Principal's Report

What extraordinary dedication shown by members of the school community, whether it is teaching, aiding, supporting, learning, looking after one’s physical and mental health. It is true that the pandemic is continuing to dominate our lives as we continue with remote teaching and learning till the end of the term. I hope that we are all able to face the challenges of each day with significant others, albeit physically distanced but not alone. Our social connections online become so much more important in these circumstances and the regular communications on Compass, the phone calls home from staff to students and parents/carers, the invitations to year level assemblies, the links to forums and events all play a role in keeping us connected. I have been so appreciative of families letting us know that our efforts are noticed, that our remote learning program strikes the right balance and that we are in partnership together to support the learning of their children. A heartfelt thank you.  

I particularly wanted to pay special attention to our wonderful School Captains who organised a Wellbeing day for the whole school yesterday. They worked with Felicity Wooden and staff to deliver engaging and enjoyable activities. Thank you to Luke, Ella, Jasmine and Chelsea for initiating and taking on this responsibility at a time where they face their own pressures with VCE.  What remarkable young adults they are. 

A comment from Luke “I think yesterday was a big success, props to Ella. I had a huge response from Year 7s submitting in their challenges, with a few commenting how much fun they were having and how they really appreciated it! "

We say farewell to Sheena Emery who has been one of our tutors in the Tutor Learning Initiative. Sheena has embraced this work enthusiastically and supported students identified as needing support. We know Sheena has enjoyed her time at Emerald Secondary College and we wish her all the best in the future. 

The changes to the VCE and VCAL have been communicated to students and families and the Senior sub-school is in contact with students who have any concerns about the next few weeks. Any questions about the vaccination blitz for final year students, their teachers and VCE exam supervisors and assessors will be addressed at the COVID-19 and Vaccination – Your questions answered webinar whose link was published in the last Compass communication. 

There has been quite a bit of excitement around this year’s NAPLAN results. Overall, the results show that Victorian students have held their own and continued their learning growth. This is the experience at Emerald Secondary College. Good practices in remote learning, support structures like the Tutor Initiative and the MYLNS programs have all combined to show improvements in our achievement and growth data. This is pleasing to see and as we analyse the data further, we will be able to combine these results with other data measures so that we are well placed to address the learning needs of students. 

Parent Teacher Student Conferences are taking place on 9th September with information going to parents today. Progress reports on the Positive Learning Behaviours which have been predominantly exercised during remote learning will be published on the last day of term. Key dates to know are in this newsletter too. 

The sun is peeking through the clouds. Enjoy the rays of hope that spring tends to bring.

Eleni Stathatos