From the Principal Class

Welcome to Term 3

Welcome back to all staff and students for Semester 2. A particular welcome to the following staff who take up positions this term:

• Oliver Lake - Physical Education
• Oscar Driscoll – ES Integration

• Casper Lai – Instrumental Music: Violin

   

From this term, Alexandra Sioukas will be on leave for the remaining of the year and Stefanie D'Agostino will be on family leave. Nellie Mastrop will also be on leave for the remaining of the term; we also welcome Jonathan Pavlides into the Year 7 Level Leader Position for the remaining of the term. 

The college continues to support the upgrade of the school learning environments with the upgrade of the VCE Study Room and the next Science Room: S6. The VCE Study Room has had an upgrade to be more in line with the library. A mixture of new furniture has been included in the room as well as whiteboards for students to utilise. Already we have seen the room being used very well by a lot of students and space for the whiteboards are becoming hot property.

S6 Science Room been completed and has come online this term. S5 Science Room is progressing well with its upgrade and hopefully be completed by the end of this term. 

New tables and chairs been placed in the next round of classrooms – S17, S18, S19, S20, S21, S23 and S24. The computer benches in the SPACE have also been removed from the SPACE and painting has also occurred in the Humanities area with the doors and render in the permanent building updated. Some other areas across the school have also been painted including the SPACE, Admin etc. Lots of plumbing work has occurred over the last month to fix repairs with storm water and drainage issues and we are working on the garden with new grass and trees in the carpark and school fence line. All of these improvements are school funded projects.

From this term, you may also have seen in the media that the AEU have stepped up their industrial action against the state government, which has already seen some disruptions to schools and even strike action. In recent days, there has been considerable speculation in the media regarding another stop work event on Tuesday August 4th 2026. This action is being proposed by splinter groups in the AEU and is not an endorsed 24 hour stop work.  As such the AEU sub-branch at our school will not be participating in this stop work but information has been circulated already on the possibility of another stop work event on Wednesday 19th August 2026. More information will be provided to you as soon as we are told about the arrangements.

However, we do need to advise you, as like other government schools across the state, we are taking some industrial action that may affect you. As of July 22nd 2026, AEU members and schools have implemented bans on work completed outside of paid hours. A joint AEU and Monash University study found that in Victoria, Principals, Teachers and Educational Support staff work, on average, twelve hours of unpaid overtime per week.  We do this in an effort to ensure that our students have access to quality education in safe and inclusive environments. However, goodwill is not a sustainable model. These bans may see longer response times to emails, delays in returning phone calls and some delays in returning of student assessments. We understand that these actions may have ongoing impacts and we thank you for your continuing support and understanding. Our priority is to still provide high quality teaching and learning, student supervision, safety and wellbeing, supports for students with additional learning or wellbeing needs, approved camps, excursions and other college events.

End of Semester Reports

End of semester reports are now available to download from Compass for students and parents. 

• Reports will include a list of major assessment tasks for each subject, a description of the task and grade awarded.
• They will include a graph of student work habits in each class, and a teacher judgement rating for the student against the Victorian Curriculum state-wide five point scale for students in Years 7-10.
• There will be no descriptive comments included as these have been previously recorded on learning tasks saved to Compass as each task was completed throughout the semester.

It is important to remember that student reports provide students, teachers and parents with a clear and concise picture of a student’s achievement and progress at a point in time. Teachers make informed and consistent decisions about student progress against the achievement standards using a variety of assessments and observations to inform their judgement. They map the student’s learning against the achievement standards, and place the student on the learning continuum, that best reflect the student’s level of performance and progress.

The Victorian Curriculum is structured as a single developmental learning continuum and is organised by levels not years of schooling. The curriculum consists of Towards Foundation Levels A to D and Levels Foundation to 10. All curriculum areas have achievement standards, describing what students are able to understand and do.

All students progress along the learning continuum at their own rate and from their own starting point. Teachers provide learning opportunities to support the learning for all students, including those students with additional learning needs or a disability. 

I encourage all parents and guardians to read through the reports, and discuss with your children how they have gone, and what they can do in Term 3 to improve. Regardless of how good the report is, there are always things which can be improved.

NAPLAN Reporting 2026

NAPLAN results will be provided to students and parents over the next week with the results being mailed out individually. Parents/carers were also provided information about the new proficiency levels.

NAPLAN reporting is undertaken nationally by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). NAPLAN will continue to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation and the results are presented in 4 proficiency levels. These are:

• exceeding
• strong
• developing
• needs additional support.

This gives schools, parents and carers clearer information that details student achievement against proficiency levels. Students’ NAPLAN reports will continue to show how they are tracking against their peers and provide an indication of their skill levels against national averages and where we would expect them to be in order to get the most out of schooling. This provides valuable information to teachers about how we can continue to support our students. Each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone but it’s also important that students know that one result does not define them – these results are about making sure every student gets the support they need so they can continue to get the best from their learning.

Staff Professional Learning Day

This will occur on Monday August 3rd 2026. Regular classes will not be operating on this day. Staff will be involved in a range of professional learning activities centred around professional culture and collaboration. 

Year 12 VTAC Information Evening

All parents of  Year 12 students are invited to the College on Tuesday August 4th 2026 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. This evening is an opportunity to learn more about the VTAC process and new requirements for the 2027 tertiary selection entry.  After the information session there will be time to ask questions to help you further understand the process. We hope to see you all there! Please contact the Careers Leader if you have any questions.

Student Success

Congratulations to Giorgio Samantzis of Year 12 2025 who attended the VCE Premier's Awards ceremony on Tuesday July 22nd 2026.

Giorgio was recognised for his perfect study score of 50/50 for VCE General Maths - Units 3 and 4.

and finally...

Thank you to all of you, as parents, who ensure that your children follow the uniform requirements and arrive on time for school each day.  We expect students to be in class, ready to learn on the second bell.  A reminder to parents and students to notify the College for approval when going on a family holiday or when seeking approval for the student's absence from school for an extended period of time. Please note not all requests will be approved, especially for students in Years 11 and 12. Students will need to meet VCAA and College requirements to satisfactory meet the outcome of the study.

Danny Dedes

On Behalf of Assistant Principals - Rick Hudson, Sasha Mildenhall and Louisa Norwood.