Dear Parents, Carers, and Students,

I would like to formally introduce myself to the community, having been appointed Acting Principal whilst the substantive principal role is being completed. I have been working at EMC for over 18 years, and Cranbourne Secondary prior, with over 8 years experience as an Assistant Principal. I am very excited to join the McClelland team. I know the College well having been so close; I have participated in many forums, professional development, and conferences with the McClelland leadership time over the years, as well as lots of professional sharing. I applied for the role knowing the community is extremely positive and supportive, engaged in teaching and learning, and invested in government education.

The first month I have spent getting to know the students and staff by attending classes, assemblies, student events, and lots of staff meetings. The staff and students have been extremely welcoming and very patient as I ask lots of questions! I have extensive experience in leading schools, however what I want to know most about is the McClelland context and history. I start my conversations with, ‘What’s going well? What’s not going well? What do you want from your principal?’, simple questions, but they have provided me a wealth of knowledge and understanding. I will never profess to know everything, so please always feel welcome to tell me something new.

From the start of the term right up to Session 4 on Friday, I have seen amazing school events, such as the Vocational Major Fringe Arts Festival, through to Friday’s Year 8 English event, where band, Rudely Interrupted played for a very excited Year 8 cohort. In-between these events the Athletics, excursions, Careers Week, Year 10 Work Experience, Outdoor Ed Summit camp, Year 7 camp, ANZAC Day services, IDAHOBIT celebrations and all the rest I can’t fit in! It has been such a pleasure seeing the college in action, students involved in their learning and taking up opportunities to extend their experiences. Thursday’s Parent Teacher meetings was resoundingly positive, and a great opportunity to talk about learning and teaching. Thank-you to all the parents, carers, and students who booked an appointment, if you would like further follow up, please email your child’s teachers.

Of course it hasn’t all been perfect, however anyone in education will tell you, working with young people is never perfect. I would like to extend my thanks to the community for their understanding, support, and respect during this week, and remind you that McClelland has a gold standard Wellbeing service which is available to all students, and any time they would like additional support they can drop by the Wellbeing office, speak to a Sub School leader or teacher for a referral, or ask parents to reach out on their behalf.

Last week the Department of Education celebrated Education Support Personal (non-teaching staff). McClelland had an afternoon tea on Thursday in recognition of the dedicated ES staff at the College, to recognise that education can not happen without our ES staff. I asked teachers to share their highlights about ES staff, which I have included below, as I thought parents would like to read some of these positive notes and find out about some of the additional work in the college, see below.

I look forward to meeting more parents in the future, if you have any questions or would like to reach out, please feel free to email me. I have also included photos from Friday’s Year 8 event, as it was the most beautiful way to finish the week, with students dancing and cheering and engaging in a positive and respectful manner.

ES appreciation notes:

I’d love to celebrate Janelle Kopic for all she does for Year 8 English. Janelle supports (student) in a way that both encourages him to challenge himself, but also work within his limitations. She has a great knack for pushing him, but not too far, and encouraging him to give things a go. She also supports other students in the class when needed, and shows great initiative in supporting the learning of all students.Katie Duncan

I’d like to nominate Faye and Lisa Tully who are always looking at innovative ways to present the information to the students they work with to ensure they are comprehending the work. I’ve had Lisa look ahead to a task I’ve scheduled for the next day and already have strategies on how this will work best for the student. Outstanding commitment 😊

Donna Fogarty

To all ES,

I want to thank the ES members of the College for all of the work undertaken to support students, staff and families. ES are central to the work that happens in schools and without you, we would not be able to function. Thank you for your dedication, commitment and tireless work. We are grateful to you for everything you do. There is an endless list of preparation, maintenance, repairs, supporting students, fielding phone calls, responding to families, fixing computers, dealing with attendance, meeting with students, supporting academics and wellbeing, creating resources, responding to staff needs, maintaining our College-wide practices of SWPB and restorative pyramids, printing, attending excursions, driving buses, photocopying, laminating, differentiating work, completing modules, liaising with external services, creating opportunities for some of our most vulnerable students, teaching young people life lessons, managing the College funds and allocation of resources and upholding our values of Community, Ownership and Growth. Thank you, sincerely, for everything that you do with our students, staff and broader community.

Kind regards,

Jess Adams

Appreciation post for the Wellbeing/Outreach team – I’d like to take today to recognise amazing wellbeing and outreach staff for their unwavering support and dedication. As a team you work to support the college’s most vulnerable young people and foster a safe and inclusive environment. As a team you go above and beyond and your hard work does not go unnoticed—we deeply appreciate all you do!

Regards,

Danielle

We often celebrate the successes of our students and teachers, but it’s important to remember that these achievements wouldn’t be possible without the invaluable support from our ES team, without their hard work, patience, and persistence, we wouldn't be able to do our jobs, and the school wouldn't function smoothly (or at all!).

Kind Regards,

Brenton

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a stellar team in our Education Support Office Squad, comprised of Nic F, Nic D, Steph S, Jenny G, and Melinda D. Their proactive approach and unwavering dedication make them the unsung heroes of our community. Whether they're handling the constant flow of parent enquiries with grace and efficiency, meticulously organising events, or managing the myriad of administrative tasks that keep our school running smoothly, their commitment is second to none. Their readiness to step in and administer first aid, ensure the success of school camps/excursions, and support our students and staff in countless other ways is truly commendable.

This team go above and beyond, anticipating needs and resolving issues before they even arise. Their warmth and professionalism create a welcoming atmosphere, and their efforts have a profound impact on the smooth operation of our school. Nic F, Nic D, Steph S, Jenny G, and Melinda D, thank you for your tireless work and like all ES you are truly the backbone of our educational community. Your hard work does not go unnoticed, and we are deeply grateful for everything you do.

Regards,

Andrew Harms

A huge thank you to Nic, Rachelle and Ming for the tireless hours put in to support our VCE students in a myriad of ways. You truly are the glue that holds the VCE Team together!

Thanks!

The VCE Team

Thank you to Nic Jeffries for all of her outstanding work in the Year 7 team as a coordinator. Nic is integral in creating the positive and calm learning community in Year 7. Nic works with a broad range of students in our community, many that present with challenging behaviours. Nic is able to build a relationship of trust and openness with these students to help them get the most out of their learning.

Thank you to Usha for fuelling the VM and food staff with all of her delicious food. This week’s bruschetta was fantastic!

Regards,

Michael Burrows

It is difficult to pin point celebrations and appreciations amongst the team of LSAs as they all contribute to supporting our students but I wanted to give a shout out to Lisa Tully and Janelle Kopec for some recent examples of ownership over their professional learning in Inclusion.

Lisa is doing some amazing work in the Inclusion space. She has been proactively supporting some Year 7 students with the development of a task analysis to support a student with their daily routines and also she is currently working on a social story for another student to support with their regulation of behaviours. At all times she is consulting with specialist staff for feedback and is always seeking opportunities for further professional learning such as online courses (of which she has enrolled in a Supporting students with Dyscalculia Inclusive Classrooms course and of course interest in Lego Based Play Therapy training. Janelle has expressed a desire for more responsibilities in the Inclusion space to broaden her skill set. She is working with Debbie to administer student profiles and professional learning opportunities such as the Lego Based Play Therapy.

Kind regards

Sharon Bucher

Lego Based Play Therapy - Seeking spare Lego Kits & pieces