College Principal Message

Welcome to Term 3

Welcome back to another exciting term at Copperfield College! I hope you enjoyed a restful and rejuvenating break. As we begin a new term – and a new semester – it’s the perfect time to reflect, reset, and set fresh goals for the remainder of the year.

Firstly, I want to congratulate all students on their dedication, resilience, and hard work throughout Semester One. I trust parents and guardians have accessed their child’s report via the Compass Parent Portal, celebrated achievements, and discussed areas for growth.If you have not been able to access your child’s report, please contact the College so we can assist you.

A new semester offers a valuable opportunity to build on successes, address challenges, and strive for personal bests. High school is not just about academic learning – it’s also a time of growth, discovery, and connection. I encourage students to:

Explore new subjects and interests.
Step outside their comfort zone.
Take part in extracurricular activities, clubs, and sports.

These experiences help develop important life skills, foster friendships, and broaden perspectives.

As your College Principal, my encouragement is simple – set clear goals for yourself this term. Whether that means aiming for academic improvement, refining time management, or contributing through leadership or community service, commit to your personal growth. And remember, help is always available – your teachers and I are here to support you.

Let’s continue to strengthen our positive, inclusive environment across all three campuses. Respect, kindness, and collaboration are at the heart of “One College, Three Sites, One Family.” Celebrate each other’s achievements, embrace diversity, and look out for one another.

I have great confidence in your ability to excel – not only academically, but also as compassionate and responsible individuals. This term is full of opportunities to learn, grow, and make a difference. I look forward to seeing all that you achieve.

Wishing you a successful and rewarding Term 3!

30 Years of Friendship: Copperfield & Fuji Junior High

"Our sister school relationship is a testament to the power of cultural exchange, friendship, and shared learning between Australia and Japan." – Nick Adamou, College Principal

On Thursday, 7 August, Copperfield College proudly welcomed twenty students and three staff members – including the Principal and Assistant Principal – from our sister school, Fuji Junior High in Japan. A welcome assembly at Sydenham Campus and a farewell assembly at Kings Park Campus showcased the wonderful talents of students from both schools.

This visit celebrated one of the longest-standing sister school relationships in Victoria, spanning nearly 30 years, and highlighted the power of cultural exchange, friendship, and shared learning between Australia and Japan.

We thank Mary Chiodo, supported by Lance Petherick, for their exceptional organisation, all staff who contributed behind the scenes, and our generous host families and students who opened their homes to our visitors. Next year, our students and staff will travel to Japan to continue this special tradition.

What Makes Copperfield College a Unique, High-Achieving College

“Empowering Every Student to Aspire and Achieve”

Copperfield College is a vibrant, multi-campus learning community dedicated to delivering the highest standards in teaching and learning, while ensuring the wellbeing of every student.

One College – Three Sites – One Family

Kings Park Junior Campus (Years 7–10)
Sydenham Junior Campus (Years 7–10)
Delahey Senior Campus (Years 11–12)

Our large, multi-campus structure offers the best of both worlds – the opportunities, resources, and subject breadth of a big school, combined with the personalised care and close-knit environment of smaller campuses.

This unique model allows us to:

Provide tailored academic support and extension opportunities for all learners.
Deliver a broad curriculum, including VCE, VCE Vocational Major, VET, and extensive electives.
Offer specialist facilities such as science laboratories, performing arts spaces, technology workshops, and fully resourced libraries on each campus.
Run a wide range of co-curricular activities – from sports teams and music ensembles to debating, leadership programs, and cultural exchanges.

At Copperfield College, we believe every student has the capacity to succeed. We are committed to:

Nurturing individual growth through goal setting, personalised learning plans, and targeted wellbeing initiatives.
Fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive culture where diversity is celebrated and student voice is valued.
Encouraging students to take ownership of their learning and develop the skills, confidence, and resilience to thrive beyond school.

Our achievements are reflected not only in academic results, but also in the positive relationships, community partnerships, and pathways our students forge. Many graduates go on to excel at university, TAFE, apprenticeships, or directly in the workforce, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and values to make a difference.

I warmly invite current and prospective parents, guardians, and friends of our College to arrange a tour of one or all three campuses. Seeing our students in action, meeting our dedicated staff, and experiencing our facilities first-hand will show you why Copperfield College is a truly innovative and outstanding choice for your child’s education.

As Principal, I am proud and privileged to lead such a successful and inspiring school community – a place where every student is empowered to aspire, achieve, and flourish.

NAPLAN reporting

The 2025 NAPLAN results for students have been released early this term. By now all Year 7 and 9 parents should have received your children’s NAPLAN results in the mail. If for some reason parents haven’t received the NAPLAN results, please contact your Campus Principals.

NAPLAN continues to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation but the results will now be presented in 4 proficiency levels:

These are:

exceeding
strong
developing
needs additional support.

The results provide schools, parents and carers clearer information that details student achievement against new proficiency levels.

Students’ NAPLAN reports continue to show how they are tracking against their peers and provide an indication of their skill levels against national averages and where we would expect them to be in order to get the most out of schooling. This provides valuable information to teachers about how we can continue to support your child.

Each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone, but it is also important that students know that one result does not define them. These results are about making sure every student gets the support they need so they can continue to get the best from their learning.

Please contact the school, to speak to your Campus Principals, with any questions about these changes.

Child Safety Code of Conduct

Copperfield College is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our school community recognises the importance of, and a responsibility for, ensuring our school is a safe, supportive, and enriching environment which respects and fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development.

This Code of Conduct aims to protect children and reduce any opportunities for child abuse or harm to occur. It also assists in understanding how to avoid or better manage risky behaviours and situations. It is intended to complement child protection legislation, Department policy, school policies and procedures and professional standards, codes or ethics as these apply to staff and other personnel.

The College Principal, Campus Principals and school leaders of our College support the implementation and monitoring of the Code of Conduct, and will plan, implement and monitor arrangements to provide inclusive, safe and orderly schools and other learning environments. The College Principal, Campus Principals and school leaders will also provide information and support to enable the Code of Conduct to operate effectively.

All staff, contractors, volunteers and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work are required to comply with the Code of Conduct by observing expectations for appropriate behaviour below. The Code of Conduct applies in all school situations, including school camps and in the use of digital technology and social media.

Acceptable behaviours

As staff, volunteers, contractors, and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work individually, we are responsible for supporting and promoting the safety of children by:

upholding the school’s statement of commitment to child safety at all
treating students and families in the school community with respect both within the school environment and outside the school environment as part of normal social and community activities.
listening and responding to the views and concerns of students, particularly if they are telling you that they or another child has been abused or that they are worried about their safety/the safety of another child
promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of students with culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds
promoting the safety, participation and empowerment of students with a disability
reporting any allegations of child abuse or other child safety concerns to the school’s leadership
understanding and complying with all reporting or disclosure obligations (including mandatory reporting) as they relate to protecting children from harm or abuse.
if child abuse is suspected, ensuring as quickly as possible that the student(s) are safe and protected from harm.

Unacceptable behaviours

As staff, volunteers, contractors, and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work we must not:

ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse
develop a relationship with any student that could be seen as favouritism or amount to ‘grooming’ behaviour (for example, offering gifts)
exhibit behaviours or engage in activities with students which may be interpreted as abusive and not justified by the educational, therapeutic, or service delivery context
ignore behaviours by other adults towards students when they appear to be overly familiar or inappropriate
discuss content of an intimate nature or use sexual innuendo with students, except where it occurs relevantly in the context of parental guidance, delivering the education curriculum or a therapeutic setting
treat a child unfavourably because of their disability, age, gender, race, culture, vulnerability, sexuality or ethnicity.
communicate directly with a student through personal or private contact channels (including by social media, email, instant messaging, texting etc) except where that communication is reasonable in all the circumstances, related to school work or extra-curricular activities or where there is a safety concern or other urgent matter
photograph or video a child in a school environment except in accordance with school policy or where required for duty of care purposes[1]
in the school environment or at other school events where students are present, consume alcohol contrary to school policy or take illicit drugs under any circumstances

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS

Whilst we welcome and encourage parents to attend their children’s campus for a wide range of reasons, it is important that all visits to the College come through our Campus front office.

Parents, guardians and visitors to the school are not to go directly to other areas of the campuses including different wings, classrooms or the technical support office.

Our Campus Office staff will handle all parent and visitor enquiries and make the appropriate arrangements for you. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter.

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to schools

Parents and Guardians are reminded that the DoE does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students.

Parents and guardians of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs.

In some circumstances, medical or other expenses will be paid by the Department where it is assessed that it is likely, in all the circumstances, that the Department is liable for negligent (careless) acts or omissions of its staff/volunteers.

Student accident insurance/ambulance cover policies are available from some commercial insurers and can be obtained by school councils on a whole-of-school basis, or by parents/guardians for individual students.

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage.

Nick Adamou

College Principal