Principal's Report

With the term one school holidays upon us, I take this opportunity to wish you all a safe, happy and healthy term break. I would also like to remind our students and in particular our VCE students, to spend some time each day during the next few weeks, reviewing and revising the work undertaken thus far in 2019.

It has been a tremendously busy ten weeks with a large number of wonderful activities and events throughout the term. Parent Teacher Interviews provided an opportunity to see, meet and chat with many parents. It was a wonderful occasion for parents and students to speak with their teachers and to take a moment to reflect on what has worked well and perhaps put some strategies or structures in place to ensure continued improvement. As the lead learner of our school, I am constantly reflecting and learning. I enjoy listening and considering all new possibilities.

Many of my conversations with parents were overwhelmingly positive, in particular dialogue concerning our College and the work of our Staff in providing a supportive, engaging and challenging learning environment.

Last week a small group of our Year 10 Japanese Students (Gillian, Ojas and Mitchell) spent some time at one of our local Primary Schools, Essendon North and assisted with their Cultural Immersion Program. Our students, together with Mr Hayakawa, supported dozens of primary school students in making origami. A big thank you to our Japanese Students for your patience and calm demeanour in what was a very busy session.

Recently, I presented to all Rosehill Students during Senior and Junior School Assemblies. The focus of my message revolved around resilience, perseverance and the notion of growth mindset. It is ok to ask for help, it is ok to not understand, it is ok to try and fail - we learn from failure. Success comes from doing the work, listening to feedback, collaborating and attempting new and sometimes difficult tasks. Using the simple three letter word, ‘yet’ changes much of the conversation we sometimes hear from our students. “I can’t do this work!’ This closed mindset suggests a task is a fixed trait. Adding the word, ‘yet’ at the end of the statement, changes this viewpoint. “I can’t do this work..yet,” suggests potential to do it. You just need to work at it, review, revise, seek help and eventually you will be able to do the task. Developing this growth mindset is vitally important in how our students perceive themselves, especially when approaching a new concept or previously difficult task or activity.

Congratulations to our newly elected school council representatives, Nancy Perri, Mike Lloyd, David Sivaraj, Matt Hosking, Leanne Mortellaro, Natalie Fitzgerald, Kyle Di Pastena and Sarah McNabb. I look forward to your contribution in ensuring Rosehill Secondary College continues to be an excellent educational college for our community. During the School Council meeting in March the following parents were elected to the positions below.

President: Gwenda Griggs
Vice President: Christina Kotsafaras
Treasurer: David Sivaraj

With well over 35 years on our School Council and dozens as President, it is with much sadness but great appreciation that we acknowledge the contribution over many, many years of our outgoing President John Walsh. John has been a vital cog in the running of the school and has seen Rosehill change, progress and succeed over the years. We wish John all the best in his continued pursuits and his wonderful work at the local RSL and Rotary.

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the terrific work of all the staff at Rosehill Secondary College throughout this term. Our Teachers, Support Staff (Library, Integration, Administration, ICT, International Student Assistants, Maintenance, Science and Food Technicians) and the Principal Class Team have worked tirelessly this term to ensure a very smooth, calm and successful Term One. Our moral purpose as Educators is to provide the best learning opportunities for all students at our College as well as improving our society by raising well-rounded individuals. Our values of Respect, Initiative and Learning (RIL) are central to this belief and are referred to on a daily basis by our staff when interacting with our students and one another. I trust that these values will hold your child in good stead throughout life. I look forward to continuing our learning journey next term.

Mr Arthur Soumalias

Acting Principal

Excerpt from the Moonee Valley Leader