Principal's Message-

Laura Spence

What a year! Congratulations to our students for another year of community, opportunity, and growth.

This week, we had our College Awards evening, which, on the back of the Valedictory Presentation, gave us a wonderful snapshot of the range of successes our students have had this year. I shared a few details with parents at the Awards evening that are valuable to share with the whole community in COG to extend the celebration and recognition.

We wish to celebrate the achievements of every student this year, as some students’ growth is not shown in an award but in other measures, such as increasing their attendance, being part of additional activities and events, meeting new friends, starting new subjects, being part of student leadership or mentoring teams, and many other ways. Parents and carers, as we close out the year, please chat with your child about their achievements and recognise their growth in the many different ways.

I have a few thank-yous to start with; the first is for our teachers and educational support staff. This thank-you is from our leadership team, but more importantly, passing on from the many parents this year and right up the awards event when parents have repeatedly told me how brilliant our staff is and how well supported each student and family feels at McClelland. Be ready for some data in this post, as there is much to share. I’ll start with staff and families to back up the thank-you; our annual Department Parent Opinion Survey and Staff Survey results have positive endorsement of every survey factor well above the state average, affirming the trust and support felt through the McClelland community, something which I have been fortunate enough to experience every day.

We will move on to student results, starting with our outstanding VCE results. Our median ATAR of 75.70 was above the state average, and early in Term 4, we celebrated the 100% completion of our Vocational Major students and our non-scored VCE students, with students transitioning into quality pathways like TAFE, apprenticeships, and other training.

Earlier, we celebrated our NAPLAN results, which again showed above-state averages for learning growth from Years 7 to 9 in Numeracy and Literacy.

I want to take a minute to highlight our English results. English is the one subject everyone has to study from Year 7 to Year 12, and our VCE English and NAPLAN Literacy results are a direct reflection of our targeted teaching, which starts at Year 7.

The state average for VCE English is around 29, and for the past three years, McClelland’s VCE English Study Score has been 32, 33, and 33 again this year.

64% of our Year 9 students achieved Strong or Exceeding in NAPLAN, 10% more than similar schools. Our learning growth, which tracks the increase in results from Year 7 to Year 9, is also well above similar schools, with 72% of students achieving ‘High’ or ‘Medium’ growth.

Put students at McClelland achieve far more than they are statistically expected to in years 7 to 9. English outcomes are essential, as they are among the strongest predictors of overall school success.

Changing back to the thank-yous, I’d like to thank the School Council for your work this year and for welcoming me to the College. Our council parents and students have given me great insight into the college community’s high expectations for our student's education and development. Our students have shown me that as high as we set expectations, they will meet and exceed them. If you would like to consider being a School Council member or encourage your child to be a student member, please look out for the application process in early 2025.

So, what does 2025 hold? All of the above and more. We have successfully added a Central Australia trip to our extensive camps offerings; our teachers are working on many exciting learning activities, excursions, competitions, and events like the Community Cornershop Carnival, which will be twice the size of this year’s inaugural success. We have a large cohort of Year 7s starting their McClelland life and a fantastic group of student leaders from every year level already working on new opportunities for all student engagement. We are up to production year with Shrek Jnr being produced, with the cast having their first rehearsal this week and successful Grade 6 students having already auditioned and been cast alongside students right up to Year 12 who will model and support the exciting process.

From a teaching and learning perspective, the college will continue with the highly successful School Wide Positive Behaviours framework, including classroom routines and the ongoing development of our Explicit Instructional Model. Both of these allow students to understand what is expected of them and support them to achieve their best learning in a calm and informed classroom.

Next year, you will see an increased expectation of attendance rates with reminders that everyday matters. Please set your children up well over the summer break so they can be prepared and supported from home to ensure they can be at school on time every school day. At the award evening, our 2024 VCE Dux, Steph Armstrong, explained that she missed only one school day for all of Years 11 and 12, an outstanding achievement, and one which she credits with her ability to access her teachers for support to strengthen friendships, be involved in extra-curricular activities, and clearly, to achieve her best. With an ATAR of 95.55, including an English Study Score of 48, Steph placed in the top 1.5% of Victorian students. Listen to Steph when she tells you attendance matters!

I have thoroughly enjoyed 2024 at McClelland and appreciate all the students and parents who have reached out and introduced themselves, as well as the many I have worked with as part of our range of activities and events or simply in the classroom and yard as I have wandered in and out; students are always kind, friendly, and inquisitive, a joy to work with. Finally, a wholesale congratulations to all our students, and thank you to families for your positive engagement with McClelland and support.

Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy summer break.