Principal Update

Acting Principal’s Message

Justin Hird

Assistant Principal

It’s safe to say, Term 2 of 2020, will be remembered by many staff, students and families as being the most unusual school term we are ever likely to experience. It presented many new and challenging times for all concerned. I always take an optimistic point of view to all circumstances, and whilst it was clear students experienced varying levels of success when learning from home, to the best of my knowledge, none one from the CSC community suffered any direct illness as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. For any families still experiencing financial and wellbeing challenges, for continued support, we ask you to please contact the College’s Wellbeing or Leadership Team. I hope that all CSC students and their families have an enjoyable and safe break. We look forward to seeing all students back at school on Tuesday 14th July, as Monday 13th July is a student free day - Report Writing Day.

Building Update

The beginning of Term 3 will be a very exciting day for CSC, as staff and students will have use of the new Administration/Library building and extension to the Performers’ Precinct. The Library’s open plan design will provide a stimulating learning environment for staff and students to work in. This area will contain a senior study space, distance education room, IT Service Desk, Wellbeing Team Hub and Career’s Office.

The demolition of the 200 Block will commence from Monday, 20 July. During this time there will be some changes to areas that students can access, which will be clearly marked by security fences erected by the construction company. The current completion date for Artisans is Friday, 28 August, followed by demolition of the 300 Block. This is expected to commence in September/October following our final move into the new Artisans Precinct. 

Kuli Business Meeting

On Wednesday 17th June our College hosted a Kuli (Men’s) Business Meeting on the top gardens, which was conducted under the guidance of Uncle Rick Nelson. The meeting included a yarn around the fire pit, followed by a pizza lunch which was attended by many CSC students, including SRC representatives. A cleansing ceremony was also performed around the gardens, which were created about 3 years ago. Overall this was a very successful event, allowing NALDERUN members to reconnect with CSC students. A special thanks to Louise Olsen, Ken Killeen, Uncle Rick, Kath Coff  and NALDERUN for the organisation of this event. 

Course Counselling for 2021

Early in Term 3 we will begin the Course Counselling process for 2021. With Covid-19 restrictions still in place we have changed our procedures for this year. Student information sessions will be conducted during school time and then additional course counselling sessions for students and their parents / carers will be made available with members of the CSC Leadership Team. Information relating to this process and specific dates will be released to families at the beginning of Term 3.

Improving communication with CSC families

At CSC we are continually aiming to be the ‘school of choice’ in the Castlemaine area, which obviously involves delivering quality and rich content through expert teaching. To achieve our current calm and rigorous learning environment, we have clear and consistent processes across the College. Some of these processes are now being shared through the College website, allowing families to understand our expectations of students and how they can work with our school to achieve the best learning outcomes for their child / children. This information can be found under the College Life > College Processes section. 

Please contact me if you have solution focussed suggestions of improvements we can make in this area. 

School Council

CSC School Council has continued to meet and operate during the Covid-19 lock down period. We conduct meetings via video conferencing facilities.

Although we have been unseen for some time, School Council still has to undertaken its duties. We are reviewing and approving school finances, approving policy, reviewing child safety issues, and participating in discussions about school life.

Parent groups have not been able to meet or to fundraise for some time, but hopefully that will start up again very soon. 

Information about School Council can be found on the school’s website, and you can contact the School Council President with any questions you have.

Beth Mellick