Greensborough Focus 

Principal's Report

Mrs Pauline Barker

A Strong Start 

Welcome back to school for 2025.  I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new students and their families, in particular our Year 7 students.  We have had a strong start to the school year.  Every year level had an assembly on their return with four key messages being delivered. 

  1. Embrace New Opportunities This is a time for new beginnings. You have countless opportunities to explore your interests, discover new passions, and grow in ways you never imagined. Get involved in clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities. These experiences will not only enhance your school life but will also help you make lasting friendships and build valuable skills. 

  2. Stive for Academic Excellence Our school prides itself on academic excellence. We have a dedicated team of teachers who are committed to helping you improve, grow, and achieve your best. Remember, learning is a journey. Don't be afraid to ask questions, seek help when needed, and always strive to improve. Your effort and determination will pay off. 

  3. Live our College Values 

Respect and Equality are two of our key values. Treat your peers, teachers, and school staff with respect. Be kind and inclusive. Remember, we all come from diverse backgrounds and have unique stories. Embrace this diversity and learn from each other. 

Courage and Aspiration are our other two values. Be determined to face new challenges and accept more responsibilities.  Unlock your potential and aim to do the best you can.  Along the way always do the right thing, even when no one is watching, and help others to do the same. 

  1. Your wellbeing is our priority, and we are here to support you. If youneed someone to talk to, reach out to your teachers, school counsellors, or trusted friends. We are all here to help you navigate through any challenges you may face. 

Our traditional pool party in week 1 was a great way for staff and students to have some fun, build relationships and connections in the college.  Our Year 12 students went on camp in week 2 and lunchtime clubs are up and running. 

 

Our Strategic Priorities 

Our School Strategic Plan contains two goals.  Each year we develop an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to focus our school improvement work.  In 2025 our goals and priorities are: 

 

Goal 1:  Improve all students’ achievement and learning growth. 

 

Positive Classroom Management Strategies (PCMS) ​ 

Build teacher capacity to consistently implement the Positive Classroom Management Strategies so that student engagement is increased​. 

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Victorian Curriculum 2.0​ 

Prioritise time for teachers to collaborate to breakdown and sequence the knowledge to be taught and assessed that ensures a guaranteed and viable curriculum is delivered.​ 

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VCE Outcomes​ 

Continue to build teacher capacity to implement the VCE Toolkit to improve student achievement outcomes in the VCE. 

 

Goal 2: Optimise all students’ wellbeing and engagement in learning. 

 

Positive Classroom Management Strategies (PCMS) ​ 

Build teacher capacity to consistently implement the foundational Positive Classroom Management Strategies. ​ 

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Attendance ​ 

Promote a culture of attendance through strengthening whole-school attendance processes, including a staged response for absences and early interventions for at-risk students. ​ 

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Disability Inclusion Reforms ​ 

Deliver professional learning related to disability inclusion to strengthen teacher capacity in implementing adjustments and engaging with individual learning goals.  

 

VCE/VM Achievements 

We are very proud of the Class of 2024 and their achievements.  The All School Median Study Score was 27 with 20 study scores above 35 and 6 study scores above 40.  Exceptional results were achieved across all study areas, in particular English​, Health and Human Development​, Legal Studies​ ,General Maths​, Maths Methods​, Music - Contemporary Performance , Media , Physical Education​, Psychology​, VET Sport and Recreation​ and Visual Communication and Design. 

 

Of all the students who applied for tertiary studies only one did not receive an offer.  Of the 36 offers for tertiary studies made to our students, 23 students received their first preference.   

The VCE Vocational Major outcomes were also fantastic with 17 students competing the Vocational Major Certificate.  Of these, 6 students are in apprenticeships, 5 students are in TAFE courses, 4 students are in employment, 1 student is in a pre-apprenticeship and 1 student is in a traineeship.   

We would like to acknowledge the fantastic work of our pathways team of Ms Jane Alexander and Mr Andrew Ericksen. 

 

Staffing News 

On the last day of the school year, Angus McLean accepted a promotion position at a nearby school. Over the summer break, Shane Maloney, accepted a transfer position to regional Victoria. We thank Angus and Shane for their many years of service to our school community and we wish them all the best for the next leg of their professional and personal journeys. 

As you would be aware there is a teacher shortage in Victoria (and nation-wide).  We have two vacancies to fill in Maths and Science. We are fortunate to have regular Casual Relief Teachers (CRTs) who are wonderful.  We aim to fill the vacancies in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the Maths and Science Learning Area Leaders have provided learning support, class work and assessment information for the classes. Lessons are uploaded to Compass each day and the CRTs have been explicitly teaching students in these classes.  Thank you for your support and patience during this critical time. 

 

This year we welcomed the following staff members to our team: 

New Staff 

Corey Assender (Design/Digitech/Humanities) 

Aidan Clarke (Maths/English) 

Taylor Witkin (English/Hums) 

 

Returning Staff 

Marnie Hay (PE/Health/Psychology) 

 

Permission To Teach – Paraprofessionals 

Sarah Dodd (English/Media) 

Sam Harrison (Science/PE) 

Archie Gaunt (Psychology/Business Management)  

 

Education Support Staff 

Melissa Moscatelli (Food Tech) 

Sian Sutcliffe (Classroom Support) 

Julia Shea (Classroom Support) 

Irina Srbinovski (Disability and Inclusion Administrator) 

Ashleigh Carpenter (Reception/Office Admin)

 

Our 2025 Leadership Team 

Rose Thomson - Assistant Principal

Louis Turner  - Assistant Principal

Anthony Ellul - Leading Teacher (Senior School)

Nick Heading - Leading Teacher (Junior School) 

Callum Harber - Learning Specialist (Inclusion)  

Wendy Rowe - Learning Specialist (Instructional Practice)

Andrew Ericksen - Learning Specialist (Literacy & Numeracy)

Kami Gillick-Lewis - Learning Specialist (Curriculum)

Rose Thomson
Louis Turner
Anthony Ellul
Nicholas Heading
Callum Harber
Wendy Rowe
Andrew Ericksen
Kami Gillick-Lewis
Rose Thomson
Louis Turner
Anthony Ellul
Nicholas Heading
Callum Harber
Wendy Rowe
Andrew Ericksen
Kami Gillick-Lewis

Child Safe Standards:   Our Commitment to Child Safety   

 Greensborough College is committed to child safety.  As a community, we want children and young people to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children and young people, as well as our staff and volunteers.  We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children and young people. There is zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures. We meet our legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously. 

You will find the following policies on our website, http://greensc.vic.edu.au/ and I encourage parents/carers to become familiar with them. 

  • Child Safety Policy 

  • Child Safety Code of Conduct Policy 

  • Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations 

  • Duty of Care Policy 

  • Visitors Policy 

  • Visitors Policy 

  • Bullying Prevention Policy 

  • Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy 

 

We ask families to support the college and our child safety practices by doing the following: 

  1. When visiting the college, all parents, carers, and visitors to the college are required to report to the Administration Building (Nepean Street entry) and to sign in and out. The Visitors Policy explains this procedure further.  

  2. When dropping off students, parents/carers are required to do this outside the school grounds on the street kerb taking notice of the no standing signs. The car park at the school is for staff only.  The car park at the Sports Precinct is for staff and visitors during the school day. 

 

Attendance 

A key priority for the College is to improve the attendance rate of all students across all year levels. High levels of attendance at school equates to greater positive outcomes for students and adults in life.  The slides below highlight the importance of daily attendance and that absence from school should only be for illness.