Principal's Message  

Showcasing our College

Over the past month, we have proudly showcased our college at various events.  We opened our school for visitors and prospective parents and carers. 

• 2026 Year 7 Information Evening was Thursday 1 May

• Open Night was Wednesday 7 May

• 2026 Prep Information Evening was Monday 12 May

We followed these evenings with Open Day Tours on Friday 23 May which occurred at the end of our very busy and eventful Education Week.  All events were very well attended, and our students and staff represented our school really well each time. 

Education Week

What a grand week it was for our students.  We started with a dress-up parade on Monday morning with a celebration of cultures.  There was such a variety of activities that took place for our students to participate in and enjoy. Activities included chalk drawing, maths games, Prep and Year 6 buddies reading together, spelling bee, writing, music quiz, Smiling Minds sessions, and cross-age activities as well. 

We had several indigenous activities (board games, stories, and a show-and-tell) and we also ran a different sporting activity each lunch time (soccer, tennis, football, and basketball).  Simultaneous Storytime took place in the Resource Library most lunch times.  Despite the inclement weather on the Friday, we were still able to have our whole college picnic lunch where many families attended. 

Inclusion and Diversity Day

A brilliant day where the sun was shining brightly for everyone in our college to gather on our secondary oval.  There were plenty of stalls and food for everyone!  Read more about our Diversity and Inclusion Day later in this Channels issue. 

Welcome to new and returning staff

We warmly welcome Sarah McDougall and Samantha Cottrell to our college.  They both started recently. 

• Sarah McDougall is our new instrumental music teacher who has taken on the lessons from Claire Warren who has taken maternity leave.

• Samantha (Sam) Cottrell has joined our team of Learning Support Assistants.

We wish both Claire Warren and Tessa Hubbard all the best as they commence their maternity leave. 

Still to come!

By the time this issue of Channels reaches our school community members, we will have 16 couples preparing for the Debutante Ball.  They have trained several times each week for many weeks to prepare for this big night. We look forward to seeing many photos in our next issue of Channels.

Later this term, we have our VCE/ VM and Fast Trackers Information Evening (Monday 16 June) for students and their families to learn about the opportunities we have on offer for 2026.  More information about this session will be available via our socials closer to the date. We want all our 2026 Year 9 to Year 12 students to attend. We will be showcasing all our subjects and course pathways.  Lots to learn and worth attending. 

We will be moving into the phase of reviewing pathway options for 2026.  We are implementing a new process for our current Year 8-11 students to submit their subject preferences for next year.  This will happen in early Term 3. More information will come when this is ready to launch.

Assessments and Exams

Week 8 of this term (Monday 9 June to Friday 13 June), whilst being a short week will be full of major assessments and exams, particularly at Years 7-11.  Over the coming week, please ask our students about their upcoming assessments and exams. 

KEY DATES

Please note, we have the King’s Birthday (public holiday) on Monday 9 June and then on Friday 13 June, we have a student-free day (Assessment and Reporting Day) for our teachers to correct assessments and work on semester reports. 

Our Semester 1 reports will be released to families in the final week of this term.  Each subject within the report will have an overall S (Satisfactory) or N (Non satisfactory) result.  For students that attend at least 80% of lessons for the subject, they will receive an overall S on the report.  Students under 80% of attendance for a subject will not receive the S.  If this happens for several subjects, families should expect to be contacted over the coming weeks to discuss goals for the student in order to support improved attendance in Semester 2. 

Future You Day

For the first time, we will run a ‘Future You’ Day on the last day of this term for our Years 5-8 students.  This full-day event will offer students an introduction to the world of adulthood through fun, hands-on and meaningful activities. 

It will be a great way for our students to open their minds to future possibilities by learning practical skills, exploring future careers and reflecting on personal strengths and interests.

Thank you for your support

We have many people who support our college in many ways, such as attending excursions, helping with sports days and swimming programs as well as our reading programs.  To say thank you to our volunteers, we will be holding our annual Volunteers Morning Tea on Friday 13 June.  Invitations will be sent out soon to our volunteers.

Once again, thank you everyone for your ongoing support and participation with the college. 

Marina Walsh

Principal