Campus 

Principal Report

Welcome to the 2025 School Year!

It has been an incredibly exciting start to the year, and I am so proud of how quickly our students have settled in and embraced their learning. The positive energy and enthusiasm around the school have been truly remarkable.

Our first day back on Thursday 30th January kicked off with year level assemblies, setting a great tone for the year ahead. After that, we all headed out to the oval for the Year 7 and New Staff Welcome Parade. It was a special occasion, and the Year 7s were met with a warm round of applause from the school community as they followed their year level leaders, Ms Barwell and Mr Zabala, to the Year 7 Building for the first time as "official" Year 7 students. This marked a memorable moment in the start of their journey with us. Check out our Instagram post with the drone footage of the occasion!

The positive spirit continued as we celebrated Valentine's Day with a Casual Clothes Day. Students took the opportunity to purchase roses for their friends and brownies to show appreciation. The green space was buzzing with vibrancy during lunch, with activities and smiles all around. Huge thanks to Ms Haluwadana for her leadership and for supporting the student leaders in running such a wholesome day for staff and students alike.

Our Year 10 Vocational Pathways Certificate (VPC) students have also begun their journey in the 'SEED' program, run by the Foundation Learning Centre. This program, which occurs one day per week, is designed to complement their applied learning and focus on building vocational skills for their future careers. The SEED Program (Successful Education & Employment Development) is all about helping students grow and achieve their education and employment goals.

Our VPC and Vocational Major students have also rolled up their sleeves in the school’s vegie garden, led my Mr Tobin. They’ve already harvested some produce and hosted a small market last week, raising $50! The funds will be reinvested into the garden to purchase more seedlings and soil, helping to ensure the garden thrives.

We also had a fantastic Year 7 House Activities Day in Week 2, which was a huge success. Supported by our passionate house leaders Mr Alvarado, Mr Tobin, Mr Rae, and Mr Masson, together with the student leaders they ran a series of activities that got the Year 7s fully engaged and into their house spirit. It was a great day filled with teamwork and excitement.

Although we're only in Week 4, we've already had our sports teams competing in table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and cricket. A big congratulations to all students who represented the Acacia Campus in these events – your effort and commitment are commendable! Thank you to the staff coaches too for supporting the students competing and also running training sessions in the lead up.

This year has already been filled with so many wonderful moments, and we're excited to continue building on this positive momentum. We're focused on creating an orderly learning environment while ensuring that teaching and learning are as rigorous and engaging as ever. I'm looking forward to working closely with our students and families throughout the year as we continue to grow and thrive together.

Here’s to a fantastic 2025 ahead!

Ms Fode

Acacia Campus Principal

What a wonderful start to the year. The new year 7’s met in the theatre, whilst the other year levels had separate assemblies and then made their way to the gym. The year 7’s then walked through the gym to the rousing applause of the rest of the school a symbolic start to their ‘secondary school educational journey’. The students stood and cheered and welcomed them all into the Keysborough College community. It was then off to period 2 and five minutes into that time all students and teachers were in class with their focus on the topics at hand.

The ’vibe’ around the school in the first 4 weeks of the year has been fantastic. As I walk around and visit classes I am continually pleased to see students engaging with their teachers and their learning. Active teachers in a classroom contribute so much to the enjoyment of the students and hence enhance their experience. We have a number of new teachers this year and they have merged seamlessly into the ethos and culture of the Banksia learning community. 

Valentines Day, run by the student voice leaders, was celebrated both by free dress and the giving of flowers. The lunchtime activities reminded us all that love and kindness are still the greatest traits of mankind. In a world where bitterness and divisiveness seem prevalent a reminder of how good it feels to do something nice can triumph.

Continuing on the theme of our school as a vibrant community was the fantastic Year 7 House Activities Day in Week 2, which was a huge success. Supported by house leaders Ms Buchanan, Ms Carnevale,  Ms Peach and Mr Wood. The student leaders ran a series of activities that got the Year 7s fully engaged and into their house spirit. It was a great day filled with teamwork and excitement.

The building works continue with the old canteen area being transformed into an indoor dining room for students which will also have permanent breakfast club facilities adjacent to it, again adding to the KSC community. Backing onto that is our new first aid and ‘Drs in school’ facility, providing an excellent service for our students. Once it is up and running more information will be forthcoming.

As I get older I reflect more often on the changes I have seen in education. When I started way back in 1984, education was purely about delivering information and facts to students and them being able to regurgitate those verbatim. Wellbeing, mental health and social disadvantage were not spoken of.  The wellbeing ‘team’ was one teacher who had some ‘spare’ periods a week to deal with the entire school. Now the educational rationale is the wellbeing and learning of a student are inextricably linked and one relies on the other. We offer the educational development of a student on a very individualised and personalised level, and in my opinion, it is a far better and more meaningful approach to education. It places the student, the real reason for our being, at the centre of the educational universe. Every way we look at it we see a team effort encompassing all members of our school community students, teachers, support staff, wellbeing and parents. To quote someone far wiser than I, Helen Keller, “Alone, we can do so little: Together we can do so much”

Let us continue the great start to 2025. Be kind and care about each other.

Mr Hastings

Banksia Campus Principal