Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Staff and Community Members

It’s been a busy but fantastic start to the term!

Year 12’s Classes complete 

Friday 18th October saw our Year 12 students complete their formal classes for the year, including a fantastic farewell whole school assembly for them on Monday last week. I would like to personally thank our Year 12 students for the way that they conducted themselves; they dressed up and had some fun in the morning with their teachers and support staff, but always respected the premises, other students, and the community. 

For many years we have had a strong tradition of respectful celebration here, and they didn’t let themselves or us down. They then headed off for a great day out. Our VCE 

Vocational Major students recently completed their graduation interviews, where they are required to present their professional portfolios and answer mock job interview questions. I was fortunate to sit in on the panels for some of these interviews, and I was very impressed! Our VCE students are all now studying hard for their final exams, and once complete will have the final big celebration, which is the Year 12 Valedictory evening on Friday 22 November.

VCE Vocational Major carnival 

Recently, it was my absolute pleasure to join in the fun and get saturated with wet sponges being thrown at me, followed by shaving cream pies to the face! (See photo below!) The VCE Vocational Major students recently planned and delivered the annual carnival to raise funds for charity. As always, it was a great event in the courtyard and was attended by hundreds of students. Many thanks to all the students and staff involved in this event. It was so great to see so much enjoyment out there. 

Arts ‘Evening of Excellence’

Last week has also seen our annual Arts Evening of Excellence. This was an amazing event, where the visual and performing arts students got to showcase their talent. Talent was an understatement, the depth of talent at this school in this area is outstanding! The event was attended by 100’s of parents and families. There are too many to list here, in terms of outstanding work, but I would like to thank all students who shared their work and performed on the night. 

Whole school exams, commencement program and end of year program

Monday 4th November is a supervised study hall day. No formal classes are running, but supervision is provided. 

This week our Year 10-12 Students will start their exams, then Wednesday to Friday of next week all our students will be focusing on their end of year examinations. Junior school exam timetables will be released this week.  I would like to wish all students the best with these and reiterate that these exams are to be approached with rigour and effort. All exams are conducted under strict exam conditions. Parents/carers, please discuss and reinforce this with your child(ren). 

Monday 11th November is a student free curriculum day. On Tuesday 12 November, all students will then roll up to their 2025 classes with new teachers. Please ensure that your child(ren) have some fresh exercise books for these classes. In some cases, students in the junior school may also need to move classes or sub-schools. Sub-school Leaders will communicate this where applicable. The 2025 commencement program runs for four weeks and concludes on Friday 8 December. 

From Monday 9 December, no formal classes will be running, however any students who attend will be supervised in an in-school activities program. Monday the 9th of December we will also be running an event for students in Years 7-9 to Gumbuya world. There is a current expression of intertest event on compass for parents to indicate if your child would like to attend. A minimum of 200 students is required. The college may have to look at an alternative event if we do not get enough numbers. 

More information regarding the program for the last two weeks of the year will be published later in the term. 

Travelling to and from school

I am aware that we are getting closer to the end of the school year, but I wanted to take a moment again to emphasise the importance of responsible behaviour when traveling to and from school. It’s crucial for all our students to be respectful to the public, as well as to the belongings and properties of others along their route.

Encouraging your child to be mindful and considerate helps foster a positive community atmosphere that we would like to uphold in our community. Small actions, like keeping noise levels down and being careful not to disturb or damage property, make a significant difference. If your child rides a bike or uses an electric scooter, please encourage them to be mindful of their surroundings while on footpaths.

It's essential that they ride at a safe speed and be cautious of pedestrians to ensure everyone's safety. 

Positive Classroom Management Strategies 

The Department of Education Victoria's new positive classroom management strategies focus on creating a nurturing and effective learning environment. Two of the beginning strategies are particularly crucial to create an orderly learning environment: establishing clear classroom expectations and implementing structured classroom procedures and routines.

These positive classroom management strategies introduced by the Department are grounded in research on the already existing School-Wide Positive Behaviour Interventions and supports (SWPBS). This evidence-based approach aims to create a consistent framework for promoting positive behaviour across all school settings. The college has already implemented these SWPBS strategies for some time, allowing us to build on our existing practices and refine our approach with the introduction of the 8 new strategies.

By restructuring our focus on clear behavioural expectations and structured classroom procedures, we aim to continue our improvement trajectory in our orderly learning environment where positive behaviour is recognised and encouraged and celebrated. This 8-step framework will not only support individual classrooms but also continue to foster a college culture of respect and engagement across the entire school.

As we move into our 2025 commencement program, these positive classroom management strategies will be embedded throughout Kambrya, ensuring that all staff and students are aligned in their understanding and application. This commitment will help us start the academic year with a consistent and supportive learning environment. By prioritising these strategies from the outset, we aim to enhance our school culture and reinforce the classroom expectations that we have already embedded over the last few years.

As these two priorities will be a heavy focus in commencement, classroom teachers and student engagement leaders will be following up with students and their parents/guardians for any student who chooses not to align with these school expectations. 

The two initial strategies that will be our focus are the below:

Again, another final good luck to all students over the next couple of weeks as they participate in their final exam week for 2024. Its always an exciting time to complete these exams and head into their next year level as we begin commencement. 

Kind regards,

Martin McDonald

Acting Principal

Kambrya College