Principal

Last weeks

We are now in the last few weeks of the school year. It has been a busy year and much has been achieved so far and we still have a number of requirements to complete and events to celebrate before we end 2023.

Therefore, I thank all students and their families for their support and involvement in the life of the College so far and in advance for the remainder of the year.

Year 11 and Year 10 Formals

Thank you to all the staff who assisted in the successful running of the Formals last week - Year 11 (Thursday night) and Year 10 (Friday night).

As no doubt you would know, but if not, I need to declare that these evenings would not occur without the hard work of Carly Kitchingman who has managed almost every aspect of these functions from communication, organising services (DJ and Photo Booth), food, drink, decorations, student lists, to hall set-up. There are a number of people who assisted including Richard Muranty, David Robinson, Ken Myors, Leanne Soderlund and Ruby Adkins.

Thank you to the staff who were here to supervise and enjoy the company of our students.

Year 11 Formal on Thursday – Richard Muranty, Jon Bowman, Jodie Connell, Bron Croatto, Michelle Hackett, Julia Leslie, Cade Maskell, David Robinson, John Ryan, Ben Stein, Jess Stein and Georgia Townley.

Year 10 Formal on Friday – David Robinson, Zac Cox, Kellie Davis, Sienna Falkingham, Gerard Gordon, Rhiannon Le Busque, Di Malloy, Tendai Nyamunduru, Sally Pocklington, John Ryan, Ben Stein, Jess Stein, Mary Tye and Jackie Van Dillen,

AJASS Leadership Forum

On Monday this week, Nicole Dudman and Scott Bowman accompanied our College Leaders for 2024 to the AJASS Leadership Forum at Mount St Joseph Girls College in Altona. Feedback from students is that it was great to meet leaders from other schools in the Josephite family and to share ideas about how they will undertake their student leadership responsibilities.

Transition to 2024 and end of year Program

Currently, we are in the process of transitioning to 2024. Year 11 students have concluded exams and have moved to commence their Year 12 classes during our Term Zero program until 8 December. Classes continue for Years 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s and will also conclude classes on Friday 8 December.

End of Year Mass and Awards Presentation Assembly

Also, on the last day of the academic year, 8 December, we will gather as a community to celebrate Mass and recognise achievements. Mass will be celebrated by our Parish Priests – Fr Stanly Devasia and Fr Darren Howie – and it will commence at 9.15 am. Thank you to Nicole Dudman for her work in preparing the Mass which will also celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Following the Mass, we will recognise student achievements in our Awards Presentation Assembly. Families are welcome to attend both celebrations.

VCE 2023 Results

Please note that VCE Results will be available to students on the morning of Monday, 11 December and all Year 12s are invited to attend a morning tea which will be held in the cafeteria space in the Senior School Building commencing at 10.30am until 11.30am to celebrate and if they wish to obtain any further career advice.

Changes in College Leadership

This year we have undertaken our School Review and VRQA Review. These were both successful and as part of our response to these reviews, we determined that to ensure that we continuously improve we need to make some changes to our senior leadership positions.

The first significant change is that Jodie Connell will assume a new portfolio next year and will be our Deputy Principal - Strategic Development and Organisation. The role will have five key elements as follows:

Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP) oversight – this role is to work with respective staff who have responsibility for the Domains of our SIP;
Compliance – this includes VRQA Continuous Compliance and oversight of other compliance requirements including – NCCD, DOSCEL reporting, VIT registrations, and other reports to other external bodies
Organisation – Timetabling, Daily Organisation leadership, staffing in collaboration with other members of the Leadership Team, oversight of the creation of the College calendar, event logistics, leadership of the creation, construction and maintenance of a College Intranet, support the operation of Learning Adjustment Team.
Appraisal and Recognition - Develop Personalised Leader Growth Plans to assist the Principal in connecting leaders with DOSCEL leadership programs and professional learning opportunities, the development of a formative appraisal process for Position of Leadership (POL) holders and improvements in the Annual Review Meeting (ARM) process and develop a Professional Learning Implementation Plan (PLIP) linked to the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).
Digital Learning and Systems - responsible for the review, development, and leadership of strategic improvements in digital learning across the College in both software and hardware.

As a consequence of this change to Jodie's previous portfolio of work, we have recently advertised both internally and externally for a new senior leadership role – Director of Learning, Pedagogy and Innovation. The successful applicant will be a member of the Leadership Team.

The Director of Learning, Pedagogy and Innovation is responsible for leading the learning and teaching of our College. They lead through their leadership and membership of teams and collaborate to ensure the ongoing development of learning and pedagogy. They will work in a strategic, deliberate, purposeful, and evidence-based manner to inspire, support and enable their team while building their capacity to optimise student achievement. They play a pivotal role in shaping the learning culture and driving instructional leadership. Key elements of the role are:

Creating innovative learning directions and strategic partnerships to enhance opportunities for all students.
Supporting teaching staff in the implementation and delivery of learning programs.
Learning and Pedagogy across the College.
Leadership and support of Learning and Teaching teams.
Supporting the Learning Adjustment Team to ensure that all students experience inclusive learning opportunities
Leadership in collaboration with other key Learning Leaders for the planning and delivery of Staff Professional Learning.
Data Analysis to support evidence-based practice for enhanced student outcomes.
Leadership of the student subject selection processes & blocks.
Monitoring of learning & other relevant budgets.
Leading the operation of VCE, NAPLAN and all external testing.

Applications close next week and interviews will take place the following week on Tuesday, 5 December 2023. The panel will consist of:

John Freeman College Principal

Martin Keogh Manager - Learning and Teaching for DOSCEL

Ruth Rogan Member of College Advisory Committee

Cindy Foat Deputy Principal – Learning at Catholic College Sale

Sapientia Domini Docet Nos

John M Freeman