Principal's Message
Dear Families,
We have had a very positive start to Term 2 with students engaged in a variety of learning programs and excursions across the college.
Term 2 is a busy term with Semester 1 and Unit 1/3 work ending mid-June and semester one exams occurring to consolidate this knowledge. Semester 2 and Unit 2/4 work will commence once exams have been completed.
On Friday 24th April we honoured the ANZACS
On Friday 24th April we honoured past and present Australian and New Zealand soldiers with our ANZAC commemorative assembly at the Junior Campus. Congratulations to our SRC students who helped organise the event with Ms Cho. All students spoke eloquently in front of the large crowd.
One of our guest speakers was a former VUSC student and College Captain, Chandu Senevirathna, who is now an Aerospace Weapons Engineer for the Royal Australian Air Force. Michael Pianta who is President of the Coburg RSL Sub-Branch and Jack Walker who is currently serving with the ADF also spoke at the assembly, reminding students to embrace the spirit of the ANZACs by looking after each other and doing their best. The event was a very moving tribute, and I thank our staff who assisted and supported the students who participated.
Open Day Monday 27th April
On Monday 27th April we held our annual Open Day for prospective Grade 5 &6 students for 2027. It was a fantastic turn out, with approximately 300 people in attendance, in addition to over 100 people attending the morning tours. Parents were provided with an information pack, then led on tours by staff and students where they experienced activities run by different Key Learning Areas. Feedback from participants was very positive.
Thank you to the organiser of the event, Mr Dowie, as well as our staff and almost 100 students who volunteered to assist during the day and evening.
Year 10 Careers Panel Event
Our Careers team will be hosting our annual Year 10 Career Panel event on Thursday 18th June from 1.45 – 3.00pm at our Senior Campus in Cairnlea.
On that day we will have representatives from a range of professions and industries to help students consider their options, when making their senior subject selections.
Participants will be organised into panels aligned with occupational fields and/or subject areas. Each panellist will speak about their background and career pathway, and students will be given an opportunity to ask questions to make informed decisions regarding their subject choices for 2027.
If you are in the workforce and you would be interested in sharing your career experiences with our students, please contact Ms Kristy Muratore, Careers Coordinator on 8312 0200. Please see the invitation attached below.
VUSC is an AVID Demonstration School
Recently we announced VUSC as an AVID Demonstration School, one of only two in Victoria.
This is a significant achievement. AVID - Advancement Via Individual Determination - is a global framework focused on university and career readiness, high impact teaching practices, and ensuring every student has access to rigorous learning opportunities. To be recognised as a Demonstration School means that our implementation of the AVID framework has been validated as exemplary.
Our first duty as an AVID Demonstration School was on Monday 20th April, when we had 13 Thai Principals and Assistant Principals attend our Junior Campus to learn about AVID and the Australian school system.
On 29th April we held a celebratory event where past and present students spoke about AVID and the impact it has had on their learning and future careers. We also heard from parents and Dr Claire Brown, Executive Director of the AVID Center Australia. It was inspiring to hear from parents how AVID has helped their child become confident, focused and engaged in their learning, and how it has improved their overall learning outcomes. Dr Brown spoke about a recent independent study of NAPLAN results which showed that students from AVID schools are outperforming other students from similar schools and achieving stronger outcomes.
2026 Australian National Band Championships
At the end of last term, 40 music students and 4 staff travelled to Brisbane to compete in the Australian National Band Championships. We hoped they had an amazing time…which they did but better still they competed against some top private schools and came first in the Junior C Grade Section, coming home with a shield and three trophies!!
This is the biggest annual community music competition in Australia, held over 4 days in Brisbane City Hall and our students won!!! Our students were outstanding in their presentation, their music, their behaviour and the way they worked as a team, and were clearly the best amongst so many other schools that competed.
Congratulations to the students, Mr Breen and the entire music staff for this amazing achievement!
Congratulations
Congratulations to Ofa Nau, Year 11 VCEVM student, for being selected in the 2026 Melbourne Storm Tornadoes Program! This program is highly successful in developing local talent, with several recent players progressing to their U19 SG Ball, Junior and Senior Academy programs. The Tornadoes program will involve Ofa attending scheduled sessions at AAMI Park across the program period. Well done Ofa!
Congratulations also to Ella Harris in 7B for her outstanding performance in Brisbane at the Athletics Nationals over the school holidays! Representing Victoria, Ella stepped up against the nation’s best and delivered two excellent results across two national competitions in just four days:
- Little Athletics National Championships U13 Girls 1500m Race Walk 4th overall (20 athletes) ⏱ 7:19 (15 sec PB!) First Victorian across the line.
- Athletics Australia Junior Track and Field Championships U14 Girls 3000m Race Walk 10th overall (16 athletes) 17:37, Second Victorian across the line.
Competing with strength and determination, Ella showed incredible courage on the national stage and proudly represented Victoria. Well done Ella!
Semester One Exams
Year 7 to 11 students will commence their semester one exams in early June. This is an important process for students to ascertain their level of achievement for each of their subjects and offers a great opportunity to plan for the next stages of their senior schooling. The results are key to their continued growth. Year 12 exams will run in the last week of term. Exam timetables will be provided to all the students in the next few weeks.
Student Attitudes to School Survey
The Attitudes to School survey is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education. The survey assists schools in gaining an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of their school. Students from all year levels (7 to 12) are currently participating in this survey during class time.
Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. Students are not identified in any of the results. A summary of the survey results will be reported back to the school in Term 3 in our school newsletter.
Sister School Visit to VUSC
We have been advised that regrettably, our Jiangsu sister school is unable to visit us this year. This is due to soaring travel costs to Australia and reduced flight availability caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The Jiangsu Victoria Education Centre have decided to organise and facilitate online exchange activities for our schools instead. Hopefully visits will resume next year and if so, we look forward to hosting our sister school in July 2027.
Mobile Phone Policy
The College Board recently ratified some changes to our Mobile Phone - Student Use Policy. These changes outline when students will be permitted to bring their devices to excursions, camps and other school events, and when they will not.
Please ensure you and your child read the attached policy, which is also available on our website. These changes will also be added to the student planner for 2027.
Enjoy the rest of the term and as always, please contact your campus office if you have any questions.
Elaine Hazim
College Principal
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Child Safety at VUSC
Victoria University Secondary College is committed to providing a child safe and child friendly environment, where students are safe and feel safe.
Our child safety and wellbeing documents outline the measures and strategies we have in place to support, promote and maintain the safety and wellbeing of our students:
- Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
- Child Safety Code of Conduct
- Child Safe Standards Risk Register
- Child safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedure
All of our policies are available on our school website here. As valuable partners in promoting and maintaining child safety and wellbeing at VUSC, we welcome and encourage your feedback.