Principal's Report

On Tuesday this week I was invited to be part of a culmination of learning event from a couple of year 9 classes engaging with industry groups on ‘problems of practice’ over the previous couple of months.  There is a longer write-up of the event in the newsletter, so I won’t provide an extended description of what took place, but I do want to put into words just how impressed I was with the learning and connections that had been achieved.  To see so many students stand up in front of their peers, in front of parents, in front of their teachers and Principal, and significantly in front of some of the biggest Industry groups in the Warrnambool region and speak with such confidence and conviction was inspiring.  Their insights into solving the problems that industry had presented them with were thorough and compelling.  It was a privilege to be part of and I believe is the beginning of something much bigger at Warrnambool College – a sustained and genuine partnership with local industry to provide meaningful and relevant learning opportunities to students in the here and now, not ‘just in case’ they need to use it later in life.  I want to publicly express a huge thankyou to all those that helped to pull together this innovative learning partnership, particularly Danny Finn and Megan Connellan, WestVic staffing, Midfield Meats, Wannon Water, Warrnambool City Council, Lyndoch Living and Ace Radio.

At the same time that our year 9s were presenting their findings to Industry, our year 8s were engaging with their wellbeing day.  The boys explored themes of boy and manhood with representatives from ‘Man Cave’ and the girls worked alongside our Big Life staff.  It was great to see so many students at school and participating fully in programs that focus on positive mental health.  Thank you to all the parents who made sure they came to school – in the past many students have viewed these wellbeing days as optional, which of course they are not.  We spend considerable time and money putting these wellbeing days together and we want students to fully engage in the messages and life lessons that stem from these sessions – when the next wellbeing day comes around (start of December for year 7s), please make sure your child is in attendance.

On Tuesday night we hosted a parent seminar with Man Cave on ‘how to get boys talking’ and covering some of the topics that were explored with the year 8 boys during the day.  Once again I was delighted with the attendance of so many parents who wanted to actively engage in this topic and learn from the experts and each other.  Some parents mentioned during the session that they’d like a similar session offered for ‘how to get girls talking’.  We’ll certainly look into this and will hopefully have something set up for early next year.  We’d love to offer more of these parent seminars on a regular termly basis, but with all the effort that goes into pulling them together, we’d also like to make sure they’re on topics that are meaningful to our school community.  So, if you have an idea for a parent seminar topic, please let me know at school or send me an email via Compass.

Before I finish I want to acknowledge the year 12 cohort whose time at Warrnambool College is very quickly coming to an end.  Next Friday is the last official day of classes (though many VCE classes will continue leading up to individual subject exams) and many VCAL and unscored VCE students have already finished their learning outcomes.  I know that many are working so hard at the moment to prepare for exams.  Remember to keep the foot on the study pedal right up until the exams finish – it can make all the difference between getting the marks that you desire and deserve and marks that you’d otherwise be disappointed with.  I look forward to recognising all that you’ve offered to our school community during the last day celebrations next Friday.

To the remainder of the school, we’ve got some distance to go before we get to also celebrate the end of the school year.  So, keep on putting in your personal best efforts so that you too can delight in the learning that you achieve in 2019.

Kind Regards,

Dave Clift

Principal