From the Principal Class

Dear Viewbank Community,

In my final newsletter for 2020, I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary year that we have had.

January 22nd was the first real indication that Covid 19 would be a global challenge, as Australians evacuated from Wuhan.  Australia’s borders closed on March 20th and we entered the first stage of lockdown on March 23rd, preparing for school closure on April 6th.

Our teachers responded with incredible agility, embracing the concept of continuous learning under remote conditions via a platform – Microsoft Teams that most had never heard of let alone use!

As restrictions eased, schools began to reopen in late May.  Staff and students reported having found online learning challenging, with work/school/life balance difficult for all.

The news that we would be locking down again in late June meant a review (surveying staff, students and parents) of our approach to online learning and some adjustments to student programs and recognition of the impact of screen time on teacher and student wellbeing.

With the move to the final step in reopening, we have a clearly defined set of priorities:

• Mental health and wellbeing of all staff and students
• Reaching out to families to reengage with the College and the supports available
• Equity – catch-up for those students who did not achieve expected learning growth during remote learning

In 2021, the Department of Education is funding a small group tutor program to support students who may have fallen behind during remote learning.  We are currently working to identify those students who faced a range of challenges during that time.  We will be contacting parents of those students we have identified in the new year to outline the support that will be in place for their student.

We are very excited about the Launch program for 2021. There is a video on the website, which outlines the vision behind the program, the curriculum and the focus on building connectedness through a reinvigorated House system.  We are very excited about the opportunity to work closely in teams to support students through a different wellbeing structure.  Feedback through the Q & A sessions were ran, as a follow-up was very positive.

Whilst we have not been able to run the usual gala events such as the music evenings or the annual production, the richness of our College program continued in many ways.

I want to acknowledge and thank all of those on staff who have contributed to ensuring that ‘new normal’ of 2020 enabled students to pursue their interests, achieve academically and maintain the social connections that are so important to their personal growth.  We will build back better.

The work of the following has been incredible:

• Admin and office staff, Kathleen Hannan and Aileen Little (OHS rep) for ensuring that the school was Covid safe and met the departments Covid safety plan guidelines.
• Our amazing students, who endured, persevered, and built extraordinary resilience during lockdown.  Their willingness to reengage at school, not argue about mask wearing and their joy at seeing each other and their teachers!
• The commitment of our teachers to providing continuous learning under difficult conditions. Their willingness to adapt, juggle their own family circumstances in remote learning, be available to support students - all deserves recognition.  The ‘ping’ of a Teams message coming through will long be remembered as one of the sounds of 2020!
• The music teachers and the production crew, who found a way to allow students to continue to perform.
• Our Year 12 teachers, whose remote teaching, mentoring, care and support of their students has enabled those students to engage successfully with their final exams.
• Our Level Leaders, whose care of the students has been incredible.  They were able to provide engaging experiences to connect students and regular well-being check-ins.
• Our Wellbeing team, who worked tirelessly through remote to engage with and support both students and staff with their mental health and wellbeing.
• Our Educational Support staff, who continued to provide support to funded students in virtual classrooms.
• My Assistant Principals, John Munro, Darren Murray, Emma Ford and Rachael Smith.  They have provided support to staff to adapt to the many changes and challenges lockdown brought.  Their support of the wellbeing of all throughout the College community has been amazing.  I cannot express enough gratitude for their support of me during this year.
• Finally, our parents and guardians.  At Viewbank, we are incredibly fortunate to have parents so invested in their children’s personal, social and academic growth – and we know the majority of our students were incredibly well supported during remote learning.  Thank you for your support of the College and the work we are doing here.

There are far too many examples of individual teachers going above and beyond to engage students to mention in this report. I want to thank them all on your behalf.

State Schools Spectacular

We had a number of students involved in the 2020 State School’s Spectacular, which aired last Saturday night.  As with everything during this Covid year, performances were conducted remotely and synthesised to create the Spectacular for television. 

We want to congratulate the following students on their contribution:

• Jack Carter, Principal Vocalist
• Dylan Connolly, Orchestra Musician – Percussion
• Lachlan Deane, Victorian State Schools Choir Vocalist
• Lawrence Luo, Orchestra Musician – Viola
• Aaron Western, Orchestra Musician – Alto Saxophone
• Tristan Western, Orchestra Musician – Tenor Saxophone

Sporting news

Congratulations to Eva Wilson on her recent performance in Hammer throw at the NSW All Schools Championships, where she finished second to the number 1 ranked thrower in Australia for that age group.  Eva qualified for the Athletics Victoria Target Talent Program and is nominated for a School Sport Victoria award.  We look forward to hearing more next year when she competes in the Nationals for Athletics.  Amazing – well done Eva.

Valedictory afternoon:

The Class of 2020 were able to celebrate their time at Viewbank College last Thursday.

The Senior School team organised an afternoon event on the College oval, with musical performances, presentation of awards and certificates of completion and a gift bag including a sash and graduation mortarboard.  There were food trucks to keep students fed and hydrated and a strong representation of the teachers who have guided their students through Year 12.

We congratulate our Valedictorian, Chelsea Del Romano, for her wonderful, reflective and celebratory speech that captured the essence of this cohort’s journey and the culmination of completing Year 12 under lockdown!

We also congratulate our College Leadership team, led by Joel Prendergast and Lilly Brasch.

Thanks to Dean Bettiol, Sue Calder, Hannah Do and Sarah Dashwood for their wonderful support of the students throughout the year and for their organisation of this event.

We wish the Class of 2020 all the best for their future pursuits.

Retirements:

The following staff are retiring at the end of 2020.  We wish to acknowledge their contribution to public education and to Viewbank College.  We will be celebrating with them at our final day function, but hope to run a more formal evening early next year.

David Carter – Humanities

Kaye MacKenzie – Languages and International Student Program

Dianne Allan – Psychology and Mathematics

Annette Mc Hutchison – Languages

Julie Ashdown – Health and PE

Lorraine Gulliver – Visual Arts

Neil Jowsey - Instrumental Music

We wish them a long and happy retirement!

Congratulations to our 2021 Year 12 Leadership Team

In addition to our already announced College Captains (Patrick and Paris):

Reminder to Parents/Guardians of students in Years 9-12 - Elective Subjects

A reminder to parents with students in Years 9-12 that some elective subjects have a fee attached to them.  These fees are currently on Compass under “Events”  and are either year long (Yrs 11 & 12) or Semester long (Yrs 9-10) subjects.

Payment of these items prior to the start of the year is appreciated.

2021 Production will be......

Keep an eye out in the Compass Newsfeed next year for more information.

Canteen closed from Monday 14th December to the end of the year

Please be advised that our Canteen will be closed from Monday 14th December to the end of the year.

Finally, I also wish you all a Merry Christmas and New Year, surrounded by family and friends.

Take care and stay safe. 

We look forward to seeing everyone in 2021.

The Principal Class Team

Sharon Grimes, Principal

John Munro, Assistant Principal

Emma Ford, Assistant Principal

Rachael Smith, Assistant Principal

Darren Murray, Assistant Principal