Reflecting on our progress

One of the most significant events of the past few weeks was our Strategic Review. This provided an important opportunity to reflect on the progress Parkdale has made over the past four years and to consider where we want to go next.

The feedback from the review was extremely positive. Our calm and orderly environment, strong structures and frameworks, positive school culture and sense of community and pride were all identified as significant strengths.

The review also identified areas where we can continue to improve, particularly in continuing to strengthen attendance and academic outcomes, increasing student agency and ensuring that our approach to teaching and learning is experienced consistently by all students.

Our new Strategic Plan is now being finalised. It provides an exciting opportunity to build on our strengths while focusing clearly on the areas that will make the greatest difference to our students over the next four years.

Celebrating student achievement

As always, there has been plenty to celebrate across the College.

Our Senior Boys Football and Soccer teams were crowned SMR champions and will progress to the State Championships, while our Year 7 Boys Netball team also won the regional competition and qualified for the State Finals. Congratulations to these teams and coaches.

Our Semester 1 Awards Breakfasts were another wonderful opportunity to celebrate student achievement in the areas of Challenge, Community, Strive and Achieve. It was particularly pleasing to see so many proud parents and carers joining us to acknowledge the accomplishments of their children. This is also a small acknowledgement from the school to our parents who we know also work hard in supporting us and our students to be the best they can be.

Our performing arts and music programs have also continued to flourish. The Mid-year Music Concert attracted a large and enthusiastic audience, while Charlie and the Chocolate Factory provided another outstanding showcase of the talent, creativity and commitment of our students and staff. With a cast and crew of over 50 students, this was an immense undertaking. The professionalism of all involved was impressive and the I’d like to thank and congratulate our students, staff and families who contributed to making it a success.

Building community

Our students have continued to benefit from a wide range of experiences that extend their learning beyond the classroom.

The Girls in STEM mentoring program has provided students with opportunities to meet women working in science and visit professional workplaces. This has been an incredible opportunity to form connections and see real world applications from the science classroom.

We were delighted to welcome students and staff from our sister school, Owa High School in Osaka. These visits are always a highlight and provide our students with wonderful opportunities to develop cultural understanding and build international friendships. We are grateful to the staff who put so much time into making the visit such a success.

Our commitment to reconciliation and cultural understanding has also continued through Koori Day and other learning opportunities. Staff professional learning with Aunty Katrina Amon provided an important opportunity to deepen our understanding and consider how this learning can inform our work with students.

Australian Education Union (AEU) Industrial Action

As of Monday 17 August an in-principle agreement has been reached between the Department of Education and the AEU members. This means industrial action has now ceased while further processes to finalise the agreement are completed. Given the duration of the dispute and the resulting industrial action, there may be a lag in communication and feedback. We appreciate patience as school-based processes resume. Please note that reporting feedback will not be provided on tasks completed up until 17 August.

Parent Contributions

This year we have seen a decline in receiving voluntary parent payment contributions. While we understand there are many different financial pressures on families, without these vital contributions our ability to offer programs, resources and supports for our students and community becomes impacted. Areas we currently use these funds for include:

Wellbeing staff and programs to support all students
Buildings and grounds improvements, and programmed maintenance
Classroom equipment replacements and repair (science equipment such as microscopes, sports equipment, musical instruments)
Curriculum materials (in class materials, technology tools and materials, etc)
Subsidising excursions and events
Library resources

If you have not made a contribution, and are able to, it will make a huge difference to our community if you do! Please contact the office to find out how you can contribute. Thank you.

Looking ahead

As we move further into Semester 2, our attention will increasingly turn towards implementing the findings of our Strategic Review and finalising our new Strategic Plan.

Student courses for 2027 will also be finalised. Over the coming months we will develop our subject blockings and staffing allotments before confirming 2027 courses with students and families.

End of term Leadership arrangements

Finally, I am fortunate enough to be taking long service leave for the remainder of this term for a long-awaited trip with my family overseas. During this time Melissa Treverton will be Acting Principal. With other leadership staff also on leave (Mr Dale Towler and Ms Vanessa Leslie) during this same time, we have had some reshuffling for this period. Role changes are listed below:

Acting AP 11/12/International – Ms Faya Mrad

Acting AP Operations – Ms Shelley Hatch

Acting YLL 11/12 – Mr Lucas Vogt

Acting YLL 10 – Ms Rachael Rosenbrock

Acting YLL 8 – Ms Jess Ballas

Year 10 YLC – Mr Matt Ryan

Year 7 YLC – Ms Kirsty Sonneveld

These staff are all highly experienced and skilled and I have full confidence they will continue the great work while stepping into these roles.

I hope everyone has a great end to term 3 and I look forward to hearing of more success, albeit for a short time, from afar!

Careers Corner