Hello again to all members of the Copperfield College community, but in particular to those who have connections to the Delahey campus. It's hard to believe that 20% of the year has already gone by (I was a teacher of Mathematics in a previous life!) and in reality, that percentage is higher at the Delahey campus because our year is a little shorter. So, the moral of this opening paragraph is that time stands still for nobody and that we need to make hay while the sun shines.

Apart from the obvious classroom teaching and learning every day, schools wouldn't be schools without events, routines, celebrations, adrenaline and interactions. It's what sets us apart from say a typical office environment in the corporate world. Below is a summary of those aforementioned characteristics:

Delahey Photo Day

Thankfully, a tradition that has stood the test of time, students and staff had their photos taken on Wednesday February 24. While the technology is vastly different to my school photos, the memories they stimulate later in life remains the same. Parents can purchase the photos through Compass/MSP.

Awards Night

On Tuesday March 9, we welcomed back all our subject specific Excellence Award winners from VCE and VCAL last year. The evening was a huge success with students and families coming together (for the last time) to retrospectively celebrate what they and been able to achieve in such a difficult year. In particular, our Dux Darcy deserves a special mention. Well done Darcy! I'd like to thank the Delahey campus Student Management Team for their contribution to the success of the evening, particularly Bobby Todorovski, our Red Team Leader.

Audio in the gym

Over the last few weeks, the Delahey campus has been able to host not only Awards Night but also Curriculum Day and a whole college Professional Learning session in a gymnasium with a state of the art wireless audio system and retractable screen. It certainly makes a difference from the 'old days' when we had to wheel in the speaker on a trolley which had a permanent flat tyre.

Supportive Friends

In conjunction with Health classes here at Delahey, Ms Scarfe, our Wellbeing Leader facilitated a series of days a last week where students focused on the critical role friends can play in our lives. The Supportive Friends training helps our students gain a stronger perspective on how to give support to friends and also enables them to share their own problems more constructively. They become more observant, more patient and understanding; and hence better able to help others when friendship groups break down.

Capital Works Update

We have finally had two new portable classrooms delivered onsite and fitted out as part of the ongoing program here at Delahey. For practical reasons, we've also changed the location of the Temporary Study Centre so it is closer to the Campus Leaders and Pathways portable. Over the next month or so, more invasive work will begin on the canteen and student toilets and a reduced canteen service will be in operation. While this is a slight inconvenience, it will all be worth it come late May when the penultimate phase is completed. The builders have assured us that while this penultimate phase is a month behind schedule (something about steel beams rather than timber trusses??) the overall project is still scheduled for completion for the start of Term 4. Oops, I almost forgot to mention the fact that the staff will get a brand new kitchen in the staffroom during Term 1 holiday break...yay!! Double oops... Our Administrative staff will also get a shinny new kitchenette.

April 23 Opening Ceremony

An opening ceremony has been planned to inaugurate the completed Stage 1 Capital Works program (Art Block and Administration Block). The Hon. Natalie Hutchins, Member for Sydenham will be in attendance. Ms Hutchins will also be representing James Merlino our Acting Premier and Minister for Education. All guest (including College Council members) will be taken on an escorted tour of the new facilities and this will be followed by a ceremonial ribbon cutting and morning tea in the conference room.

Evacuation Drill

On Mach 17 we had our first evacuation drill since our Incident Controller and Chief Warden, Dan Sullivan, was employed at the school at the beginning of 2020. With the interruptions of the pandemic, an evacuation would have been a much simpler achievement during parts of last year with attendance on many days limited to a couple of principals, one or two teachers and perhaps 12 students from across the three campuses. The evacuation on March 17 was more complex when we had 715 students and around 70 Teaching staff, Education Support staff and visitors. It was definitely not military precision as none of the students have done an evacuation here at Delahey before and many of the staff are also new to the campus. We learnt a lot from the exercise and will be able to tighten up our procedures for the next time the alarm bells start ringing.

English Practice Sac

For the first time, on Wednesday 17 we ran an English Practice SAC in the gym with all Year 12 English students participating under the same supervised conditions. This valuable practice will contribute to students' readiness for end of year exams and also means that all students complete the practice at the same time to allow moderation and discussion of their learning and any learning gaps amongst the members of our VCE English Professional Learning Team. Year 12 English SACs and Practice SACs will now generally be completed in this format which means by the time exams roll around the plastic tables in the gym will be a familiar battleground for our VCE students as they step forth to compete against students across the state.

Our Mob' Indigenous Cultural Group

This year Michelle Marion, our Koorie Education Support Officer, has inaugurated 'Our Mob', an indigenous cultural group developed in collaboration with the Essendon Football Club and the Long Walk Foundation. Indigenous students from across our three campuses are meeting together at the Delahey campus every few weeks to speak about culture and connection and to learn more about their culture and heritage. It i a great opportunity fir some of our younger students to meet the students at the senior campus who are working hard on a range of career pathways across trades, allied health, science an law. In the final week of this term, students met with an aboriginal artist and worked on a cultural art project.

RMIT Ngarara William Centre

Lewis Brown and Cathy Doe from RMIT's Ngarara William Centre came out to meet with four of our Delahey students on March 5. They discussed possible university courses and pathways with some of our high achieving Indigenous students. We have also recently had discussion with Lydall Down from the school to Work program from Melbourne Storm Rugby League club who spoke to students about engaging with community leaders and managing the transition from school into work or further education.

Marrung Scholarship Ceremony

We celebrated Luke's achievement on March 9 at the Marrung Scholarships Ceremony. Luke was awarded this prestigious scholarship, an award bestowed upon 30 of the most promising indigenous students across Victorian Public Education. He is pictured here with the other scholarship winners and with Uncle Lionel Bamblett (General Manager, Victorian Aboriginal Education Assosciation), Aunty Vera Briggs (Life Member of VAEAI) and Steve Dimopoulos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier.

Okay... that's all from us. Take care ad have a relaxing break.

Mr Renato Carinci and Mr Dan Sullivan

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