Vermont Secondary College Newsletter

Principal's Report 

Vermont Secondary College

CONCLUSION OF FIRST SEMESTER AND WELCOME BACK

Thank you to all staff and students for their significant contribution throughout the first half of the 2025 school year, aware that we started Semester Two subjects in the last two weeks of Term Two! 

 

Also, a reminder to the college community that the student mid-year reports (Cycle 2) became available online in the last week of Term Two. Parents/guardians can access these reports through ‘Compass Parent Portal’ available on the college website. If you have trouble accessing these reports or need password support, then please contact the General Office.

PREMIER’S VCE AWARDS

I recently attended the Premier’s VCE Awards held on Wednesday 2 July 2025 which recognises top performing students who excelled in the Victorian Certificate of Education in 2024. Jun Yu Sun, who completed his VCE last year, received an award recognising his outstanding achievement (a study score of 50) in General Mathematics.

 

Mary Zervos, Jun Yu’s maths teacher, was also able to attend the ceremony at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Congratulations to Jun Yu and Ms. Zervos on such an outstanding result!

VCE SENIOR SOCIAL 

The Senior Social is one of the highlights of the student calendar and on Friday the 27th of June the annual VSC Senior Formal was held at Leonda in Hawthorn. The venue was one we had not been to before and it was extremely well presented with a good size dance floor surrounded by extremely well-presented tables and fine food. 

 

Staff in attendance were extremely proud of the exemplary presentation and the conduct of our students on what is a very special evening. The senior student body were excellent in displaying mature behaviour throughout the evening and the way they presented themselves as young adults was tremendous.

 

Thank you to the Senior School team and all the other Vermont staff who attended to share the enjoyment of the evening with their students. Thank you also to the parents and guardians who collected the students so promptly at the conclusion of the evening, it was greatly appreciated in the very cold weather!

 

I would also like to formally thank the students in the VCE Senior Formal organising committee for all their input and work in planning this major school event. 

 

Very special thanks goes out to Jacqueline Wilson and Ben Loh for the enormous amount of work they both put into planning this social event. 

 

They both attentively worked on the finer details, guiding the student social committee through the process of such a major event. I trust that all senior students are fully appreciative of the time and commitmentJacqueline and Ben have put into this event to ensure the evening ran so well. 

 

NEVR YOUTH CONCERT

On Wednesday 28th July Cara Macfarlane (Assistant Principal) and I were able to attend the yearly North-Eastern Victoria Region 'Spotlight' Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre. This concert involved many students from across the region including many students representing Vermont Secondary College in a wide range of ensembles.

 

This annual event featured many students from secondary schools in the NEVR coming together in a celebration of all things musical and celebrating excellent solo and ensemble music making. Our own Lam Nguyen-Hoang was conducting the choir consisting of 3 schools - Vermont & Highvale Secondary College, and John Monash Science School. They performed/sang four traditional folk songs from Africa.

 

Congratulations to all the students involved as well as our own instrumental music teachers who either assisted and/or supported the students in this great evening. Thank you also to Khristian Mizzi, Instrumental Music Coordinator, for his involvement in helping the students attend rehearsals. It was a fantastic evening of highly talented student musicians performing in an outstanding performance space. 

 

SENIOR STUDENTS DRIVING TO AND FROM SCHOOL 

It is that time of year again when many of our senior students have obtained their drivers licence. It is crucial that all students driving a vehicle to and from school adhere to our guidelines and are very aware of our local residents, particularly in relation to parking at the back of the college. In the past some local residents have been concerned with how our students conduct themselves at the back of the college including accessing cars during the day, loud music, poor driving habits, dropping litter and not supporting our local neighbourhood in a positive way.

 

In accordance with Department of Education (DE) guidelines, all students who wish to drive a car to and/or from the college must complete the relevant sections of this contract, have it signed by a member of the college principal team, and return it to the Heads of House before they commence driving to college.

 

The VSC contract states:

 

That if I drive to and/or from the college, I:

  1. will complete this agreement in full before I commence driving to the college;

  2. will not drive or park on college grounds;

  3. will adhere to all road rules – including driver safety

  4. will not park in Cowra Street or Devlin Street;

  5. will adhere to all parking restrictions around the college;

  6. will not cause any littering, nuisance or obstruction to residents and/or pedestrians whilst parking or driving to or from the college;

  7. will not drive myself to college functions, excursions, sports events etc.;

  8. will not transport other students to and/or from the college, or during any function connected with the college, as required by DE regulations; 

  9. will only transport siblings to and/or from the college if a parent/carer gives approval through completion and return of the relevant section below;

  10. will not go to my car during the school day (i.e. leave the college grounds);

  11. understand that the college may apply sanctions if I do not abide by the above rules;

  12. understand that City of Whitehorse by-laws officers and/or Police will be informed should I not abide by relevant road laws;

  13. understand that neighbours making complaints to the college about any matter related to student drivers will similarly be referred to City of Whitehorse by-laws officers and/or Police.

Any student who has gained their licence this year or gains it through to the end of the school year, needs to pick up this form from the Heads of House/Student Managers and have it signed by a Principal class member. 

 

This issue is about the safety of our students and our local community, as well as respect for our neighbours. We would ask parents/guardians to support us and to have a conversation with your child about the use of their car during school hours.

VSC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY – FRIDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER

The college will be holding a Professional Development Day for all staff on Friday 5th September and students will not be required at school. This is a day set aside for teachers to have a common planning day working on, and further developing, curriculum.