PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

01/12/2025

As we enter the final stretch of the school year, our community continues to show terrific positivity, and focus. This time of year, can bring a mixture of excitement, fatigue, and anticipation. Students are pushing through the last weeks of learning, preparing for transitions, and celebrating achievements. Families may notice routines becoming less predictable as end-of-year events intensify, and I encourage you to continue those important check-ins with your young people—asking about their day, acknowledging their effort, and reinforcing the behaviours and values we share as a school community.

Thank you to all staff, students, and families for the collective energy that has sustained our learning culture throughout 2025. The final weeks promise to be filled with celebration, gratitude, and pride.

Year 10/11 Exams Conclude

The last of our Year 10 and 11 exams were completed today. Our students have carried themselves with maturity, courage, and a strong work ethic throughout what the period

We now look ahead to VCE results being released on Thursday 11 December. These will be shared and acknowledged in the final newsletter of the year.

Year 12 Graduation

Last Thursday evening we welcomed over 600 guests to GMHBA Stadium as we celebrate the Class of 2025 at their Graduation Ceremony. This was a significant milestone for our students, staff, and families, and a moment to reflect on their achievements and growth over their years at Western Heights College. It is always one of the most special evenings on our calendar, and we lenjoyed celebrating with our graduating class and their special people.

We now look ahead to VCE results being released on Thursday 11 December. These will be shared and acknowledged in the final newsletter of the year.

Student Sporting Achievement and Basketball Nationals

We continue to see outstanding achievements across our sporting programs, and we are incredibly proud of the students who have recently represented the College at state and national levels. Their commitment, resilience, and humility are wonderful examples for our broader student community. These achievements will be highlighted further at our 2025 College Awards Evening on 11 December.

Good luck to our 60 students, coaches and staff who are travelling to the Gold Coast on Saturday for the weeklong Schools National Basketball Championships. We can’t wait to see how they progress during the week.

How to support your child under 16 with the new social media age restrictions

From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

· prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account

· deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills.

The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions.

Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.

Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.

How to help under 16s prepare for the change

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.

To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

What the change means for our school

At our school, all age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network.

To keep up to date about the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.

Early Commencement Program 2026

Our 2026 Early Commencement Program (ECP) begins Monday 1 December for all students entering Years 11 and 12 in 2026, as well as current Year 9 students undertaking a VCE subject next year.

This week-long program provides students with a strong head start on their 2026 studies. They will be introduced to learning expectations, course content, and key skills designed to support a confident transition into their senior years.

A detailed timetable will be released shortly. Attendance is essential each day, with the program concluding on Friday 5 December, which is also the final school day for our 2025 Year 10 and 11 students.

Looking Ahead – End of Year Key Dates

• Final day for 2025 Year 10 and 11 students – Friday 5 December
• College Awards Evening – Thursday 11 December (GMHBA Stadium)
• 2025 Report Feedback (by appointment) – Thursday 18 & Friday 19 December

As we move toward the final days of Term 4, I want to thank our entire community for the connection, kindness, and commitment that have shaped this year. Let’s finish strongly, celebrate generously, and continue to support one another.

Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable week.

Warm regards,

Fiona

Child Safety at WHC

Western Heights College is a child safe organisation committed to protecting students from all forms of abuse. Our College has stringent protocols in place and endeavours at all times to be fully compliant with the Child Safe Standards set out under Ministerial Order 870.

Our College has the following documents and policies in place to achieve compliance with the Standards. All of these documents are available for downloading on our website.

1. Commitment to Child Safety

2. Child Safety Policy

3. Child Safety Code of Conduct

4. Child Protection Policy and Procedures

Annual Privacy Policy Reminder for 2025

Our school collects, uses, discloses, and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy (found on the college's webpage).

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents and carers on the webpage. This information is also available in nine community languages:

          * Amharic

          * Arabic

          * Dari

          * Gujarati

          * Mandarin

          * Somali

          * Sudanese

          * Turkish

          * Urdu

          * Vietnamese