Principal's Team Messages 

Principal's Report 

I have been an educator for over 30 years and the most important and rewarding part of my job is the growth of young people in my care. I have followed Aaron’s practice of meeting with our School Captains on a Tuesday morning before class. What has impressed me enormously is their genuine and mature perspective on supporting students and making Wheelers Hill Secondary College a wonderful learning environment. When they posed an idea about providing more outdoor seating for VCE students, my challenge to them was to produce a proposal and I would bring it to the Executive Team. The proposal the students presented was outstanding. The professionalism and detail that they put into the submission is a huge credit to them, and the skill set they possess. The school will action the proposal with a small contribution from the cohort through some fundraising. The OECD will often talk about the 21st century skills that young people need to be successful in this world:

• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Creative Problem Solving
• Collaboration

What was evident to me from the students’ proposal was a celebration of those 21st Century skills. When young people are empowered then challenges become opportunities and the world becomes a better place.

Last week I attended the Monash/Manningham Principals Network Meeting, and it is very clear from our Network schools that we are all in the same boat when it comes to accessing sufficient CRTs and finding new staff to employ to cover loads. There are no easy or obvious solutions to managing staff shortages and dealing with the continuing impact of COVID. What I am asking is for staff to be supportive of each other and most importantly of our students. Maintaining the integrity of our teaching and learning program is our number one priority.

In August, our College will have the opportunity to reflect and learn from the evidence and data provided in our Strategic Plan for the last four years. A key team will be established to lead the Review process, reflect on the data, and plan the goals which will lead us through the next four years. The team will consist of:

• The Reviewer
• Principal Team
• Challenge Partners x2
• School Council President or delegate
• SEIL (our Regional Educational Improvement Leader)
• Teaching Staff Representative

I will keep the College community informed as we work through this important process.

At this point, I would like to say that coming into a school, whether for a term or longer as a leader, is always a challenge. My mindset, however, is that Wheelers Hill Secondary College is a genuinely caring and supportive school that works extremely hard to ensure its young people succeed whatever their pathway may be. I am very humbled by the support I have personally received, and I know, and I see the dedication of our staff. As a College, we also value and appreciate the support of our families. I hope our partnership of supporting our young people ‘To Be The Best That You Can Be’ continues to flourish.

Take care everyone

Acting Principal

Fern Brisbane

Assistant Principal's Report 

I would like to welcome everybody back as we commence another busy term! I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to Fern Brisbane, who is Acting Principal for Term 2.  

As Assistant Principal, I oversee and lead various portfolios within the college (as outlined in the first newsletter in Term 1). The focus of this newsletter is to provide an update on a few areas of my portfolio. 

Staffing 

Recently, I have been allocated the role of overseeing the staffing at the college. As we navigate through this term, it is certainly not without challenges. With the impact of staff absences due to Covid and other ailments, it has become an ongoing daily challenge to manage appropriate staffing levels. This is further compounded by the demand for Casual Relief Teachers who are consequently in short supply. Our unrelenting objective is to continue to provide high-quality educational programs for our students and manage the challenges presented to us in a manner that results in minimal disruption to our students' learning. We thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to do our very best over the remainder of this term and beyond. 

Staff movements: 

This term we welcome back from maternity leave Elisa Baldwin and Chloe Louden.  

We also welcome Aileen Little who has taken up the Education Support position as Daily Organiser and Timetable Coordinator.   

We have farewelled Radha Kollipara who has commenced at another school and we are currently working to fill his position. 

We are also working hard to secure several other teaching vacancies at the college and we thank you for your patience as we manage through this process. 

Senior School 

Our VCE students are in full swing with respect to their studies and assessments. Term 2 can be one of the most challenging in the academic year, notwithstanding the end-of-year exams! During this term, students are reminded to attend school every day (unless unwell)  manage their time appropriately, maintain good sleep habits and a healthy diet, and seek support if they start to feel overwhelmed. We have an extremely committed group of teachers and VCE Sub School staff who are available to support our senior students. Students are reminded to seek support as soon as possible if they experience difficulties or have concerns. A reminder that students are encouraged to attend “Motivational Mondays” which are run every Monday after school in the Senior School Centre. 

Facilities 

We are pleased to advise that the new college perimeter fence has now been completed. This will provide a much-needed lift to the college exterior as well as added security. The fence was funded via a DET capital maintenance grant that the college applied for in 2020. Further exciting news in relation to facilities is that recently we had a solar panel inspection which was organised by DET. We have since been advised that DET will be funding the installation of new solar panels which will be positioned on the roof of the Bunjil centre. These will replace the aging solar panels that currently sit on the library roof, and will provide greater efficiency in terms of feed in tariffs to help reduce the electricity costs for the college. 

We are proud of our college facilities and with the size of our site, our Maintenance Manager works tirelessly to keep everything in tip-top condition. Whilst most of our students are respectful of the college facilities, we do encounter from time to time, instances where students have had lapses in judgement and display disrespectful behaviour towards some areas within the college. This is disappointing and can result in significant costs to repair damages. Please continue to reinforce with your children the importance of respecting their own and others property, as it is incumbent on all of us who share this lovely space to look after it.  

Judy Anderson  

Assistant Principal 

Assistant Principal's Report 

We have reached the half way mark of this term and what a term it has been. We have seen some changes (including the arrival of our new Principal, Ms. Fern Brisbane, who has seamlessly slotted into the big chair).

Middle Years

Our Middle Years team, led by Jeremy Woods, has been doing a wonderful job keeping things afloat during these very difficult times. It goes without saying that Jeremy and our Year Level Coordinators – (Ryan Joyce, Jacinta Wilson, and Kellie Goebel) – work above and beyond to ensure that all our students in Years 7–9 continue to have the best program possible.

Our Year 7 and 9 students have now completed NAPLAN and we look forward to receiving their results later in the year.

Wellbeing 

Our students’ wellbeing is central to everything we do at Wheelers Hill Secondary College. The Wellbeing team, led by Eva Myszka, not only oversees the individual wellbeing of each student but are consistently running whole school and year level programs addressing topics such as mental wellbeing, consent, and respectful relationships for both our students and the broader community. Please have a look at the Wellbeing newsletter (included in this Newsletter) for an overview of what is currently happening in the Wellbeing space and wellbeing resources.

Curriculum

All our teachers continue to work tirelessly to ensure that we have as little disruption to our students’ learning as possible. Given the current teacher shortage in schools, they have demonstrated resilience and have been supportive of both students and their colleagues throughout this term. We genuinely thank them for their work and for demonstrating the College mantra of being the best they can be.

Andrew Dixon

Assistant Principal