PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

YEARS 11 & 12 FORMALS

Last night our Year 12 students celebrated their formal at Merrimu. There was a lot of excitement in the air to celebrate this milestone event. Everyone looked fabulous and much fun was had. What an incredible night it was!

The Year 11 formal was held last week again, at Merrimu. It was so wonderful to see the students dressed up and enjoying themselves at this cocktail event with their friends and classmates.

Thank you to the Years 11 and 12 Student Managers, Miss Felmingham and all the staff who were in attendance who helped make these events such a success.

ATTENDANCE

Student attendance is critical to ensure our children receive the best education possible. Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future. Each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes.

Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and high incomes across their lives.

School participation helps people to develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for further learning and participation in their community.

Please avoid taking holidays during the term where possible.  Whilst the costs may be lower at these times, the impact on your child’s learning is significant. I thank parents and carers for supporting and ensuring their child's learning is prioritised.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

I would like to ask parents/carers to be extra careful when driving during school arrival and departure times around both of our school campuses.  Please be mindful of pedestrians and bike riders, especially during these busy times.

Unfortunately, we have had a couple of students injured recently while riding their bikes. It is really important that students do not ride too fast at these busy times, they follow the road rules and be alert to what is happening around them.  It is critical students do not have headphones on when riding.

Please remind your child to always use the school crossings to always wear a helmet when riding their bike.

EDUCATION SUB-COMMITTEE – ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

On Tuesday 14 March, we will be holding the next Education Sub Committee of the School Council when we will present the College's 2022 Annual Report. All members of the school community are invited to attend. We will commence at 7pm and meet at the General Office of the Main Campus.

EAST CAMPUS WELCOME

I would like to thank Kobi Sainty from the Bunurong Land Council for conducting a smoking ceremony to officially welcome the Year 8 students to the East Campus, and open the Kummargee - Rise Up program. 

The smoking ceremony which was held yesterday, was a powerful and meaningful way to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land and to establish a connection with the community and the environment.

PARENT EVENINGS

Thank you to all the parents who have engaged with the school and attended the Parent Information sessions.  It is great to have these sessions back at the school again. We are now moving these events to between 4:30 and 5:30pm. This new time is to meet the requirements of the recent industrial agreement. All families will be emailed supporting information if they cannot attend.

Your engagement with these sessions is key to ensuring our students receive the best possible support and strategies for optimal study routines and, in turn, maximising their learning outcomes.

SCHOOL SPORTS CAPS

I am pleased to let you know that the uniform shop Bob Stewart has now received a shipment of the sports caps and school ties. Bob Stewart is located in Centre Road Bentleigh and is open 5 days a week.  

We wish to see all students wearing school ties and caps by Monday 27 March. Please ensure your child has the correct uniform as this is so critical to our positive culture.

EAST CAMPUS LIBRARY BOOKS

Our local member for Bentleigh, Nick Staikos MP, visited the East Campus last week to generously donate 15 books to our East Campus Library. 

We are so grateful for this contribution, and I thank Nick very much. I know the students will appreciate having these novels to borrow and to stock the library shelves at the East Campus. 

If you would like to donate a book to the East Campus Library, please find the Premier’s Reading Challenge list here. 

Books can be delivered to the general office at either campus.

SWIMMING TRIALS 

The House Swimming Sports was held last week at GESAC. Being the first House event for the year, newly appointed House Captains were eager to make their mark and get an early win for their House for the year.

Over 120 swimmers competed in multiple events across the day with all participants representing their House magnificently. The results of the day are being kept in house, to be revealed at the next General Assembly but we can say that the final result is extremely close!

Age group champions will also be revealed at a later date but some of the swimmers to shine on the day were Leo Park (Chisholm), Zach Gordon (Monash), Harvey Venturini (Gilmore), Lily Baldwin (Monash) and Linh Diep (Flynn).

We look forward to our swimming team competing at the Kingston Division titles on the 23rd of March.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL SCHOOLS CUP 

The Beach Volleyball Schools Cup tournament was held on Tuesday 7 March - Friday 10 March and proved to be very successful:

•  Year 7 Boys 4s - Gold and Silver medals
• Year 7 Girls 4s - Gold medal
• Year 8 Boys 4s - Silver medal
• Year 9 Girls pairs - Gold medal 
• Year 10 Girls 4s - Silver medal
• Year 10 Girls pairs - Silver medal

Thank you to our Years 10/11s from the Volleyball Program who provided encouragement and mentoring to the juniors in their first tournament, and to Mara Karro, Ray Braniska, Ellie Adler and Liam Adlington for all their support and encouragement of athletes during the tournament. 

Special thanks to Sandy Hope, our Volleyball program Manager for coordinating and overseeing all of these amazing events.

Congratulations to all the teams for achieving such amazing results and I look forward to further updates on the competition that is being held today.