in making Gisborne Secondary a colourful and welcoming place this term!

This term also saw the college conduct the largest cohort of students sitting the GAT (General Achievement Test) EVER! The entire VCE and VCAL cohort rocked up on the 7th of this month to complete the test which spanned over two parts and over 4 hours! Well done everyone!

The Connect program also had a busy term with Elevate sessions for the Year 11 and 12’s as well as the launch of Marketplace for the Year 10 cohort. It’s exciting to hear that the students are working towards some innovative and exciting concepts for the Marketplace on the 17th of October. 

In addition to this, the Year 11 students began their Teen Mental Health Training by completing the first of three modules. I was lucky enough to observe the session and the teachings provided are so important for these young people as they navigate a challenging and formative stage of their lives. Thank you to Connect Leader Paul James for all your work this term.

Lastly, I would like to take the time to congratulate all the VCE and VCAL students who have worked extremely hard this term. We have seen a huge number of our students finish off their Unit 4 coursework and some VCAL student complete their program completely. Congratulations everyone, here’s to looking onwards and upwards!

Christopher Hewitt

Senior School Leader: Engagement & Wellbeing