Principal's Report
Febuary 2020
Smooth start to the new school year
The beginning of the school year has once again started productively. Students have come prepared, with their books, equipment and uniforms, all ready to learn. Importantly they have been displaying a positive attitude towards their learning. At our team assemblies we continue to stress the need for students to work with their teachers to achieve their highest level in their learning. Our school motto of ”Learn, Grow, Achieve Together” was emphasized as were our values of respect, achievement and responsibility.
The vertical Junior and Senior School Team structure has enabled us to start well and it has been at the core of the smooth start to our year with coordinators and teachers doing an excellent job transitioning students very quickly to classes. Our students, families and staff should be also be complemented on how well they have been able to transition to the new arrangements with the new mobile phone policy. I have been impressed by the level of acceptance by the vast majority of our students.
During term 4 2019, we stressed to all Year 12 students that holiday homework must be completed before they were able to attend their VCE and VCAL classes. This to their credit was done exceptionally well at the beginning of this year. Our Senior School Team improvement strategies will incorporate a series of workshops to better prepare our students in this area.
The Year 7 students have started well. The enthusiasm they bring with them when they first join us never seizes to amaze me. We recently had our Information Night with the Year 7 students and their families. It gave our staff an opportunity to talk to the parents and students and learn more about them and how their children are feeling about their new school. All feedback, was again, extremely positive. The Student Success program still continues to receive very positive feedback from students and families.
AIP 2020
In our AIP for this year we will continue the work that we have identified in our Strategic Plan as being very important but we will focus in the following three areas of our AIP; our Numeracy Initiative, our new Student Attendance Policy and we plan to complete an evaluation of the structure of our school day and our timetable.
Overseeing the Strategic Plan and AIP will be part of the core work of the new School Council which I will be hoping to start as of their first meeting in March.
Free dental care for our students
Recently I was thrilled to receive an invitation from Minister Merlino for our school to participate in the Victorian Government’s commitment to provide free dentalcare to all government primary, secondary schools and state-funded special schools in Victoria.
As you may be aware, our State Government has committed to delivering the school dental program – the ‘Smile Squad’ – over the next four years, to provide free annual oral health examinations and free follow up care for all children attending Victorian government schools.
I was provided with an information pack on the Smile Squad outlining how the service will be delivered in schools and how schools can prepare for Smile Squad’s arrival. I look forward to implementing it as soon as we possibly can.
John Mitsinikos
College Principal