Acting Principal

As Mrs Harris enjoys a well-deserved two weeks of long service leave, I have had the role of acting principal. Mrs Harris will return at the start of term 3. 

Industrial Action/Reports

I'm sure you have heard in the media that the ‘in principle’ Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2026 has been voted out. This means that the work bans that were in place are likely returning for term 3. We will ensure that our communication around these bans is as transparent as possible.

Please be aware that as part of the industrial action taken by the Australian Education Union in semester one of 2026, our reports for semester one will not feature any teacher comments or indication of students' work habits in classes. The reports continue to provide important details about student learning attainment and progress.

New Year 7 Gala Event

For the first time we have created a special Gala Day for Year 7 students to celebrate and mark the end of their first Semester at Norwood. The day began in the gym periods 1 and 2 as the form groups were pitted against each other in 8 challenges. The inaugural winners were 7C by 1 point.

The day then moved into a student choice activity which ranged from ‘Chips, dips and canvas' to novelty sporting challenges and everything in between, including a pizza lunch and free dress. The day was a great success, and we hope to make this a regular event for our Year 7s. 

Guest Speaker

Chris Varney from the founder of the “I can” network spoke to all Yr 7 and 8 students about living with Autism. He spoke thoughtfully about giving students with Autism some tips and tricks as well as discussion how all people can support if they notice a student with Autism struggling. Chris challenged the stereotypes and begun a very important conversation.

Performing Arts

Our Production of Sister Act for 2026 is well underway, with practice twice a week after school on Mondays and Thursdays. 

Thursday 11 June was another full day rehearsal. Our VM students are currently busy finalising stage props and sets. The students (Yrs 8-12) were able to attend Waitress in the evening; the group met many famous people including Natalie Bassingthwaighte. A huge thanks go to the staff that gave up their evening to provide this wonderful opportunity. 

Our first music pop up event happened on June 3, where students were up in STEM block performing at lunchtime. The “Don’t be flat” performance was a nod to IDAHOBIT day giving voice to celebrating diversity. The next performance is marked for RUOK day on September 10. 

NAPLAN Results

Preliminary NAPLAN results have been sent to the school; however, they are still under embargo until early next term. Staff have been shared specific student results to ensure they are supporting/targeting students exceeding and those that fall into the Needs additional support category. Parents will receive the paper results late July.

End of Term Events

This week has been a busy time at the College with Year 9 students on City Experience, Year 10 on Work Experience and Year 11 on Central/Work Experience. These are valuable co-curricular opportunities for our students, and we acknowledge and appreciate the staff who organise and lead these.

Improving Student Attendance

An important aspect of engagement is to have a consistent focus on school attendance. There is concern across the State that student attendance rates continue to fall, however, the attendance rates at this school continue to improve. We will continue to promote strong school attendance in 2026, aiming for all students to have at least 90% attendance. We are currently tracking at 91% average attendance across the school. Thank you to all the students and families for your support in achieving this for Semester 1! 

Sporting update term 2

It has been a very successful sporting term with the 13 teams winning through to division playoffs.