Principal Report

Dear Woodmans Hill Community, 

This is the last newsletter of our school term and what a long and exciting term it has been! 

Our school community has experienced a range of highlights and really demonstrated what it is to stick together and push for continued growth and excellence, even in the face of change and adversity. I have been incredibly proud of the staff and students who continue to attend Woodmans Hill every day and strive to be the best that they can be. 

Highlights of the Term: 

1. Staff professional learning with student involvement

My first highlight of Term 2 has been the incredible work of our teaching and learning team as they have focused the professional development of staff on ‘Checking for Understanding’. As a College, having a clear focus on evidence- based practices which ensure maximum impact have been at the core of our learning program for many years. We use a range of data to inform our professional learning foci and nothing is done by random or by chance. Our focus in term 2 has challenged our staff to learn different ways to identify how EVERY student is travelling with their learning EVERY DAY. This enables us to be responsive teachers and address misconceptions immediately and ensure that explicit instruction to support development can happen when it is most needed. What has strengthened this course of professional learning is the involvement of our student leaders, something that we have not done here at Woodmans previously. Including the most important people, our students, in our professional learning has enabled us to hear first-hand their needs and important feedback about the ways in which we can discuss these things and learn together, side-by-side. We are very much looking forward to hearing again from our students early next term, when they share the feedback about the cycle of professional learning and how we can continue to grow in this space. 

1. Extra-Curricular Involvement 

Term two has been such an incredible term with regards to the range of opportunities that have been presented to our students at Woodmans. Whatever their passions and strengths, there has been something for everyone. It started with the employment of our new sports coordinator Josh Plante. Josh is a Canadian and comes from a system where sport is life, and he has brought incredible enthusiasm and aspirational goals relating to our sporting program and how this can be improved. He has worked with our teams and our young people to give them a clear picture of what we need to do to truly be competitive in every sport we participate in. We have already seen significant cultural change in this space, and this will continue as he builds more opportunities for your children. Our House group system has gone from strength to strength, and we have seen the introduction of lunch time activities and competitions across the school each week. As outlined previously, these have been in more than sports and have given students with diverse interests the opportunity to get involved. We are building a strong program of events which will lead to increased competition and belonging as students gain more of a sense of pride for their houses. Wellbeing programs have supported a range of students across our school and we have welcomed partnerships with external organizations like Vic Police, Fernwood, Uniting Care and headspace into our school for this purpose growing community links. Opportunities like this provide our students with more access to supports in the community and broaden their understanding of what it means to be a young person within the community of Ballarat. 

As we come to the end of another successful term, I hope that all students can reflect back on opportunities that they have had to build community, friendships and a sense of belonging for them as a student at Woodmans Hill. 

I hope that everyone has a lovely holiday period planned, even if that is bunkering down at home with a good book. 

Shannon Ross

Principal