From the Principal

Welcome back.  

Another new year another new start. 

I hope that you had a great break and enjoyed the time with your children at home. A break from the routine is beneficial to recreate our energy and enthusiasm. Learning is a tiring activity and students do need a break. Thank you for caring for your children on break. 

Teaching staff have been back this week to prepare for the new year. I can hear you wondering what teachers must do for a whole week when no students are there, but I can assure you that we have been working hard. School staff need to undertake training every 6 months to be able to respond to medical and interpersonal situations. Then there is preparation for the calendar year programs, developing adjustments to accommodate our mix of students and arranging learning spaces. 

The support staff have been back even longer than teaching staff. The college could not run without the selfless support from our support team. They are a wonderful team who focus on serving God by serving others. 

We are looking forward to building on the continued improvements that we have been making in our college. Last year was a planning and preparation year for 2024. We will give you more information about changes and improvements as the year goes on. The most physically noticeable one will be the beginning of construction of our new senior secondary building later in the year. 

The 2023 VCE class rose to the standard set by the 2022 Year 12s and they achieved some fantastic results and collectively outperformed themselves. A big shout out to our newest alumni group. 

We welcome new staff to the team and praise God that we are fully staffed. With our extra Year 5 class, most classes, full up to Year 10 and a growing school, we needed more staff. I am excited to welcome: 

We committed our year, staff, students, and parents to God this morning in our Dedication Service held at Bundoora Presbyterian Church. It is wonderful to have 140 staff members who are here at Plenty Valley because they feel called to serve God by nurturing your children through the school education years.  

We will have more than 910 students this year. Seven years ago, we had 650. God is growing our school because people value the Christian foundation that guides all we do. 

We look forward to another year of collaborating with parents to give the best for our students. 

John Metcalfe 

Principal