Assistant Principals' Report

Welcome to the final newsletter, we are incredible proud of the growth and achievement many of our students have had this year and each of the mini school celebrations this week have allowed us to acknowledge these personal milestones and the significant awards.  

There have been many events that have assisted each mini school through the delivery of their vision. This year the Junior schools focus on Alternate Program days enhanced the learning that occurs across the year through Managing Me, the Middle School Cluster Day supported students in broadening their awareness of career pathways, their qualities that support them in moving towards VCE and the workforce. The Senior school delivered a broad range of events including revive day, study sessions and party safe, supports the maturing cohorts as they work through their VCE outcomes and towards the opportunities beyond the school gates.  

Over the year we have been blown away by the individual achievements of so many students, both within school and their community contributions. We would like to thank our teaching staff for their ongoing commitment to challenging and nurturing all of our learners.  Thank you to all the families that have engaged with us this year, whether that was via email, at an event or through a meeting to support your child's education, we value the learning partnership and appreciate the ongoing support that has assisted us with ensuring growth occurs for your child. We look forward to 2025 and the many planned learning experiences. 

Child safety and wellbeing at Doncaster Secondary College 

This information is for families and the school community, Doncaster Secondary College is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe.  

Our child safety framework includes policies, codes and procedures that explain how we support and maintain the safety and wellbeing of our students and protect them from harm. These documents are available on our website: Documents, Policies & Reports - Doncaster Secondary College 

We are also committed to continuous improvement of our child safety framework. We are currently reviewing our child safety policies and practices to ensure they are up-to-date and effective.  

Our students and families are important partners in this process. We welcome your feedback or ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing.  

If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact Wes Pfitzner, Assistant Principal at Doncaster Secondary College on 03 9848 4677 or at doncaster.sc@education.vic.gov.au. 

Celebrating Exceptional Growth in our Student’s Learning 

Knowing that our students are actively learning is a key focus at DSC. The performance of our students in NAPLAN and our PAT assessment program has provided an opportunity to celebrate outstanding achievement and high learning growth with our year 7 & 9 students this term. On Wednesday 5th December the college leadership team acknowledged students who have had high growth for Numeracy or Writing and those that have high achievement level in NAPLAN by inviting them to a small lunch celebration in the junior school building. 107 students were invited to attend the celebration lunch to be recognised by Mr Morris the college principal who congratulated the students on their hard work and outstanding achievements this year. 

The outstanding work of our staff and excellent student learning behaviours is also reflected in the most recent School Performance Report.  

Doncaster Secondary College’s performance in both learning and wellbeing compared to similar schools has been reported in the HIGH category for 

Learning:

• NAPLAN Reading Achievement (above) 
• NAPLAN Reading Growth (above) 
• NAPLAN Numeracy Achievement (above) 
• NAPLAN Numeracy Growth (well above) 
• Mean Year 12 English study score (above) 

Wellbeing: 

• Attendance Rate (well above) 
• Percentage of positive endorsement in emotional awareness and regulation (well above) 
• Percentage of positive endorsement in managing bullying (well above) 
• Percentage of positive endorsement in school connectedness (above) 

Doncaster’s School Policies 

Every year the Policy and Planning Committee meet multiple times throughout the year to review and update our school policies, to ensure they are in-line with the latest updates from the Department of Education and that they are meeting the needs to our school context. These policies are then approved by the College Principal and the School Council. All school policies are available for the community here. Members of the community are invited to review these and email feedback or ask questions of the principal team. 

Removal of Grades 

In 2025, Doncaster Secondary College will no longer report on student progress by assigning a letter grade. Instead, students and families will receive feedback on student performance through specific references to the Victorian Curriculum for year 7-10 students, and through a range indicator for VCE students that will be labelled Very High to Very Low. This range indicator will be based on the grade distribution that is released by VCAA yearly in examiner reports. 

We are making these changes, as many other secondary schools have in Victoria in the last decade, as peer-reviewed research around assessment and feedback indicates students will be able to grow in their learning and remain motivated for longer, without the use of arbitrary performance indicators like letter grades. We believe that when the focus is on growth and areas of improvement, all students, no matter their level of skill, will be more successful.  

Our year 7 and 8 students have already been receiving feedback in this manner in their Mathematics class, and the school’s NAPLAN and PAT data indicates Doncaster students are on a positive trajectory, with high growth in NAPLAN being achieved by both high performing and less confident students. Additionally, many subjects in VCE at Doncaster already use a range indicator instead of a letter grade. This is what is recommended by VCAA as our SAC results are subject to moderation by the examination, so basing student performance in VCE on the exam grade distribution will provide students with a more accurate sense of how they are progressing. 

We understand that letter grades are familiar, and this change may not be welcome by all. There will be opportunities next year during information nights, to gather more information about this change. You are also welcome to provide feedback to the principal team as the year commences. 

There are many articles and textbooks available around this work, but some that we felt were insightful are listed below: 

• Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy: Embedding Formative Assessment  
• Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black: Assessment and Classroom Learning (available online here)  
• Glen Pearsall: Fast & Effective Assessment (available online here) 

Senior School Team 

As we get ever closer to Christmas, it’s time to say goodbye to our 2024 year 12 students. Congratulations to all graduating students and good luck! It’s been a pleasure supporting you through these final years of schooling and we are sure you will go on to be excellent university students, TAFE students and employees.  

Our celebrations have not ended with the year 12s, however, we also engaged in an excellent Senior School Presentation Night that allowed us to share in congratulating our year 10 and 11 students who have shown academic excellence, personal growth and achievement in music. Thank you to all families that attended to support their students and thank you to the Senior School Team for their work in organising the event, particularly Vanessa Lattanzio who led the evening.  

School Captains for 2025 have now been announced and we would love to congratulate Sarah Coates, Abbey McDonald, Sarosh Ladduwahetty and Oliver Blanchard. These four students have demonstrated throughout their time at Doncaster, a commitment to student leadership programs, academic engagement, personal effort, high attendance and model the school values everyday in the way the interact with their peers and their teachers. We are looking forward to working with you and confident that you will be able to positively continue the excellent work of your predecessors.  

Our year 10 and 11 students have now successfully completed their examination period and HeadStart program. These two events can be tiring at the end of the year, but they support students to be ready for their year 12 final examinations and it sets them up positively for 2025. Senior students would have received Holiday Homework for all their subjects. It is essential that this work is completed, it is not voluntary. Families can support students by reminding them about their homework, working with them to create a schedule to complete work and supporting them to have the correct materials.  

Thank you to all our Senior students and families on an excellent 2024. We look forward to partnering with you into 2025. We hope you enjoy your summer break! 

Start dates 2025 

As we look forward to 2025 it is helpful for families to be aware of our return dates and the key events that occur at the beginning of the year.  

Tuesday 28th January 

The school will reopen and staff will commence. 

Wednesday 29th January  

• Year 7 students will have interviews with a significant teacher 
• New Enrolments in Year 8-12 Students transition will occur from 10am 

Thursday 30th January 

• Classes begin for Yr 7, 11 & 12 students 
• Year 9 & 10 students will attend for Middle School welcome Period 3 & 4 
• Classes for Year 8 students commence on Friday 31st January

Friday 31st January 

• All students classes will be onsite  

We would like to wish our students and families a restful and happy break filled with family time and relaxation; we look forward to connecting with you all again in 2025.  

Regards the Assistant Principal Team,  

Kristin, Wes & Belinda