Western Heights College Newsletter

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Principal’s Newsletter Report 2/12/24

As we move towards the final weeks of term, it’s important to maintain our learning motivation right to the finish line. This is something I have been reminding students and staff of in the past weeks.  Students may be starting to tire due to sustaining that learning motivation right through to the end of term. The anxiety of what next year might bring may be starting to kick in. And one thing we can be pretty sure of is that routines established across the year, both at school and home, will possibly become a little lost and less predictable as we edge closer to the end of the school year. As parents, we can support this conversation at home – checking in with how their day was and how they contributed. The more we can be on the same page to thank and congratulate our young people for showing behaviours that align with our values and beliefs, the more they will be inclined to keep going. 

 

So, strap yourself in and be ready for the ride people, the final sprint to the 2024 finish line is upon us. I’m certainly looking forward to finishing off the year well.

 

VCE Exams Conclude

The last of the Year 12 VCE examinations were conducted on Monday 18 November.

 

Our Year 12 cohort are to be commended for the manner in which they conducted themselves during the exam period and over the course of this busy and challenging final term of their secondary schooling.

 

We all now wait with a sense of anticipation until the VCE results are published on Thursday 12 December. An update on those results will be communicated in the final Newsletter of the school year.

 

Our Year 11, 10 and 9 examination periods were also completed on Friday. Our teachers are in the process of assessing the examination papers, and the results will be reflected in the reports available in the final week of Term.

 

Year 12 Graduation

Our Year 12 Graduation was conducted with 450 guests Thursday 21st at GMHBA stadium. It was a lovely opportunity to reflect on the year that was, and to commend our Year 12 students on finishing their secondary education.

 

Early Commencement Program (2025)

This week has been a wonderful opportunity for our current Year 10 and 11 students to commence their 2025 subjects in our early commencement program. It has been pleasing to observe the way in which our students approached their learning during this time, and I am confident that the work they have completed during the program will enable them to “hit the ground running” with their studies for 2025. All students in this program will be provided with some holiday work to prepare for next year.

 

Female Soccer Tour of Fiji

I would like to wish our female students in Year 7-10 well who will be flying to Fiji Thursday for an International tournament, which will allow them to compete at an elite level and immerse themselves in a rich cultural experience within the Fijian community. This opportunity will serve as a source of inspiration, motivation, and education for our students, shaping their footballing journey and creating memories for life. We wish them a safe trip. We thank our WHC staff, parents and carers and community supporters for helping finance and making this trip a reality.

 

School Uniform Parent/Carer Feedback

Western Heights College is currently getting close to the end of a 5-year contract with its current suppliers of school uniform. To help provide feedback to our College Council which makes decisions on our school uniform, we would appreciate some feedback from our parent/carer community on our current school uniform and what we can improve, suggestions for change, etc. We would value your feedback and review it in our December College Council meeting to help inform our decision making moving forward, to ensure our uniform serves its purpose, and is something our students are proud to wear daily. Please find the link to the survey.

 

“Getting There Safely”

A reminder to parents and carers to support their children to safely walk home from school or to and from bus stops and train stations. This week we had a reminder that students need to always be vigilant and aware of their surroundings as accidents can happen so easily. Getting There Safely is an approach developed by the City of Greater Geelong, working together with local schools and key partners in several ways, via a formal traffic management procedure that includes the following:

  • Reviewing parking arrangements outside schools when requested by a school, to determine if current infrastructure is contributing to a safety issue.
  • Assessing any reported physical barriers to walking and cycling to school, such as availability of cycle paths, cycle storage, and drinking fountains.
  • Providing school crossings and supervisors where criteria are met, plus a Local Laws service to monitor safety at or near crossings.
  • Monitoring speeds and liaising with Victoria Police about speeding in school speed zones.
  • Promoting existing resources such as the Kids on the Move traffic safety education kit to teachers.
  • Offering schools practical help developing school travel plans, such as maps to plot where students live, to highlight if families are within walking distance (up to 1.5km) and a school travel planning CD.
  • Offering road safety sessions and information for parents to help keep children safe.
  • Providing resources and support to help parents and carers address fears and reasons behind driving, thus encouraging ‘active travel’ modes.
  • Promoting and supporting ‘active travel’ annual events in schools. This approach has achieved many positive outcomes for road safety and promotion of ‘active transport’.

Through the Geelong Road Safety Plan, this documented approach will become core business for The City of Greater Geelong and schools.

 

End of Year Dates for 2024 

  • Year 7 2025 Orientation Day: Tuesday 10 December
  • Last day of timetabled classes 2024 Year 7-9: Monday 9 December
  • Year 7-9 Activities Program: Tuesday 10 December - Wednesday 18th December
  • College Awards Evening - Thursday 12 December (GMHBA Stadium)
  • 2024 Report Feedback by appointment only - Thursday 19th and Friday 20 December.

2025 Return to School Dates

  • Tuesday 28th January 2025 – Teachers return to school today
  • Wednesday 29th January 2025 – Teacher Curriculum Day (Student Free Day)
  • Thursday 30th January – Year 7/11/12 students return to school
  • Friday 31 January – Year 8/9/10 return to school

 

Have a start to the week,

Fiona

Child Safety at WHC

Western Heights College is a child safe organisation committed to protecting students from all forms of abuse. Our College has stringent protocols in place and endeavours at all times to be fully compliant with the Child Safe Standards set out under Ministerial Order 870.

 

Our College has the following documents and policies in place to achieve compliance with the Standards. All of these documents are available for downloading on our website or contact the school for a copy.

  1. Commitment to Child Safety
  2. Child Safety Policy
  3. Child Safety Code of Conduct
  4. Child Protection Policy and Procedures

Annual Privacy Policy Reminder for 2024

Our school collects, uses, discloses, and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy (found on the college's webpage).

 

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents and carers on the webpage. This information is also available in nine community languages:

 

          * Amharic

          * Arabic

          * Dari

          * Gujarati

          * Mandarin

          * Somali

          * Sudanese

          * Turkish

          * Urdu

          * Vietnamese