PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Principal’s Newsletter Report 15/11/24
The last fortnight has flown by, and our Year 12 students have almost completed most of their exams, if not all. We look forward to celebrating our Year 12s’ achievements and results in mid-December and their Year 12 Graduation next Thursday evening at GMHBA Stadium.
Our Year 10 and 11 students have been preparing for their exams, which will commence next week. These exams are a great way to practice formal assessments in anticipation of Year 12 and future examinations, as well as consolidate what they have learnt this year.
New School Captains 2025
Congratulations to our elected 2025 School Captains, Finlay Powell and Georgia Tyrell. Finn and Georgia will be wonderful leaders and ambassadors for our school community during the next 12 months and we cannot wait for them to get started. They will be more than ably supported by Owen Medley and Nakiah Millar. They will be great leaders and wonderful supports to our college captains Georgia and Finn. We wish them all well in 2025.
Remembrance Day Service
This year our college paused for a Remembrance Day service on Monday 11th November. On this day, we payed respect and paused for one minute to remember the service and sacrifice of our veterans and current serving personnel. At WHC this year we broadcasted an online service (due to the Year 12 exam taking place on site) to all classrooms. This service was conducted by our new school captains Finlay Powell and Georgia Tyrell. The respect shown by all students and staff was commendable.
School Uniform Parent/Carer Feedback
Western Heights College is currently getting close to the end of a 5-year contract with its current suppliers of school uniform. To help provide feedback to our College Council which makes decisions on our school uniform, we would appreciate some feedback from our parent/carer community on our current school uniform and what we can improve, suggestions for change, etc. We would value your feedback and review it in our December College Council meeting to help inform our decision-making moving forward, to ensure our uniform serves its purpose, and is something our students are proud to wear daily. Please find the link to the survey.
2025 Geelong City Youth Council Elections
On Monday 18th November, representatives from the Geelong City Council will be here to conduct polling booths for all our students to vote and have a say in our Junior Council Elections for 2025. One of our current students, Ben Pocock, is standing for election, and we wish him well with this opportunity. This is a great opportunity for school students to be part of the voting process and to understand the importance of ballots, democracy, and having a say on who our local junior councillors will be for 2025.
Polly Farmer Foundation “Follow the Dream” Program 2025
The Polly Farmer Foundation “Follow the Dream” supports the aspirations of First Nations students to successfully complete their primary and secondary schooling. In 2025, Western Heights College will be the second school in Victoria (and in Geelong) to run this wonderful program in our school to support the 55-60 First Nations young people completing their education at WHC.
Students in the program experience a range of activities that enrich learning and broaden horizons. Post-school study and career options are explored, culture is celebrated, and general capabilities that encompass knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions are developed to assist students to live and work.
Follow The Dream encourages students to ‘Dream Big’ with purpose and in a setting that creates a sense of belonging. On completion of school, Follow the Dream students are well prepared to embark on successful career pathways and to identify as leaders and role models amongst their peers, families and communities.
WHC will be working closely with Northern Bay College in 2025 to roll out our program in 2025. Our current teacher, Georgia Pike, will be supporting our student’s engagement with this program in 2025. We cannot wait to see the wonderful outcomes for our first nations students from this partnership in 2025.
School Gym Progress
This week I was fortunate to be involved in a planning meeting re: our school gymnasium build which is on track to be completed for the start of 2026. The tender for this project is currently being prepared and we are hopeful of commencing construction by April 2025.
Early Commencement Program (ECP 2025)
On Monday 25 November, all students in Year 11 and 12 (and 2025 Year 10 students studying a VCE subject) will commence 1 week of early commencement program to enable the students an opportunity to obtain a head start with their learning 2025. A timetable will be released shortly for students for this program. It is imperative that all students attend this program until its completion on Friday 29 November which will be the last day of 2024 for current Year 10 and 11 students.
End of Year Dates for 2024
- Year 12 Graduation GMHBA Stadium – Thursday 21 November
- Last day of classes for 2024 Year 10 and 11 students – Friday 29 November
- Year 7 2025 Orientation Day Tuesday 10 December
- Last day of timetabled classes 2024 Year 7-9 – Monday 9 December
- Year 7-9 Activities Program Tuesday 10 December until Wednesday 18th December
- College Awards Evening Thursday 12 December (GMHBA Stadium)
- 2024 Report Feedback by appointment only – Thursday 19th and Friday 20 December.
2025 Return to School Dates
- Tuesday 28th January 2025 – Teachers return to school today
- Wednesday 29th January 2025 – Teacher Curriculum Day (Student Free Day)
- Thursday 30th January – Year 7/11/12 students return to school
- Friday 31 January – Year 8/9/10 return to school
$400 School Saver Bonus
In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities or school uniforms and textbooks.
The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home-schooled students, TAFE students, or students attending kindergarten in 2025. We need to ensure your contact information is up to date as the Department of Education will email you in November with your $400 School Saving Bonus.
Please check your junk mail regularly to make sure you do not miss an important email.
To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, download the School Saving Bonus Information sheet for government school parents and carers or visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus.
Enjoy the next fortnight,
Fiona Taylor
Principal
Child Safety at WHC
Western Heights College is a child safe organisation committed to protecting students from all forms of abuse. Our College has stringent protocols in place and endeavours at all times to be fully compliant with the Child Safe Standards set out under Ministerial Order 870.
Our College has the following documents and policies in place to achieve compliance with the Standards. All of these documents are available for downloading on our website or contact the school for a copy.
- Commitment to Child Safety
- Child Safety Policy
- Child Safety Code of Conduct
- Child Protection Policy and Procedures
Annual Privacy Policy Reminder for 2024
Our school collects, uses, discloses, and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy (found on the college's webpage).
Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents and carers on the webpage. This information is also available in nine community languages:
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Dari
* Gujarati
* Mandarin
* Somali
* Sudanese
* Turkish
* Urdu
* Vietnamese