From the Principal Class

The 2020 school year is well and truly up and running!

Production cast auditions are complete and rehearsals have begun in earnest.

Our new parents attended a Welcome Evening and it was lovely to meet so many parents on the evening. A warm welcome to our College community.

Our Year 12 Literature class, studying the text Picnic at Hanging Rock, went back in time and travelled to Hanging Rock in full early 1900’s attire. Quite a way to immerse yourself in the study of text! Please see the Year 12 Literature News page for more detail and great pictures.

We have been conducting College tours for prospective parents and students. It has been lovely to hear their feedback on how articulate and engaged our students are in their learning.

Leadership Camp

The 2020 Senior Leadership Team travelled to Lyrebird Park in Yellingbo. Under the guidance of John Munro, Hannah Do, Darren Murray and Ruth Perkins, the students engaged in some team building activities. They worked on exploring their leadership styles and developing their goals for 2020. The feedback I received from the group was overwhelmingly positive! Thanks to the staff and students for a very positive experience.

Last week our school leaders for 2020 attended the Leadership Camp. This was a fantastic opportunity for these students to develop their leadership skills whilst bonding with each other through (terrifying) activities such as “Walk the Plank”. The leadership team also used their planning time wisely to create initiatives that will improve the school for students, staff and the wider community. All in all, the students not only had a great time but also faced challenges and discovered new things about themselves and each other.

Hannah Do

Year 12 Wellbeing Leader

VCE High Achievers

This past week we had our first Middle and Senior School Assemblies. These assemblies provided us with an opportunity to induct our College Leadership teams and to recognise and celebrate the efforts of our 2019 VCE cohort.

During the assembly, we acknowledged the achievements of the students who achieved ATARs of 90+ as well as students who achieved individual study scores of 40+. These are significant achievements, placing them in the top 10% of performance in the state.

Our current students were able to hear from our Dux, Sabrina Huang, who spoke of her journey throughout her time at Viewbank College, as well as giving some great advice regarding VCE success!

Congratulations to the following students for their accomplishments:

Sabrina (Weiyi) Huang (Dux)

Bram Bastiaansen (2nd Top)

Kasey Hong (3rd Top)

Letitia Law (4th Top)

Laura Belfrage

Molly Brown

Joseph Caflisch

Tsz Wai Cheng

Jack Cornelissen

Lucinda Derrett

Sidhra Fernando-Plant

Daniel Fisher

James Fox

Asha Hamilton

Ella Harris

Jack Harrison

Charmaine Hung

Emily Jackson

Elton Kha

Tianming Li

Xinyi Li

Amber Lowe

Cara McCulloch

Martin Medovarsky

Grace Minchinton

Jake Phipps

Thomas Sparks

Gabrielle Speechly

Angelina Talevski

Melanie Wines

Xiao Xu

Tiansheng Xue

Raneem Zeineh

We also acknowledged the individual accomplishment of Silas Harris for his selection to Top Designs.

He will be one of seven students state-wide to have their work displayed at the upcoming VCAA Top Design Exhibition. Well done!

Laura Belfrage also had an outstanding result in the Art domain, scoring a perfect study score of 50 for Studio Arts. That is a wonderful achievement. She spoke very clearly about following your passion and working hard to accomplish her goals.

Lanaya Marks came and spoke about her passion- creating animation. She received the Viewbank College Art and Technology award last year. Students were able to view her outstanding work and be inspired by her creative talents and her message of perseverance and following a passion.

College Council Elections

We are fortunate to have a College parent body who wish to be involved in the greater life of the College which has resulted in an election for College Council. We have eight nominees for the seven places on Council.

Families have been sent an envelope containing the nominees’ statements, the ballot paper and an envelope for the voting slip to be returned by Friday 13th March, 2020 at 4pm to the General Office. Votes can either be submitted by post or hand-delivered. We wish to thank the eight nominees, for their interest and willingness to further the work of the College.

The outcome of the ballot will be declared on Monday, 16th March and this will be conveyed by Newsletter.

Please note the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the College will be held on Wednesday 18th March at 6.30pm. The new College Council will convene after that meeting.

Signature Paver fundraiser

We invite you to purchase a signature paver with your name/family names engraved to be placed as part of the landscaping for our Outdoor Space Project.

The minimum cost for a paver is $30.00, however there are options for families to purchase pavers for $50, $75 or $100. (The pavers are all the same size)

Your generous donation will support the development of additional outdoor spaces within the exterior perimeter of the College grounds. This project is planned to include a walking track, exercise stations, seating/tables, shade sails and landscaped garden areas. These areas will provide not only additional activity areas were students can be busy but also reflection spaces where students can relax and enjoy being with their friends!

Together we can make a difference!

Please note that there is a 48 character maximum for paver engravement.

Please click signature paver initiative if you wish to have your connection to the College recognized and maintained into perpetuity!

Sharon Grimes, Principal

John Munro, Assistant Principal

Rachael Smith, Assistant Principal

Darren Murray, Acting Assistant Principal