Principal's Report
Dear Families,
What a week it has been for one staff member! On behalf of the college community, I extend my warmest congratulations to our Sports Coordinator / Teacher aide Shaun Mannagh who was drafted to the Geelong Cats on Tuesday evening!
Shaun has worked with staff and supported in classrooms whilst keeping our students active in the yard. He has been a bus driver, coach, and mentor and has undertaken a multitude of other roles that have kept our camps, sporting activities and excursions on track. As an integral member of the support team at Altona College for the past 6 years, he led the development of our lunch time Active Schools’ Program with the PE team for which our school has been recognised for by the department. Shaun has been a player with the Werribee Tigers since arriving in Melbourne where he has made a substantial contribution. He had us glued to the broadcast when he starred in the grand final this year kicking 6 goals and winning Best on Field despite his team's loss, grabbing widespread media attention. His dream was to reach AFL level and we couldn’t be prouder or happier for him and his family when he was picked number 36 this week. I have no doubt we will have a few more Cats fans at the College as they watch Shaun play and follow his journey in the future.
On behalf of all of us at Altona College, our sincere congratulations to you Shaun. You will be sadly missed by our students and staff having made a significant contribution to the health and wellbeing of our students through physical activity programs. We wish you every success with the Geelong Cats and look forward to seeing your journey in the years to come.
Our Year 12 students have celebrated the end of their schooling and closed another chapter in their lives. They dressed in costumes, along with the staff, and joined us for breakfast last week where they shared some stories and a video montage of their time in high school. Following the presentation of some fun awards they interacted with our early years students which is now an annual tradition. The smile on the youngsters faces said it all as they were high 5’d and danced along with our seniors and then chased the frog around the turf.
At the final assembly, the foundation of our college shone through in the speeches from our Captains and Vice Captains Razan, Liam and Henry. Our student leaders spoke fondly of all their teachers and their engagement with each one of them, the way they made learning fun, and challenged and supported them to grow sometimes through the hardly engaging content. Their speeches were heartfelt, filled with emotion, special memories and joy. When I hear our Captain and Vice Captains speak, they epitomise everything that we could ever have hoped for from an Altona College graduate. As a Principal I am so very proud of these young leaders, and I know that they each have a promising future. They were back in at the College this week finalising our inaugural yearbook which was a vision of our captain Razan.
As we marked the end of 13 years of education for the cohort, I recognised the milestone of 6 students. Michael Zipevski, Desiree Giannakopoulos, Liam Meerza, Dannielle Stone, and Riley Thomas who spent 13 years at Altona College, officially their entire schooling in our changing community and have travelled the path of change with us all. I also acknowledge Wynona Hobbs who has completed 12 years having joined the college as a year 1 student. It has been an absolute privilege to have been their school Principal as I have been afforded an incredible opportunity to have been a part of their journey through primary school and to the completion of the secondary years, an opportunity very few Principals are offered.
Our valedictory evening was a significant event for the graduates and their families last Thursday evening with the pride from both parties evident. Once again, our Captains shone through in the most poignant of speeches where they paid testimony to the families for their incredible support in their lives. There was barely a dry eye in the room by the end of each leader’s personal address and I commend their ability to engage an audience and speak with such confidence and composure. The growth each have made over the year has been significant as it has been for each of the graduates present on the evening. The next step for the cohort is the receipt of their VCE results on the 11th of December and the release of offers from further educational providers in January 2024.
Today we say farewell to the Year 10 and 11 students who conclude their educational program for the year. Our year 10 students are heading off on work experience next week exploring a range of vocational activities. It is hard to believe that the year has drawn to a close for our senior school. Meanwhile our Year 7 to 9 students will head into an examination period and then complete a step-up program for 2024. Our Year 7 2024 cohort will experience an orientation day on Tuesday 10th December.
Meanwhile, our 2024 prep students attended their final transition day on Wednesday where they worked with their prep teachers. Their confidence in the school environment has increased immensely throughout the steps to prep program and we know that they are well prepared to begin their next chapter in January. The families met with staff for an induction session where we discussed processes and procedures in the first year of school. It was lovely to greet the new families who are about to begin their educational journey with their child.
In the last few weeks of the year there are several events for students and families. A reminder of the following two key dates which are curriculum days and pupil free.
- Friday 8th December Curriculum Day
- Tuesday 19th December Curriculum day – staff induction.
The school year concludes on Wednesday, December 20th at 1:30pm
Wishing all of our families a relaxing weekend and I look forward to seeing all our prep to year 9 students on Monday.
Julie Krause
Principal