From the Principal

As we approach the end of Term 3, I’d like to acknowledge the continued commitment and resolve displayed by our community during this time. This term has not been easy, but I am so proud of the resilience shown by our students, staff and parents. A well-earned break is just around the corner and this, coupled with warmer spring weather, longer days with the approaching daylight saving, brings a sense of hope. It is always nice to leave winter behind. This year, more than ever.

Parent Teacher Interviews will be conducted remotely for students in Year 7 -11.  These will run all day on Thursday 17th September. The booking module on Compass is open until Tuesday 15th September. This is a great opportunity to meet and discuss your child’s progress during Term 3.  All interviews will be via the Google MEET platform.

I remind parents that the current remote learning arrangements will be in place until Week 2, Term 4, Monday 12th October. At that time Year 11 and 12 students will be able to attend school on-site, including any Year 10 students enrolled in a VCE subject (only for that class). It is anticipated that students in Year 7-10 will be back on-site by the end of October.

On Wednesday 2nd September the College ran a virtual welcome night for the 2021 Year 7 students and families. This was different to how we traditionally run such events, but nevertheless it was a wonderful opportunity to ‘virtually’ meet our new families. We hope to be able to meet face to face in the near future and look forward to hosting our new Year 7s on Orientation day in December.  I would like to express thanks to Mr Hosking in preparing a detailed transition video and both School Captains in Stephanie Page and Riley Callick for taking the time to prepare a little welcome video for the Grade 6 students.

The new STEM Centre is almost complete and we anticipate handover on Friday 18th September. This will be a fantastic new facility for our students and staff and we look forward to utilising the new space. The contractor KLMS has been exceptional in working with us to deliver the best possible product for our community and have been great communicators during these trying times. Once handover is complete, we will look at finalising the furnishing of the technology rooms and begin the process of moving important equipment and resources into the new building. In further good news, the oval refurbishment will commence on Thursday 17th September. The oval will receive a significant upgrade and it is expected that these works will continue until the end of Term 4.  Unfortunately, the oval area will not be accessible during this time.

Earlier this term our local member Ben Carroll announced on his Facebook page that the College had received funding for a Mental Health Practitioner.  I can now confirm that we have employed a fantastic social worker who will commence with us on Monday 5th October. We believe that this is a great initiative from DET and any welfare support for our community is very much appreciated.

Arthur Soumalias

Principal