Principal's Report

Term 4 has started out with a bang this year. Already three weeks have passed and I don’t see the pace of the term slowing at all. It is always the busiest term of the year with quite a lot going on across the school and lots of planning for next year. 

ATSIMA onference in Yirrkala

One of the things that has already occurred this term has been my trip to Yirrkala with Shane Hunt to present our work on the Year 7 Statistics unit incorporating local Wurundjeri knowledge and culture. This unit was developed last year in conjunction with Dr Caty Morris of ATSIMA (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Mathematics Alliance) and has now been experienced by two cohorts of Year 7 with results clearly indicating enhanced engagement and learning of students when compared to other units of work. It was such a privilege to be offered the opportunity to present our work to educators, academics and other interested groups from across the country and a particular thrill to be able to do so in such a unique place. We live in an amazing country that is so diverse and so rich in so many ways. Please see Shane’s article later in this newsletter for further details of our time in Yirrkala. 

Celebration Day 

More recently, we farewelled our Year 12 cohort on Tuesday for their Celebration Day. This day marked the end of formal classes for these students with many finishing up their programs and either starting the study period for their exams or heading off to begin work programs that they have been working towards in the Vocational Major program. The day is a traditional event at most schools and many students engaged in a way that was representative of this idea of celebration. It is important to note however, that there were a small number of students who did not engage in ways that would be considered ‘celebratory’ and instead engaged in behaviours that were unacceptable and caused harm in some way. We are deeply disappointed by this, as this is not something that we have seen in my time here at the college and it is definitely not in line with our value of Community or of Compassion. I need the community to know that we have identified many of the students who engaged in these behaviours and have issued consequences as appropriate. I need to be very clear that while we anticipate and tolerate a level of mess and chaos on these days, we do not allow or condone any actions that bring about significant damage to the school buildings or grounds or expose our students to physical or psychological harm. Whilst there were no serious instances of students being physically hurt, there were some who were forced to endure acts that caused their person or clothing to be damaged or defamed or to feel intimated and this is just not acceptable. I also need to point out that most of the Year 12 students were doing the right thing and had a fun day despite the antics of some of their peers. 

During the clean-up on this day, when staff were scrubbing graffiti off the bathroom walls, some water leaked down behind a hand dryer, causing this piece of equipment to short out and start a small (but very smelly) electrical fire. We called the fire brigade as a precaution and they attended to check that all was well and that there was no danger posed to the school community. During this time, students were asked to remain in their classes for a little longer than is usual and, I am pleased to say, all were very compliant and respectful of this request. The dryer has since been fixed and the bathrooms are completely safe. We have needed to enact our Emergency Management Plan now twice this term, which is highly unusual, and in both instances our students and staff have demonstrated the utmost maturity and competence. In both instances, procedures were enacted as a precautionary measure when a hazard was identified in the immediate environment and in both situations, staff and students all performed their roles perfectly. It is very pleasing to see that when an emergency situation occurs, our community is well prepared to respond. 

Student Achievements

On Monday, we had five students represent the college at the State Athletics Finals. Whilst the weather was terrible, our students walked away from this event with numerous achievements with many of them placing in their events. Big congratulations go to Maya Arendt, Bianca and Jade Devries, Merinda Carter and Luka Healy. Just making it to this level of competition is a massive success and to place at these events is an extraordinary achievement. Well done to all! I would also like to acknowledge Mr Andrew Wright and Ms Victoria Butler who weathered the elements on the day and also supported the students so that they could achieve this success. 

Kerryn Sandford

College Principal