Campus Principal Report

The return to school has been great with students re-engaging quickly with their friends, teachers, and lessons. Often we don’t know what is important to us until it is taken away. I think the camaraderie and routine of school is one of those things. Seeing your friends every day, interacting with your peers and being able to get out and play at recess and lunch breaks have taken on a whole new importance. Year 7 to 11 team leaders welcomed back their students with a meeting covering the return to school rules. The students have adapted to these rules quickly and without fuss.

A significant effort has gone on behind the scenes to ensure that there is minimal disruption and impact upon the year 12 exams. If the students didn’t notice then we were very successful! A huge thankyou to the Year 12 team. The next challenge is to make the best of the end of year celebrations with the Graduation just around the corner.

What a wild and woolly time we have had at Acacia. The windstorms of the 29th of October lifted the roof off the walkway between the Wellbeing area and the Year 9 building. Part of the Senior building roof came loose but thankfully did not tear off. Repairs are under way and everything will be back to normal soon. Then on the next Saturday when the thunderstorms came, the intense rain in the Keysborough area led to local flash flooding. Our kitchen and canteen area had water running through it as did the music department. We are currently trying to reinstate these areas as quickly as possible. The environment of Acacia campus continues to be picturesque and on a sunny day nothing gives more warmth to the soul than standing and watching students in the yard being ‘kids’.

At Acacia we live the College Values each and every day of the year and take them out into our normal life, to spread a little of Acacia to the wider community. Working here and contributing to this culture and the sense of community has been a thoroughly rewarding experience. This will be my last newsletter article as the Campus Principal of Acacia. It has been an honour to work here, with you and for you, and contribute to what is a great school. I will be leaving Acacia, but not Keysborough College. I believe to be part of such a wonderful school is a reward in itself. I will be relocating to the Banksia Campus as Campus Principal from 2022 and leave Acacia in the very sure and safe hands of Ms Fode who will be your new Campus Principal. 

Richard Hastings

Acacia Campus Principal

What an interesting term this is shaping up to be, with the return to full face to face teaching on site in the classroom and the easing of the many restrictions brought on by the last lock-down giving us all new-found freedoms within the school and the wider communities.

Reflecting on the last long lockdown, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all members of our school community for their determination and resilience: To our parents, who have helped to support their sons and daughters to overcome the many difficulties experienced during remote learning. To Banksia campus teaching staff, who have worked tirelessly through many long hours in front of their computers to ensure that every one of their remote lessons provides students with the same opportunities for improvement they would have experienced had they been at school. To our wellbeing staff who have coordinated “Wellbeing Wednesdays” throughout the lockdown and monitored the wellbeing and mental health of our students and supported those who have had the need. To our Support staff who have worked closely with our students and teachers in class and to the administrative staff who have kept the financial and office wheels turning. Also, to our students who have attended and participated in remote classes and completed the work to the best of their abilities during this very trying time.  Now let us all look ahead to the future…..

Planning is now well under way for 2022 and this includes our annual Headstart program, designed to provide students with a taste of what their 2022 subjects will look like and give them all an early start on their studies, which is particularly important no matter which year level. Each year level is also undertaking the appointment process for our next team of student leaders, including the  year level captains. The promotion of Student Voice and Agency is one of our important improvement strategies at the College.

We are also continuing to develop the very best environment for our students at Keysborough College with new building works being undertaken at Banksia to include the construction of a new administration building, commencing in term one 2022, together with the development of a 100 space car park off Noble street, which will accommodate both staff, visitors and those who are attending our Performing Arts centre. The campus is also undertaking the construction of shade sails outside the gymnasium and next year, at the rear of the senior school building. These structures will provide our students with outdoor classrooms/recreational areas in a sun safe environment. 

We are also planning to develop an area outside the gym as a permanent volleyball area for our students and outside the STEM building, we are planning an area for outdoor table tennis, together with our VCAL students, who have put forward sets of plans to beautify this area and others around the campus.

Recently, four Banksia STEM students, Meichou Te, Vizandra Bith, Richard Sol Say and Ramelio Soebadio of year 10 have been short-listed for the Australia- wide  IBM Ed Tech Competition. They co-designed an “App” for the competition and it has been judged by the competition panel as worthy of an award. Congratulations to this STEM team and their mentor, Danielle Dalton.

I look forward to the increase in face to face activities during the latter weeks of the year, with excursions, guest speakers, graduation and leadership assemblies and activity days hopefully making it  a memorable time for all.

Pat Boyd

Banksia Campus Principal