PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Principals Newsletter Report

The last fortnight has gone very quickly, and it has been terrific to enjoy some great summer weather during the last few days.

This morning we acknowledge Remembrance Day which will be acknowledged across our country at 11am tomorrow with a minute’s silence. Our middle years student leaders conducted this service and spoke beautifully around the meaning of Remembrance Day and why we should always “remember” our diggers. We also heard from one of our Year 11 students Ramzy Barbouses, who shared with our community his experience as part of the Kokoda Track and the Geelong Kokoda Youth Program. Not only are we incredibly proud of Ramzy for completing the track and this program, but he was very brave in sharing his experience on the track and why we need to “tell the story of our Kokoda heroes. A big thank-you to John Young and Christina Bowden for playing the bag pipes and bugle as part of the ceremony. It was a great start to our day!

Year 12 Exams and Graduation

Our Year 12 students have now completed many of their exams and with only one exam remaining this afternoon for our students. Although you may have read about the issues with some of the exams having errors in them, VCAA have communicated the marking scheme that will take the errors into account and we look forward to celebrating their achievements in mid-December.

Our Year 12 Graduation evening will be conducted on Thursday 16 November at GMHBA stadium, and we are very much looking to farewell this special group of young adults.

School Uniform Reminders

As the year draws to a close it is important to maintain our school uniform standards. Recently we have noticed several students wearing grey hoodies and grey tracksuit pants. These are not part of our school uniform, so I encourage parents/carers to work with their children to ensure they are wearing correct uniform on a day-to-day basis. If any families are struggling to obtain uniform items, I encourage you to contact Jenny Eastwood as part of our Student Well-being Team at the college.

Master Plan and New Gym Consultation Workshops

Yesterday it was terrific to conduct several workshops with students, community stakeholders, parents/carers and staff with Workshop Architecture, our appointed Learning Design Consultants. They will now use this information to go and prepare up to 3 master plan options for review and consultation prior to the end of 2023 and then begin working on designs in the new year for our new Gymnasium and Sports Centre.

Assessment and Reporting Pupil Free Day

A reminder that Friday 17 November is a pupil free day for a assessment and report writing for staff.

Planning and preparation for 2024

This is a quick reminder to the Parents/Carers of students who will no longer be attending Western Heights College in 2024.

If you have not already done so, can you please contact the school to inform us that your child will not attending next year. This information can be communicated to the staff members in our General Office or the Learning Community Leaders at each year level.

This information is vital in order to plan and prepare classes and programs for next year. 

Department of Education – Student Broadband offer

SUPPORT YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION WITH 12 MONTHS FREE INTERNET AT HOME

The Australian Government has established the School Student Broadband Initiative to provide free home internet for one year for up to 30,000 eligible families with school-aged students.

The initiative aims to boost education opportunities. NBN Co is leading the rollout of this initiative across the country.

How the School Student Broadband Initiative can help your child

Children who can access online learning at home as part of their education are more likely to engage in classroom activities.

Access to fast internet at home can also support children to build their digital skills, learn how to safely use the internet and take part in a world that is more reliant on digital technology.

Eligibility

To be eligible, families must:

• have a child living at home enrolled in an Australian school in 2023
• not have an active National Broadband Network internet service at their home* (having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility)
• live in a premises that can access the National Broadband Network through a standard connection. NBN Co will check this for you after you apply
• register interest with your school and complete a consent form to be assessed for eligibility

*If an address has been disconnected within 14 days prior to an eligibility check – the address will be classified as ineligible. There may be cases where exceptions can be made, please contact the School Student Broadband Initiative team at SSBI@education.vic.gov.au  to discuss further.

How the School Student Broadband Initiative works

If you are eligible, your home internet service will be provided at no cost for one year with a

participating internet provider over the National Broadband Network. Each internet provider has its own step-by-step process to get you connected, which may involve you providing identification.

Once you sign up, the internet provider will help you set up your connection. The initiative does not include devices such as a computer or tablet. Other members of your household can use the internet service provided through this initiative.

The one-year period will start from the day your service is activated with your chosen provider.

At the end of the one-year period, you will not be placed onto a paid service by your internet provider without your consent. The Australian Government is considering options beyond the one-year free period.

How to apply

• Ask your school for a copy of the School Student Broadband Initiative consent form.
• Complete the consent form and return to the school.
• NBN Co will use student address details on the consent form to confirm eligibility.
• If you are eligible, NBN Co will issue a voucher for your family to use to sign up with a participating internet provider. This will be provided to you by your school.

Please note: NBN Co will review the home address for eligibility. No personal information other than your main home address will be shared with NBN Co. Please see the consent form for details about how personal information will be used.

Have a lovely weekend,

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. 

1.       Commitment to Child Safety

2.       Child Safety Policy

3.       Child Safety Code of Conduct

4.       Child Protection Policy and Procedures

Annual privacy policy reminder for 2023

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 10 community languages:

* Amharic

* Arabic

* Dari

* Gujarati

* Mandarin

* Somali

* Sudanese

* Turkish

* Urdu

* Vietnamese.