Principal's Message-

Laura Spence

Dear parents, carers, and students,

Well done on getting to the end of an 11 week term, they are always the toughest! Parents and carers deserve a medal for getting their children through the most tiring and chilly week. Everyone take a few weeks break now and rest the bodies and brains.

I can start with one of our alumni student’s brilliant achievement. Our 2024 VCE VM Dux, Alyssa Vella was this week presented with a Premier’s Award at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Premier’s Awards are presented to students to achieve a perfect score in one of their VCE studies, and in Alyssa’s case, who completed VM with a perfect attainment of success in her VET, workplace learning, and school studies. Alyssa was recognised last November collecting every possible VM and industry award, as well as in the media when VCE results were released, see The Age,  DET on X.  Congratulations again to Alyssa for her outstanding commitment to her pathway and McClelland College, as well as for continuing to be a positive role model and advocate for women in trades. Further description of her achievements can be found at: https://www.vic.gov.au/outstanding-vce-vocational-major-students-2024#alyssa-vella-mcclelland-college

This Monday we held our second year of the Year 10 and VCE, VM Information Evening and subject taster with over 400 parents and students in attendance. Next year we will need to expand and move the presentation into the PAC, as each year has shown outstanding family engagement. Parents and carers investment of time in learning about their children’s subject choices and pathway options will ensure decisions are well informed and create rich conversations at home about future opportunities. Early Term 3 students will make their selections at Course Counselling; please keep an eye out on Compass for bookings and support material.

In the second half of this term all Victorian government schools rolled out the annual student Attitudes to School Survey to students. Our students were great participants with 78% of students completing the survey. We achieved positive growth in 22 of the 23AtoSS factors, with one at no change compared to the previous year, with some factors such as ‘Managing Bullying’ achieving a 10% increase in student positive response, ‘Stimulated Learning’, ‘Teacher Concern’, and ‘High Expectations for Success’ increasing by 8% and 9%. We are above Similar and Network schools in 10 factors including for ‘Effective Teaching Time’, ‘School Advocate’, and ‘Student Connectedness’ and ‘Student Voice and Agency’, and equal or a 1% to 3% differential in the remaining 13 factors. Thank-you students for taking the survey and providing your valuable feedback.

Another positive for this year so far is our improvement in student Lateness. Last year we identified this as an area of concern, with data showing that Years 8, 9 and 10 recorded higher rates of unapproved lateness compared to other year levels. In response, we introduced the lateness routine in late 2024, with 2025 being the first full year of implementation. Since introducing the routine, we are seeing effective and consistent staff practice which has enabled more accurate lateness roll marking, increased student accountability, and contributed to improvements in punctuality. Year 10 in particular have reduced lateness by 35% from Term 1 to Term 2. Lateness has a great impact on learning, as our Explicit Instructional Model has explicit teacher instruction during the first 10 to 15 minutes of the lesson. Well done to students for improving their habits; we look forward to continued improvement in attendance and lateness.

In readiness for Term 3, I would like students to consider if they have been wearing their full uniform according to the dress code. Our presentation is an important part of being a part of the McClelland community. Students should be taking on the value of ownership to ensure they are representing themselves and the College in the best possible way. Some items which require a particular reminder, include school pants are grey tailored pants, and are not tights or leggings, the winter uniform also requires a tie, and hoodies are not permitted. Sub Schools and Period 1 teachers will take some extra time at the start of term to ensure students are in full uniform. We do not like taking learning time or leaders’ time for such matters, so I request that during the holidays students check they have all the items and parents support students with any items of need to avoid this follow up. If families are facing financial difficulties, please contact the front office or Sub Schools for support.

As part of our regular policy review process, we have updated some of our policies and are now providing them to our community for consultation. Our school is committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all students and staff. Please us the links below to access the policies and feel free to provide feedback, using the Google Form at this link: Parent Carer Policy Feedback 2025

Please enjoy the following pages of COG for more detail of the many exciting activities and successes of Term 2.  Have a safe and enjoyable break.