Donald High School Newsletter

From the Principal

Mr. Paul Aikman

SCHOOL VALUES

 

Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Learning. 

Staff, students and parents are encouraged to ensure we all operate and conduct our business at school according to these core values that were established by various members of our school community for the school community throughout the school review process in 2019.

 

Key focus areas for Donald High School in 2024

 

As part of our Annual Implementation Plan, and as part of the findings from our school review this year, our school has identified a number of key priorities we will be focussing on in 2024. These include:

  1. Striving for improvements in Literacy and Numeracy with a particular focus on Reading and Writing;
  2. Re-focussing our teaching staff to teach according to our Donald High School Instructional Model and re-focussing classroom behavioural and learning expectations; 
  3. Using data to inform our teaching and learning for improved student outcomes with a focus on teaching students to their point of need;
  4. Using student voice as a source of feedback inside and outside the classroom with a view to improving student engagement and connectedness; and
  5. Striving for improvements in student mental health and wellbeing, and engagement and connectedness at school through specialist programs and support.

There is also an expectation of all students to ensure they continue to grow and develop as learners, and for staff to continue to strive for improvement in themselves and the students.

 

YEAR 11 WORK EXPERIENCE WEEK

 

All of our Year 11 students ventured to Ballarat or Melbourne in the week of Monday 4th March – Friday 8th March to complete work experience in their preferred field of work. We have received many positive reports from the students and their respective employers, as well as Mr. Rigby and Mrs. Medlyn who have both spoken glowingly about the group. Thanks to Mr. Rigby and Mrs. Medlyn for their organisation, coordination and supervision of our students for the week.

 

NAPLAN TESTING 2024

 

NAPLAN Testing for our Year 7 & 9 students started on Wednesday March 13th and will continue through to Tuesday March 19th 2024. All of our students appear to be engaged in the testing and doing their best on the tests. Please note the scheduled NAPLAN sessions table from our previous newsletters and be aware if your child is absent or late to a scheduled session, they will be required to complete a catch up session(s) up until Friday 22nd March. 

 

NORTH CENTRAL TRIATHLON AT BOORT

 

Our school had a number of students compete in the North Central Triathlon at Boort on Thursday 7th March. All of the students competed to a high level with some varied results across the age groups. A particular congratulations to Baxter Donnellon on winning the Individual Intermediate Boys Triathlon. An excellent effort!! The Junior girls team consisting of Milla Adams, Maya Funcke and Halle Rice also won their event which was a great effort. Other results are published throughout this newsletter. Thank you to Mr. Cashin for organising, coordinating and supervising this group on the day.

 

ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL

 

Can parents and students please take note of the graphic below. Last year we had too many of our students missing over 15 days of school (some students over 20 days). Some students this year have already had over 10 unexplained absences (half or full days). Everyone should be prioritising education and learning for all of our students. The more time students spend at school, the greater the outcomes for their learning. All Year 7 – 12 students are expected to be at school for the whole day on a ‘normal’ school day. The only exceptions are for illness, medical appointments, or a family bereavement. Parents are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines for their child’s attendance.

INTERIM PROGRESS REPORTS

 

All of our Teachers are busy completing these reports for each of the students they teach. Whilst these reports aren’t as comprehensive as our end of semester reports, they are a clear indicator of a student’s progress so far this year and are a good ‘checkpoint’ to ensure students are up to date and making the most of their learning opportunities and an opportunity to reflect on what students can do to improve their results. These reports will be available to students and parents after the end of Term 1 and will be a basis of teacher discussions with parents and students at our Parent-Teacher Interviews in the second week of Term 2.

 

END OF TERM & HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS

 

As this newsletter is the last of the Term, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our students, parents and staff an enjoyable Easter holiday period. Please take some time to rest and recharge the batteries and I look forward to everyone  returning to school from Monday 15th April.

 

 

I am available to talk to people at the school to assist you with any enquiries if required and can be contacted to make an appointment or have a discussion on Ph. (03) 5497 1205.

Paul Aikman.