Principal Team Report

At the time of writing this article we are approaching the half way mark of Term 3! Whilst the weather is still relatively cold, we are lucky enough to experience some short bursts of sunshine in the lead up to milder weather. 

As previously mentioned via Compass posts to the Community, we again wish to remind everyone that we are a uniform college and our expectation is that all students are to wear the correct college uniform. Hoodies are not a uniform item and we encourage students to layer their undergarments to remain warm. Please refer to our website for a copy of the College Dress Code or visit https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6502437533450d54e5d3ad85/t/66274ab62013177def3dc061/1713851063878/whsc_student_dresscode_2023+%287%29.pdf  We appreciate everyone’s support on this matter.

A reminder too that as per the Ministerial Order, mobile phones are not permitted for use during school hours. Students are expected to lock their phones away in their lockers for the duration of the school day (unless they have an exemption card issued by the College). In addition, students are required to use hard wired head phones rather than air pods if they are required as part of their learning. These can be sourced from the library or IT. 

Last Thursday I was privileged to attend the Commemoration Service for Sir John Monash which was held at Parliament House. I was accompanied by 5 of our students: 

Stella Aye Pe

Thomas Burton

Roselyn Kleinman

Hannah Wright

Layla Wright

The event took place in the Legislative Assembly Chamber and featured a range of distinguished speakers, the laying of wreaths, and an interesting outline about the life of Sir John Monash as a scholar, engineer, and the exceptional leadership displayed by him in times of war as well as his significant contribution to being a key "nation builder". The service was followed by a morning tea in the Queens Hall. I was so proud of our students who attended the service as they did a magnificent job representing our College. 

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest member of staff Carolyn Dickinson. Carolyn commenced with us on Monday 12 August and is employed as our inaugural College Nurse. Carolyn is a fantastic addition to the WHSC community and we are grateful to have a Nurse on site to assist with the ongoing care and health needs of our students.

Now that student subject choices have been submitted for 2025, we are now working through the process of building a viable timetable for 2025. There are many moving parts to this process which is managed by a team of staff who work together as part of the Timetable Working Party. We aim to inform students of their subject allocations early Term 4 and hope to have the 2025 timetable finalised mid Term 4.

This week we are proud to have 3 of our staff members presenting at the 2024 EduTECH Conference which is being held for educators across Victoria. EduTECH is one of the largest education events in the world. It is without doubt the best-known, biggest and best quality education event in Australia and the APAC region, attended by between 10,000 – 15,000 people annually. Mr David Gill, Ms Nery Soto and Ms Laura McClure secured spots to present at this conference and we look forward to hearing about this in the next edition of our newsletter.

There are a few important dates approaching that staff, parents/carers and students need to be aware of:

Monday August 19th pupil free day- Staff Professional Learning Day

Thursday August 29th Learning and Wellbeing Conferences- no scheduled classes on this day.

 Please make a note of these dates and as always if you have any queries, please contact the general office on 95615811.

On Behalf of the Principal Team

Judy Anderson