Principal's Message-
Amadeo Ferra
Returning to school
It’s been great to see the return to school and routines with students back to face-to-face teaching, swimming carnival and interschool sports, excursions, music practice and camps, amongst other restricted activities in the last two years.
Our Open Night was a great success, with almost 200 students and staff helping positively promote the College to the community. School Council last year reduced fees in many subjects and programs to help reduce the cost of education at McClelland. We are excited about some initiatives designed to get our students physically active again. Some free camps and excursions we are currently planning will also allow families who sometimes can’t send their kids to camps without worrying about any financial barriers. Already you should have received some information through Compass about free holiday programs for students.
NAPLAN is now fully online across the country, and in recent days all schools have tested their technology. McClelland College recently received a bandwidth increase from 200 Mbps to 400 Mbps, and our NAPLAN test demonstrated that our speeds were more than sufficient to meet the needs. I wish all our Year 7 and Year 9 students the best for the upcoming NAPLAN tests.
A reminder that the return to face to face learning is also a return to essential routines and following expectations, including the uniform policy. I also ask that students utilise the supplied RATs and test at least twice a week. Routine testing is the best way to keep everyone healthy and help ensure the school avoids another closure.
Meet Nick Evans our new principal intern
Hello, my name is Nick Evans and I’m really excited to be learning with you at McClelland College for the next four weeks as part of Bastow’s Unlocking Potential program. I have been a leading teacher for the last 5-6 years and am currently leading Personnel & Daily Operations at Mentone Girls’ Secondary College, having spent the previous 5 years as the Senior School Leader at Gleneagles Secondary College. I’m really looking forward to working with the McClelland community and would like to thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me. My experience over varied roles has strengthened my belief that as educators we have to take a holistic, strengths-based approach to improving student outcomes. Therefore, collaboration in the formation and continued focus on a consistent school-wide approach to teaching, learning and wellbeing is paramount in achieving those outcomes. I’ve been lucky to make significant contributions in teams who have implemented school-wide initiatives such as School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS), schoolwide instructional models and professional learning teams. The old African saying “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”, sums up my approach to improving practice. When I’m away from school, I spend a lot of time on the golf course, trying valiantly to keep my handicap as low as I can. Once that fails, you’ll find me at the park or a beach with my two Spanador dogs, Koko and Bruce. I also spend as much time as I can watching the Tigers, or perhaps more aptly for 2022, watching replays of the Tigers, when we were good!