Principal's Report

Welcome to our first Newsletter of 2024, Brent Houghton, our Principal, is on leave and has passed the torch of bringing the school community up-to-date to yours truly. Thankfully, it has been a genuinely great start to the year with students settling into classes and routines, new spaces functioning well, and new staff being welcomed into our school community. We hope your family has welcomed the new year with enthusiasm and optimism and that you enjoy reading about your school community. 

Gary Vella 

Acting Principal

New Staff

With a large number of staff taking time to visit far flung places or make a move closer to home and combined with our school’s growth - population now approximately 1315 - we have welcomed a larger than usual intake of staff for 2024. Thankfully all positions have been filled, with recruitment pressures easing somewhat in the last six months. Our new staff come from a range of schools across Victoria and beyond. Many are experienced and a few staff have found their first teaching jobs here at CHS in 2024 and are grateful to have such a welcoming school community. 

Amongst our departures Geoff Jennings, our grounds keeper extraordinaire, has begun his semi-retirement and will only be on site once or twice a week for mowing. Geoff is a greatly respected member of our community and his contributions to our school have been many. We wish Geoff all the best, knowing that he will finally get the chance to take his very clean 4X4 to places where it might get a little dirty.  

Meet the Teachers 

Our annual ‘Meet the Teachers’ evening was extremely well attended with over 400 people on site. Thank you to the Wellbeing Team who took care of the BBQ and for all our Year 7 staff for being present after hours to meet with parents and students. A special thanks to the Music Team for supporting our students who performed.

Welcome to Country (pictured in our banner)

It’s always a humbling experience to be present at a smoking ceremony and reflect on the world’s longest continuous culture’s traditions. In the wake of the national referendum it’s reassuring to know that students, staff and families see and hear our traditional custodians and acknowledge their connection to the lands we live, work and educate our children on. This year’s smoking ceremony was led by Aunty Joy and as always, touched those present with a connection not just to the past, but of the ongoing need to recognise and celebrate First Nations’ culture. 

This year we welcome Belinda Pringle to the role of First Nations Support Leader at CHS and thank Sam Morley for all his work in this space over previous years. 

Coburg Connect 

A major curriculum innovation for 2024 is our launch of Coburg Connect. Most year levels are now receiving two 25 minute sessions per week in addition to the previous ‘home group’. The curriculum is social and wellbeing oriented with most Coburg Connect Teachers now seeing their classes every day. Lessons are tech free and focused on class discussion and engagement, with circle time being the rule rather than the exception. Read more about Coburg Connect later in the newsletter.

Swimming Sports

With 79% attendance and ideal weather conditions, the 2024 Swimming Carnival was always going to be a big day out for Coburg High School. Led by our former school captain, who is currently employed as our Sports Technician, Mia Haas, and supported by many staff running everything from hot dog stands, basketball comps and of course the swimming events themselves. This year saw the addition of a ‘Chill Out’ zone for students wanting to step away from the crowds, with board games and plenty of  shade to escape the sun. Our new Wellbeing Team were onsite rewarding sunsmart students with Zoopa Doopas and there was a dance party that ran for pretty much the entire day. 

Student conduct and house spirit was exceptional and the winners (again) Pentridge were magnanimous in their victory, which was largely due to team effort and novelty races, proving the adage that you have to be in it to win it. 

All House points go towards the Coburg Cup which is currently adorned with the Red of Bell House, but could be anyone’s by the end of this school year. 

STEM Centre / Tech Building 

Planning for the new building is progressing well. Our architects, Bryant Alsop, meet regularly with leadership to plan teaching spaces and amenities. Essence Project Managers were appointed earlier this month to oversee the project and the hope is to break ground late this year. 

Partitioning of Building A Spaces 

Through a last minute grant secured by Brent, we were able to avoid a shortfall in buildings by completing works that our last rebuild could not encompass. Three double sized spaces were able to be partitioned to make six discrete classrooms and were fully completed by day one for students. A special thanks to our builders Haydn Burns (parent) and Adrian Scattolin (alumnus) who worked 60 hour weeks across the holidays to ensure the job was completed. 

New Building 

In line with our building entitlements, Coburg High School received four additional classrooms in the form of a double storey relocatable in December of last year. Extensive preparations and landscaping have been completed and we await final deliveries of furniture before they are put into use.  

New Toilets and Toilet Access

After lobbying from Student Voice and school leadership, CHS was supported in its application to receive additional staff and student toilet facilities to service the relocatable buildings known as E block. Students, especially females (whose Building A toilets are on the second floor) now have a much shorter walk when nature calls during class time. Well done to our Student Voice Team for getting the ball rolling on this one. 

There are three toilet blocks accessible for male/ female gender at recess and lunch time with Building C toilets having the closest supervision. There are also two All Access toilets with one located in Building C and one external toilet adjacent to the Cafe. Staff also supervise the entrances of Building B and Building A toilets. During class time, the Gym and E Block also have access to toilets. Building C toilets are locked but A and B remain open all day. This system has dramatically improved the usability of toilets at CHS and reduced the number of negative behaviours that had been occurring. All students have a right to clean, usable toilet facilities, free from large groups dominating the space  or otherwise making students feel unsafe. 

Air Conditioning

Whilst the number of school days where the temperature exceeds 30 degrees is low, for staff and students in an overheated space, it can be exhausting. CHS has air conditioning across 90% of class spaces with some units less than 10 years old and others, sadly much older and prone to breakdown or programming issues. Throughout 2024, CHS will be reviewing options to upgrade individual spaces (such as the top of Building A), and to ensure that hot days do not interfere with learning. Students have had access to clubs and the library on hot days to provide an air conditioned alternative to being out in the elements. 

Cafe Access

As the school has grown over the past nine years, it has become increasingly impractical to have students queue inside Bytes cafe at recess and lunch. In late December last year a new window was installed for student access from under the covered area in front of the cafe. This has allowed the internal space to be used by Year 12 students and staff across the school day, providing our 12s with a more social alternative to the study centre. Our senior students have used this space well and, under the watchful eye of Annie, will continue to have this privilege.

Building B 

Major works have also occurred underground with the Victorian Schools Building Authority undertaking repair and renewal of the storm water drains behind Building B. The works included removal of an obsolete and very large water tank that had impeded foot traffic in this area.  

Active Travel and Bike Shelter

Active travel to CHS continues to grow with 78% of students recorded as walking, riding or PTing it to school with only 22% using cars to commute. Our bike shelter is at capacity each day with only a few remaining spots and discussions are now underway for a second bike shelter with many obstacles to overcome, first amongst them, finding funding and an affordable, but secure option. Anyone with container based shelter experience or contacts in this field should contact: info@coburg.vic.edu.au 

New Signage 

Anyone who has visited Coburg High School on a weekend, will know that many people utilise the grounds for sports and recreation. Overwhelming, the use of our grounds is positive and of benefit to the community. There has, however, been some confusion during school hours as to where our school begins and ends, which is a credit to Geoff and Tawfic, our groundskeepers, that we are often confused for ‘a park’. The occasional food delivery rider has had to be told that commuting through a school of 1300+ students is not allowed. Therefore, at the beginning of the year we erected 20 new signs at entry points around Coburg High School to promote positive behaviours and to clearly indicate to members of the public that they have entered a school site. The signage affirms our commitment to maintaining a policy of openness to the public and lawful use of the beautiful spaces we maintain.  

Muslim Engagement

With Ramadan coming early this year, we continue to build on our Muslim engagement by offering a visit to the Islamic Museum, but this time to meet a panel of prominent Muslims with the intention of taking a mixture of Muslim and non Muslim students to exchange ideas about culture. We will of course also be running our annual Iftar which is a great chance for families and staff to come together during Ramadan and share one meal breaking the daily fast. Please sign up for free ‘tickets’ here. 

Volunteering and Donations 

The Coburg High School community has a tradition of parent and carer involvement. If you can offer some time assisting with bike repairs and servicing, garden centre maintenance and improvements, chickens, woodworking/minor construction or have a donation, such as a garden shed for the Garden Centre, irrigation system knowledge, or equipment then please email info@coburg.vic.edu.au and you will be directed to the relevant staff member. As always, musical instruments and second hand bikes in reasonable condition can be donated to the school, which are then passed on to students. Thank you to everyone who donated garden equipment, instruments and bikes last year, it has all been put to good use! 

Gary Vella

Acting Principal