Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Welcome to all members of our school community. We have had a very positive start to the year with students engaged in a variety of learning programs across the school. It was wonderful to see our Year 7 students taking part in a two-day dedicated orientation program which provided students with the support they need to ensure a successful start at Victoria University Secondary College. 

At VUSC, we are committed to providing students with the opportunity to succeed as learners and as confident and competent citizens who can make a valuable contribution to a global society, underpinned by our values of Aspire to Achieve, Respect Ourselves and Others, and Strengthen the Community. 2023 will see the consolidation of programs and systems developed to enhance teaching and learning and provide further opportunities for students to experience success. The academic program at the college is supported by a relevant and contemporary co-curricular program with student accomplishments recognised and celebrated across a range of endeavours.

Students will be presented with challenges, both intellectually and physically which will enhance their learning experience and prepare them for their future as citizens in a global community. 

We recognise the important role that both parents and schools play in developing positive attitudes towards learning and education for children, building their motivation and confidence and fostering their enjoyment of learning. At VUSC this partnership, based on mutual trust and respect and shared responsibility, provides the educational foundation for the creation of a learning environment where every student can experience success, pursue their passions and contribute to their community. 

We invite parents and carers to work together with us to ensure students are meeting the basic requirements necessary for success in their studies. These include:

• Excellent attendance and punctuality
• Bringing the appropriate books and equipment each day 
• Using class time effectively
• Completing homework 
• Keeping to deadlines for submission of work
• Always putting in maximum effort.

The last point on ‘maximum effort’ is one that underlies all the others, and it will be explicitly emphasised with the students throughout the year. Of course, the chances of this message being conveyed successfully will be much greater if it is also reinforced at home, so we will be most appreciative if parents and carers too can emphasise the importance of consistent and persistent effort.

A checklist is attached of what parents and carers can do to support their children with their schooling this year:

We welcome parents and carers to contact the college regarding your child’s educational program, wellbeing or any college events for 2023. The first whole school event for the year will be the college Athletics Carnival held on March 3rd. This will be the inaugural House event for 2023 where we will celebrate individual and House achievements with students eagerly anticipating which House will take out the trophy. 

New Staff

We are very pleased to welcome the following staff who are joining the teaching and education support teams this year:

Jason Austin – Assistant Principal (JC) 

Betty Lin – Accounting/Business Management (SC)

Broady Kata – English/Humanities Teacher (JC/SC)

PJ Steyer – English Teacher (JC)

Ski Lisewski-Lee – Maths/Science Teacher (JC)

Yuki Cho – Chinese Teacher (JC)

George Plavelil – Maths/Science Teacher (SC)

Brayden Kelputis – Maths/IT Teacher (JC)

Abigail McAsey – Art/Visual Design Teacher (SC)

Mikayla Adam – PE Teacher (JC)

Ken Gerard – Music Teacher (JC)

Annette Ellis – Drama/English Teacher (JC)

Mary-France Navera – Teaching & Learning Coach (JC)

Fiona Wilson – Music Teacher (SC)

Dayani Ratnaraja – Maths/Science Teacher (JC)

Keryn Stewart – Learning Support (JC) 

Ryan Maxwell – Youth Worker (JC)

Vida Obucinski – Personal Assistant to Principal Team (JC)

Jim Millman – Instrumental Music – Trumpet

Christine Tung – Instrumental Music – Voice

Briony Hollingworth – Food Tech Assistant (SC)

Melis Ali - Tutor

Kathleen Lam - Tutor

Dana Heyes - Tutor

Andy Nhan - Tutor

Congratulations Class of 2022

Victoria University Secondary College congratulates our Year 12 graduates in 2022 for all their hard work and the fantastic outcomes achieved as a group. The college has been pleased by the level of aspiration and collaboration demonstrated by this cohort, who worked well together across the year and throughout the examination period. 

Our Year 12s have effectively managed the re-adjustment to learning on site together after two years of interruptions to their learning. They have also learnt to navigate our brand-new campus in Cairnlea, being our first cohort of Year 12 students to graduate at the new site. Despite these challenges, the cohort have done tremendously well across the board.

We commend each and every graduating student in the class of 2022 for their achievements and we are confident that they are well prepared to take their next steps in life.

VCE Results

Congratulations to our 2022 College Dux, Malinn Senevirathna, who achieved an ATAR of

 97.7, and our Proxime Accessit, Donald La, who achieved a result of 96.65 (pictured right).

Malinn achieved excellent results across his subjects, being the dux of Chemistry and Physics, and tied for dux in Specialist Mathematics. Whilst at the college, Malinn’s consistent conscientiousness and high-expectations of himself have aided him in his excellent outcomes in Year 12. In 2023, Malinn plans to study a double degree of Mechanical Engineering and Business Management at RMIT University. We wish Malinn all the best with his further studies. His advice to future Year 12 students is to find the right balance between doing what they enjoy and spending time studying. 

Our Proxime Accessit, Donald La, also achieved excellent outcomes across his subjects. Donald was one of the duces in English and was dux in Chinese. Donald had also been dux in Drama, a Year 12 subject he completed when in Year 11. In 2023, Donald plans to study a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. He plans to major in computer science and software engineering. 

Overall our mean VCE study score last year was 29.3 and our VCE English mean study score was 31.1. These are excellent results and I congratulate our staff and students for their hard work throughout the year. 

VCE Students Achieving ATAR Scores above 90

The college has seen the number of students achieve an ATAR of 90+ double, while 34% of the cohort achieved an ATAR of 80 or above. This has allowed students to have a far greater choice in the university courses they are able to pursue. 

Congratulations to the following students who achieved an ATAR of 90 or more: 

• Malinn Senevirathna
• Donald La
• Hung-Shin Lui
• Sara Tariq
• Haonhi Nguyen
• Jessica Sawyers
• Paris Tran
• Leanna Nguyen
• Gun Veet Bajaj
• Sally Tran

In 2022, VUSC is pleased to have increased the average study score to 29.3. This year VUSC also significantly increased the percentage of students achieving a study score of 40 or above. Fewer than 10% of students in Victoria achieve a score of 40 or above in each subject. 

Scholarships

Congratulations to these Year 12 graduates who received scholarships for tertiary study this year: 

• Paris Tran – Hansen Scholarship, University of Melbourne (Value of $108,000)
• Christella Katsianos – Melbourne Access Scholarship ($5000 per year)
• Billi Keys – VU Ignite Scholarship ($2000)
• Sara Tariq – Hall & Willcox Clerkship Program/Scholarship

VCAL Achievements

Congratulations to the following students who have transitioned to a full time apprenticeship this year as part of the HEADSTART program:

• Nofo Saene - Commercial Cookery Apprenticeship
• Ethan Fell - Cabinetmaker Apprenticeship
• Eric Lay - Automotive Apprenticeship
• Joshmar Tallo - Automotive Apprenticeship
• Fasika Senay - Aged Care Traineeship
• Leonie Luafaleolo - Hairdressing Apprenticeship 
• Megan Fell - Childcare Traineeship

We wish them all the very best in their new careers and congratulate all the VCAL students on their achievements. 

Intensive English and Intensive Maths Program (DET MYLNS - Literacy & Numeracy)

A selection of students in Year 10, identified through student learning data, will again benefit from additional support to improve their overall English and Maths skills in 2023. A qualified teacher in each of these Learning Areas will work with small groups of students to improve their knowledge, understanding and skills in English and in Maths. It is anticipated that this support will provide them a better overall foundation that will assist them to make improvements in their other areas of study. The longevity of this program will be determined by ongoing DET funding.

Tutor Learning Initiative

This program has again been provided by the Department to support students whose learning may have been disrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2020, 2021 and to a lesser extent 2022. We have several students who have been identified through student engagement and learning data that have not made the same progress in their education as we would anticipate in normal circumstances. These students come from a wide range of backgrounds, year levels and ability levels. It is important to acknowledge that despite the global pandemic, many students have made extraordinary gains in their learning. For other students the period of the pandemic has been an additional challenge. It is for these students that the school will again hold a Tutoring Program aligned to the DET’s Tutor initiative. Selected students from Years 7 through to Year 10 will participate in this Tutoring Program.

College Captains 2023 - Enhancing the Student Culture

As is the tradition at VUSC, the successful applicants for School Captaincy in 2023 were announced at the Year 12 Graduation/Presentation Night on Wednesday 15th December 2022. Many congratulations to all applicants for the quality of their application, speech, and interview. Each applicant gave a passionate, kind and inspiring speech and interview and should be commended for their bravery in putting themselves forward.

Congratulations to Rebecca Tat and Kyle Marshall who have been elected College Captains and to Vice Captains Chanel Binuya and Joseph Jr Passi.

At the Junior Campus, congratulations to Captains Isabel Williams and Aayan Aizaz and Vice Captains Phillip Adamovic and Christina Anastasiou.

Thank you again to the outgoing College and Junior Captains for their outstanding service during 2022.

College Board 2023

Information will be published on Compass and in the newsletter next month about our upcoming school council election. We currently have a number of parent, staff and student member vacancies. The College Board (school council) meets twice per term on Wednesday evenings at the Senior Campus and provides valued input into the direction of our school. We greatly appreciate the contributions of our parents, students, staff and community members and I invite anyone who is interested in joining to nominate themselves. The outgoing members of the College Board have made a significant contribution to the governance of the College and I wish to thank them for their commitment, interest and participation in the life of the school. 

Melbourne Storm Rugby League Academy - Hurricanes

It pleases me to announce that there are two VUSC students, Elijah Po Ching and Lockyer-Azile Foliola who have been selected to be part of the new Melbourne Storm Hurricanes program for 2023. This program is only for a select number of players in each age group from U/15-18’s. The program is designed to provide a quality performance environment where players are exposed to top end skill development and advanced training methods to prepare them for future elite competition. Very high standards are expected, and each player must be fully committed to their own physical, technical and tactical development. 

I am also very proud to announce that our very own Rugby League Coach at VUSC, Tony Adam, will be the Head Coach for the Melbourne Storm Rugby League Academy - Hurricanes program. Congratulations Elijah, Lockyer and Tony!

Mobile Phone Policy

The Department of Education has enforced all government schools to implement a Mobile Phone - Student Use Policy that states, all students who bring a mobile phone to school must have it switched off and stored in their locker from the first bell to the last bell of the day. Families may ring the school office if they need a message given to their child. Please read the policy attached and discuss it with your child. Students and their parents will also be required to sign an agreement regarding computer, internet, and mobile phone use at the beginning of the year. 

Attendance and Student Absence Hotline

Parents/carers are reminded that the school requires 90% attendance for all students. 

If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please call 8312 0243 or email absence@vusc.vic.edu.au before 10am that day. 

Parents/carers will receive a call from our Attendance Officer if a reason for the absence has not been provided. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter to ensure that all student absences are accounted for. 

We have recently been reminding our school community why every day counts.

This also applies to being late to school.  It is crucial that children and students develop habits of regular attendance at an early age.

Poor patterns of attendance place students at risk of not achieving their educational, social and psychological potential and are disadvantaged in the quality of choices they are able to make in later life situations.

When students arrive late to school their learning can be affected.

Students who are late:

• miss out on organisation time - getting their books from their lockers or asking teachers questions
• miss out on hearing what’s happening and the learning intention for their first class
• are often unsure about what they have to do in the lesson
• find learning becomes disjointed and difficult
• are failing to take responsibility for their learning
• disrupt other students when they arrive
• miss out on reconnecting with classmates and forming positive social relationships before school
• develop the lifelong habit of being late – bosses are less supportive than schools.

Parents are reminded that all students arriving late to school must sign in at the Compass Kiosk at the front office. Students are automatically issued a detention for late arrival to class.

If you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child to school on time, please discuss the matter with your child’s Coordinator. The attached document provides more information about the importance of attendance. 

Uniforms

A reminder to all students and parents/carers that students should be in full summer uniform this term, including the blazer and black leather shoes (no other colours/no boots or sneakers). Please see our full Uniform Policy here. 

Families may request assistance with purchasing school uniform from the following organisations: 

Smith Family Learning for Life provides support and financial assistance to help disadvantaged children stay at school. The program runs in select disadvantaged areas.

A Start in Life provides financial assistance to disadvantaged students and families to ensure they can access the same learning opportunities as their peers. For information phone (02) 9264 3017.

Opening the Doors Foundation provides education assistance for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in an independent educational institution in Victoria.

The Queen’s Fund Financial assistance with the cost of educational expenses for children. Applications must be completed by a social worker or a community agency that works with you.

Good Shepherd Micro-finance is a great initiative that has financial programs to assist families on low or limited incomes with educational costs and other expenses. One of their programs is the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) which gives access to fair and safe credit up to $1,200 for essential educational items.

Saver Plus  This is financial education and up to $500 in matched savings for education costs for individuals and families who have at least some regular income from work. For information phone 1300 610 355.

Second hand uniforms are also bought and sold by local families on the Sustainable School Shop website. 

Jacaranda e-books

Once again Jacaranda are our supplier of electronic textbooks this year. Information has been provided on booklists and posted to Compass about how to purchase and access the books. Please ensure your child has all the textbooks they need for a successful start to the year. 

Homework Club

Homework club will run at the Junior Campus this year in the Library after school every day during term except Wednesdays. This will be up and running shortly, parents will be advised. 

Privacy Reminder

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website:

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese.

Reminders from the Office

• Students are reminded that sunscreen is available at the general office all year round in line with our Sun Protection Policy.
• Please ensure the school has your current address and contact details in case of emergency. These can be updated on Compass or contact the office.

Insurance and Ambulance Cover for Students

Parents/carers are reminded that the Department (and the College) does not provide personal accident insurance, personal property insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for their child/ren, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs.

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage. Parents/carers can purchase insurance policies and ambulance cover from commercial insurers if they wish for their child/ren.

Finally

Thank you for your excellent support in ensuring that your child is prepared for the start of the year. We have had such a positive start, and this is in part due to your efforts, especially with books, equipment, devices and uniform.

If you have any concerns or questions about how your child has settled in, please do not hesitate to contact their Year Level Co-ordinator:

Atish Basant - Year 7 Coordinator

Sharni Stewart - Year 8 Coordinator

Joanne Pegoraro - Year 9 Coordinator

Jonathan Polizzi - Year 10 Coordinator

Lauren Muscat - Year 11 VCE/VM Coordinator

Robert Goodwin - Year 12 VCE/VM Coordinator

I wish you all well for the year ahead and I look forward to working with you closely.

Elaine Hazim

College Principal

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Child Safety at VUSC

Victoria University Secondary College is committed to providing a child safe and child friendly environment, where students are safe and feel safe. 

Our child safety and wellbeing policies outline the measures and strategies we have in place to support, promote and maintain the safety and wellbeing of our students: 

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Child Safety Code of Conduct
• Child Safe Standards Risk Register
• Child safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedure

All of our policies are available on our school website here. As valuable partners in promoting and maintaining child safety and wellbeing at VUSC, we welcome and encourage your feedback.