Principal's Report
Senior School Student Leadership in 2025
As communicated via Compass earlier this week, we have completed the process to elect our College Captains for 2025.
Prior to the commencement of our Year 11 exams, several prospective candidates delivered high quality speeches to an audience of their peers where they outlined their visions for student leadership at our College.
In interviews that were held in the second phase of the selection process, I was impressed with the messages that conveyed a focus not just on the leadership of our Year 12 students for next year but their vision for what student leadership opportunities will be possible from a whole-College perspective. Messages of inclusion, responsibility, opportunity and student connection were clearly articulated.
We are very proud of these students and are confident they will be highly influential in leading our student body in 2025.
It is my pleasure to announce that our College Captains and our College Vice-Captains for 2025 are:
College Captains
Darell (11D) & Isabella (11I)
College Vice-Captains
Affan (11K) & Habiba (11K)
We are very fortunate to have an outstanding group of committed students to move us forward in 2025. I warmly congratulate them and wish them all the very best in what I am sure will be a very rewarding year for them and for our College.
I also look forward to being able to announce our International Captains for 2025 very soon.
VCE Exams Conclude
The last of the Year 12 VCE examinations was conducted on Wednesday 20 November.
Our Year 12 cohort are to be commended for the manner in which they conducted themselves during the exam period and also over the course of this busy and challenging final term of their secondary schooling.
We all now wait with a sense of anticipation until the VCE results are published on Thursday 12 December. An update on those results will be communicated in the final Newsletter of the school year.
Our Year 11, 10 and 9 examination period were also completed yesterday. Our teachers are in the process of assessing the examination papers and the results will be reflected in the Cycle 6 reports available in the final week of Term.
Year 12 Final Assembly
Last Friday we celebrated the graduating class of 2024 with our Final Assembly, involving many parents and family members of the Year 12s. It was wonderful to see this event was so visibly supported by our College community.
It was my great honour to address our graduating students and their families at the commencement of the Assembly. Apart from congratulating and thanking our students, their parents and our teachers, I took a final opportunity to share with the cohort how proud we were of them and how we collectively wished them all the very best for the exciting challenges and pathways that lay ahead.
As I addressed the Final Assembly, my concluding message was;
To our Year 12 students – the class of 2024, we hope that you are departing EDSC with great pride. Pride in your achievements and knowing you have put in your best effort. And pride in being a part of our EDSC community. A community that celebrates you today and will continue to celebrate you into the future.
As your secondary education comes to a close and the next chapter of your life is about to unfold, today presents a great opportunity for you to reflect upon on what you have achieved thus far, how you have grown individually and collectively as students of EDSC.
And your growth isn’t simply about grades achieved or that final ATAR that is yet to come. Yes- these measures will influence future pathways that you take but they do not define you or your worth. As you leave the safety and comfort of EDSC, do so firm in the knowledge that you are ready to do so. You leave us as young adults ready and able to contribute to the wider world.
I know that you will have fond and lasting memories of your time at our College. Like the many graduating classes that came before you, you will always be considered a part of our school community.
But it is time for you all to take that step into your next chapter. I encourage you all to do so with open minds and a willingness to embrace the joy of possibility.
Once an English teacher, always an English teacher: forgive me for ending with a literary insight from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre:
“I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and fears, of sensations and excitements, awaited those who had the courage to go forth into its expanse”
I encourage all of you to go forth with courage. The world is wide, but so are the possibilities. This is simply a beginning.
Year 7 2025 Parent Information Evening
On Monday evening we hosted our future families for an information session as part of a successful transition process from primary to secondary school. There is a lovely symmetry to farewelling our Year 12 cohort and then welcome in those who are only beginning their journey with us. A highlight was listening to our current Year 7 students, Zoe and Marcus, speaking with great confidence about their experiences transitioning to East Doncaster. We were also entertained by a number of our instrumental music students under the guidance of Cathy Bruce at the beginning of the evening.
My message to the parents and families joining our College was that as a school community we share the same goal for our young people to be the best versions of themselves. To this end, I am confident that we share many core values that will place our young people in good stead for successful futures.
I shared my firm belief that in order to maximise the development and education of our young people, we must work together. We are committed to ensuring that our relationships with families are strong, that at all times we listen to one another in order to seek understanding and that we are always focused on the things that matter the most- the best possible outcomes for our children. I encouraged the families new to our College, and those who are already a part of our community, to join us in a meaningful partnership and to have confidence that their contribution will be acknowledged and valued.
We look forward in anticipation to having our new Year 7 cohort join us in December for their Orientation Day.
Year 7 2025 Orientation Day:
We will be conducting our Orientation Day on-site at our College for all our Year 7 students in the class of 2025 on Tuesday 10 December.
We are looking forward to giving our new students a taste of life at EDSC!
College Presentation Night
An early reminder that on Wednesday 18 December, the College will hold our annual Presentation Evening.
Venue: New Hope Community Centre
3 Springfield Rd
Blackburn North VIC 3130
Time: 6.00pm
This event is an important opportunity to celebrate student aspiration and achievement and we would hope that they will be well supported by our College community. Further details and booking for this event will available shortly on the Compass portal.
College Arrangements for next week
From next Monday 2 December, the College will roll over to a new timetable for our 2025 Advance Program.
Senior School Students
On Monday 1 December, our Year 11 students become Year 12s and our Year 10 students become Year 11 students for the one-week VCE Orientation Advance Program. Students will start their 2025 program. The last day of the year for Year 11s and 10s is at the end of this Advance week (Friday 6 December from 3.15). Students will be given some holiday homework to prepare for next year.
Middle School Students
From Monday 1 December to Friday 13 December, students in Years 7-9 will work to their 2025 timetable as part of the two-week Advance Program. The formal educational program will conclude on Friday 13 December at 3.15pm.
An enormous amount of work is completed by our College timetabler and sub-school teams to have the program ready so that we can get a ‘head start’ on next year.
A significant amount of work has also taken place during semester two via course counselling and subject expos for students in Years 9, 10 and 11 in order to provide support and guidance prior to subject selection. I am sure our students are excited to get a taste of their 2025 subjects.
Karen Boyle
Principal