Principal's Report

 Dear parents and carers, 

Term 2 in 2020 has been like no other school term in Victoria’s history, and so I am writing to thank every member of our community for your support. As you know, last week our Year 7 to 10 students joined our VCE students in face to face learning. It was great to see our school communities come together again and the school again feels vibrant and active with the return of all our students. I had the pleasure of addressing all students with our School Captains – Nour Maqsodi and Lachlan Angelovski - who provided some words of reflection and motivation upon their return. I found their words to be honest and true indication of how all students must have felt during the period of isolation. I thank them for offering their time and for providing a message to inspire the rest of our student population. 

In responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic over the past few months, the Department of Education and Training has asked a lot of our teachers and schools, as well as requiring your support as parents and carers. I want to acknowledge the extraordinary effort you have all made in working in partnership with your teachers and schools to support your children while they have been learning from home. When I wrote to you a few months ago as we transitioned to remote and flexible learning, I acknowledged that it would be a challenging time for everyone, but that it was important to work closely together to provide the best possible support for students. Many of you have since told me that there have been difficult, rewarding and challenging experiences during this unique and uncertain time that we have been through together. I thank you for your support, commitment, patience and perseverance to ensure we all got through that time.

But despite some difficulties, I’ve been impressed to hear inspiring stories from within our college. The innovative and creative approaches adopted by students and teachers during the remote learning model have been outstanding, and we hope to hold onto some of these practices in our return to on-site schooling. 

I feel that as a school community we have forged even stronger relationships and partnerships - with families and teachers gaining a greater mutual appreciation of their shared contributions to school education. Our schools measures to protect the health and safety of your children, your family, teachers and staff, and our local community were put to the test. However, we now have even more confidence in our Well-being structures and the outcomes they can deliver for all members of our community. I hope these measures, along with the knowledge that the Victorian Chief Health Officer and Victorian Government have approached the return to on-site schooling with the utmost precaution and careful planning, have helped ease any anxiety about the return to on-site schooling. 

The changes at our school are consistent with health advice, including enhanced cleaning in schools and frequent handwashing, as well as asking everyone to practice physical distancing during drop-off and pick-up times. Your children may continue feeling anxious about returning to school. Please reassure your child that it’s safe for them to be back at school and reinforce what they’ve been practicing at home around hand hygiene and coughing and sneezing. Reassure them that extensive cleaning is being carried out in schools and that the school has put into place many operational changes to assist in providing them that confidence. 

Most importantly please remember this health advice: if you or your child is unwell, please stay at home. This is vital to ensuring the effective management of the pandemic and our school environment. 

Information about how to speak to your child about coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/Pages/talkingtoyourchildaboutcoronavirus.aspx  

Visit the Department’s website for the latest information about coronavirus (COVID-19) at: 

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx 

Thank you once again for all of the support the school received during this term to support your children while they were learning at home, and for your patience during the staged return to on-site schooling.

If there is anything the school can do to further support any family during this time please let me know at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Corey Jewell

College Principal