Principal's Report 

Term 1: Report Newsletter

A warm welcome to the new school year.

I hope that all of our College community experienced a great start to the year as well  safe and enjoyable holiday period and were afforded the opportunity to re-charge and connect with family and friends.

We wish to officially congratulate our DUX of the College Priyansh Patel , who achieved an ATAR of 98.15 – a phenomenal achievement for him! 

Priyansh worked with diligence throughout his VCE studies and his final result is a fitting reward for his consistent hard work and application to his studies. We wish this outstanding young person every success in his future pursuits.

We are extremely proud of the achievements of our students and the effort and nurturing care of our teachers in supporting them throughout their time at South Oakleigh College.

College Leadership

I am pleased to introduce our Leadership Team for 2024. 

Principal Class

Helen Koziaris –Principal 

Anthony Katsianos – Assistant Principal- Student Wellbeing and Engagement and Operations

Mark Picone –Assistant Principal- Staff Development and Teaching and Learning 

Leading Teachers and Learning Specialists 

Sulagna Monga – Director of Students Senior School 

Travis Knox – Director of Students Middle School

George Tzimourtas – Director of Students Junior School 

Louise O’Neill– Teaching and Learning – Pedagogy

Tal Ellinson –Numeracy

Adam Myors – English/Literacy

Steve Kuruc – STEM/OEP

Elizabeth Smith -Director of Students - Wellbeing

New and Returning Staff to SOC

I am also very pleased to welcome the following teachers who are either returning from extended leave or starting with us for the first time in 2024:

College Swimming Carnival

It was very rewarding to witness our students supporting the first major whole- school event on our College calendar – during our  Swimming Carnival. It is always wonderful to see our students make the most of this opportunity to socially connect and once again perform in the sporting arena.

True to tradition, our Year 12 student leaders once again took the opportunity to dress creatively, demonstrating a sense of fun and imagination, as they set out to create lasting memories for their final school year but also in proud support of their allocated house. As the day progressed, it was great so see participation across all year levels and some outstanding skills on display. 

Congratulations to Banksia  – the winning House team of the Carnival in what turned out to be a very competitive final leaderboard.

1st Banksia

2nd Acacia

3rd Grevillea

4th Waratah

After a strongly contested competition, we also wish to congratulate Grevillea for once again winning the House Chant.  

Great effort from all.

Could I finally acknowledge the superb organisational effort of Mr Jason Knee and his team of staff helpers for their considerable work both before and during the day and pay a special tribute to our extended student leadership team for their efforts, enthusiasm and teamwork that made the day all the more rewarding. 

2024 Parent Payments

With the generous support of our parents, South Oakleigh can offer high quality and successful academic and co-curricular programs.  Your financial assistance enables us to enrich and extend the learning experiences of our students by offering enhanced curriculum and a wider range of subjects which meet the diverse needs of our almost 900 students such as instrumental music, literacy and numeracy programs, outdoor education and technology subjects.   

Your support of our students also helps to improve technology in the classroom, employ additional staff and maintain the grounds and environment which makes us a school that excels. 

In past years, the contributions of parents as well as out tax deductible building fund have allowed us to build our new locker bays, refurbish the library and VCE Centre, create new spaces and areas for our Instrumental Music Centre, create our fully equipped fitness centre as well as many other works around the school.   With further fundraising efforts, we plan to further redevelop our outdoor spaces to provide better learning spaces and resources for our students.  

You can also contribute to this through "Brick By Brick" initiative where we will have your name or the family name etched on the pavers.  The cost will be $50 for individuals and $100 for families. 

The 2024 Parent Payment arrangements are available for payment via Compass on your home page under “Payments Centre”.  

Alternatively, payments can be made directly to the College via credit card or cash using the College Payment Envelope. Please ensure you download the attached form for the appropriate year level. Payment envelopes can be dropped off at the College in the locked drop box at Reception.  Please refer to the attached Parent Payments Policy and further links to information via https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/parent-payment/policy 

Outstanding Student Achievement – an invitation

As we commence the new school year and welcome many new families to our College community - can I take this opportunity to remind families that we are always willing to hear of, and share the deeds of our students in their sporting, academic, performing arts or community-based pursuits external to our College. We have, on a regular basis, students who are involved in a quite extraordinary array of activities and it is always a pleasure and with great pride that we seek to share those outcomes with our wider school community.

In accord with the above invitation, we extend a warm congratulations to Charlie Gow who together with his team took out Bronze in the U15 State Hockey tournament held in Canberra earlier in the month after beating Queensland Gold in a penalty shoot out.  We look forward to hearing more of Charlie’s success in his chosen sport as the year progresses. 

Congratulations Charlie!

School Council 

Congratulations to the following successful members elected to council:

Parent Member Category - Gregory Dellas, Paul Li and Mark Schramm

Employee Member Category - Anthony Katsianos

Student Member Category - Ballot required see attached

School Council Candidates and Nominators

Parent Member Category  3 positions vacant

Number of parent nominations 3 – no ballot required

Student Member Category 2 positions vacant

Number of Student nominations 3 – ballot required

School Employee Category 1 positions vacant

Number of Employee nominations 1 – no ballot required

School council election process and timetable

School Council and 2024 Annual General Meeting - Open Meeting

We are extending an invitation to the College Community to attend the March School Council meeting and Annual General Meeting. This will be held at 6.00pm on Tuesday 19th March. Interested parties are asked to please contact Kelly Garrett at kelly.garrett@education.vic.gov.au  for further details and to register attendance. All attendees must be registered by 4.00pm Friday 15th March.

Helen Koziaris

College Principal