From the Principal Class

Dear College community,

The first two weeks of term have flown by, with students back to classes and engaging well with their learning.

There are a few observations that I would like to make after Semester 1, regarding the College, our learning environment and our physical spaces.

Firstly, students in our Year 8 to 11 cohorts are currently going through course selection for 2026. Thank you to the families who are engaging in those conversations, both at home and with our staff.

We are fortunate, as a large College, to have wide ranging opportunities for students to try new subjects, consolidate their learning and explore future pathways.

What is clear is that Viewbank College is performing very well. Our recent NAPLAN results have seen tremendous growth in student outcomes through Years 7 to 9 in literacy and numeracy. Our VCE results are above state average.

What is less clear is the growth in the years leading to Year 12. Students need to maintain effort consistently – too often I hear Year 10 and 11 students say they will cruise along and pick up the effort and try hard in Year 12. This is way too late!

We know and understand some of the reasons for this - the development of young people through puberty, the juggle of part-time jobs, the growing importance of social engagement and social media influence, as well as the expectation that it will just ‘happen for them’.

We encourage parents to continue to communicate with your young people about the importance of effort, of not cruising and giving bare minimum. It is not as easy as they think to rebuild lost work habits, to make up for loss of sequential learning.

We want to continue to work in partnership with you and support all students to get the best outcomes for them, no matter what pathway that takes them. Please contact your House Leader if you have any concerns or want any advice.

We also ask our parents to continue to support us as we work with our young people on their social and emotional development. We are seeing more students attending and engaging with our programs. These programs are building important skills and dispositions such as empathy, integrity and values, care for the environment, communication and teamwork.

Recently, all over the world, there have been well reported acts of violence, racism and antisemitism. A small number of our students are not meeting our values in relation to these things in their classes and the yard. Whilst we have not witnessed a great increase in overt bullying, racism and antisemitism, there have been instances where this has been evident. We wish to educate all our students to value diversity and accept difference. We will not tolerate anything else. We also will not tolerate physical contact, fighting or the ‘banter’, which often leads to physical interactions. Please support our efforts to eliminate these behaviours and attitudes.

We have worked hard to make our physical spaces nicer for our students.

Unfortunately, we continue to have a small number of students who think it is ok to damage and trash our physical environment. Our toilets seem to be a place to direct their anger or frustration and in the last week, we have seen substantial damage. This ultimately costs everyone, financially and time to clean and fix the spaces.

We have a wonderful community, hardworking teachers, and great students. Our role is to educate and support young people to become good citizens, to value their opportunities, respect those who support them and each other.

Events:

So far this term, we have achieved sporting success, success in Chess tournaments, and students have engaged in a wide variety of events.

Please read on in the newsletter for more information or check out our Instagram @viewbankcollege3084.

I would particularly like to congratulate five Year 10 students who have been shortlisted for the Eureka Science Award. This is a highly prestigious national prize and the students will travel to Sydney for the awards evening in September.

Congratulations to Paige, Aiden, Madeleine, Tahlia and Noah for your amazing project and nomination. Good luck!

Also a huge congratulations to Declan Loeckx for winning the U16 State Cross Country title. A massive achievement, and he will be off to National titles.

Mamma Mia:

And of course! Opening night next Wednesday. We are really looking forward to this year’s production of Mamma Mia.

The staff and students worked tirelessly over the last holidays, fine tuning, rehearsing individually and as a whole cast. It is looking amazing. In recognition of the extraordinary effort and commitment of all those involved, make sure you book a ticket and come along!

Buy tickets here!

Sharon Grimes, Principal

Emma Ford, Assistant Principal

Rachael Smith, Assistant Principal

Anna Crosswhite, Assistant Principal

Penelope Cleghorn, Assistant Principal