Principal Report  

Welcome to 2026

Welcome back for the 2026 school year to our returning Koonung Secondary College families and a special welcome to our new students and families who are joining us this year. 

We hope that every family had an enjoyable and safe holiday break and that you feel ready for a productive year. This year we continue to grow. We welcome 200 Year 7 students, and we also welcome 50 new students in other year levels to the College. It has been fantastic for me to see our Koonung students so enthusiastic to be back ready and equipped for learning and I thank all of our families for your support and helping to make this transition back to school so seamless. I have been so impressed with how quickly we all settled back in to our core work of teaching and learning in a calm, orderly and safe learning environment. 

I am very much looking forward to meeting all of new students and families over the coming weeks as well as supporting every student to achieve at their best both academically, socially and emotionally in 2026. 

Our first opportunity to meet our new students and family's comes this week on Thursday 12 February at 6pm with our Year 7 Families Welcome BBQ. Please see the Compass communication with more details (sent to families of Year 7 students). 

Here are a few first week back to school photos.....

Welcome and introduction of new staff

I would like to introduce our new staff to our College community. One of the great things about Koonung is that we attract outstanding staff, both classroom teachers, leaders and education support staff and in 2026 we have outstanding staff joining us. 

Giovanna Barulli - Counsellor 

Hi, I’m a counsellor on the Wellbeing Team, supporting students and families to thrive at school. I’m Italian and a proud parent of two lovely kids who keep me on my toes! When I’m not working, I love travelling and making the most of special family moments.

Demi Dereli - English Teacher

Hello. I’m Demi Dereli and I am delighted to be joining the Koonung Secondary School community. I have held various positions in a number of government schools across Victoria and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences. I’m passionate about creating supportive and engaging learning environments for my students where curiosity is encouraged and every student feels confident to participate and grow. I truly believe learning works best when it’s collaborative, inclusive, and connected to real-world ideas. As I begin this new chapter, I’m excited to learn alongside my students and colleagues, contribute positively to the college, and continue developing as an educator. Outside of my professional role, I have a keen interest in literature, music and a recent uptake on skiing (a work in progress).

David Godfrey -Product Design and Technology Teacher

My name is David Godfrey, I am the new product design and technology teacher at Koonung. I have been teaching the subject for about 12 years, working for the most part at Ringwood secondary college. I have a trade background and am a qualified First class Sheetmetal worker. I have a passion for design and the manual arts like metal work and woodwork. I am keen to continue the good work of my predecessor Miss Sens and use my knowledge of design and of technologies to encourage students to engage creatively with the design process to create interesting and thoughtful solutions to design problems. 

Sam Kidd - Physical Education Teacher 

My name is Sam Kidd, and I am excited to be one of the new staff members at KSC. I teach Health and Physical Education from Years 7 to 10 and am really looking forward to the year ahead. As a PE teacher, I love spending my time outdoors and watching sport, whether that means heading out on overnight hikes or visiting the MCG to more often than not see a Collingwood win.

Kelly Kingham - Headstart Learning Leader

Kelly joins Koonung as the Learning Leader for the Headstart Apprenticeships program. Kelly will be working and leading the learning in the Vocational Major Program at over 40 secondary schools in the Headstart program. Kelly is an experienced Physics and VM teacher and her expertise in vocational learning will enhance the outcomes of our students. 

Kelvin Kolosidhi - Humanities/Business Management Teacher 

I am excited to be joining the Koonung Secondary College community as a Commerce and Business Management teacher. My biggest passion is showing students that Commerce is a valuable and worthwhile pursuit, just as much as STEM subjects. Outside of teaching, I am a certified nerd and a keen badminton player.

Mary Li -Accounting Teacher

I’m Jianying Li, and excited to join Koonung Secondary College as the new Accounting teacher, guiding students through the world of Accounting and Business Management. I’m passionate about making numbers come alive and helping students see how business skills apply in real life.

Georgia Psevdos - Food Studies Teacher 

My name is Georgia Psevdos and I started my teaching career in 1996. I am very passionate about teaching students about food and nutrition. I am fluent in Greek and my other interests outside teaching include baking, spending time with family, travel and gardening.

Shikha Tiwari - Science Teacher 

I am a dedicated Science teacher committed to promoting academic excellence and scientific literacy. Through well-structured instructions and engaging classroom experiences, I strive to foster curiosity.  Outside the classroom I value spending time with my family and enjoy singing Hindi Classical songs. 

Marc Westgarth - Humanities Teacher 

Hi - my name is Marc Westgarth and I teach Humanities and Outdoor Education.  I spend most of my time chasing around my two kids and exploring the outdoors with them. I love to read and watch a lot of sport in my spare time.  Looking forward to meeting everyone in the Koonung SC community.

College Teams in 2026

I am also pleased to introduce you to the various teams across the College.

Executive Team 

College Leadership Team

Middle School Team

Senior School Team

Uniform updates for 2026

As you may be aware, in 2026 the Victorian Government have made changes to the uniform policies of all Victorian Government schools. The key change is that all trousers and shorts no longer are mandated to require a school logo. For Koonung, this means that the academic trousers for both boys and girls no longer require the College logo. Please note that the academic uniform requirement is still for 'college grey' trousers. For the PE and Sports uniform, similarly the logo is not required on either the sports shorts or on tracksuit pants. Please note that as per the Koonung logo guide, shorts must only be Navy in colour in stretch micro fibre (no other colours) and track suit pants must be cotton, Navy in colour only and preferably with a zipped pocket and no logo or branding of any type. 

This change has been introduced in order to lower the costs of back-to-school expenses. To support this, we recommend non-logo, navy blue tracksuit pants and microfibre shorts for the PE uniform from either the school range at either K-mart or Best and Less. Please also support the amazing work undertaken by the PFA in our on-site Second-hand uniform store. The store is open every Friday from 2pm-3.30pm.

A reminder that in 2025, the College, through a process of student voice, introduced two new uniform items- the new sports polo top and softshell jacket. Please note that all Year 7 students are required to only be using the new items (not wearing the older style pale blue PE top or spray jacket) and that these items will be unavailable for sale in the second-hand uniform shop from the end of Semester 1. As per our uniform policy, the older style polo and spray jacket will be phased out over the next two years. 

VCE Results 2025

Before I outline the exceptional achievement of our 2025 cohort of students, I would like to remind all families that the ATAR and scored VCE is just one of the pathways available for students at Koonung. Together with scored VCE, some students undertake a non-scored VCE and in 2023 we introduced the Vocational Major VCE, in which students can undertake VET and School-based Apprenticeships and Traineeships to achieve the VCE VM. The VCE is a multi pathway program and we support all students to achieve at their best in their chosen pathway. However, at Koonung, the vast majority (over 90% of students) undertake a scored VCE. 

Much is spoken about the VCE, ATARS and the Median Study Score of a school. We are pleased to share that the achievement of the 2025 cohort of students has again been exceptional. Congratulations to the Dux of the College, Luca Brincat and to the 25% of all students in the cohort who achieved an ATAR above 90 (placing them in the top 10% of the state), to Tanar Marks who was our Vocational Education Excellence Award winner and to all of our students for their achievement in 2025. 

We are also pleased to share that the high-level achievement of our students saw a Median study score of the College of 32 and an average ATAR of 79. This sees the achievement of our Koonung students amongst the best of government schools in Victoria. Congratulations to our students for their hard work and achievement, a big thank you to our brilliant teachers and support staff for their work and thank you to you, our families for your support as we work together to see our Koonung students work hard to achieve their goals and aspirations.

Building works update

Our new middle Year building is progressing well. If you have been on-site recently you will have seen the roof is on and the framing to all rooms has commenced. The project remains on track for an end of Semester 1 finish. This includes the construction of a new car-park on the main entrance from Box Hill Crescent and landscaping works to the 'front' of the College along Box Hill Crescent.

I am also pleased to announce that we have been approved for further building works to our Gym/theatre and the school entrance to the J.D. Stove Stadium. Plans are currently being drawn up for new learning spaces and most importantly, better access to the Stadium. This will include new ramps and stairs and undercover access for our students during the school day and for our community who use the space every night and on weekends. It is very early days in the planning process, but this work will commence when the Middle Years building is finished and is scheduled to be completed early in 2027. More details will be provided in future newsletters. 

College social media channels 

The College utilises social media to provide quick updates, interesting events, and lots of photos to our community.  We have one official Facebook page and three Instagram pages for members of our community to follow. 

FACEBOOK

OFFICIAL COLLEGE ACCOUNT

https://www.facebook.com/koonungsecondarycollege/

INSTAGRAM

OFFICIAL COLLEGE ACCOUNT

https://www.instagram.com/koonung.secondary.college/

LIBRARY ACCOUNT 

https://www.instagram.com/ksclibrary/

STUDENT LEADERS ACCOUNT

https://www.instagram.com/koonung_secondary_college/

ALUMNI PROGRAM SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

The Koonung Secondary College alumni program utilises social media to stay connect with alumni. 

FOLLOW THE ALUMNI PROGRAM ON SOCIALS.

Andrew McNeil

Principal

andrew.mcneil@education.vic.gov.au