Principal Report  

Shrek the Musical

What a show! 

I had the privilege to view our production three times over the past few weeks- and every time I was just so impressed with not only the talent of our students and staff, but also the hard work and perseverance demonstrated to produce a polished and professional show. Congratulations to all of the students, staff, parents and community members who were part of this year's production. 

Koonung Tours- Central Australia and Snow Tour

This past week has seen two tours for our students to be involved in. Firstly our annual Snow Tour to Mt Buller, and this year the return of the Central Australia Tour. 

Sister School Exchange- Matsudo High- Japan 

We have also recently said sayonara to our student exchange visitors, ten students from Matsudo Municipal High School, Japan (locally known as Ichimatsu). 

Please check out the page in this newsletter, but I would like to thank all of the students, families and staff for hosting our visitors from Japan. Exchange trips such as this not only add value to our Languages program, but they are also vital in building global connections- which is a key skill required for our young people in the future.  I would also like to thank Ms Mia Poulton for her dedication in organising this exchange trip. 

Planning is beginning on our exchange visit to Japan in 2025 and re-connecting with formal sister school arrangements with our partner school in France. 

Semester 1 Academic Excellence and Endeavour Awards

Last week we hosted a special ceremony for students who have been acknowledged for both Academic Excellence and Endeavour. Our College motto is 'Excellence through Endeavour' (as well as being key College values), so I was particularly proud to acknowledge students who demonstrate 'Endeavour' as both their own core value and through their actions.  Excellence, or our own personal best is achieved by how hard we work- so it was great to be joined by Member of Parliament Mr Richard Welch (MLA) and acknowledge students who had received multiple nominations from their classroom teachers for Excellence and Endeavour.  Congratulations to the students acknowledged. 

Koonung- 60 years of proud service to our community

From its start as Koonung High School in 1964 to our current Koonung Secondary College, the school/college has proudly served the communities of Box Hill, Box Hill North, Mont Albert, Mont Albert North, Balwyn North , Doncaster and surrounding areas for 60 years. 

We will be hosting a 60th Anniversary event on Sunday 8 September, 2.00-4.30pm for all past staff and students. Please see the Anniversary page in this newsletter and follow our socials for more information. We will also be celebrating with our current students as part of our annual Koonung Day celebrations. 

Wellbeing Days

Koonung is very well known for the achievement of its students. We are proud of the achievements of our students in many fields, including sporting, leadership, creative arts and of course the academic achievement of our students. We also know that for students to achieve at their best, that we need to support not only their academic learning, but also student social and emotional learning. 

To support student social and emotional learning development, Koonung will be instigating Wellbeing days as part our holistic approach to curriculum and student learning. These days will focus on supporting our students to build connections to both program and their peers, develop approaches to resilience building and developing self-regulation skills and build strong teacher and student relationships that will support the well-being and engagement of our students. This will continue the learning already being undertaken in both the Positive Classrooms in Years 7 and 8 and the Live Life Program in Year 9. 

The Wellbeing Days will feature activities such as team building games, guest speakers (including Victoria Police, and speakers on a range of topics including Friendship tips, Memory) resilience strategies, growth mindset and Year 8 Mental Health First Aid training. 

Please see the dates below for this term’s Wellbeing Days at each of the Middle School year levels and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email or at the College if you have any questions. 

Y7 – Thursday 15 August

Y8 – Monday 19 August

Y9 – Friday 16 August 

Study and Snack 

This term, the Wellbeing Team have launched a new initiative called Study and Snack. This provides students with a space after school to complete homework and have a social chat with a member of the Wellbeing Team. This program runs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in MYC from 3pm-4pm. And of course there are snacks! I highly recommend this opportunity to all students. It provides a welcoming and quiet place to study, and helps develop routines needed for success at school. 

School Review

Thank you to all the families who have provided feedback to either College policies or at any of our Parent Focus groups. This feedback has been used as part of our review of the College in the lead up to our review in Term 4. 

I am pleased to announce that we have already passed the compliance requirements of the review. Thank you to all staff and families who have supported us in order to achieve this. 

Parent Student and Teacher Conferences

A reminder that our Semester 2 Student/Parent and Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Tuesday 13 August. Bookings are open now through Compass for all families. (click on 'Conferences').

Semester 2 Conferences are conducted via Webex (online). Please note that there are no scheduled classes on Tuesday 13 August and we recommend that both students and parents join the conference. 

Student Free Day- Wednesday 28 August 

Please also be aware that the Professional Practice Day for Koonung staff is scheduled for Wednesday 28 August. The professional practice day is provided to all Victorian Government School staff and the College Council approved day for Koonung is 28 August. There will be no scheduled classes on this day. 

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Phyllis Zhao (Yr-7) and Kyara Li Yuen Fong (Yr-11) who have both recently been Gold Medal winners in International Competitions. Check out the Middle School page for Phyllis and the Senior School page for Kyara. 

Closure of Elgar Park- North West Oval 

As you are aware, the Eastern Freeway is about to see major construction work happening between Tram Road and Burke Road. This is part of the North East Link work.

Part of this work will see Elgar Park- Northwest Oval turned into a construction site for the next few years. Work to begin this process begins next week. This will see diversions to the Koonung trail in our vicinity. We have been assured that the Koonung trail will not be closed at any time and that pedestrians, including our students, will be able to access the trail at all times. There will be traffic management Marshalls in place near Elgar Park to support pedestrian access when required- especially during school times. 

Please also note that the Heyington Street Bridge (also known locally as the Valda Wetlands Bridge) is still in use. This means that students residing on the Doncaster side of the freeway will still be able to cross the bridge to and from school. This is expected to remain in place for the remainder of this year and most of 2025. Eventually the bridge will be replaced as part of the Freeway work, at which time the College is working with the Eastern BTA (the authority building the new freeway) to ensure supports will be in place for our students on a daily basis. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding the construction work on the Eastern Freeway, or potential access for students along the Koonung Trail.  

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 SOCIAL.

Andrew McNeil

Principal

andrew.mcneil@education.vic.gov.au