Principal's Report
Welcome
It has been a highly engaging and exciting Term 1 this year, one that many staff (myself included) have been calling the smoothest start to a year that we can recall.
I have enjoyed getting to know our new Year 7 students along with their families and seeing the cohort make a great start to their secondary schooling has been very rewarding.
This week, I enjoyed catching up with a number of parents during the parent teacher interviews.
We had a record number of interviews (25% increase from T1 2024). This is in line with big increases that we have seen in parent engagement in recent times. We are currently reviewing the role and structure of parent teacher interviews, with the likelihood that we will incorporate student goal setting and time with mentor teachers in the future. We will be reaching out to parents for feedback and input into potential changes later this year.
This week, I was informed that I have been seconded to the Kingston Network as the Acting Senior Education and Improvement Leader (SEIL) for Term 2 and will be back at Patterson River for the start of Term 3. The role will provide me with the opportunity to work closely with a number of our feeder primary schools which are located in the City of Kingston. Adam Slater will be the Acting Principal for the first few weeks of term, while the Department runs an EOI process.
Annual Report to the School Community
We recently tabled our Annual Report to the School Community to our school council and developed our commentary about the school's performance in 2024.
Pleasingly, the data set for the school provided by the Department of Education shows that the school continues to perform strongly across a range of areas, outperforming statistically similar schools and state in 16 out of the 18 measures reported.
Above are a few of the key data sets that are available in the report which will be published once quality assurance processes with the Department is finalised.
While the data sets provided are positive compared to similar schools and state, there is still much room for improvement in many areas. One that we have highlighted for close attention this year is attendance and lateness to school which, I mentioned in our previous newsletter.
Community Feedback
Last week, our Year 9 students had their first whole year level City Experience Trip. Lots of work goes into preparing the students, so it was lovely to receive an email from a member of the public on their very first morning:
"Good morning, I would like to pass on to the Principal praise for your students. I was catching the train on the Frankston line to Flinders Station. There was a large group of your boys heading to the city. It may have been part of a Year 9 programme. The boys were a fine representation of your College. They were well dressed and very well behaved. They were very respectful of other travellers, ensuring they moved out of the way and conscious that their bags did not interfere with other passengers. They spoke to each other quietly and did not engage in any rowdy behaviour. Your students willingly offered their seats to other passengers, including me. I hope this message is passed on to your Principal and reported back to your head of the programme and to the students."
Our school has a 5 star rating on Facebook, however has a lower rating on in Google due to fake accounts. We would love our Google rating to be reflective of how our community truly feels about us as we have over 1000 searches for our school per month.
You can leave a star rating or written review via this link.
Family Voluntary Contributions - Thank You!
Once again, we have received generous parent donations towards some upcoming projects, with over $24,000 donated to date for targeted equipment. We have already received the funding target (or very close to) for the following items:
- Percussion equipment for classroom music
- Levelled readers for German
- Science electricity kits
- Kitchen garden wicking beds.
I look forward to sharing photos of students using new equipment in an upcoming newsletter.
Student Newsletter - "By Students for Students"
Our College Captains have hit the ground running, implementing a number of new initiatives that they pitched during their election campaign. Their latest joint project, supported by a number of other interested students, is a student newsletter. Students have created all of the content within the newsletter with the first edition published to students via Compass and MS Teams this week.
If you are interested in checking out the newsletter, then ask your child to show you via their device (we would share via this newsletter, however the newsletter has been prepared as an 'in school' publication rather than open to all internet users, as this newsletter is.
Open Night
Last week, we were delighted to see over 600 people in attendance at our Open Night. This number does not include the many staff and students who came along to help out and showcase our school.
It appears that applications to enrol at Patterson River will remain strong into the future. As a result, the Department has placed an enrolment cap of 225 at Year 7 which can only be exceeded if all students are in zone or have siblings. While this will help the school manage the overall student population, it may lead to a very limited number of out of zone positions being available in 2026.
If you have a child already enrolled in our school in Years 7-11, then any grade 6 sibling will be offered a place at Patterson River regardless of whether they are in or out of zone.
Permission to Publish (Student Photos)
The Department of Education recently updated the policy relating to the use, storage and publishing of student photos. As a result, we need to collect consent from parents about the publishing of photos of their students.
To make this both thorough and easy to do, we will be publishing an 'event' next term on Compass, enabling parents to consent/ not consent to the publishing of photos in different contexts (eg within school community, social media etc). Keep an eye out for an email early next term.
The Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF) is a $256 payment provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you received CSEF at Patterson River Secondary College in 2024, you do not need to complete a 2025 application form unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You only need to complete an application form (link below) if any of the following changes have occurred:
- New student enrolments: your child commenced at Patterson River Secondary College after July 1, 2024.
- Changed family circumstances: such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing this year.
To be eligible* for the fund, a mature minor of sixteen years of age or over, a parent or legal guardian of a student attending a registered Government or non-government Victorian primary or secondary school must:
• on the first day of Term one; or
• on the first day of Term two.
- Be an eligible beneficiary within the meaning of the State Concessions Act 2004, that is, be a holder of Veterans Affairs Gold Card or be an eligible Centrelink Health Care Card (HCC) or Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holder; or
- Be a temporary foster parent; and
- Submit an application to the school by July 4, 2025
* A special consideration eligibility category also exists. For more information, see: Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF): Eligibility | education.vic.gov.au
Mr Daniel Dew
College Principal