Principal's message

Open House

We have just completed a successful month of promoting our college, opening it up to visitors both during the day and on several evenings.  Thank you to everyone who attended our Open Night in the evening of Wednesday 15 May, participated in one of our school tours during the day on Wednesday 15 May and Friday 17 May, and/ or attended one of our Information Sessions (Prep Information on Wednesday 15 May, Year 7 Information on Monday 6 May, Senior School Information on Monday 27 May).  All were well attended.  Our students and staff put on a great display each time.

Assessments and Exams

Many classes and year levels have already completed benchmark tasks which will give students and parents/carers a clear indication of how our students have gone for the semester.  Whilst there are several reportable learning tasks completed throughout the semester, our benchmarking tasks will support the triangulation of data against teacher judgements. 

This week, we have seen a busy, unique timetable of assessments, particularly at Years 7, 8 and 9.  Over three days, Tuesday 4 June – Thursday 6 June, these students completed major benchmarking tasks relating to Literacy (Reading and Viewing), Numeracy (Number and Algebra), and Science.

Our students at Years 10 and 11 had exams scheduled for Tuesday 4 June through to Friday 7 June.  This exam period provided our students with the opportunity to demonstrate everything they have learned over the semester.  They prepared and studied the topics and areas of study throughout the semester.  It allowed them to identify and further understand their strengths and areas for improvement.  They were also able to build their stamina to sit and focus on the subject area for the full 90 minute exams. The earlier our students can experience this environment of assessment, the better prepared they will be for their final year of exams.

Semester 2 Updates

As we have reported throughout the year so far, like most schools across the state, our staff have worked very hard to enable continuity with student learning with engaging lessons and activities at a time of staff shortages.

We have recently reviewed our student numbers and have identified areas where we can reduce the number of classes running without a regular timetabled teacher.  I am pleased to let our school community know that we will be able to regroup classes at Years 7 and 8 as well as our VCE Vocational Major classes at Years 11 and 12.  By doing so, we will have more lessons with teachers timetabled on a regular basis.

A significant amount of time has been spent on reviewing the students in each form, the combinations of student friendship groups, and catering to the needs of our students to ensure we maximise the learning opportunities for all our students.  The staffing of classes at Years 7 and 8 will see the same teachers continue with their classes as much as possible. 

There will be some minor changes at Years 9 and 10 to enable greater consistency with classes and lessons.

At Years 11 and 12, for our students enrolled in VCE Vocational Major, they will see no change with the teachers of their lessons; however, they will see times during the week, particularly Wednesdays and Fridays where many specialised courses and VET classes are running, these students will be in class together.  This is due to there being extremely small classes operating each Wednesday and Friday.  When combined, they will still see class sizes of less than twenty students.

To support our students and their families with these developments, we will be running a one-hour session for parents and carers Forum to answer queries on Thursday 20 June from 5:00 pm.  It will take place in the Algabonya building.

Parent/ Student/ Teacher Interviews in Term 3

In early Term 3, we will have our Semester 2 Parent/ Student/ Teacher Interviews for families to discuss student progress with teachers.  This will be a great opportunity to check in and see how the start of the semester as commenced, how they are learning in class, ask about what else can be done at home to further support learning growth, and review attendance.

The date for interviews will be Thursday 25 July and run from 11:00 am through to 6:30 pm.  It will be a day where timetabled lessons will not run so that our teachers can maximise their time to see families and discuss the progress of our students.

Attendance

Our students should attend at least 80% of all classes and subjects.  Attending classes promoting continuity and greater connection with the learning of new content.  For Semester 1, we have seen the introduction of overall S (Satisfactory) and N (Not Satisfactory) results for subjects for the semester.  Students that attend at least 80% of classes will receive an S. If students are attending less than 80% of lessons taught, they will not receive an S. 

Every time a student needs to be absent from school for a day or even for a lesson, we ask families to inform the school as to why their student will be (or was) absent.  There are a range of reasons for a student needing to be absent. Communicating these reasons to the college will enable accurate recording of student attendance. 

Parents and carers can enter absences using Compass or they can call the college on 5851 2100 with details.  Please refer to our Attendance Policy for more information.

Policies

We have more policies to share with the school community of which we would like to receive feedback from any that are interested in sharing.  To provide feedback or ask any questions about any of the following policies, please email kyabram.p12@education.vic.gov.au. 

On behalf of the college, thank you for your ongoing support and participation with the college. 

Marina Walsh

Principal