PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

2023 has been a fantastic year for Western Heights College.

Learning and growth has been the focus whilst ensuring that our well-being needs of our young people have been prioritised. As I walk the classrooms of our school, I see students who love learning with their teachers.  I see teachers who make learning engaging and fun each day.  I see students participating in challenging lessons where they persevere while solving difficult real-world problems.  I see students conducting science investigations where they ask questions, make observations, and collect data. I see art and music being created by excited and energetic students.  I see students excelling in our Specialist Sport Program. It is because of the teachers’ hard work and dedication that students get to participate in engaging and relevant learning experiences each day at WHC.  It has been so great to feel the energy of students in our college classrooms and grounds in 2023.

There have been many wonderful highlights to celebrate as a whole community and college and I invite you to enjoy reading the many reports in this wonderful online magazine and reflection and review of our college year put together by students and staff from WHC which will be posted shortly in compass.

I know that many students and teachers feel exhausted and tired at the end of the school year. Teachers continue to make a huge difference every day to students, and I continue to be proud to be an educator working to make a difference in the lives of the students we serve. 

As we close out the year, I want to thank our parents and carers for their wonderful support of our young people. 

2023 has been a year of consolidation for our college as we grow towards a school enrolment of 1000. We have so much to look forward too as a community and I cannot wait to continue our school journey together and growth as a community in 2024.

College Captains 2024

It provides me with great pleasure to announce our college captains and senior Leadership team for 2024. A huge congratulations to Amber Towart and Illiana Todjova for being selected as College Captains for 2024. Amber and Illiana will be joined by Danielle Rhodes and Cooper Ward Develyn as Vice Captains. The 4 students will be outstanding ambassadors and leaders for our college, and we wish them well in 2024.

Awards Evening

Our Awards evening and Arts and Technology exhibition will be conducted Thursday evening at GMHBA stadium. The evening will commence at 6pm with the exhibition with the Awards ceremony commencing at 6.30pm. 

Year 12 Results

On Monday our Year 12 results were released to our community. I want to send a huge congratulations to every Year 12 student in our college. 

Congratulations to our college dux for 2023, Amanda Briese with a score of 91.85. We are so proud of Amanda and look forward to seeing what she can achieve over the coming years.

Whether our students received the result they were hoping for or not, I want them to remember that this is just the beginning and that there are endless opportunities ahead for the future – and endless pathways to reach those goals. No score or number can define anyone’s future.

Amanda Briese (Dux) & her parents

Grade 6 Orientation Days 

Orientation Day is the bookend to graduation. It is always a delight to welcome our Grade 6s to the WHC school community on our 2 orientation days. 

Our transition program will continue for students at the beginning of 2023 to ensure that the foundations established today and tomorrow during Orientation Days are built on as soon as we return. Special thanks to Marli McCarthy and the transition team for their leadership prior to and during the days.

2024 School Start Dates

•           Monday 29 January (Teachers return) – General Office open for parents and carers

•           Tuesday 30 January (Staff Curriculum Day– Pupil free)

•           Wednesday 31st January – Year 7, 11 and 12 students return to school

•           Thursday 1st February – Year 8/9 students return to school (Whole School)

Thank you and best wishes for the break.

I hope you finish the year with a sense of achievement and optimism. I am so incredibly proud of everyone. Well done.

I sign off now with immense gratitude. 

Best wishes to one and all for the summer break.

Fiona Taylor

Principal

Child Safety at WHC

Western Heights College is a child safe organisation committed to protecting students from all forms of abuse.

Our College has stringent protocols in place and endeavours at all times to be fully compliant with the Child Safe Standards set out under Ministerial Order 870.

Our College has the following documents and policies in place to achieve compliance with the Standards. All of these documents are available for downloading on our website or contact the school for a copy. 

1.       Commitment to Child Safety

2.       Child Safety Policy

3.       Child Safety Code of Conduct

4.       Child Protection Policy and Procedures

Annual privacy policy reminder for 2023

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.(found on the college's webpage)

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents and carers on the webpage. This information is also available in 10 community languages:

* Amharic

* Arabic

* Dari

* Gujarati

* Mandarin

* Somali

* Sudanese

* Turkish

* Urdu

* Vietnamese.