Assistant Principal Report - Junior School 

Year 7

After all the excitement of Grade 6 Graduation, the state-wide transition day and getting new uniforms and books over the holidays, the new Year 7 Cohort has made a fantastic start at Parkdale Secondary College.

Since the beginning of the school year the Year 7s have overcome many challenges associated with transitioning to a Secondary College including learning how to use combination locks, being self-sufficient through checking their timetables on Compass, navigating their way to different rooms for their specialist classes and generally adapting to all of the changes that high school brings, which this cohort have done with aplomb.   

Over the two nights that meet the tutor events took place, the Year 7 team were pleased to see over 300 parents, who took time out of their night to come and learn about the processes in the Junior Learning Centre and meet to discuss any pressing issues with their child’s tutor group teacher. The nights were a great success with many positive relationships developed and copious amounts of information shared. 

Year 8

The Year 8s have made a strong start to their second year at Parkdale Secondary College, especially regarding the wearing of the correct school uniform, their organisational levels and classroom behaviour.

Last week the Year 8 students completed their first round of interschool sports, competing against Mordialloc College in volleyball, cricket, baseball, softball and tennis. It was great to see all of the students showing many of our Parkdale Principles including participation and probity throughout their sporting efforts. Along with the above-mentioned sports, a number of year 8 students participated in activities including trampolining, mixed sports and fitness.

It is so great to see the Year 8s make such a great start to 2024 and I look forward to seeing this trend continue and develop throughout the rest of this term.

Year 9

The Year 9s have made a very positive start to 2024 making the E-Wing their own. The highlight so far for the majority of the Year 9s would have to be the CONNECT Program, which is a year-long program that runs every Wednesday. The CONNECT program is made up of 9 units that each run over a five-week block.

Students in the “Kitchen to Table” block have already learned to make coffees and each Wednesday can be seen proudly delivering their creations to staff throughout the school, whilst a number of students have already had the opportunity to attend an excursion off campus:

• Students in “City Project” have been into the city where they have learned facts about Melbourne, navigated through the city and seen some of the highlights Melbourne has to offer.
• Students undertaking the “LORE” unit have also made their way into the city visiting Parliament House and the Old Melbourne Gaol.

This week, another group of students, who are completing the “Fit 4 Life” unit will be heading to the MCG, which is sure to be another great experience. 

It has been great to hear all of the positive comments from staff regarding the Year 9 students’ enthusiasm and application within the CONNECT program! 

NAPLAN

The Year 7 and 9 students will soon be completing their NAPLAN testing, which will occur between the 13th and 25th of March. In recent weeks students have been asked to ensure that they download the NAP lockout browser in preparation for these tests, with the IT technicians visiting Tutor groups to assist anyone who may have had issues downloading the browser. If you are a parent of a Year 7 or 9 students who hasn’t had the opportunity to read the email outlining all of the important NAPLAN information that was sent on Friday 9th February, please take five minutes to do so.