Principal's Report
As the school year draws to a close, we are once again reflecting upon another successful and rewarding year at East Doncaster Secondary College. A year where our students have thrived in and out of the classroom.
With our College in its 50th Anniversary year, 2024 has been a year of honouring the past, embracing the present and planting the seeds for successful futures. As a school community we are proud of the outcomes we have supported our students to achieve. We are confident that when students do reach the end of their educational journey with us, that they leave richer for their diverse experiences and equipped with the knowledge and skills to embrace the world outside our school community. This is after all what great schools do- prepare their students for success in the world beyond the school gates.
In my first year as College Principal, my pride in being a member of this wonderful ColIege community has only strengthened. I know how fortunate I am to lead our incredible school staff who give their all every day so that their students have the best experiences possible.
I warmly thank and acknowledge our teachers and support staff who as always remain committed to ensuring the learning and wellbeing of students is of the utmost priority.
I would also like to express my deep gratitude for the incredible leadership provided by our Assistant Principals, Cameron Campbell, Jas Kaur, Brett Lamb and Jarrod Sturnieks for acting in the role for semester 1. The role they play in supporting me in my first year as Principal, our students, families and staff is beyond measure. My deep appreciation is also extended to the members of our incredibly supportive School Council led by Cyrus Tengra, and to our Parents and Friends Association led by Aban Tengra. I would also like to pay special tribute to Cyrus and Aban. After 12 years of supporting our College, their positions come to an end with their son graduating Year 12 this year. Their long-term commitment to our school community has been invaluable and we will miss them dearly. They will forever be much treasured friends of our College.
I would like to thank all our parents once again for their support throughout the year and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you in the education of your children in 2025 and beyond.
And finally, to our students, I hope that 2024 is a year that you can look back upon with a sense of pride and achievement. In this 50th Anniversary year, I encourage you also to learn from the past, embrace the now and be excited about what the future holds.
VCE Results 2024
The VCAA (Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority) released the 2024 VCE results last Thursday morning. Once again, our students should be filled with pride for all that they have achieved.
Our median VCE study score was 32, once again placing us amongst the highest performing State Schools in Victoria.
5 of our students achieved an ATAR of 99 or above. An outstanding effort, placing these students in the top 1% of the State.
31 of our students achieved an ATAR of 95 or higher. (Placing these students in the top 5% of the State)
30% of our students received an ATAR of 90 or above – that is one in three of our VCE students achieving such a high benchmark and placing them in the top 10% of the State.
55 % of our students received an ATAR over 80. To have over half of our cohort achieving a result that places them in the top 20% of the State is indeed something to celebrate.
Our average ATAR was 79 – the state average was 69.52
Two students received a study score of 50, thus placing them in the top 0.3% in the state:
Angel (Biology)
Jia Cheng (Derek) (Maths Methods)
Our VCE results are outstanding and are a testament to the hard work of our teachers who never fail in their commitment to ensuring successful outcomes for each of their students. They are a credit to our students who embrace challenges, seek and act upon feedback and strive for excellence. And of course, these results also reflect the support our families give to our students and our College.
DUX of the COLLEGE
It is my pleasure to announce that the 2024 Dux of the College is Katrina who gained an ATAR of 99.3 – a truly outstanding achievement!
Katrina is an incredibly hard-working student who has also contributed a great deal to our College community in her time with us. We are so very proud of her.
Whist Katrina was unable to attend our College Presentation Evening conducted last night, we are honoured that she took the time to record a message for us to share with our school community. Katrina’s outstanding speech was a true reflection of her gracious and humble nature.
On behalf of our school community, I wish Katrina every future success.
We are proud of all our students and wish the entire Year 12 cohort all the very best for their future endeavours.
Student Leadership in 2025
I was able to announce our College Captains and Vice Captains in my last newsletter article.
College Captains
Darell & Isabella
College Vice-Captains
Affan & Habiba
I am pleased to announce that we have now also completed the selection process for our International Captains and our Middle School Captains.
2025 International Captains
International Captains
Runyu (Richard) Year 12 &
Thuy Vy (Amelia) Year 12
International Vice-Captains
Mingfei (Freya) Year 12 &
Chenyu (Nicole) Year 11
2025 Middle School Captains
Middle School Captains
Kiana & Ryan
Middle School Vice Captains
Rahaf & Gavin
As is always the case, staff involved in the process were full of praise for all students who applied for these positions. We are fortunate to have so many students who are passionate about pursuing leadership opportunities, and more importantly, passionate about having a positive impact on their peers and our school community.
I look forward to working more closely with all of our student leaders in 2025.
Farewell to Staff
This is the last week of service to East Doncaster for several staff who have been a part of our community for either a short period ranging to well over ten or twenty years. On behalf of our community, I would like to publicly acknowledge their commitment and contributions to our College and wish them all the very best for their future. We farewell James Daffey, Christopher Drakos, June Frost, Fiona Ge, Stephen Grace, Karyn Humble, Daniel Owen, Yufei Pan, Maddison Patch, Raphael Mao and Amal Saleh-Zada.
We also bid farewell to longer serving staff members Chris Cadenhead (4 years), Paul Haydock (12 years in total) and Tiarne Newton (6 years). We thank you for the invaluable contributions you have made to our College over your journey with us.
I also like to congratulate Sarah Wang who recently welcomed her daughter Keira into the world and Laura Crake and Evelyn Xu who are awaiting the arrival of their babies. We wish them every happiness and they take leave in 2025 to enjoy this new chapter in their lives.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge our school nurse Rose Howarth who is taking leave for 2025. Rose has been a much-valued member of our College community for 20 years. Rose has been an outstanding source of support for countless students and families. We wish Rose all the very best as she enjoys a year of quality time with her family.
In closing, I wish all members of our College community a very Merry Christmas and a safe, relaxing holiday period with family and loved ones.
Karen Boyle
Principal
Parent Payments 2025
Parent payment arrangements for 2025 are now available to view and action in Compass.
We encourage all families to carefully read all the information provided and invite you to plan to make a financial contribution to the school for the 2025 year.
These payments support the objectives of the school, including the enhancement of student learning, access, equity, inclusion and wellbeing. The school ensures that costs to parents are kept to a minimum and are affordable for families.
We appreciate all the support that families provide to make East Doncaster Secondary College a school that is highly regarded for its commitment to excellence.