Principal Report
Term 1 at Koonung
Thank you to all of our students, staff and families for your outstanding support of our students across all of Term 1. It has been a fantastic, but very busy start to Term 1 and as we approach the end of term, I am pleased to reflect on the success we have had over the past few months at our College. I am proud of the positivity from our staff and students, and constantly impressed of how our students live our College values, especially in how they demonstrate respect to their peers and staff, and their resilience in their learning. I observed an example of this resilience recently during the NAPLAN testing period. Love it or hate it, NAPLAN is part of schooling in Australia. At Koonung, we use NAPLAN to identify the learning growth and needs of our students in the key 21st Century skills of Literacy and Numeracy. I am proud of how well our students performed during the NAPLAN testing. Our students showed a positive attitude towards the testing, and a deep resilience when it didn't always go to plan. This is a testament to their hard work and dedication to their education and personal growth. I have also seen that resilience in so many other situations across the term, including our recent Year 7 Camp, in our Year 11 and 12 students in the School Assessed Coursework (SACs) and in countless every day situations where our students are challenged to grow and reach their potential. Thank you to our wonderful staff and to you our parents and families for supporting us in the learning growth, both academically and socially of every Koonung student in term 1.
School Sports Victoria- Blue Award
Congratulations to Sophie Zarafa (Year 12 Koonung Secondary College in 2023) who was recently acknowledged by School Sports Victoria (SSV) with a 'Blue' award for her achievement in Athletics while at Koonung. This is a high level acknowledgement of sporting excellence and follows her receiving the SSV Sporting Medal for Excellence in 2023. Congratulations Sophie and all the best in your future endeavours.
Matsudo Exchange Visit
This term also saw the visit of 10 students from our sister city, Matsudo in Japan. Matsudo and the Whitehorse LGA operate one of the longest sister city relationships in Australia. Each year Koonung hosts students from Matsudo city at the end of Term 1 as part of the sister city arrangement. A big thank you to the students who were buddies for our exchange visitors and to Ms Mia Poulton who runs the exchange and acts on behalf of not only Koonung Secondary College, but also the Whitehorse Council for the exchange component.
Please see the page in this newsletter dedicated to the visit and note that our sister school in Matsudo will also be visiting this year. If you are interested in hosting an exchange student from Japan, please read this page and contact Ms Mia Poulton.
Year 7 Camp
I also want to acknowledge the success of our Year 7 Camp. It was a well-run three days in which our students were able to form connections and friendships that, for many of them, will be lifelong. The camp provided our students with an opportunity to step outside their comfort zones, learn new skills, and develop their teamwork and communication skills. The camp complements the focus in Term 1 to support students to build relationships as they transition from primary school to secondary college. I am proud of our students for approaching the camp with such enthusiasm and making the most of the experience.
Road Safety around the College
Last week I communicated with all students and families around the importance of road safety before and after school. With 1200 students and surrounded by very busy roads, it is imperative that both our students, families and local community consider the safety and well-being of everyone during the busy times at drop off and pick up.
Firstly, please note that the school has been advised that Traffic Enforcement will be beginning in the area during student pick up and drop off times at the start of Term 2. This includes for speed while on roads such as Elgar Road, Belmore Road and Box Hill Crescent, and parking enforcement for areas marked as no standing.
Of major concern are some of the practices in student drop offs in the morning and pick ups in the afternoon. Students cannot be dropped off by parents in the school grounds including the school car parks accessed from Cairo Road, Box Hill Crescent the old Tennis Courts Staff Car Park. All of these car parks have shared pedestrian walkways, so please do not enter the school grounds for drop off or pick up. Another key concern raised is the significant traffic blocks on Box Hill Crescent. We ask families when collecting your child to consider exiting Box Hill Crescent (especially when attempting to access Belmore road) by using the side streets of Benbrook Ave, Arnott St and Cairo Road.
Finally, we ask all families to be considerate of our neighbours when dropping off and picking up by not parking across driveways or attempting to undertake three point turns in streets surrounding the College. Please also remind your children to be road safe, including using the supervised crossings available and always giving way to vehicles on roads.
Uniform
I have been very impressed with how well our students have worn their College uniform in Term 1. As we move into Term 2 and the start of colder weather, I remind all students and ask families to support the College in upholding our uniform standards. I ask for support from you in two particular areas. Firstly, PE uniform should only be worn when students have either Sport Ed or a practical PE lesson. Students and families can check Compass the day before to confirm if students have a practical PE lesson. Secondly, the wearing of hoodies or other non-uniform items is not permitted. We have a wide range of uniform items designed to keep students warm and dry during the colder months of which hoodies, either underneath the PE shirt or over the top of the PE or Academic uniform are not part of. We appreciate your support and understanding around non-uniform items.
Farewells
The end of Term 1 also marks the final day in the impressive and outstanding career of a number of Koonung staff. This includes the retirement of Mr Trevor Vanden Driesen (Middle School), Mr Rath Senadheera (Information Technology Support) and Ms Paula Pringle (Learning Support) and the final day for Ms Bridget Gourlay (Learning Support) as she moves into her career as a Counsellor.
Trevor has been an educator and leader in schools since 1981, and has spent a decade in the Koonung community both teaching and supporting students academically, emotionally and socially, but also leading, mentoring and coaching countless teachers through his various roles, wisdom and interactions.
Paula has supported students as part of the Learning Support team and in many other roles such as Food Technology for the past 27 years at Koonung. Her patience, kindness and drive to see every student achieve at their best, both socially and academically will be missed as she begins her well-earned retirement.
Rath has been in IT support for the past 24 years both here at Koonung and in many primary schools including Box Hill North PS, Kerrimur PS and Laburnum PS since the year 2000. Rath has seen many changes in how we use technology and has supported staff, students and families in order to see technology support learning.
Trevor, Paula and Rath retire at the end of this term having exceptionally served the Koonung community and we wish them all the best with their retirements.
We wish Bridget all the best as she moves from Learning Support into her career as a counsellor. Bridget has worked with our students as part of the Learning Support team while undertaking her qualifications as a counsellor. We wish her all the best in the next stage of her career.
Have a great break!
Finally, I would like to thank all our teachers, staff, and parents/carers for their hard work and dedication to our College's success during Term 1. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable break, and I look forward to seeing you all back for another successful term on Tuesday 16 April when students return.
Facebook and Instagram
The College utilises social media to provide quick updates, interesting events, and lots of photos to our community.
We have one official Facebook page and three Instagram pages for members of our community to follow.
https://www.facebook.com/koonungsecondarycollege/
Official School Account
https://www.instagram.com/koonung.secondary.college/
Instagram (Library Account)
https://www.instagram.com/ksclibrary/
Instagram (Student Leaders)
https://www.instagram.com/koonung_secondary_college/
Andrew McNeil
Principal
andrew.mcneil@education.vic.gov.au