From the Acting Principal
Welcome back to Term 3
It was a strange feeling to be the new Acting Principal at a school with no students on Friday. Our State continues to flow in and out of lockdown and I want to commend the school community on their resilience in returning once again to remote and flexible learning. The experience of families is so different, with some celebrating the return of 24-hour pyjama wearing, while others find the remote learning environment especially challenging. The best we can do is check on each other and offer any support that we can. If you are worried about your child or a friend of theirs, then please get in contact with the school via our subschool teams or the student wellbeing team, so that we can arrange suitable supports for them.
I am Chris Jones, and I am very privileged to be joining your School Community as the Acting Principal for Term 3. I am from University High School, where I have been an Assistant Principal for the last 6 years of the 21 years I have been at the school.
My family lives in the Northcote High School zone, between Northcote Plaza and the Thornbury Village. Each morning and evening I rode past the school along the St Georges Road trail on my way to and from Uni High. I am an avid bike rider and continue to ride to work although it is no longer far enough to count as a training ride – although the St Georges Road hill is always a bit of a challenge.
I am keen to learn about Northcote HS during this term. I spent the first 4 weeks of last Term at Preston High School shadowing the school principal, Sean Butler, and learnt about the importance of creating programs for students appropriate to the school’s context. I have started visiting the faculty areas around the school and I am looking forward to finding out about more of the programs that are run both within the school’s curriculum and also as extra-curricular activities.
It was great that during the first week of term we were able to hold one of the already rescheduled mid-year music performances and that some students were able to participate in interschool sports activities. Unfortunately, the remaining sports events, second mid-year concert and school production are now postponed. We look forward to events such as these running again in the near future, so please check the Newsletter and Compass Newsfeeds when we are back on-site.
Also last week, FemCo, one of our co-curricular groups, spoke to the staff about ‘gendered language’ in the classroom setting. I was impressed by how confidently they were able to inform staff and I was entertained and informed by their role-plays of staff. I look forward to other students and co-curricular groups having the opportunity to share their knowledge and messages with the school community.
Masterplan consultation and process
Last week, I joined Sue Harrap (substantive Principal), school council members and the project manager from the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to participate in the architect selection process for completing the Asset Management Planning – Phase 2. It was interesting to hear the architecture teams talk about the opportunities that the site offers. Thanks to all of the community members that participated in the survey last term, the architects will find this information valuable when they undertake further community consultation. A FAQ sheet has been created for community members that can be accessed, upon request, from the school.
Bike racks and bike security
More bike racks have been installed as part of the grant that the school received, however I noticed last week that many students are continuing to lock their bicycles outside the school grounds where they are not as safe. Please encourage your child to lock their bikes inside the school gates at the new racks provided. More racks are being installed over the next few weeks so make sure that students look out for better places to lock their bikes. It is great to see so many students riding their bikes to school using the local bike paths.
I look forward to meeting you around the school, or online if remote learning continues.
Chris Jones
Acting Principal
