Principal's Report

Maximising learning growth to ensure all students can thrive.

Farewell to our Year 12’s

Our Year 12 students had an amazing final week of school this month with dress up days, their final excursion to Gumbaya World and their Celebration Day on Thursday 24 October. Our Celebration Day was a chance for us all to reflect on the journey these students have taken to reach this milestone. Each of these students contributed something unique to our school—whether through their studies, sports, the arts, leadership, or simply by being themselves. On behalf of the College Community, I would like to thank our Year 12 students for their commitment to their learning and for the many contributions they have made to our community over the years.  We are extremely proud of their achievements during their time at Lilydale Heights College.

I would also like to thank the families of our Year 12 students for the countless ways they’ve supported both their children and our school. Your encouragement and care have been essential in guiding these students through such an important year.  I also extend my appreciation to our dedicated teaching and support staff, who have played such a key role in the Year 12s’ education from Year 7 to their final year. Special acknowledgment goes to Ms. Steeper and Miss West, whose leadership and support have provided the Year 12 cohort with guidance and encouragement, making such a positive impact on their journey.

To our Class of 2024, as you approach your exams, I encourage you to keep focused and stay determined. You have put the work in, and now it is time to showcase your knowledge. We are proud of you and will continue to cheer you on. Congratulations on everything you’ve achieved, and all the best for the exciting future ahead! 

End of Year Showcase

Recently, we celebrated a fantastic evening of music and creativity at the End of Year Showcase, an event that brought together students, families and staff for a night of music performance. From the first note to the final song, the performances revealed the growth and talent of our music students.

This showcase was more than just an event—it was a testament to the journey our students have taken over the year, supported by their passionate music teachers. It also reminded me of the unique value that music brings to our community, fostering confidence, collaboratio and joy.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this evening possible, from the students and teachers to all the behind-the-scenes hands that helped organise this event. I look forward to seeing our music students shine once again in 2025!

Japan Tour

I was privileged to travel with 24 wonderful students and three staff members on a remarkable journey through Japan from 13 September to 30 September. We had the unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in Japanese culture, gain new perspectives, and experience school life in Japan at our sister school Ota First (Daiichi) High School, Japan.  Our itinerary included visits to the vibrant cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, as well as the cultural and historical cities of Takamatsu, Nara and Ohta. Our students were incredible on this trip. We received positive feedback from other tourists on how great our students were; respectful and “beautiful.”

Families were able to keep up to date with our adventures via the school Facebook page. If you have not had the chance to see these, I would encourage you to do so. 

My last Facebook post read: 

Today was our last day in Japan and we spent the day at Disneyland. We all had an incredible time on the rides, shopping and watching the parades. It was a great way to end 16 days of touring Japan.

This trip has allowed our students to experience the Japanese culture, food and incredible sights. We have travelled all over Japan on buses, trains, planes and boats. Students have met new friends from our sister school who they will stay in touch with. They have made new friends with other students from LHC who they have shared this amazing trip with. We are incredibly proud of our students who have been respectful, caring and resilient over the course of the trip. 

I personally have really appreciated the opportunity to get to know these students whilst on this trip. Each of them individually are amazing young people and I feel privileged to have shared this experience with them. Thank you for being YOU. 

I would also like to thank the staff; Mr Myddleton, Ms Evans and Ms Takahashi for all their work in organising this trip. It was a massive task to undertake, organising a trip for 28 people that has taken over 12 months to plan and organise. On behalf of the students and their families, thank you for giving our students this wonderful experience. We appreciate you and everything you have done to make this trip a success.

We now board our plane back to Melbourne. Thanks for following our journey.’

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the College Council for their support of the Japan Tour. It was an enormous undertaking and would not have been possible without the support of College Council. I am incredibly proud that Lilydale Heights College can offer such incredible experiences to our students. Thank you. 

Staff Survey

I often reflect upon the incredible culture that we have at Lilydale Heights College. You only have to walk around the school during the day to witness the positive relationships within our College, the calm, orderly and productive classrooms and the engaging teaching and learning that is occurring. I was conducting a school tour recently where these same observations were reflected back to me by the prospective parents on the tour. They made comments around the clean and well maintained facilities, the calm and productive classrooms and the positive feel around the College.   Our staff work incredibly hard to build this positive environment so that all our students have every opportunity to maximise their learning growth. 

The Department of Education recently released the results of our staff survey and it is once again extremely rewarding to see how positive our staff feel about working at Lilydale Heights College. 

School Climate

School Climate covers areas such as Academic Emphasis, collective focus on student learning, guaranteed and viable curriculum, staff trust in colleagues, staff trust in students and parents. 

School Leadership

School Leadership covers areas such as cultural leadership, flexibility, instructional leadership, leaders support for change, leading change, visibility and intellectual stimulation. 

We have also seen an increase in our data around Teaching and Learning:

* There is no comparative data with Similar Schools, Network Schools or the State for this data set.

As you can see from these results, our staff report higher satisfaction than similar schools, network schools and the state. Our relentless focus on maxmising the learning growth of students is reflected in our increasing positive data around our teaching and learning. As the Principal, I am extremely proud of the work that all our staff do each and every day to ensure that our students have the best learning experience possible. 

Shane Kruger - Principal.