From the Principal's Desk

As we approach the end of the 2024 school year and transition our students into STEP- UP for 2025, it provides us with another opportunity to reflect on our experiences this year. It's been a year filled with growth, accomplishments, and cherished memories for our entire school community, and we have also reimagined our future with the review of our last four-year strategic plan. 

From the beginning of the year, we focused on celebrating our 50 years in education from our start as Werribee Technical School in 1974, through the years as Galvin Park Secondary College in the 1980’s, 90’s and early 2000’s and then as we know the school today, Wyndham Central College since 2013.  Our 2024 whole school review has had a focus on enhancing our Community of High Expectations and achieving excellence for all as we spent months reimagining our classrooms and programs for 2025 and beyond. With the support and collaboration of our staff, parents/carers and students we will be embarking on a new structure and plan that will continue to allow our students to combat any challenges, demonstrate resilience, and achieve remarkable milestones in their academic, personal, and social development. I look forward to sharing in our final newsletter our next School Strategic Plan and the activities we will be embarking on to start the 2025 school year. 

Our collective efforts in creating a nurturing environment have allowed our students to flourish and reach new heights during 2024 and we continue this theme as we start with their STEP-UP interviews, process communication, and then 2 weeks in their 2025 classrooms in our new 2025 timetable.  It is important that parents/carers make the time to meet with the tutor teachers for your children and to ensure we have the knowledge that these dedicated staff need to be able to guide and inspire your children, nurturing their curiosity, fostering creativity, and instilling a love for learning that in 2025 will extend further beyond the classroom as part of new programs currently being developed. 

Families will also be invited to the school to celebrate our students at our annual Awards afternoon, and we have already started to celebrate our cohorts during our transition assemblies and our annual Year 12 graduation assembly and dinner, with many other events planned for December. 

This newsletter outlines some of these and I ask that you read the reports and that you take the opportunity to partake and to celebrate with us. 

50 years celebration. As mentioned throughout this newsletter the school celebrated the final 50th Anniversary event with our very successful Community Carnival on October 17th. For those of you who attended you would agree it was a marvellous way to celebrate the school and our community. You will see a full report in the community news section with a link to photos. A huge thank you to all community members, parents/carers, staff and students who volunteered and helped plan the event and to all who came along to make it one of the most memorable events that school has held. A special mention to our 50 years committee who without their time, effort and planning this years events would not have occurred or been as successful. We thank; Kristy Gray, Rebecca Sandlant, Sue Butcher, Tania Taylor, Chris Palatsides, Claudia Esquviel, Jaimee Kindt, Connie Faranda, Alison DeRozario and Sandy Pine. 

Year 6 into 7 Transitions

On Tuesday 10th December, our new 2025 year 7 students will come to visit us for the day and on the evening prior we invite our grade 6 families to our Parents as Partners evening. This is a fabulous way to be able to welcome new students and families to the Wyndham Central College community. Families will be notified by the school via Mr. Rowe, Ms. Webster and Ms. Fracalossi outlining the specific details and how you will be able to meet the wonderful Year 7 team of teachers that will be working with the graduating class of 2030!

A reminder to all the students and families of other year levels that our tutor teachers have worked very hard to help the students feel supported and not be overwhelmed as they transition to the next year level and will continue to work closely with our all parents/carers at our goal setting interviews. Please check the important dates section for the Senior and Middle years meetings and please contact the school if you haven’t received the booking information provided.  

Stepping up into 2025 classes

Shortly our school will start to move into the new school structure in their Step-Up classes. You will find in the newsletter more detailed information about the changes to bell times. The college is moving from a 4x70 minute day with an 8 minute homeroom to a 6x45 minute day with a 30 minute homeroom. Further to this there are new whole school event times, new electives and programs and a more cohesive wellbeing and learning program. The college is also embarking on a new digital platform introducing BYOD. A managed Bring Your Own Device program for 2025 is also outlined in this newsletter along with a larger variety of managed school devices. Our school leaders will be providing a lot more information via the student assemblies and homerooms and our administration team will be sending home and posting information via Compass. Information is also provided in our weekly parent/carer bulletin that you will also find on Compass each Monday. 

Student leadership opportunities

The selection of the school captains for 2025, vice captains, multicultural captains, class captains, house captains and program captains, along with the membership of our Student Representative Council will begin over the next couple of weeks and during Step-Up. I ask that you encourage and support your children in this process. Their leadership and student voice is very important to the school and makes it a better community with a higher sense of belonging and connectedness. These young leaders will be involved in planning many school events including our fabulous multi-cultural week.  Leadership training is offered and in 2025 there will also be the reestablishment of our peer support program. It is important for students to apply and complete the process to be an ambassador for the school, their cohorts, and improve their own skills. 

Thank you all once again for being an integral part of our vibrant school community.  I look forward to seeing you over the next month as we finish another successful school year 

Leanne Gagatsis -  Principal

Creating a Community of High Expectations 

Respect, Cooperation and Excellence