Principal Team Editorial

Term 4 has started with a bang with plenty happening already! Today, it was great to witness Year 10 student Willem Bone and teacher Tim Pearson shave their heads to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundations 'World’s Greatest Shave' fundraiser. Whilst Mr Pearson turned his neat cut into a shaved head, Willem sacrificed his very, very, long blond locks for a great cause! You can support them by donating here: Wantirna College | World's Greatest Shave | Leukaemia Foundation. See page 9 for all the details.

Next week is the final week of classes for our Year 12 students. Exams will follow soon after, and before you know it, they will have their final results and be off to Uni, TAFE or work. It’s important that the next week is celebrated in the right spirit and based on the behaviour of our Year 12s in recent years, I don’t have any reason to think it will be any different this year. Next Friday is the final day for the class of 2023 and we have a number of special events planned and look forward to celebrating with the students and their parents who will also be in attendance. 

In previous newsletters, I have provided some insights into whole school data that is captured across the year. You may remember me reflecting on our NAPLAN data being the best on record. The comparison in the DoE dashboard illustrates that we are #1 in a comparison of 31 similar schools with Year 9 NAPLAN (Exceeding and Strong Proficiencies) Reading results and #3 for Numeracy: 

Furthermore, our student's Attitudes to School Survey data, demonstrates in all measures that our students are more positive than students in similar schools or the state average. Our staff Opinion Survey also recorded very strong positive responses, with our results again significantly exceeding similar schools and state averages. This data clearly indicates a strong level of support for our current environment and direction and a strong level of trust and support amongst leadership, teachers and non-teachers. With our Parent Opinion survey results also indicating an increased level of positive responses, outcomes across the board are, by far, the highest recorded in many years and in some instances on record!

Building Project Update

Fortunately, the tender documents for our building project have been completed and the tender itself opens in the next couple of weeks. We are on track for the tender process to be completed and a builder being appointed by the end of the year. As stated previously, construction should begin early in the new school year.

Kevin Murphy

Principal