Assistant Principals Report

The conclusion of Term 2 marks the halfway point in the year and for our Year 12’s only one more term of curriculum and assessments before their final exams. We have had some significant events over the term that we would like to celebrate, these include Athletics day, Music camp, the Winter Music Concert and Maths competition held at Box Hill High School.

The Careers program this term has been robust and delivered a range of outcomes that assist our students across the college with establishing appropriate pathways into their senior school certificate or establishes their readiness for their chosen pathway beyond DSC. A huge thank you to Vanessa Ramsey, Sarah Hull-Brown, April Winterburn and Donna McKinley for their guidance and delivery of this important program. Students at Year 9 were able to participate in the Morrisby Career profiling, that will assist with course selection early in the Term. Our Year 10’s are out on Work Experience this week and will no doubt return in Term 3 with some valuable skills and understanding of how they can shape their careers. The Careers expo was an important point in our course selection program, as this supports all year levels in understanding what subjects will be on offer and how to prepare for the 2025 course selection, which will occur in Week 3 of next term.  

The Assistant Principal team would also like to thank Elly Stewart who stepped in to support the Junior school for the first 7 weeks of this Term while Belinda McGee was on leave. As an existing leader within the Junior School, Elly was able to lead the team to maintain the success of term 1.  

The end of Semester 1 has meant examinations for Senior students in years 10 and 11. This can be daunting for students but is essential for preparing them for end of year exams in year 12. As much as possible, we attempt to emulate the environment and expectations of VCAA examinations, to support students to be as comfortable and as ready as possible for their final examinations at the conclusion of their high schooling. Our students have done well to meet our expectations around uniform and behaviours during the examinations and we congratulate them on their efforts! 

A number of our students struggled to adhere to the mobile phone policy during their General Achievement Test (GAT), which has created problems for them during the testing with some students having their phones confiscated by VCAA. Though no cheating has occurred, the repercussions for this choice are immense for students we so we remind families to speak with their students about this DET and DSC policy, to ensure they are never compromising their learning or achievement. 

Focus on Exit Routines 

Planned classroom management creates safe and supportive learning environments for all students. Building positive connections and reinforcing the expectations, routines and rules of the classroom are key to a calm and effective learning environment. Our Year 7 students, teachers and leadership team have been focusing on the classroom exit routine over the last 4 weeks. 

An exit routine at the end of a lesson provides a safe, predictable and organised end to learning. It’s important to plan dedicated time at the end of a lesson to ensure a consistent exit routine can take place every time students leave the classroom. 

There has been a significant lift in classroom behaviour, entry and exit routines across the year 7 classes which is evident in the way students are caring for their homerooms. Congratulations to the Year 7 students, teachers and leaders for your commitment to doing the very best you can, every day in the classroom. 

Child Safe Standards 

Child Safe Standards is an important policy and framework for ensuring that we create a school environment that is Safe, welcoming, diverse and considers the needs of a broad range of students and staff who are part of our College Community.  We have zero tolerance for child abuse. 

Every staff member at the College is responsible for the care and protection of children and reporting information about child abuse. The College has a duty of care to provide safe, open and supportive environments that protect our students. 

Creating child-safe school environments is a dynamic process that involves active participation and responsibility by the College, families and our community. It is marked by collaboration, vigilance and proactive approaches across policies, procedures, curriculum and practices. 

Every person involved in the Doncaster community has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role he/she plays individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people are at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make. 

We have been consulting and upskilling the School College Council with each standard this year and this will continue as the year progresses. Our staff will participate in their annual training of how to maintain the Child Safe Standards through our practice everyday at the College and throughout the rest of the year we will consult our student body to ensure they understand their role in supporting this policy and maintaining a safe and inclusive school environment.  

If you would like to read our polices, please follow this link to our school website.  

Child Safety – Doncaster Secondary College (doncastersc.vic.edu.au) 

Reports 

Progress Reports were released on Monday 24th and on Friday 28th the Semester Reports will be available to families. These two reports should be read in conjunction, along with teacher feedback on Compass Learning Tasks, to support students and families to have a strong picture of how their student is growing and performing. 

The role of the Progress Reports is to map out a picture of learning behaviours and support students to understand the connection between organisation/effort and learning growth. The Semester Report offers a formal reflection on achievement and learning progress. It is a time for families and students to celebrate successes and reflect on new goals to stay motivated and focused on career pathways. Our students have had an excellent semester, and we are proud of their achievements – they should be proud of themselves as well. 

If you have any questions around your reports, please reach out to your year level coordinator when term 3 commences. 

We would like to wish all students and families a restful holiday break and look forward to seeing you all in term 3.

Wes Pfitzner, Belinda McGee & Kristin Skennar

Assistant Principals