End of Term Message from the Principal

As we wrap up Term 2, I want to take a moment to thank our students, families, and staff for your continued support and partnership throughout a very full and productive term.

This term has seen exciting developments for Kurunjang—from the announcement of significant new infrastructure investment to steady progress in our teaching and learning priorities. Most importantly, we've seen our students showing growth, resilience, and a strong sense of belonging across the college.

To our families: thank you for the trust you place in us each day. Your engagement and encouragement make a real difference.

To our students: I'm proud of the way you've applied yourselves and supported one another. Rest well—you've earned it.

Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and restorative break. We look forward to welcoming students back for Term 3 on Monday, 21 July.

Deputy Premier's Visit Thursday 5th June

Historic Investment in Our College

Last week, Kurunjang Secondary College was proud to welcome the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, The Hon. Ben Carroll, along with the Member for Melton, Mr Steve McGhie MP, for a special announcement. During their visit, they formally confirmed the Victorian Government's $10.7 million investment to upgrade our facilities and construct a brand-new Learning Centre.

It was a pleasure to host both the Deputy Premier and Mr McGhie. The Hon. Ben Carroll was genuine and engaging, taking the time to connect with our student leaders, staff, and families. His interest in our college, our facilities, and—most importantly—our students and their learning was evident throughout the visit.

We were also pleased to welcome key staff from the Southwestern Melbourne Region office, including our Executive Director, Mr. Charles Branciforte, whose support continues to be instrumental in our school's growth and future planning.

We now look forward to the next exciting chapter as we prepare to break ground and begin construction of the new Learning Centre—a key milestone in shaping the future of teaching and learning at Kurunjang.

Leading Instructional Excellence

Our school values the learning and development of our staff, and the positive impacts this has on student outcomes and school improvement.

I'm pleased to share that Mr. Chris Ronalds, Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning & Curriculum, and I recently successfully completed Leading Instructional Excellence at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.

This evidence-informed program strengthened our capacity to lead the implementation of explicit teaching across the school.

Some of the key knowledge that we are bringing back to share with colleagues includes:

strategies to maximise student attention, focus and regulation
increased awareness around models of memory, and how to support students to more easily retain their new knowledge
proven approaches to support our staff to align their teaching with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0.

We began this journey earlier than most schools, sparked by a powerful moment at the 2024 Principals' Conference. During a keynote address, Mr. Chris Ronalds and I immediately recognised that Explicit Teaching would be central to the Department of Education's future direction in refining the Instructional Model to deepen and extend student learning. Since then, we have been ahead of the curve—actively implementing strategies from the Leading Instructional Excellence program and drawing on a wide body of research and professional readings. This work is already shaping practice across our classrooms, with a sharp focus on improving student outcomes, increasing engagement, and supporting wellbeing through clarity, structure, and high-impact instruction.

Leading Instructional Excellence in Action

A deep dive into the Science of Learning and its classroom application is in action, Mr. Chris Ronalds has taken this learning straight into practice, along with Mr. Dominic Snape, Leading Teacher for Instructional Practice, in 8W1 (Maths and Humanities), where they are leading from the front.

This class has become a dynamic hub of implementation, experimentation, and refinement. Staff have already had the opportunity to observe these lessons firsthand and witness the transformation in student behaviour and engagement. Lessons now consistently begin with Activating Prior Knowledge to prime students for learning. Teachers then explicitly model how to apply key knowledge before students transfer it to new but related tasks. Mini whiteboards are used for rapid, low-stakes responses—allowing for frequent and immediate Feedback following Checks for Understanding. Misconceptions are addressed in the moment before moving forward, ensuring no student is left behind.

The result? A marked increase in student confidence, engagement, and mastery. What we are seeing and hearing from both teachers and students—is that instruction is becoming more precise, more accessible, and more equitable. Every learner is being given the opportunity to succeed, and it's truly heartening to witness.

Warm regards,

Ms. Aylin Gökmen

College Principal

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