Principal's Report
Disability and Inclusion
On Sunday 3 December 2023, we celebrate International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD).
The day gives us an opportunity to recognise the vital contributions of people with disability across our communities. It offers a chance for us to commit to make the world better and fairer for people with disability, and to ensure their voices are heard in decisions that affect them.
The Education Department has developed a new Disability and Inclusion Policy and Program that has been rolled out over the past three years. The new model aims to increase support for students with disability and to broaden the criteria for support.
At Greensborough College, we have been part of the roll out from semester 2 this year. We have appointed Callum Harber to lead the work in this space as a Learning Specialist. The focus is on inclusive practice at whole-of-school and in-class level including practices and adjustments to:
- Policies
- Development of Support Structures
- Provision of and access to equitable learning opportunities
- Differentiating curriculum
- Individual planning through Individual Education Plans (IEP)
- Quality teaching for all students
We look forward to this exciting work that will progress Disability and Inclusion at Greensborough College.
Vale Class of 2023
The final weeks for our Year 12 students were a reflective and emotional time as they completed their final assessments, finalised course and pathways selections and completed their final exams. There were incredibly challenging years for our students as they navigated their way through remote learning and COVID-19. We are extremely proud of how resilient and strong the Class of 2023 has been.
The Valedictory Dinner was a wonderful evening, celebrating the final rite of passage for the Class of 2023. The Captains farewelled their peers with emotional speeches and students received their graduation certificates and subject awards. Congratulations to Sarah Cairns for receiving the Principal’s Award and to Jack Commandeur for receiving the ADF Leadership Award.
I know Greensborough College has laid the foundations for the Graduating Class of 2023 to be thoughtful, caring, compassionate people who will be positive contributors to society. On behalf of the school community, I wish all of our graduates the very best in everything they set out to do. At our farewell assembly the words of American Poet and Civil Right Activist, Maya Angelou, resonated when she had cause to reflect on her life.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
VCE Results are released on December 11th and the students will be having their final pathways meeting with Jane Alexander to finalise their tertiary selections. We wish all of our students the very best as they transition from school to broader horizons.
New Timetable for 2024
The old timetable structure of 6 x 50 minute periods in a day underwent a review this year and it has been decided to change the timetable structure to 5 x 60 minute periods in a day for 2024.
After consulting with staff and students it was revealed that a 20-minute break at recess would be too short and extra time would be required as some students would use it as their lunch break and some staff have indicated that they would appreciate the extra time at recess as well. After taking their feedback on board it has been decided that recess will be 30 minutes and lunch will be 40 minutes.
The timetable for 2024 will look like this:
Period 1 9 am to 10 am
Period 2 10 am to 11 am
Recess 11 am to 11:30 am
Period 3 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Period 4 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Lunch 1:30 pm to 2:10 pm
Period 5 2:20 pm to 3:10 pm
We will conduct an evaluation of the implementation of the new timetable structure in term 3 next year so that we can plan for any amendments that may be needed to the timing of the day for 2025.
The summer holidays will be a good time to practice getting ready for the new times in 2024. In particular, it is important that students have a good breakfast before coming to school because the first break is two hours from the start of the day. The first break time is structured to be long enough to eat something substantial, take a toilet break and have a break from learning. The next break is ten minutes longer, again allowing enough time to eat something substantial and so on. It will take a little getting used to however we are confident that this new structure will enhance student engagement and learning.