Principal

This year will see the conclusion of the building works behind the current administration portables. The new 2 court gymnasium, 2 new Food Technology rooms, Fitness Centre, 2 HPE classrooms and cafeteria will all open at the start of 2024. We look forward to this exciting transition into the new buildings and the opportunities it presents for the college.

The multi-story building that will include a new administration area, a new Wellbeing hub, a new Senior School space and Arts learning area will open in Term 1 of 2024. This has been slightly delayed but will be in use early next year.

Celebrations

The end of the year provides us all time to celebrate the achievements of our students over 2023. There are two significant events that occur to recognise these achievements. These are:

Year 12 Graduation Evening – Monday the 18th of December
Year 7 to 11 Presentation Evening – Tuesday the 19th of December

All students and families who will receive something at these events will be invited to attend. I ask that you please respond as soon as possible to assist with the planning of these events.

2023

The 2023 school year celebrated 60 years of Lalor Secondary College providing a quality educational program to the surrounding communities of Lalor and Thomastown. The school celebrated throughout the year with many school-based events, however the highlight was the Celebrations Day that invited members of the Lalor Secondary College community both past and present into the school to reminisce and celebrate the school that has meant so much to so many. It was a great success that can be viewed in more detail in this publication.

While this year celebrated the previous 60 years, the school was also experiencing the construction of new buildings associated with the $27 million dollar capital works project. The school’s staff and students were impacted throughout the year but never lost their positive outlook towards what will be a significant environmental change to the school.

The 2023 school program was filled with an enormous amount of opportunity for students, a highlight of which was the multicultural concert held at PRACC. All the school camps were well attended including the Year 12 study skills conference, Year 7 camp, Year 9 QLD and Advance camps and our Music program continues to expand and grow with more than double the students involved in this program prior to Covid. This saw a wonderful school spring concert showcase the many talents and instruments now involved in the program. Our sporting program continued to be strong with many teams reaching State finals. The school feeling has been one of optimism with our Year 12 students leading the way with their responsible, positive, friendly attitudes towards everyone throughout the year.

The school’s educational program was driven by a renewed energy attached to a new 4-year strategic plan. Staff worked hard on an assessment review that led to the development of assessment schedules for Years 7 to 10, as well as the development of developmental rubrics for formative assessment use. The school continues to focus in on the agreed instructional model – GANAG – with more consistency on ending lessons with a well-planned goal review delivered in 2023.

I wish to thank all the staff within our college for their continued efforts in providing a rigorous teaching and learning program, as well as supporting our students with the struggles they face moving through their teenage years. All staff do this every day through their classrooms, but also by investing in the young people whom they work with every day.

Our students have again been wonderful this year, with polite, engaged, enthusiastic students across the college in all year levels. Our students continue to choose to make our school a great place to come each day and it’s this that makes our school a great school.

To all the parents / carers / guardians, the support you have provided to your children in 2023 has provide the foundation that allows them to excel and engage in the classroom and involve themselves in the extra-curricular opportunities. I thank you for your continued efforts in what can be a very challenging time for parents / carers and guardians.

We look forward to 2024 when we will welcome a new environment and surrounds creating a new feeling of opportunity within our school, I wish our entire community a joyful, safe and festive time over the break with family and friends.

Best regards,

Corey Jewell

College Principal