From the Principal

It has been a whirlwind start to Term 3, with a visit from our sister school in Osaka, Japan, numerous whole school events and a range of student achievements. My message will highlight only some of them and I will reserve others for later in the term.

A focus for all of us at the start of Semester 2 has been Pathways conversations with students and their families, as they prepare to select their learning program for 2026. House Leadership Teams, ably supported by our Careers Practitioners, have met with all students from Years 8 – 11 in a discussion which identified their strengths, their future aspirations and what learning success could look like at Dandenong High School. Attendance and engagement from all our families has been outstanding and leaders have commented on how well prepared and considered students have been as they approached their interview.

This year, our Pathways improvement approach has included the review and redevelopment of our Year 10 model, designed to provide further opportunities for our Year 10 students to achieve success and further agency in their learning. The new Year 10 program will be introduced next year, and students will have greater flexibility in their choice of subjects, which will align more closely with their career path beyond school. This will include increased opportunities to complete one or more VCE subjects in Year 10, VET options and the choice of subjects that provide an explicit applied learning pathway, to prepare students to successfully complete the VM specialisation in Years 11 and 12. This is a change to the more traditional program the school has offered in the past and builds on the successful redesign of our Senior Studies program over the last two years.

2025 marks a year of significant improvement in sporting achievement, with an increase of students participating in teams and individual events across a range of sports. At the start of this term, the Year 7 boys soccer team won through to the State finals, claiming a thrilling 2-1 victory over Narre Warren P-12, in a tense showdown. They now move onto to representing SEVR in the State Finals, which is an incredible achievement. To add to our soccer success, our students also participated in the Melbourne Victory Soccer Cup, a competition which included 14 Soccer Academy schools, as well as other secondary colleges from across the state. We finished with an amazing 3rd place overall, which is a credit to all staff and students involved. 

Finally, I encourage you to read through the remaining pages of this edition of our newsletter to find out about the latest happenings at Dandenong High school and stay tuned for me reporting more of our achievements in Issue 6, including; the production, our sister school visit and our students' tour of Japan, fun on the slopes at Ski Camp, Year 11 Leadership Conference in Melbourne and how our Year 12 students impressed at the Student UN in Dromana. 

Best wishes,

Susan Ogden

Principal