Dear Parents / Guardians,

I hope this edition of the College News finds you all well. Please continue to read below with regards to some important Wellbeing news, as well as some significant College events that will be occurring in the not-too-distant future.

Drug & Alcohol Presentation

As part of the College’s Extended Mentor Group Program and supporting students through adolescence, Paul Dillon from Drugs and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) had been booked to present to all Year 10, 11 & 12 students on Wednesday of last week. Unfortunately, Paul’s office informed us of his inability to attend the College as a result of a personal situation. Paul has been a ‘regular’ at the Academy for a number of years and is an extremely knowledgeable and engaging presenter. It was planned for him to speak to the students on the topics of Safe Partying and the dangers associated with taking drugs and alcohol. Paul was also going to spend time focussing on the dangers of ‘vaping’. Ms Tanya Vajda, Learning Leader of Health & PE, working extremely quickly was able to secure the services of Ms Sharon Torpey. Sharon is the founder and director of Drug Education Australia and she was able to deliver this very important information to our senior students, who were equally as engaged during her sessions.

Party Safe Program – Year 9

Continuing with the theme of ‘holistic education’, "Red Frogs" is an organisation who run high school education programs designed to educate, equip and empower students, helping them to confidently make positive life choices and become voices of change within their culture. The organisation has over 20 years of experience working with young people, and are well-versed in the mainstream cultural pressures surrounding drugs and alcohol and understand the negative effects these can have on students' futures. Their mission is to provide direct relief by educating students about the choices and challenges they will face, helping them understand the consequences of their actions, and guiding them in building healthy ways to stay true to themselves, both physically and mentally.

Every year, Red Frogs Education engages with more than 69,000 high school students nationally through four unique programs that they offer. Recently they visited the Academy and ran their ‘Party Safe’ Program for our Year 9 students. The Program specifically prepares students for navigating party environments, such as after parties and music festivals. It was a hands-on program that equipped students to identify dangers and implement strategies to protect themselves and others. The Party Safe curriculum is informed by the latest research and the extensive experience of the Party Safe staff, including paramedics in supporting young people in various party settings. A real focus was on the challenging of misconceptions and prevalent perceptions about excessive alcohol consumption and recreational drug use. The Program aimed to empower students to be socially responsible and safe, by addressing topics such as peer pressure, consent, and mental health topics including depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation. Our Year 9s were extremely engaged throughout the presentation and asked many astute and well-thought-out questions at the end.

Thank you again to Learning Area Leader of Health and PE, Ms Tanya Vajda, for facilitating this presentation and conversation.

MACSSIS - 2024 School Improvement Surveys

The annual MACs School Improvement Survey is taking place for staff, students and parents from Monday, 2 September – Friday, 20 September. Log in details and ‘pins’ will be sent to all families and students during this period. These surveys are an excellent opportunity for staff, student and parent voice, where individuals can indicate to us what we are doing well at the Academy and areas that perhaps we need to focus a little more on. Last year we had a low participation rate by parents and this year everybody is strongly encouraged to complete their survey. All students will be given the opportunity to complete their survey during a lesson and staff will also be asked to complete theirs throughout the above period.

Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their hard work today, Friday, 16 August and, in anticipation for the same, on Tuesday, 20 August with Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences. Similarly, a thank you to all parents for the response to booking in conference times with teachers.

With conferences taking place all day today and also going well into the evening on Tuesday, it certainly makes for very long days for all, but these conversations regarding our students and your daughter’s progress, are most important to ensure that the girls are achieving at their maximum level. Undoubtedly conducting conferences online is the preferred format, given the number of conferences booked and we will continue with the same format in 2025.

Parents’ Association – Fathers’ Day Breakfast

A reminder that members of the Parents’ Association are in the process of organising the annual Fathers’ Day Breakfast. It will be a wonderful morning where fathers (grandfathers, brothers, guardians, carers) and daughters can come together in a relaxed environment to have a cup of tea or coffee with a muffin or croissant, and just spend an hour or so relaxing and mingling with other dads.

Apart from some musical interludes, we have also secured the services of guest speaker, Kenny Hunter. Kenny is a triple premiership player from the Carlton Football Club and there will be a short Q&A session focussing on his football journey, but also on the importance of a father figure/male role model in the lives of young women. The breakfast is scheduled to take place on Friday, 30 August from 7:00am – 8:30am in the Dillon Centre. There has been a wonderful response so far. Capacity is capped at 200 attendees with only a few tickets remaining. Bookings can be made using this link https://www.trybooking.com/CUAOA. Bookings will close on Friday, 23 August.

Mercy Day BBQ Helpers – Friday, 13 September

A massive thank you to all parents who have emailed me indicating their desire and availability to assist with cooking the BBQ on Mercy Day. At this point we still require another six parents, so if you would still like to volunteer, please email me directly at Sam.DiCamillo@academy.vic.edu.au. All other details of what is required on the day can be found in the previous College News.

‘My News’ - Compass

Just a reminder to all parents to please regularly check the ‘My News’ section of Compass, as notices for parents are regularly posted there. As a College we have mostly moved away from sending emails to families from platforms other than Compass. The one exception to this is Operoo which we will still use for requesting consent for Incursions and Excursions.

As always, please remember, never hesitate to be in touch should you have any queries or concerns.

Mr Sam Di Camillo

Deputy Principal Wellbeing and Opertations

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